Bluebird Totally Explained

Everything about Sialia totally explained

The bluebirds are medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family Turdidae.
These are one of the relatively few thrush genera to be restricted to the Americas. As the name implies, these are attractive birds with blue, or blue and red, plumage. Female birds are less brightly colored than males, although color patterns are similar and there's no noticeable difference in size between sexes. Species:

Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis

Western Bluebird, Sialia mexicana

Mountain Bluebird, Sialia currucoides

Behavior

Bluebirds are territorial, prefer open grassland with scattered trees and are cavity nesters (similar to many species of woodpecker). Bluebirds can typically produce between two to four broods during the spring and summer (March through August in the Northeastern United States). Males identify potential nest sites and try to attract prospective female mates to those nesting sites with special behaviors that include singing and flapping wings, and then placing some material in a nesting box or cavity. If the female accepts the male and the nesting site, she alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs.
   Predators of young bluebirds in the nests can include snakes, cats and raccoons. Non-native bird species competing with bluebirds for nesting locations include the Common Starling and House Sparrow, both of which kill adult bluebirds sitting on their nests along with the young and eggs in order to claim the nesting site.
   Bluebirds are attracted to platform bird feeders, filled with grubs of the darkling beetle, sold by many online bird product wholesalers as mealworms. Bluebirds will also eat raisins soaked in water. In addition, in winter bluebirds use backyard heated birdbaths.
   By the 1970s, bluebird numbers had declined by estimates ranging to 70% due to unsuccessful competition with house sparrows and starlings, both introduced species, for nesting cavities, coupled with a decline in habitat. However, in late 2005 Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology reported bluebird sightings at many locations in the southern U.S. as part of its yearly Backyard Bird Count, a strong indication of the bluebird's return to the region. This upsurge can largely be attributed to a movement of volunteers establishing and maintaining bluebird trails.

In Song

Bluebirds are featured in several songs. Al Jolson sang of Bluebirds in "April Showers". A "Sister Bluebird" is mentioned in the Yes song "Starship Trooper". Vera Lynn famously proclaimed that there would be "Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs Of Dover" in her popular war-time melody. But perhaps the artist most associated with the bluebird is Judy Garland. Her immortal "Over the Rainbow" from the equally legendary The Wizard of Oz, proclaimed her belief that "If happy little bluebirds fly above the rainbow, why oh why can't I". A few years later in the movie Ziegfeld Girl she admitted in the song "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" that she was "waiting to find a little bluebird in vain." Indeed one of the final songs Garland sang in a movie was "Hello Bluebird" from I Could Go On Singing. Also in the 1934 famous Christmas Song "Winter Wonderland" (eg performed by the Andrew Sisters) the bluebird at least appears as "being gone", suggesting that this bird is indeed a migrating one. The song "How Long", recorded by The Eagles on their Long Road Out of Eden album, refers to a "Bluebird with its heart removed". The song "Ramble On" by Led Zeppelin, recorded on their Led Zeppelin II album, ends with the words "I can't find my bluebird. I'd listen to my bluebird sing, but I can't find my bluebird". Bluebirds are also mentioned in two Disney songs from different features. In the film Alice in Wonderland Alice makes mention of bluebirds while singing "In a World of My Own" when she sings "everyone would have a dozen blue birds." The other reference made appears in Disney's Song of the South in the line "Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder" from the song titled "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." The the 1977 Disney film The Rescuers, the character Rufus the Cat comforts an orphan named Penny by reciting a poem entitled "Faith Is A Bluebird."

Footnotes

Further Information

Get more info on 'Sialia'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://bluebird.totallyexplained.com">Bluebird Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.