Species: Sialia mexicana

Western Bluebird

Species

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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Adult male has a bright blue head and upperparts (may have some reddish coloration), chestnut breast (chestnut coloration may be bisectedby blue) and scapulars (shoulder patches), and blue-gray belly and undertail coverts. Adult females are considerably duller and not extensively bluish. The head and throat are gray, the back is gray-brown, the abdomen and undertail coverts are grayish, and there is blue in the wings and tail. Adult plumages do not change much throughout the year. First-year birds resemble adults but are slightly duller. Juveniles have a white eye-ring and are gray-brown above, streaked or spotted with white; the breast is heavily streaked, and the wings and tail have some blue coloration. Length is around 7 inches (18 cm).

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Turdidae

Genus

Sialia

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101254

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Azulejo Garganta Azul - Merlebleu de l'Ouest

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Turdidae - Sialia

Ecology and Life History

Migration

true - true - false - Western bluebirds may wander/withdraw from northern breeding areas during the winter. Some move to higher elevations in fall.

Non-migrant

true

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Mainly insectivorous; feeds on grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, etc. Also eats other invertebrates (spiders, earthworms, sow bugs, etc.). Feeds seasonally on berries and other fruit. Forages by flycatching and by dropping from perch to ground.

Reproduction Comments

Nesting may begin in March in some areas (usually in April-May in most areas), and may extend into July or August. Clutch size is 3-8 (typically 4-6). Most females produce or attempt two broods per year. Incubation lasts 13-14 days. Altricial nestlings are tended by both parents. Fledged young are tended by the male if the female re-nests.

Ecology Comments

In montane forests in Colorado, Winternitz found an average of 0.6 breeding bluebirds/ha (Bureau of Land Management, no date). Territories averaged 0.43 hectares (Balda 1967) and 0.56 hectares (Szaro 1976) in two Arizona studies. Gopher snakes are common nestbox predators in central coastal California (Eichholz and Koenig 1992).<br><br>The distribution and abundance of this species is limited by nest site availability. For example, in northern Arizona, density increased from 9-21 breeding pairs per 100 acres to 65 pairs per 100 acres after nest boxes were added to the habitat (Brawn and Balda 1988).

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-12-03

Global Status Last Changed

1996-12-03

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

Breeding range includes western North America from southern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta south to northern Baja California and the Central Volcanic Belt of Mexico, excluding most of the Great Basin. Breeding range in the United States extends east to Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and western Texas. Winter range includes the breeding range (typically at lower elevations) in southern British Columbia, western Oregon, California, Baja California, southwestern Nevada, and from central Utah and portions of central Colorado and New Mexico south. Western bluebirds also winter in areas outside the breeding range in California, Baja California, Arizona, New Mexico, westernmost Texas, and throughout much of northern Mexico.

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101254