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Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoidesOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Thrushes (Turdidae)

Mountain Bluebird Breeding Male Portrait
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General

Mountain Bluebird: Small thrush with sky-blue back, head, and wings. Throat and breast are paler blue, and belly and undertail coverts are white. Female is gray overall with blue wings, rump and tail, and has faint eye-ring. Juvenile resembles female but has spotted underparts.

Range and Habitat

Mountain Bluebird: Breeds in open habitats in southern Alaska, Mackenzie, and Manitoba south to western Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. Spends winters in British Columbia and Montana south through western U.S. Inhabits high mountain meadows with scattered trees and bushes; in winter, descends to lower elevations in plains and grasslands.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tru-lee", "phew"

Interesting Facts

 Mountain Bluebirds can be seen hovering in the air, in a hawk-like manner, a meter or more above the ground searching for a food item.

 They are partial to insects—studies indicate that up to 92% of their diet is composed of animal matter.

 It is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada.

 A group of thrushes are collectively known as a "hermitage" and a "mutation" of thrushes.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Mountain Bluebird
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Thrush (Turdidae)_blue
Species Sialia currucoides
Length7 - 7.25 Inches
Wingspan11.875 Inches

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird: Small thrush with brilliant blue back, head, and wings. Throat and breast are paler blue, and belly and undertail coverts are white. Hovers more than other bluebirds and drops on prey from above, also catches insects in flight. Eats mostly insects in the summer.

● Song: "tru-lee", "phew"

● Foraging & Feeding: Mountain Bluebird: Eats insects, fruits, and berries. Forages from a perch, dropping to catch prey on the ground; also hovers above prey before capture.

● Breeding & nesting: Mountain Bluebird: Five to six pale blue to blue white eggs are laid in a nest made of grass and plant fibers and built in a natural cavity or box. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Mountain Bluebird: Eastern and Western bluebirds have red on underparts; females lack gray throats and bellies. Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak have thicker, conical bills.

Flight Pattern

Slow flight with shallow wing beats.
Mountain Bluebird Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Mountain Bluebird: Breeds in open habitats in southern Alaska, Mackenzie, and Manitoba south to western Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. Spends winters in British Columbia and Montana south through western U.S. Inhabits high mountain meadows with scattered trees and bushes; in winter, descends to lower elevations in plains and grasslands.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common, Declining
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.1 Ounces