Eastern Bluebird
(Sialia sialis)

The natural nesting place of Eastern Bluebirds is in tree cavities, often those that have been excavated by woodpeckers. Modern forestry practices that favor the removal of dead and hollow trees and tree limbs, and the removal of aged and diseased orchard trees, have contributed to population declines. Competition for nest sites from introduced European Starlings and House Sparrows, particularly where suitable holes are scarce, has worsened the situation. Currently, Eastern Bluebird populations are increasing in some regions as the number of natural nesting sites has been augmented with artificial nesting boxes. Eastern Bluebirds are semicolonial nesters and tend to nest where other bluebirds have already settled.

Eastern Bluebirds typically feed by dropping down from low perches to capture grasshoppers and other insects and arthropods on the ground. They have good eyesight and can locate small food items from more than 100 feet away. In late summer and winter, small fleshy fruits are an important part of their diet, but over the course of the year, about 70 percent of the diet is invertebrates. Good bluebird habitat includes open grassy areas with little or no understory, perches for "drop-foraging," and suitable nest sites close by. Such habitat is found in orchards, clear-cuts, burned-over areas, and at the edges of upland woodlands and swamps.

Description: Eastern Bluebirds are small thrushes (approximately seven inches in length) with short black bills and chestnut breasts, throats, and flanks. The chestnut of the throat extends to the sides of the neck. The belly and undertail coverts are white. Males are deep blue on the head, nape, back, wings, and tail. Females have gray-blue upperparts with a gray-brown wash on the back. There is a thin, white eye ring. The wings and tail are washed with dull blue. The female’s orange underparts are paler than those of the male.