Bluebirds are very beneficial to the ecosystem because they eat big quantities of insects like cutworms and grasshoppers that destroy crops and gardens. The truth is that their diet consists of 60 to 80 percent insects. The western bluebird is mainly an insectivore.
Their diet is said to be 92 percent animal and 8 percent vegetable. The common insects they feed on include earthworms, snails, beetles, ants, wasps, flies, crickets, spiders, grubs and caterpillars. Vegetables include small fruits like currants, grapes, elderberries and mistletoe. Bluebirds eat the insects they see while perching on fence posts or small trees by swooping down on them on the grassy ground. Western bluebirds can be often seen perching individually on fence wires, posts, snags or tree branches in open meadows and catching insects by pouncing them on the ground.
The Eastern Bluebird is more migratory in its northern range and a non-migratory, year-round resident in its southern range. The Mountain Bluebird is the most migratory of the bluebirds but is non-migratory in a small part of its range in parts of the West and Southwest. Nests in existing cavities. Will use a nest box. Download PDF. Male and female are very similar with the female being paler.
Plumage is duller in winter. Juveniles are paler with more spotting. Maps provided by Birds of North America Online. Maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Search for:. Bird Feeders. Bird Food. Bird Feeding Solutions. Connect with Us. Home Bluebirds. Our Products Bird Feeders. How Do You Attract Them? Store Locator. Often forages by perching fairly low and flying down to ground to capture insects, sometimes hovering briefly before pouncing.
May catch insects in mid-air, or may seek them among foliage. Perches or flutters among branches to take berries. Pale blue, unmarked; occasionally white.
Incubation is by female, incubation period not well known. Young: Both parents bring food to nestlings. Age of young at first flight is not well known, probably between 2 and 3 weeks.
Probably 2 broods per year. Both parents bring food to nestlings. Mostly insects and berries. Insects make up majority of diet, especially in summer; feeds heavily on grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, ants, also many other insects. Berries and small fruits are important in diet especially in winter; among those eaten are fruits of mistletoe, juniper, and elderberry.
Male typically arrives on breeding grounds before female, and defends nesting territory by singing. In courtship, male may flutter in front of female with wings and tail partly spread, while singing. Male may also feed female. Nest site is in cavity, such as natural hollow in oak or pine, old woodpecker hole, birdhouse, sometimes hole in building.
Usually nests fairly low, rarely up to 50' above the ground. Nest in cavity is probably built mostly by female, but male may take part. Nest is a rather loose cup of twigs and weeds, lined with finer grass. Learn more about these drawings. Permanent resident in some southern areas; migratory in the north, arriving rather early in spring and lingering late in fall.
Winter range varies from year to year depending on food supplies. Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases.
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