The vibrant flash of a small songbird featuring a blue back and a distinctly colored chest often sparks curiosity. This striking combination of colors is generally associated with one of the most recognizable and beloved species in North America. Identifying this bird offers a rewarding entry into the world of bird watching and appreciating local wildlife.
Identifying the Eastern Bluebird
The bird fitting this description is the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis). This small thrush species displays brilliant, iridescent blue across the head, back, wings, and tail. The contrasting feature is the prominent rusty orange or cinnamon-colored breast and throat, while the lower abdomen is typically white.
Male Eastern Bluebirds exhibit the most intense coloration, particularly the deep blue plumage during the breeding season. Females share a similar pattern, but their colors are muted, featuring a grayish-blue back and a paler orange chest. Juveniles initially appear gray with speckled breasts, developing the characteristic blue and orange hues as they mature.
Geographic Range and Preferred Habitat
The Eastern Bluebird is commonly found across a broad territory extending from southern Canada down to the Gulf States and into Central America. They live east of the Rocky Mountains. While some northern populations migrate south for the winter, many southern populations remain year-round residents.
These birds prefer open, undisturbed landscapes rather than dense forests. Ideal habitats include open woodlands, orchards, pastures, and fields with scattered trees for perching and hunting. Bluebirds are secondary cavity nesters, relying on pre-existing hollow spaces like old woodpecker holes for their nests. They are also frequently sighted in suburban areas that offer large lawns and suitable perching spots.
Diet and Social Structure
Diet
The bluebird’s diet shifts significantly with the changing seasons. During warmer months, they are effective insectivores, consuming large quantities of ground-dwelling invertebrates like grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars. Bluebirds employ a distinctive foraging technique called “perch-and-swoop.” They sit patiently on a low perch, surveying the ground before quickly descending to catch prey. When insects become scarce in the fall and winter, their diet switches to small wild fruits and berries from plants like sumac, dogwood, and red cedar.
Social Structure
Eastern Bluebirds are social birds, especially outside of the breeding period, often forming small flocks in the winter. During the nesting season, they become territorial, defending the area around their nest site. They are typically monogamous, with pairs working together to raise one to four broods each season.
How to Encourage Bluebirds to Visit Your Yard
Providing shelter is a primary method for encouraging bluebirds. Since they are cavity nesters, installing a specialized bluebird nest box provides a suitable home where natural cavities are limited. These boxes should be placed in open areas away from dense woods and mounted on a metal pole with a predator guard.
Supplemental feeding can attract and sustain bluebirds, especially when insect populations are low. Bluebirds rarely eat traditional birdseed, so offering live or freeze-dried mealworms is highly effective. These can be placed in a specialized feeder or dish.
To support their winter diet, consider planting native shrubs and trees that produce berries, such as sumac, dogwood, and American elderberry. Also, provide a consistent source of fresh water, such as a birdbath, for both drinking and bathing.