The western bluebird: one of nature's finest!
Photos by DON BARTLING The Western Bluebird is more common in the Panhandle than the rest of Idaho. They are found in a variety of habitats from agriculture land to clear-cuts.
Photo by DON BARTLING Western Bluebirds hover over the ground and fly down to catch insects and may also fly from a perch to catch them. Their main diet consists of insects and berries.
Last Friday was a cloudy, rainy, chilly day and my mood matched the weather. Then I saw a western bluebird, and for the rest of the day I felt it was a “bluebird day” in spite of the weather. I was in the area of McArthur Lake when a male and female western bluebird landed in a budding tree nearby. Fortunately for me they were within camera range as I clicked away.
The adult western bluebird male is about six to seven inches in length and is bright blue on top and on the throat with an orange breast and sides, a brownish patch on their back, and a gray belly and under-tail coverts. The adult females have a duller blue body, wings, and tail than the male, a gray throat, a dull orange breast, and a gray belly and under-tail coverts.
The western bluebird is a small thrush and they are sometimes confused with other bluebirds, but they can be distinguished without difficulty. The western bluebird has a blue (male) or gray (female) throat, the eastern bluebird has an orange throat, and the mountain bluebird lacks orange color anywhere on its body. It has a stocky build, and a thin straight beak with a fairly short tail.
The western bluebird often forages by perching fairly low and flying down to the ground to capture insects, sometimes hovering briefly before pouncing. The bluebird often catches insects in mid-air, or may seek them among foliage. Insects make up the majority of their diet, especially in summer they feed heavily on grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, ants, and many other insects. Berries and small fruit are also important in the bluebird’s diet especially in winter.
Bluebirds lay between four to six pale, blue unmarked eggs. Incubation is by the female, but both parents bring food to nestlings. Generally western bluebirds have two broods per year.
The male bluebird typically arrives on the breeding grounds before the female, and defends the nesting territory by singing. In courtship, male may flutter in front of female with wings and tail partly spread, while singing. On occasion the male may also feed the female. The western bluebird nest site is in a cavity, such as the natural hollow in a pine tree, old woodpecker hole or birdhouse. They usually nest fairly low, rarely up to 50 feet above the ground. The nests in cavities are generally built mostly by females, but males sometimes take part of the responsibility. The bluebird nest is a rather loose cup of twigs and weeds, lined with finer grass.
Western bluebirds tend to perch fairly low to the ground on prominent limbs, fence posts, and signs. They also tend to stay low to the ground when flying. They forage for insects by scanning the ground from a perch, then abruptly dropping to seize something they’ve spied. Outside the breeding season, western bluebirds are quite social, forming flocks up to about 100, sometimes with mountain bluebirds, American robins, and yellow-rumped warblers. Their tree-cavity nest sites are a limited and valuable resource, and western bluebirds have to contend with competition from other bluebirds, swallows, nuthatches, some woodpeckers, house wrens, and European starlings. Western bluebirds generally are monogamous — one male pairs with one female to raise young each year.
The western bluebird is more common in the Panhandle than the rest of Idaho. They are found in a variety of habitats, from agriculture land to clear-cuts. Their beauty is one of nature’s finest!
Enjoy the beauty of Boundary County and its wildlife!