Eastern Bluebird
by J McCombie
Title
Eastern Bluebird
Artist
J McCombie
Medium
Painting - Photographic
Description
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush with a big, rounded head, large eye, plump body, and alert posture. The wings are long, but the tail and legs are fairly short. The bill is short and straight. This species measures 6.3 to 8.3 in long, span 9.8 to 13 in across the wings and weigh 0.95 to 1.2 oz. Adult males are bright blue on top and have a reddish brown throat and breast. Adult females have lighter blue wings and tail, a brownish throat and breast and a grey crown and back. Eastern Bluebirds are found east of the Rockies, southern Canada to the Gulf States and southeastern Arizona to Nicaragua. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York.
The bright blue breeding plumage of the male, easily observed on a wire or open perch, fluttering down to the mowed grass to capture a grasshopper, cricket or beetle makes this species a favorite of birders. The male's call includes sometimes soft warbles of jeew or chir-wi or the melodious song chiti WEEW wewidoo (Sibley, 2000). Approximately two-thirds of the diet of an adult eastern bluebird consists of insects and other invertebrates. The remainder of the bird's diet is made up of wild fruits. Favored insect foods include grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and beetles. Other food items include earthworms, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, sow bugs and snails.
Fruits are especially important when insects are scarce in the winter months. Some preferred winter food sources include dogwood, hawthorn, wild grape, and sumac and hackberry seeds. Supplemental fruits eaten include black raspberries, bayberries, fruit of honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, Eastern Juniper and pokeberries. Bluebirds feed by perching on a high point, such as a branch or fence post, and swooping down to catch insects on or near the ground. The availability of a winter food source will often determine whether or not a bird will migrate. If bluebirds do remain in a region for the winter, they will group and seek cover in heavy thickets, orchards, or other areas in which adequate food and cover resources are available. If you want to attract these species, put crunched-up peanuts in a feeder about four feet off the ground.
Eastern bluebirds are very social birds. At times they gather in flocks of a hundred or more. However, they are territorial during the breeding season and may continue to defend a feeding area throughout the winter. Mating occurs in the spring and summer months. A mature female will typically raise two broods each season. Nests are constructed in trees within abandoned woodpecker holes or other cavities that provide adequate protection (usually several feet above ground). Construction of the nest is done primarily by the female and takes approximately 10 days to complete. These nests are small, cup-like structures that are lined with grass, feathers, stems, and hairs. Each female lays 3 to 7 (average 4 to 5) light-blue or, rarely, white eggs. The female incubates the eggs, which hatch after 13 to 16 days. The young are altricial at hatching, meaning they cannot care for themselves upon hatching. The female broods the chicks for up to 7 days after hatching. Fledglings then leave the nest 15 to 20 days after hatching.
Uploaded
December 7th, 2012
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