Blue Bird, Sylvia Sialis, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 56. pl. iii. fig. 5. Male.—Nuttall, Manual, part i. p. 444.
Adult Male. Plate CXIII. Fig. 1.
Bill of ordinary length, nearly straight, broader than deep at the base, compressed towards the end; upper mandible with the dorsal line convex, the tip declinate, the edges sharp. Nostrils basal, oval. Head rather large, neck short, body rather full. Feet of ordinary length, slender; tarsus compressed, covered anteriorly with a few long scutella, acute behind, scarcely longer than the middle toe; toes scutellate above, the two lateral ones nearly equal; claws arched, slender, compressed, that of the hind toe much larger.
Plumage soft and blended, slightly glossed. Wings of ordinary length, broad, the first quill longest, the second scarcely shorter, the secondary quills truncato-emarginate. Tail rather long, broad, nearly even, of twelve broad, rounded feathers. Short bristle-pointed feathers at the base of the mandible.
Bill and feet black, the soles yellow, iris yellowish-brown. The general colour of the upper parts is bright azure-blue, that of the lower yellowish-brown, the belly white. Shafts of the quills and tail feathers dusky.
Length 7 inches, extent of wing 10; bill along the ridge ½, along the edge ¾; tarsus 8⁄12.
Adult Female. Plate CXIII. Fig. 2.
The female has the upper part of a tint approaching to leaden, the foreneck and sides yellowish-brown, but duller than in the male, the belly white.
Length 6½ inches.
Young Bird. Plate CXIII. Fig. 3.