Sunday, March 2, 2008

Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird, Horicon Marsh, 4/22/06 The above picture is of an Eastern Bluebird. The bluebird is one of the best loved songbirds of North America. The bluebird is approximately 7-8 inches long from the tip of it's beak to the end of it's tail. Bluebirds are attractive birds with blue, or blue and red, plumage. The female of the species is paler in color. Bluebirds migrate to the south in the winter and migrate back north in early spring. The bluebird usually builds it's nest in farmyards, gardens, and open grassland areas with scattered trees. But bluebirds also like to leave near human dwellings. The male bluebird attracts the female by singing and flapping it's wings. The female bluebird is the nest builder while the male at times will bring her insects while she is sitting on the eggs or caring for the young. The female usually lays approximately three to six pale blue or white eggs. The bluebird lives on insects and wild berries. The bluebird belongs to the Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Aves, Order: Passeriformes, Family: Turdidae, Genus: Sialia. To hear the bluebird singing go to:http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Eastern_Bluebird.html#sound and click on listen to songs of this species.