BLUE BIRDS SEEN IN NORTH AMERICA

Eastern Bluebird

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sialia Sialis

Eastern Bluebird

Males have deep blue upperparts, have a chestnut throat, sides of neck, breast, and flanks. White belly and undertail coverts. There are some black or gray on the tips of the wings and tail feathers. The blue of the head becomes duller between the chestnut throat and breast. Their legs are short and black. Their feet and eyes are black.

Females are similar to males but are duller with more gray.

Juveniles are grayish above, with wing feathers tipped in blue. Cheeks and scapulars are streaked with white. Underparts are white, with streaked brown chin, throat, breast, and flanks. The belly is also white.

BILL: dusky, short and thin.

SIZE: measures about 6.3 - 8.3 inches in length, with a wingspan of 9.8 - 12.6 inches.

WEIGHT: weighs about 27 - 34 grams.

COLOR: blue, chestnut, white, black, brown and gray.

Insects and their larvae, such as caterpillars, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, and spiders. It also feeds on berries, earthworms, snails, and other invertebrates.

Open woodlands, farmlands, orchards, and suburban areas. Preferred nesting habitats are open areas with few trees and forest edges.

BREEDS: The eastern Rocky Mountains, from southeast Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and into Mexico and Honduras.

WINTER: The southern parts of its breeding range.

CALL: A musical and rising "chur-lee", extending in song to “chur, chur-lee, chur-lee”, repeated several times. They have several calls for different purposes.

SONG: A rich warbling whistle consisting of short phrases “tu-wheet- tudu”.

NEST: The female builds a small, cup-like structure lined with grass, feathers, stems, and hairs. It is placed in trees within abandoned woodpecker holes or other cavities that provide adequate protection (usually several feet above ground).

EGGS: 3 - 7 light-blue or, rarely white eggs.

INCUBATION: 13 - 16 days, female.

NESTLING PHASE: 17 - 21 days.

They typically perch on wires and fence posts overlooking open fields. They hunt from a perch, diving down on the ground to catch prey. Sometimes, they use flycatching and gleaning. They have a good eyesight and can locate small food from more than 100 feet away. They are monogamous, and the pair stay together during the whole season and may breed together for more than one season.