601. Passerina ciris. 5 1/2 inches.

Male, vari-colored; female, greenish gray.

Without any exception, these are the most gaudily plumaged North American birds, but their colors have a harshness of contrast that renders them far less pleasing to the eye than many others of our birds. They are often caged, but in confinement soon lose the natural brilliancy of their plumage. Like the Indigo Bunting, they are found in thickets and hedges; their habits seem to be precisely like those of the last species.

Song. - Similar to that of the Indigo but lacking the brilliancy of that of the latter bird.

Nest. - Of grasses, leaves, strips of bark and rootlets, compactly compressed and woven together, situated at low elevations in thickets and low bushes; eggs whitish, specked and blotched with reddish brown (.78 x .58).

Range. - Southeastern U. S., breeding from the Gulf north to Virginia, Ohio and Kansas; winters in Central America.

Painted Bunting