Youngsters
get to know the young hero and the adventures
that carry him toward manhood. As they come to know Jeremiah as a friend who would
understand their own growing pains, they look forward to each book in the
series.
Teachers
will Achieve..
Teachers will appreciate the ways
that Jeremiah Stokely novels, kits, and activities make literature
meaningful to children. Teachers can download free classroom idea
packets to hold a hand-on workshop based on each book.
Click the >Play button
to listen to the bird's song!
(Eastern)
Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
Length 7 in., wingspan 13
in., Family Turdidae
The Eastern Bluebird has a
reputation as the “bluebird of happiness.” Its brilliant sky-blue body and
orange-red breast are enough to bring a smile to anyone’s face. The lower
abdomen is white. The female bears the same colors in duller tones.
This bluebird of the eastern
and midwestern U.S. has two close cousins, Western Bluebird and Mountain
Bluebird, and a more distant cousin, the American Robin, with whom it
shares the distinction of “red-breast.” All are thrushes.
Female Eastern Bluebirds build
grass-lined nests in tree holes or other cavities and lay four to six
beautiful pale-blue eggs. If a natural tree hole is not available,
bluebirds readily accept man-made nest boxes. Parent bluebirds will return
to the same nest site year after year. They often lay a second or third
clutch of eggs after the others have hatched.
Eastern Bluebirds stay
year-round in southern states, but those in the north migrate south for
the winter.
Pioneer botanist William
Bartram called the bluebird’s musical song of many notes “most endearing
warblings.” These birds are so well loved that there is a whole
organization devoted to them: the North American Bluebird Society!
