One look at a 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, the three bluebird species are unique to North America.
All three are medium-small songbirds that live in open habitats. Male bluebirds are more brightly colored than females, and juveniles wear a pattern of spots, reflecting their thrush ancestry. Insects make up most of their summer diet, but the birds wander in flocks in winter, eating small fruits and berries.
THE CLASSIC: EASTERN BLUEBIRD
The most widespread member of this trio is the eastern bluebird. 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.
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.
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.
EARTH TONES: WESTERN BLUEBIRD
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Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
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Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
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