Western Bluebird

Male Western Bluebird presumably of the subspecies occidentalis, at Guadalupe Canyon, Baja California, MX, 31 Dec 2005.

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Western Bluebird, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

The Western Bluebird is a common sight in parklands of the West. Unlike the other species of bluebirds, it does not like large meadows, preferring open forests instead.

Description

• Medium-sized songbird; small thrush.
• Head large and round.
• Wings and tail blue.
• Chest red.
• Some reddish on back.

• Size: 16-19 cm (6-7 in)
• Weight: 24-31 g (0.85-1.09 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male dark blue with bright red chest. Female drab gray blue with duller reddish chest.

Sound

Call a soft "kew," often repeated several times. Also a chatter. Songs can be repeated calls.

Conservation Status

Declining in California and Arizona, as well as in other parts of range.

Other Names

Merleblue de l'Ouest (French)
Azulejo garganta azul (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Go here to take a look at what goes on inside a Western Bluebird nestbox, through the help of a Nest Box Cam provided by The Birdhouse Network at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
• Occasionally Western Bluebirds have helpers at the nest. Most of the extra birds attending nests are helping their presumed parents, some after their own nests have failed.

• Genetic studies showed that 45% of nests had young that were not fathered by the defending male, and that 19% of all the young were fathered outside the pair bond.

• Western Bluebirds can be helped by birds far beyond family members. Violet-green Swallows have been observed feeding and defending nests of Western Bluebirds.

Sources used to construct this page:

Guinan, J. A., P. A. Gowaty, and E. K. Eltzroth. 2000. Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana). In The Birds of North America, No. 510 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.