Western Bluebird

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About six inches long. Rich azure blue head, neck, back, rump and tail. Reddish brown breast, flanks and a purplish chestnut patch on the upper back. Grayish blue belly. Black bill and eyes.

Western bluebirds inhabit forest edges, groves and small tree stands, open country, farms and towns in western North America in the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia, all along the Pacific Coast and the arid Southwest, to southern Mexico, overlapping the mountain bluebird range.

Western bluebirds forage for beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars and various insect larvae. They usually watch from a perch and capture flying insects and insects on the ground. They also eat berries and other odd fruit from plants, shrubs and trees.

Feed bluebirds meal worms, wild berries and fruits occasionally so as not to make them dependent. Foraging is important for balanced diets.

Attract bluebirds by planting any of mountain ash, bittersweet, blackberry, red cedar, choke cherry, can berry bush, Virginia creeper, dogwood, elderberry, euonymus, hackberry, holly, huckleberry, juneberry, juniper, mulberry, partridgeberry, pokeberry, raspberry, smilax, false spikenard, strawberry, sumac and viburnum.

Western bluebirds build nests of sticks, grass, rubbish and feathers in natural or abandoned tree and post hollows, abandoned mud nests of cliff swallows, between tree trunks and their loose bark, barns, cabins and odd building nooks and crannies and in birdhouses.

Females lay four to six bluish white eggs which hatch after about two weeks incubation and young leave the nest in about another three weeks.

Mount western bluebird houses 3′ – 6′ high on posts in woodland clearings, shelter belt edges bordering fields, among scattered trees, or pasture fence lines about 300 yards from other western bluebird houses. Avoid constant shade, but also avoid direct sunlight through the entrance if possible.

Tree swallow houses in the vicinity of western bluebird houses will provide friendly protection from sparrows and starlings. Mount tree swallow houses between four and twenty feet high with partial sun and shade on tree trunks or posts, or hang from tree branches or under eaves.

On fence lines mount houses on the sides of posts facing the next post. The recessed position helps avoid cattle or other large animals that like to rub against them.

Monitor the boxes for unwanted squatters. Deter predators with steel posts or sheet metal wrapped around wood posts.

Remove everything and clean the box after the brood rearing season is past.

Flycatchers, chickadees, titmice, wrens, nuthatches and woodpeckers may also use these boxes.

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Western Bluebird

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Reddish brown breast, flanks and a purplish chestnut patch on the upper back. Grayish blue belly. Black bill and eyes.

Western bluebirds inhabit forest edges, groves and small tree stands, open country, farms and towns in western North America in the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia, all along the Pacific Coast and the arid Southwest, to southern Mexico, overlapping the mountain bluebird range.

Western bluebirds forage for beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars and various insect larvae. They usually watch from a perch and capture flying insects and insects on the ground. They also eat berries and other odd fruit from plants, shrubs and trees.

Feed bluebirds meal worms, wild berries and fruits occasionally so as not to make them dependent. Foraging is important for balanced diets.

Attract bluebirds by planting any of mountain ash, bittersweet, blackberry, red cedar, choke cherry, can berry bush, Virginia creeper, dogwood, elderberry, euonymus, hackberry, holly, huckleberry, juneberry, juniper, mulberry, partridgeberry, pokeberry, raspberry, smilax, false spikenard, strawberry, sumac and viburnum.

Western bluebirds build nests of sticks, grass, rubbish and feathers in natural or abandoned tree and post hollows, abandoned mud nests of cliff swallows, between tree trunks and their loose bark, barns, cabins and odd building nooks and crannies and in birdhouses.

Females lay four to six bluish white eggs which hatch after about two weeks incubation and young leave the nest in about another three weeks.

Avoid constant shade, but also avoid direct sunlight through the entrance hole if possible. Monitor the boxes for unwanted squatters. Deter predators with steel posts or sheet metal wrapped around wood posts.

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