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New York State Bird

Eastern Bluebird

(Sialia sialis)

Adopted in 1970.

The Bluebird, Sialia sialis, was adopted as the official state bird in 1970.

The American robin was initially selected as the state bird of New York, but a campaign by Mrs. Charles Cyrus Marshall, President of the New York Federated Women's Clubs, in 1927 and 1928 determined that the bluebird was more popular.

It took over forty years however to adopt the bluebird as the official state bird of New York. The legislation adopting the bluebird as the official state bird was signed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller on May 18, 1970.

A Rumor in the Air: The Story of the New York State Bird

by Eugene Kinkead
 

New York, the aggressive forerunner in so many ways, was the last state in the Union to acquire an official state bird, and it was not until May 18, 1970, that Governor Rockefeller signed a bill elevating the eastern blurbird (Sialia sialis) to a select group of twenty-nine species representing the fourty-nine states. Seven eastern states share the cardinal, the bird most heavily favored; six western states have the meadowlark; and five in dixie claim the mockingbird. New York shares the eastern bluebird with Missouri. A second bluebird, the mountain bluebird, is the choice of another pair of states - Idaho and Nevada. There is no confusing the two birds, however. The eastern bluebird is a lowland dweller with a reddish breast and a cheery warble, while the mountain bluebird stays at altitudes greater than a mile and is, except at dawn, a remarkably silent creature. Read More

Description of the Eastern Bluebird

The bluebirds are medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family Turdidae.
 

As the name implies, these are attractive birds with blue, or blue and red, plumage. Female birds are less brightly colored than males, although color patterns are similar and there is no noticeable difference in size between sexes.

Identification

• Length: 5.5 inches
• Thin bill
• Most often seen in open habitats: agricultural areas, wood edges, et al
• Southwestern United States birds are paler

Adult male

• Bright blue upperparts
• Orange-red throat, breast and sides
• White belly and undertail coverts

Female

• Blue wings and tail-duller than male
• Gray crown and back
• White eye ring
• Brownish throat, breast and sides
• White belly and undertail coverts

Juvenile

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

History

Once common throughout the Northeast, the bluebird fell prey to changing land use practices. Until the 1920s, the countryside was a patchwork of small farms with apple orchards and fields separated by overgrown fencerows. Bluebirds nested in holes in fenceposts or apple trees and patrolled orchards, fields and gardens for insect food. A great many of these small unprofitable farms were abandoned when their tenants abandoned the land for jobs in the cities. Fenceposts rotted and field gave way to trees - inhospitable to bluebirds.

In more recent years, the bluebird has staged a comeback largely due to efforts of the North American Bluebird Society and its state and local affiliates. Together, these organizations and other concerned individuals have waged an educational campaign about the bluebird, encouraging the proper construction, placement and care of nesting boxes. The result is that the bluebird once again graces open spaces and its beautiful plumage and sweet song are enjoyed across the Northeast.

Consolidated Laws

Taxonomic Hierarchy of the Bluebird

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