Sialia mexicana
The Western Bluebird is dressed with the colors of the cool sky on its back and the warm, setting sun on its breast. These open-country specialists nest in cavities, and they have responded well to nest boxes erected throughout much of their range. Western Bluebirds are the preferred tenants of nesting boxes, but they can be usurped from nesting sites by aggressive House Sparrows and European Starlings. Throughout most of their range, Western Bluebirds manage to raise two broods each year. The second clutch of eggs is laid just as the first brood has left the nest, but the first brood continues to depend on their parents for food. During the fall migration, both broods often join the parents on their southern voyage. |
I.D.: General: chestnut red breast; light gray belly and undertail coverts; dark bill and legs. Male: deep blue head, back and wings; chestnut red flanks. Female: light eye ring; gray-brown head and back; blue wings and tail. Size: L 7 in. (18 cm). Range: uncommon migrant and summer resident and in the southern and central U.S. Rockies; rare in the Canadian Rockies. Habitat: open forests, low-elevation grasslands in the montane. Nesting: typically west of the Rockies; in an abandoned woodpecker cavity, natural cavity or nest box; nest is built of stems, conifer needles and twigs; female incubates 4-6 eggs for up to 17 days. Feeding: swoops from a perch and pursues flying insects; also forages on the ground for invertebrates. Voice: song is a harsh cheer cheerful charmer; call is a soft few or a harsh chuck. Similar Species: Mountain Bluebird : lacks the red underparts. Lazuli Bunting: white belly; conical bill; darker upperparts; white wing bars. Townsend's Solitaire: never has a reddish breast; buffy patches in the wings and tail. |
