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Eastern Bluebird

Sialia sialis

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42.3273, -72.4967

Field Notes

Notes:

Juvenile and kind of worn looking adult

Reference Links:

Eastern Bluebird, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (7)
ScottRasmussen
That's very interesting. There seems to be a lot of intriguing speculation, but no real good ideas as to why they would do that. It's also interesting to see that the male does so much work in rearing the young.
HemaShah
http://www.georgiawildlife.com/node/1295 This article states that males feed female off-springs twice as much as males.
ScottRasmussen
Nice, thanks. Around here they move into the woods for the winter, mixing with robins that also decide to stick around and it's not uncommon to come upon several dozen birds roosting in the middle of the forest.
HemaShah
"In late August and September, Bluebirds molt." http://www.norcrossws.org/html/bluebirds.htm This link on the blue bird mentions the fact that blue birds do molt.
KarenL
Some of our bluebirds are looking a little tatty at the moment but I think it is just because they are in the middle of molting - perhaps that is all that's up here?
ScottRasmussen
I figured that it looked ragged from working to feed its large and hungry youngster. I don't know if bluebirds molt into a fall plumage, but the year round resident birds get very drab over the winter, so it might just be shedding its breeding plumage.
HemaShah
These are very beautiful birds. Wonder why the adult looks so stressed out? Migratory birds usually get very stressed out. But that is not so in this case. Wildlife has it tough. Mites ,weather conditions being a few reasons. Maybe the condition of this bird is just temporary.

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Mission
Birds of the World
Photographed
PublishedSeptember 17, 2011

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