This little Bird has two very good qualifications; it is beautiful and musical. It is a pretty little Bird, and a very sweet singer. It has also another characteristic peculiar to itself. It does not seem to be the least annoyed when exposed to the rays of a summer sun. During the heat of the day, in summer, most of our birds retire to the shade, and stop singing. But I have seen this little bird sit for an hour or two, in an exposed situation, in the meridian heat of a July sun, piping its sweet little notes without intermission. It is a very clean and docile bird in a cage, and has still another recommendation, that the longer you keep it the prettier it grows. I had one in my possession which had been kept for four years in a cage, and it was the most beautiful Indigo Bird I ever saw in my life; it was exactly like a piece of bright polished indigo, and was also a superior songster.

Food

A mixture of hemp and Canary seed, water to drink and wash, and gravel in the bottom of the cage, is all they require.

Characteristics Of The Sexes

The male of this bird is easily distinguished from the female; the male being all blue, the female a grayish brown on the back, the lower parts clay color.

Location

Found, in summer, throughout the United States; in the autumn, they migrate south.