Learn what an eastern bluebird looks like and sounds like, what this bird eats, and where you can find one.
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What Does an Eastern Bluebird Look Like?
stanley45/Getty ImagesMale eastern bluebird feeding a female
One look at an eastern bluebird with its vibrant colors, and it’s easy to see why the birds rank near the top of any list of best-loved birds. Classified as thrushes, a family found worldwide, bluebirds are unique to North America. Male bluebirds are more brightly colored than females, and juveniles wear a pattern of spots, reflecting their thrush ancestry.
Eastern bluebirds are easy to identify by their upright posture, color pattern and thin, straight bills. Adult males are deep blue on the head, back, wings and tail; rusty orange on the chest; and white on the lower belly. Adult females have the same pattern in muted colors.
Elizabeth W. Kearley/Getty ImagesAn eastern bluebird feeds its offspring a bunch of mealworms.
Insects make up most of their summer diet. You may attract bluebirds to your backyard feeders with live mealworms, but the best methods involve foods in nature. Bluebirds feed heavily on insects they find on or near the ground, so avoid treating your lawn with chemicals. During the colder months they birds wander in flocks and eat mainly fruits and berries. Planting native trees and shrubs that bear fruit is a wonderful way to provide food.
They also love bird baths, and if you can make the water move—even if you just add a small dripper—that’s better still.
Eastern Bluebird House
MelodyanneM/Getty ImagesA male eastern bluebird inspects a nest box
Prepare your backyard to welcome an eastern bluebird family. These birds start house hunting early, so clean out last year’s birdhouse in late winter or early spring. Make sure the bluebird box is mounted about 5 feet off the ground with a predator guard on the post to keep intruders from climbing up. Place it in an open, sunny area, preferably facing a field. The entrance hole should measure 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Courtesy Heather ParkerBaby bluebird in a nest with eggs
A male eastern bluebird attracts a female by drawing her to his nest site by fluttering his wings and carrying material back and forth through the hole. Once two bluebirds have paired up, the female builds the nest herself in a tree cavity or birdhouse out of grasses and pine needles. She lays four to six pale-blue or white eggs.
Eastern Bluebird Song
Courtesy Christine ZieglerBluebird perched on a weathervane
Listen to the eastern bluebird’s song. Their voice is a soft warble: “tru-al-ly, tru-al-ly.”
Bird songs provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Courtesy Debra MyersEastern bluebirds eat berries in winter.
The eastern bluebird is the most widespread bluebird in North America. In summer, it lives throughout southeastern Canada and in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. A separate population is found from southern Arizona through Mexico and into Central America. These songbirds live in open habitats, such as backyards and farmland.
Many eastern bluebirds migrate in fall, and the species becomes more common in central and southern states in winter. A few stay through the cold months, as far north as Canada. These wintering bluebirds move around the countryside in small flocks, gathering to feed on the fruits of poison ivy, dogwood, holly, and other vines and trees.
Range maps provided by Kaufman Field Guides, the official field guide of Birds & Blooms.
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