Bluebird

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Bluebirds
Eastern Bluebird.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Subfamily: Myadestinae
Genus: Sialia
Swainson, 1827
Type species
Motacilla sialis
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

The bluebirds are a North American [1] group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus Sialia of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.

Contents

Bluebirds lay an average of 4 to 6 eggs per clutch. They will usually brood two or three times in a year. Bluebirds nest from March all the way through August.

Bluebirds have blue, or blue and rose beige, plumage. Female birds are less brightly colored than males, although color patterns are similar and there is no noticeable difference in size.

Taxonomy and species

The genus Sialia was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827 with the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) as the type species. [2] [3] A molecular phylogenetic study using mitochondrial sequences published in 2005 found that Sialia, Myadestes (solitaires) and Neocossyphus (African ant-thrushes) formed a basal clade in the family Turdidae. Within Sialia the mountain bluebird was sister to the eastern bluebird. [4]

The genus contains three species: [5]

Genus Sialia Swainson, 1827 – three species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Mountain bluebird

Mountain Bluebird.jpg
Male
Mountain Bluebird 8774vv.jpg
Female

Sialia currucoides
(Bechstein, 1798)
Western North America
Sialia currucoides distribution.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Western bluebird

Western Bluebird - Rancho San Antonio Preserve - Northern California, USA.jpg
Male
060319 western bluebird female simon wray odfw (50092192482).jpg
Female

Sialia mexicana
(Swainson, 1832)

Six subspecies
California, the southern Rocky Mountains, Arizona, and New Mexico in the United States, and as far south as the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz in Mexico
Sialia mexicana distribution.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Eastern bluebird

Eastern Bluebird - Texas H8O6505 (17048714229).jpg
Male
Sialia sialis -Michigan, USA -female-8.jpg
Female

Sialia sialis
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Seven subspecies
East-central southern Canada to the US Gulf states, and southeastern Arizona to Nicaragua
Sialia sialis distribution.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Behavior

Mountain bluebird Mountainbluebird30.JPG
Mountain bluebird

Bluebirds are territorial and prefer open grassland with scattered trees. This is similar to the behavior of many species of woodpeckers. Bluebirds can typically produce between two and four broods during the spring and summer (March through August in the Northeastern United States). Males identify potential nest sites and try to attract prospective female mates to those nesting sites with special behaviors that include singing and flapping wings, and then placing some material in a nesting box or cavity. If the female accepts the male and the nesting site, she alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs.

Predators of young bluebirds in the nests can include snakes, cats, and raccoons. Bird species competing with bluebirds for nesting locations include the common starling, American crow, and house sparrow, which take over the nesting sites of bluebirds, killing young, smashing eggs, and probably killing adult bluebirds. [6]

Male western bluebird Western bluebird (male).jpg
Male western bluebird

Bluebirds are attracted to platform bird feeders, filled with grubs of the darkling beetle, sold by many online bird product wholesalers as mealworms. Bluebirds will also eat raisins soaked in water. In addition, in winter bluebirds use backyard heated birdbaths.

By the 1970s, bluebird numbers had declined by estimates ranging to 70% due to unsuccessful competition with house sparrows and starlings, both introduced species, for nesting cavities, coupled with a decline in habitat. In late 2005, Cornell University's Laboratory of Ornithology reported bluebird sightings across the southern U.S. as part of its yearly Backyard Bird Count, a strong indication of the bluebird's return to the region. This upsurge can be attributed largely to a movement of volunteers establishing and maintaining bluebird trails.

In the garden

Bluebirds' consumption of insects make them popular with gardeners. [7]

In culture

Iroquois

In traditional Iroquois cosmology, the call of the bluebird is believed to ward off the icy power of Sawiskera, also referred to as Flint, the spirit of the winter. Its call caused Sawiskera to flee in fear and the ice to recede. [8]

As a symbol in songs

"Bluebird of Happiness" is a song composed in 1934 by Sandor Harmati, with words by Edward Heyman and additional lyrics by Harry Parr-Davies.

"(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" was composed in 1941 by Walter Kent to lyrics by Nat Burton looking forward to a time when World War II would be over. Burton was unaware that the bluebird was not indigenous to England. Vera Lynn popularised the song with her performances to the troops.

"Bluebird" is a song written by Stephen Stills and recorded by the rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1967. It contains the lyrics "There she sits aloft at perch. Strangest color blue."

See also

Related Research Articles

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The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycatchers. Thrushes are small to medium-sized ground living birds that feed on insects, other invertebrates, and fruit. Some unrelated species around the world have been named after thrushes due to their similarity to birds in this family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swallow</span> Family of songbirds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimid</span> Family of birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solitaire (bird)</span> Family of birds


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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bufflehead</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern bluebird</span> Species of bird

The eastern bluebird is a small North American migratory thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western bluebird</span> Species of bird

The western bluebird is a small North American thrush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain bluebird</span> Species of bird

The mountain bluebird is a migratory small thrush that is found in mountainous districts of western North America. It has a light underbelly and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter underneath. Adult females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast, grey crown, throat and back. In fresh fall plumage, the female's throat and breast are tinged with red-orange which is brownish near the flank, contrasting with white tail underparts. Their call is a thin 'few' while their song is a warbled high 'chur chur'. The mountain bluebird is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada. This bird is an omnivore and it can live 6 to 10 years in the wild. It eats spiders, grasshoppers, flies and other insects, and small fruits. The mountain bluebird is a relative of the eastern and western bluebirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-headed woodpecker</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded warbler</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grasshopper sparrow</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern house wren</span> Species of bird

The northern house wren is a very small passerine in the wren family Troglodytidae. It found in southern Canada, the USA and Mexico. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range. It formerly included many subspecies resident in South America and in the Caribbean that are now considered as separate species. The name troglodytes means "hole dweller", and is a reference to the bird's tendency to disappear into crevices when hunting insects or to seek shelter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet-green swallow</span> Species of bird

The violet-green swallow is a small North American passerine bird in the swallow family. These aerial insectivores are distributed along the west coast from Alaska to Mexico, extending as far east as Montana and Texas. With an appearance very similar to the tree swallow, these individuals can be identified by the white rump side-patches that appear to separate their green back and purple tail. Violet-green swallows are secondary cavity nesters, found in a number of habitats including deciduous and coniferous forest. In addition to nesting in tree holes within these habitats, they are also widely observed nesting in the cracks of large cliffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brahminy starling</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-headed canary-flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The grey-headed canary-flycatcher, sometimes known as the grey-headed flycatcher, is a species of small flycatcher-like bird found in tropical Asia. It has a square crest, a grey hood and yellow underparts. They are found mainly in forested habitats where they often join other birds in mixed-species foraging flocks. Pairs are often seen as they forage for insects by making flycatcher-like sallies and calling aloud. Several subspecies are recognized within their wide distribution range. In the past the genus Culicicapa was considered to be an Old World flycatcher but studies have found them to belong to a new family designated as the Stenostiridae or fairy flycatchers that include the African genera Stenostira and Elminia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-faced grassquit</span> Species of bird

The yellow-faced grassquit is a passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae and is the only member of the genus Tiaris. It is native to the Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drakensberg siskin</span> Species of bird

The Drakensberg siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the eastern Cape Province Transkei and western Natal in South Africa, and in Lesotho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple martin</span> Species of bird

The purple martin is a passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is the largest swallow in North America. Despite its name, the purple martin is not truly purple. The dark blackish-blue feathers have an iridescent sheen caused by the diffraction of incident light giving them a bright blue to navy blue or deep purple appearance. In some light, they may even appear green in color.

References

  1. "What About the Other Bluebirds?". National Wildlife Federation . 1993-02-01.
  2. Swainson, William (1827). "A synopsis of the birds discovered in Mexico by W. Bullock, F.L.S. and Mr. William Bullock jun". Philosophical Magazine. New Series. 1: 364–369 [369]. doi:10.1080/14786442708674330.
  3. Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 83.
  4. Klicka, J.; Voelker, G.; Spellman, G.M. (2005). "A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the "true thrushes" (Aves: Turdinae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 34 (3): 486–500. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.001. PMID   15683924.
  5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Thrushes". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  6. Gowaty, Patricia Adair (1984). "House Sparrows Kill Eastern Bluebirds" (PDF). Journal of Field Ornithology. 55 (3): 378–380. JSTOR   4512922.
  7. "The Self-Sufficient Gardener Episode 109 Bluebirds". Theselfsufficientgardener.com. 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  8. Canadian Climate of Mind: Passages from Fur to Energy and Beyond By Timothy B. Leduc p.192-195