- Sialia sialis
Identification
Length 18cm (7 in), Wingspan 33cm (13 in)
Male: Blue back, orange thoat, sides of neck, and chest, white belly. Black eyes and legs
Female: Similar, but drabber, with rusty color in place of orange, and gray on the nape
Juvenile: has speckled breast.
Similar Species
Similar to Western Bluebird but throat rusty, not blue. Belly and undertail whiter, not as gray.
Distribution
Eastern Bluebirds are found east of the Rockies, southern Canada to the Gulf States and south-eastern Arizona and winters south to Nicaragua.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
This is a polytypic species, consisting of six subspecies in two groups:
Eastern Group
- S. s. sialis:
- S. s. grata:
- Southern peninsula Florida
- S. s. episcopus:
Mexican Group
- S. s. fulva:
- S. s. guatemalae:
- S. s. meridionalis:
- Mountains of El Salvador to north-eastern Nicaragua
Habitat
Found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards.
Behaviour
The bright blue breeding plumage of the male, makes it easy to see when perched on a wire or open perch, prior to fluttering down to the ground to feed.
Diet
The diet includes insects such as grasshoppers, crickets or beetles.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eastern Bluebird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eastern_Bluebird
External Links