Birds of the Table Rocks

Western Bluebird

Western Bluebird

Sialia mexicana

If I am a male bluebird, I have a deep blue hood and upper parts, rusty red breast and crescent mark across my upper back and a white belly. If I am a female bluebird, I am sooty gray above, with dull blue wings and tail. My call sounds like phew and chuck and my song is a short cheer, cheer-lee, churr.

I live in the Oak Savanna community of Table Rocks. I use woodpecker cavities for nest sites.

As a female, I am attracted to 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 me 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. I can lay four to six pale blue eggs in a grass nest placed in a tree cavity or woodpecker hole.

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