"The bluebird is
well named, for he wears a coat of the purest,
richest, and most gorgeous blue on back, wings, and
tail; no North American bird better deserves the
name, for no other flashes before our admiring eyes
so much brilliant blue. It has been said that he
carries on his back the blue of heaven and the rich
brown of the freshly turned earth on his breast;
but who has ever seen the bluest sky as blue as the
bluebird's back?" (Quote describing the eastern
bluebird from the Arthur Cleveland Bent series on
the Birds of North America.)
The eastern
bluebird is the only one of the 3 bluebird species
to be regularly found in Kentucky. Bluebirds are
usually found in fields, open woodlands, parks or
along golf courses or other open areas, including
suburban locations with open spaces and scattered
tress. The
eastern bluebird has a musical flight call that
often reveals its presence.
Male eastern bluebird
Red = summer range,
Green = year-around, Blue = winter
range
In
The Backyard:
Bluebirds can be attracted to peanut butter mixes,
suet and fruit. Raisins soaked in hot water to
soften them are well received. The bluebird's
special favorite is mealworms.
Nesting:
The eastern bluebird begins nesting in Kentucky in
early spring. Two and sometimes three broods may be
produced. Watch for house sparrows trying to use
the next box and immediately remove any house
sparrow nesting material.
Here's a colorful
quote on bluebird courtship, also from the Bent
series.
The love-making of
the bluebird is as beautiful as the bird itself,
and normally as gentle, unless interrupted by some
jealous rival who would steal his bride; then
gentleness gives place to active combat. The male
usually arrives a few days ahead of the female,
selects what he considers to be a suitable summer
home, and carols his sweetest, most seductive notes
day after day until she appears in answer to his
call. Then he flutters before her, displaying the
charms of his widespread tail and half-opened
wings, warbling in delicious, soft undertones, to
win her favor. At first she seems indifferent to
the gorgeous blue of his overcoat or the warm
reddish brown of his ardent breast. He perches
beside her, caresses her in the tenderest and most
loving fashion, and sings to her in most endearing
terms. Perhaps he may bring to her some delicious
morsel and place it gently in her mouth, as an
offering. Probably he has already chosen the cavity
or box that he thinks will suit her; lie leads her
to it, looks in, and tries to persuade her to
accept it, but much persistent wooing is needed
before the nuptial pact is sealed. In the meantime
a rival male may appear upon the scene and a rough
and tumble fight ensue, the males clinching in the
air and falling to the ground together, a confusing
mass of blue and brown feathers struggling in the
grass; but no very serious harm seems to have been
done, as they separate and use their most
persuasive charms to attract the object of their
rivalry. At times, a second female may join in the
contest and start a lively fight with her rival for
the mate she wants. John Burroughs (1894) gives an
interesting account of such a four-cornered
contest, too long to be quoted here, in which the
female of an apparently mated pair seemed to waver
in her affections between her supposed mate and the
new rival; and the latter seemed to have left the
female of his first choice to win the bride of the
other. However, after a much prolonged contest, the
matter seemed to be satisfactorily settled, for two
pairs of bluebirds finally flew off in different
directions and started up housekeeping without
further trouble.
Visit the main
Birdzilla.com
Web site
for information nest boxes and management, bluebird
trails, range maps and much more on these popular
birds. The Sam's
Guide to Bluebirds
CD-ROM and DVD provides complete information on
bluebird trails, boxes, care and feeding and a
whole lot more.
