Bluebirds, with their distinctive plumage and melodious songs, are a cherished sight. Understanding their diet is key to supporting these captivating birds, whether in the wild or your backyard. Their nutrition shifts throughout the year, adapting to available food sources. Knowing what bluebirds eat helps us appreciate their ecological role and coexist with them.
Natural Food Sources
Bluebirds primarily rely on a diet rich in insects, constituting approximately 68% of their food intake. They are skilled foragers, often perching on elevated spots like fenceposts or branches to scan the ground below. Once an insect is spotted, they swoop down to capture it. Their diet includes a variety of invertebrates such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, ants, wasps, bees, and flies.
Beyond insects, bluebirds supplement their diet with wild fruits and berries. These plant-based foods become particularly important when insect populations are less abundant. Common wild fruits and berries bluebirds eat include those from flowering dogwood, holly, mulberry, wild grape, Virginia creeper, pokeweed, viburnum, sumac, and hackberry. These natural food sources provide essential nutrients and energy for the birds’ health and survival.
Year-Round Dietary Changes
Bluebirds exhibit clear seasonal shifts in their diet, driven by varying food availability. During warmer months, insects are abundant and form the vast majority of their diet. This insect-heavy period is important during nesting season, as the high protein content supports the rapid growth of their young. Bluebirds actively hunt a wide array of arthropods, including many common garden pests.
As autumn transitions into winter, insect populations decline significantly. Bluebirds increasingly rely on wild fruits and berries to meet their nutritional needs. These fruits provide necessary carbohydrates and fats to sustain them through colder temperatures when insects are scarce. While their diet shifts, they may still seek out available insects, even in winter, demonstrating opportunistic feeding habits.
Offering Food at Home
Attracting bluebirds to your yard by offering appropriate food can be rewarding. Live or dried mealworms are a highly favored food source, mimicking their natural insect diet and providing rich protein. Mealworms can be presented in a specialized feeder or a small dish in an open area. Hydrating dried mealworms makes them more palatable.
Bluebirds also consume suet, particularly during colder months for extra fat and calories. Suet blends, especially those with peanut butter or insect flavors, are often accepted. Small pieces of fruit, such as raisins, currants, or chopped grapes, can also be offered. While bluebirds primarily prefer insects and fruits, they may occasionally take shelled sunflower seeds or peanut pieces from feeders, though they generally avoid common birdseed mixes. Platform feeders are often more suitable than traditional seed feeders.
Unsuitable Food Items
It is important to know which foods are harmful or lack nutritional value for bluebirds. Never offer bread, processed foods, or baked goods like rolls or donuts; they provide little nutritional benefit and can attract unwanted species. Large seeds in many general birdseed mixes are unsuitable, as bluebirds cannot digest them properly.
Moldy, stale, or artificially sweetened foods are dangerous and can cause illness. Dairy products, such as milk, are inappropriate because birds cannot properly digest lactose. Earthworms should generally be avoided as a feeder food, as they can sometimes cause digestive upset. Offering only appropriate and fresh food items ensures the birds’ safety and well-being.