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Bird name:

Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoidesOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Thrushes (Turdidae)
Codes: Common Name: MOBL Scientific Name: SIACUR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179811

Breeding Location:

Grassland with scattered trees, Mountains



Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester



Breeding Population:

Fairly common, Declining



Egg Color:

Pale blue to blue white



Number of Eggs:

5 - 6



Incubation Days:

13 - 14



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Lined with plant material., Grasses



Migration:

Migratory



Splitbar

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Attracting Clingers

General

Mountain Bluebird: Small thrush with sky-blue back, head, and wings. Throat and breast are paler blue, and belly and undertail coverts are white. Female is gray overall with blue wings, rump and tail, and has faint eye-ring. Juvenile resembles female but has spotted underparts.

Range and Habitat

Mountain Bluebird: Breeds in open habitats in southern Alaska, Mackenzie, and Manitoba south to western Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. Spends winters in British Columbia and Montana south through western U.S. Inhabits high mountain meadows with scattered trees and bushes; in winter, descends to lower elevations in plains and grasslands.

Breeding and Nesting

Mountain Bluebird: Five to six pale blue to blue white eggs are laid in a nest made of grass and plant fibers and built in a natural cavity or box. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Mountain Bluebird: Eats insects, fruits, and berries. Forages from a perch, dropping to catch prey on the ground; also hovers above prey before capture.

Readily Eats

Raisins, Currants, Nut Meal

Vocalization

Mountain Bluebird: Song consists of a soft, melodious warble "tru-lee." Call is a "phew."

Similar Species

Mountain Bluebird: Eastern and Western bluebirds have red on underparts; females lack gray throats and bellies. Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak have thicker, conical bills.

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Family Thrush (Turdidae)_blue
Species Sialia currucoides
Length7 - 7.25 Inches
Wingspan11.875 Inches

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird: Small thrush with brilliant blue back, head, and wings. Throat and breast are paler blue, and belly and undertail coverts are white. Hovers more than other bluebirds and drops on prey from above, also catches insects in flight. Eats mostly insects in the summer.

● Song: "tru-lee", "phew"

● Foraging & Feeding: Mountain Bluebird: Eats insects, fruits, and berries. Forages from a perch, dropping to catch prey on the ground; also hovers above prey before capture.

● Breeding & nesting: Mountain Bluebird: Five to six pale blue to blue white eggs are laid in a nest made of grass and plant fibers and built in a natural cavity or box. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Mountain Bluebird: Eastern and Western bluebirds have red on underparts; females lack gray throats and bellies. Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak have thicker, conical bills.

Flight Pattern

Slow flight with shallow wing beats.
Mountain Bluebird Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Mountain Bluebird: Breeds in open habitats in southern Alaska, Mackenzie, and Manitoba south to western Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. Spends winters in British Columbia and Montana south through western U.S. Inhabits high mountain meadows with scattered trees and bushes; in winter, descends to lower elevations in plains and grasslands.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common, Declining
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.1 Ounces
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
Undertail covertsX
Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX