BLUE BIRDS SEEN IN NORTH AMERICA

Bluethroat

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Luscinia Svecica

Summer plumage: Males have brown upperparts, underparts have a blue bib with a rufous crescent at the base of the throat, below is a blue bib bordered by black, white and rufous bands across the breast.

The white band is only a narrow line separating the two other colors. Lower breast and belly are white. Flanks are buffy- white and undertail coverts have a reddish base.

Their head is brown, with a conspicuous white eyebrow extending from the forehead to the rear of their eye. Eyes are dark brown. Legs and feet are gray-brown. 

Winter plumage: There are some whitish feathers that invade the blue bib.

Females are different, with broad whitish mustache bordered by narrow black malar stripe. They have a whitish throat and breast, with a band of black spots across the upper breast, like a necklace.

Some may have blue and rufous on the lower breast, but most of them lack these colors.

Juveniles have a spotted brown plumage, giving a scaly look, but have the reddish pattern of adults on the tail, just less extended.

The first winter resembles adult females with buff tips on wing feathers.

Juvenile males have some blue on the sides of the throat.

BILL: black with a yellow base.

SIZE: measures about 5.11 - 5.51 inches in length.

WEIGHT: weighs about 12 - 25 grams.

COLOR: Brown, blue, rufous, buffy-white, white, red, gray-brown and black.

Insects; some seeds and fruits in fall and winter.

Breeds in low scrub thickets along streams in the tundra.

Winters in thick cover near water.

BREEDS: Northern Europe, Eurasia, western Alaska and Yukon Territory.

WINTER: Mainly from northeastern Africa to western India, and in sub-Saharan Africa, from the Gambia to Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia.

Gleans insects from low vegetation and ground turns over leaves and soil, and hawks flying insects.

They are insectivores. They are seen hopping at water's edge among reeds and bushes in winter.

CALL: A hard “tuck-tuck” or “tchak- tchak”, and also a plaintive “hweet”.

SONG: Loud and varied, includes much mimicry of other species.

Includes bell-like notes such as “ting-ting-ting”, and musical notes, hisses, and trills.

NEST: The female builds a deep cup with grass, bark, roots, and moss. It is lined with softer materials such as animal hair. It is located on the ground, concealed in a shallow hole or in tussocks.

EGGS: 4 - 7 pale blue or green eggs, speckled with brown.

INCUBATION: 13 - 15 days, female.

The Bluethroat is often compared with Common Nightingale because both are very similar in appearance. However, they differ by the throat colors giving the bird its name.

SOURCES: https://www.birds-of-north-america.net

                   https://en.wikipedia.org

                   http://www.oiseaux-birds.com

                   https://www.allaboutbirds.org