Western Bluebird

Sialia mexicana

Deeper blue, redder chest, mountain manners. Cavity-nests in old woodpecker holes.

Population: ~7.1 million (global breeding population, Partners in Flight 2019/2020 estimate)
Habitat: Open woodlands and forest edges (evergreen and deciduous, especially ponderosa pine), disturbed/burned or logged areas with snags for cavity nesting, farmland, orchards, and semi-open terrain; winters also in pinyon-juniper woods, mesquite, oak, and streamside woodland
Fun fact: Western Bluebirds cannot excavate their own nest cavities and rely entirely on old woodpecker holes or nest boxes, and genetic studies show about 45% of nests contain young sired by a male other than the resident mate.
Range: Western North America: year-round in California, the southern Rockies, Arizona, New Mexico, and central Mexico (south to Oaxaca and Veracruz); breeding range extends north into the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Montana, with northern populations migratory and southern populations largely resident
Diet: Primarily insects (grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles) taken by dropping to the ground from a perch or hawking in flight; shifts to fruits and berries (elderberry, grapes, juniper berries) in colder months
Size: 0.17 m
Wingspan: 0.315 m
Lifespan: 8 years

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