_Guiraca cærulea cærulea. Case 6, Figs. 52, 53_
Should be confused only with the Indigo Bunting,
but it is larger and the male is darker and has
brown wing-bars. L. 7.
_Range._ Nests from Florida to Maryland and
southern Illinois; winters in the tropics,
uncommon east of the Alleghanies.
Washington, very uncommon, S.R., May 1-Sept. 20.
Cambridge, A.V., one instance, May.
The Blue Grosbeak is an unfamiliar bird to most eastern students.
Ridgway states that its haunts resemble those of the Field Sparrow or
Indigo Bunting. Its call is a strong, harsh _ptchick_, its song a
beautiful, but rather feeble warble. The nest is usually built in bushes
and the 3-4 pale bluish white eggs are laid in May.