There’s just something so sweet about these little blue birds. We see them along quiet back roads. They often sit along the grass shoulders and on farm fencing. They are somewhat elusive in that if you approach them, they quickly fly away.
Farmers must be glad to see the Sialia sialis visit their crops. The bluebird’s favorite food is grasshoppers. They also like beetles and caterpillars.
I can remember in school making bluebird boxes. I don’t know if that is something somewhat unique to North Carolina and South Carolina schools but it was often part of science class to build our own birdhouses. Apparently, these blue birds are quite particular about the size and shape of the birdhouses they inhabit. I don’t remember the exact size, but cutting the doorway hole of the birdhouse required a particular size. Make the hole a bit too big or small and bluebirds would refuse to use the house.
This pretty illustration shows the similar coloring that a bluebird shares with a robin. Where the robin is dark, the bluebird is blue. They both have bright orange breasts with white underbellies. This drawing shows a bird sitting upon the roof of a house someone must of made for it.
Like all of Fuertes work, this bird image is in the public domain and ready to be used in your own projects. It was included in the 1918 work The Book of Birds, Common Birds of Town and Country by Henshaw.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
