Fun Eastern Bluebird Facts For Kids

Few birds make calls sounds like a pleasant song. Therefore, these birds are usually called songbirds. But do you know, there is one songbird known as the state bird of Missouri and New York? Don't worry! The answer is an eastern bluebird. To know more exciting facts about the eastern bluebird, continue reading our article.

The eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) is a small North American migratory bird that belongs to the Passeriformes order and the Turdidae family. These bluebirds are usually found in habitats with tall trees like dead pine or oak trees.

The eastern bluebirds have a beautiful plumage which makes them attractive. In 1976, a book and a National Geographic article written by Dr. Lawrence Zeleny made these bluebirds famous.

He founded the North American Bluebird Society in 1978 and continued to support the conservation work carried out by different bluebird protection associations and societies. Under this conservation work, he promoted the conservation of bluebirds by providing nest boxes and managing the bluebird trails.

To know more facts on the eastern bluebird, scroll down through this article, and if you are a bird lover, also check out blue jay facts and northern bobwhite facts on Kidadl!

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Eastern Bluebird Interesting Facts

What type of animal is an eastern bluebird?

An eastern bluebird is a bird that belongs to the Turdidae family.

What class of animal does an eastern bluebird belong to?

The eastern bluebirds belong to the Aves class and Passeriformes order.

How many eastern bluebirds are there in the world?

The exact global population of eastern bluebirds is unknown. However, as per the data from few research articles, the population of eastern bluebirds is mentioned to be nearly 22 million between 1966 and 2015.

Where does an eastern bluebird live?

The eastern bluebirds are primarily found in orchards, farmlands, and open woodland habitats. As per the taxonomy, the type location of eastern bluebirds is mentioned to be South Carolina.

The geographical distribution of the eastern bluebirds to the east of the Rocky Mountains in North America, southern Canada, the Gulf states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida), southeastern Arizona, and Nicaragua.

What is an eastern bluebird's habitat?

The eastern bluebird's preferred habitats are open woods, burned pine savannas, beaver ponds, and forest openings. They are also common in agricultural fields, pastures, suburban parks, golf courses, and backyards.

During the breeding season, these birds prefer to live in open country around trees with thin ground cover. They can also adapt well to artificial nest cavities like nest boxes.

Who do eastern bluebirds live with?

The eastern bluebirds are social birds, and they generally gather in flocks of over a hundred individuals. Sometimes, they move along with other bird species.

How long does an eastern bluebird live?

The eastern bluebird's lifespan is up to 10 years in the wild and in captivity.

How do they reproduce?

Both male and female eastern bluebird reaches sexual maturity at the age of one year, and mating usually happens in the spring and summer. The eastern bluebirds construct nests before breeding.

The male eastern bluebird is less involved in nest building; in contrast, the female eastern bluebird takes the responsibility and carries the material from the ground to the nest site. The females usually take around ten days to build a nest.

The nests are constructed in abandoned woodpecker holes in dead pine or oak trees and tree cavities that are usually several feet above the ground. These nests are small, cup-like structures loosely woven with grasses and pine needles lined with grass, stems, feathers, and hairs.

The female birds lay three to seven light-blue or, rarely, white eggs in these nests and incubate the eggs.

After a hatching period of 13 to 16 days, the grayish young birds are born with many blue patches on their breasts. The young bluebird turns blue, and the patches on its breast disappear as it matures.

Usually, the females take care of the young birds for seven days after hatching and feed them only insects. The young birds leave the nest 15 to 20 days after hatching.

What is their conservation status?

As per the IUCN Red List classification, the conservation status of these species is mentioned as Least Concern.

At the country level, it is classified as not endangered in the United States or Canada, threatened in Bermuda, and increasing in North America. According to the reports submitted by the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the Eastern bluebird population has increased between 1966 and 2015 due to various measures taken by the government.

However, due to the decline in bluebirds' population resulting from severe winters, they were once declared rare from 1976 to 1978.

Eastern Bluebird Fun Facts

What do eastern bluebirds look like?

The eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) is a small bird with a short and thin bill and short legs. The male eastern bluebird's wings and tail feathers appear blue with black or gray tips.

Its head appears in a lighter shade of blue, fades into a brownish-red at the throat and breast area. However, its breast and belly appear white with blue tips on some of the long feathers.

The female birds exhibit the same coloration pattern but look duller than males and have more gray. The eastern bluebird is also referred to as blue robin because of its close resemblance to the European robin.

How cute are they?

The eastern bluebird is a colorful bird and this makes it look cute. If you are a bird lover, you should have an eastern bluebird to add beauty and color to your backyard.

How do they communicate?

The eastern bluebirds primarily communicate through sounds and calls. One of the unique characteristics of these birds, apart from their beautiful coloration pattern, is its song.

The most common eastern bluebird song is a 'chir-wi'. The male bluebird usually sings a song to attract the female bluebirds for mating.

Unlike a meadowlark, the male bluebird sings the song without opening its bill. The eastern bluebirds are territorial birds.

The male bluebird makes a song-like warning calls in the situation of threat by predators like European starlings, American kestrels, black rat snakes, black racers, fire ants, and domestic cats. In the absence of male bluebirds, the female bluebirds make the warning calls to attract the protective males back to their territories.

How big is an eastern bluebird?

An eastern bluebird species grow in the range of 6.3-8.3 in (16-21 cm) long, which is about two-thirds the size of an American robin, and its wings expand to a length of 9.8-12.6 in (25-32 cm).

How fast can an eastern bluebird fly?

The flying speed of the eastern bluebirds is nearly 17 mph (27.3 kph), and their flight height is generally low in open areas, about 33-39 ft (10 to 12 m) off the ground.

How much does an eastern bluebird weigh?

The eastern bluebird weighs around 0.95-1.2 oz (27-34 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

Sex-specific names are not available for this bird species.

What would you call a baby eastern bluebird?

The baby of an eastern bluebird is referred to as a young or juvenile eastern bluebird. It is sometimes referred to as hatchling.

What do they eat?

The eastern bluebirds primarily prey on insects and other invertebrates. It prefers grasshoppers, beetles, crickets, katydids, spiders, earthworms, sowbugs, millipedes, centipedes, snails, fruits, and berries.

Occasionally, they eat lizards and tree frogs. The eastern bluebird often feeds by perching on branches of tall trees or fence posts and rapidly moves down to grab an insect on the ground or to catch an insect in midair.

Are they poisonous?

The eastern bluebirds do not carry any venom. So, these species can be termed as non-poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

The eastern bluebird is one of the beautiful birds which makes everyone feel like to have it as a pet in their backyard. These birds do not easily get attracted to the regular bird feeders. However, to attract these bluebirds to your backyard, you need to tempt them with insects like live mealworms and also install nest boxes.

Did you know...

Usually, the bluebirds can forage in the open and sleep in orchards, pastures, parks, meadows, and sometimes in golf courses at night.

What do eastern bluebirds sound like?

The eastern bluebird's call sounds like a melodious song. The eastern bluebird song is usually a low-pitched song with multiple phrases. Usually, the eastern bluebird calls last less than a second, with the males' calls lasting longer than the females' calls.

The eastern bluebird symbol

The eastern bluebirds symbolize love and hope. They are birds that symbolize the essence of life and beauty.

Dreaming of bluebirds is often considered as a sign of good luck, happiness, joy, and prosperity. As these birds are commonly seen in Missouri and New York and symbolize happiness, the Missouri Legislature had officially declared the eastern bluebird as the state bird of Missouri in 1927.

Later, it was adopted as the state bird of New York in 1971.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our hummingbird fun facts and house wren facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable eastern bluebird coloring pages.