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Idaho State Bird

Mountain Bluebird a Small thrush

(Sialia arctcia /
Sialia currucoides)

Adopted on February 28, 1931.

The Mountain Bluebird, Sialia arctcia or Sialia currucoides, was adopted as the Idaho state bird by the state legislature on February 28, 1931.

Few birds are held in higher esteem than the bluebird. In poetry and prose, the bluebird is always a symbol of love, happiness, and renewed hope.

Three species of bluebird are found in North America:

1.) the Mountain Bluebird Sialia currucoides,

2.) the Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis, and

3.) the Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana.

Description of the Idaho State Bird: Mountain Bluebird

Characteristics

The Bluebird is about seven inches long, has an azure blue coat, and a blue vest with white under-feathers. The mother bird wears a quiet blue-gray dress and usually lays six or seven blue-white eggs. The Bluebird's nest is usually built in a hollow tree or in a crevice. The Bluebird is very neat about one's home and carries all refuse some distance from the nest.

• Length: 6 inches
• Thin bill
• Most often seen in open habitats

Adult male

• Bright blue plumage; brightest on upperparts
• Lacks any brown coloration

Female:

• Blue wings and tail-duller than male
• Remainder of plumage gray
• Eye ring

Juvenile

• Blue wings and tail-duller than male
• White eye ring
• Spotted underparts

Diet

The mountain bluebird hovers just above the ground looking for insects. When it spots one, it swoops down and snatches if up. It may also swoop down on its prey from a perch in a tree. In the winter mountain bluebirds travel in small flocks, sometimes with sparrows and western bluebirds, and forage for insects and berries.

Habitat

The mountain bluebird breeds in high mountain meadows with scattered trees and bushes and short grass. It winters at lower elevations in plains and grasslands.

Life Cycle

The males usually arrives at the breeding site first. They select a nesting site in a tree cavity, an old woodpecker hole or in a rocky crevice. When the females arrive, the males fly in and out of their sites and call out, trying to attract the interest of a female. Once a pair has mated, the female will build a nest of plant fibers and bark while the male guards her and the nesting site. The female lays four to seven eggs at a rate of one egg per day. The female incubates the eggs. The chicks hatch after about 13 days. The male brings food to the female and the chicks. The chicks fledge when they are 22-23 days old, but may stay with their parents for another two months. Sometimes a pair will have a second brood during the breeding season.

Statute

The Twenty-first Session of the State Legislature passed an act designating the mountain bluebird (Sialia arctcia) the "...state bird of Idaho" on February 28, 1931.
 

Mountain Bluebird Taxonomic Hierarchy

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