Family: Turdidae, Thrushes view all from this family

Description 6-7" (15-18 cm). A long-winged, rather short-tailed bird. Male has deep blue hood and upperparts; rusty red breast and crescent mark across upper back; white belly. Female sooty gray above, with dull blue wings and tail. Juveniles like female but grayer, with speckled underparts. Female Eastern Bluebird similar to female Western, but usually has pale rusty, not grayish, throat.

Habitat Open woodlands and pastures where old trees provide nest sites.

Nesting 4-6 pale blue eggs in a grass nest placed in a tree cavity or woodpecker hole.

Range Breeds from southern British Columbia and western Alberta south to Baja and east throughout the mountains of the West to eastern New Mexico and extreme western Texas. Winters throughout most of breeding range, although northernmost populations usually withdraw slightly southward.

Voice   Soft calls sound like phew and chuck. Song is a short, subdued cheer, cheer-lee, churr.

Discussion Females are attracted by the vivid blue of the male and by the availability of nesting holes, which are often in short supply. Once the male secures a nesting hole he entices the female with a colorful display that also serves to repel rivals. His rusty breast, like that of the American Robin, is used to signal aggression toward other males.