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Mountain Bluebird
Sialia currucoides
Size: 7" (18 cm)
Male: An overall sky blue bird with a darker blue head, back, wings and tail and white lower belly. Thin black bill.
Female: similar to male, but paler with a nearly gray head and chest and a whitish belly
Juvenile: similar to adult of the same sex
Nest: cavity, old woodpecker cavity, wooden nest box; female builds; 1-2 broods per year
Eggs: 4-6; pale blue without markings
Incubation: 13-14 days; female incubates
Fledging: 22-23 days; female and male feed young
Migration: complete, to southwestern states and Mexico
Food: insects, fruit
Compare: Similar to Western Bluebird (pg. 91), but Mountain Bluebird is not as dark blue and lacks the rusty red chest.
Stan’s Notes: Common in open mountainous country. Main diet is insects. Often hovers just before diving to the ground to grab an insect. Hovers at the entrance of nesting cavity. Due to conservation of suitable nest sites (dead trees with cavities and man-made nest boxes), populations have increased over the last 30 years. Like other bluebirds, Mountain Bluebirds take well to nest boxes and tolerate close contact with humans. Female will continue to sit on baby birds (brood) for up to six days after the eggs hatch. Young will imprint on their first nest box or cavity, then choose a similar type of box or cavity throughout the rest of life. Any open field is a good place to look for Mountain Bluebirds. Search Mammoth Campground and along the shores of Yellowstone Lake at Mary Bay.