EASTERN BLUEBIRD
(Sialia sialis)
eBird provides this description of the Eastern Bluebird: Adult males are striking royal blue above with bright orange throat and breast and bright white belly. Females are paler overall; grayish with orange on breast and sides of neck, and white belly. Favors fields and open woods. Often in small groups. Frequently perches on wires or fence posts. Nests in cavities. Listen for its soft, chortling calls. All About Birds offers this additional descriptive information about the Eastern Bluebird: Most of the country drives during an eastern North American summer will turn up a few Eastern Bluebirds sitting on telephone wires or perched atop a nest box, calling out in a short, wavering voice or abruptly dropping to the ground after an insect. Marvelous birds to capture in your binoculars, male Eastern Bluebirds are a brilliant royal blue on the back and head, and warm red-brown on the breast. Blue tinges in the wings and tail give the grayer females an elegant look.
I saw my first Eastern Bluebird as I headed home from my Father’s Day 2020 birding trip on the morning of June 24, 2020. I left Brownsville very early, so I could make another stop at the Brooks County Rest Area, which is 9 miles south of Falfurrias on Highway 281. On the way, I hit a large feral hog in the dark east of Raymondville. Thank goodness it did minimal damage to my truck bumper. I enjoyed my second visit to the rest area. It is a beautiful little spot. Shortly before I left, I spotted a bird perched up in a tree and was able to get the picture you see below. When I got home I identified it as a juvenile Eastern Bluebird. What a beautiful bird!
I was delighted to see an adult Eastern Bluebird in my front yard on the afternoon of July 25, 2020. It was a very brief appearance, and I only got one rather poor photo. Thankfully it was good enough to identify it using my Sibley Guide and the Merlin App.
“Cool Facts” About The Eastern Bluebird From All About Birds:
- The male Eastern Bluebird displays at his nest cavity to attract a female. He brings nest material to the hole, goes in and out, and waves his wings while perched above it. That is pretty much his contribution to nest building; only the female Eastern Bluebird builds the nest and incubates the eggs.
- Eastern Bluebirds typically have more than one successful brood per year. Young produced in early nests usually leave their parents in summer, but young from later nests frequently stay with their parents over the winter.
- Eastern Bluebirds occur across eastern North America and south as far as Nicaragua. Birds that live farther north and in the west of the range tend to lay more eggs than eastern and southern birds.
- Eastern Bluebirds eat mostly insects, wild fruit and berries. Occasionally, Eastern Bluebirds have also been observed capturing and eating larger prey items such as shrews, salamanders, snakes, lizards and tree frogs.
- The oldest recorded Eastern Bluebird was at least 10 years, 6 months old. It had been banded in New York in May 1989, and was found dead in South Carolina November 1999.