Colorado is home to a diverse range of bird species, including several types of blue birds. These small, colorful birds can be found in various habitats throughout the state, from coniferous forests to pinyon-juniper woodlands and sagebrush.
In this article, we will explore nine different types of blue birds that can be found in Colorado, including their physical characteristics and where they can be spotted. Whether you’re a bird enthusiast or simply curious about the wildlife in Colorado, this guide will provide you with valuable insights into the world of blue birds.
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9 Types Of Blue B irds In Colorado
Blue Jay
The Blue Jay is a large songbird that can be found in Colorado. These birds are known for their bright blue feathers on their backs, white bellies, and black markings on their faces and wings. They also have a prominent crest on their heads.
Blue Jays are often found in well-wooded suburbs or city parks. They prefer Colorado’s evergreen forests and feature a distinctive, raucous jay-jay call.
Blue Jays are known for their intelligence and can mimic the calls of other birds. They are also omnivorous and feed on a variety of foods, including insects, nuts, seeds, and fruits.
Blue Jays have expanded their range westward, and they can be spotted in Colorado during the breeding season from March to August.
Pinyon Jay
The Pinyon Jay is a medium-sized and crestless jay that can be found in pinyon-juniper woodlands, chaparral, and scrub-oak woodlands in the western United States, including Colorado. They have a blue-gray plumage, a shorter tail, and a longer, dagger-like bill than other jays.
Pinyon Jays are known for their gregarious behavior and travel in large, noisy flocks. They feed heavily on the seeds of pinyon pines and junipers, and their diet also includes insects, fruits, and berries.
Pinyon Jays are permanent residents of pinyon-juniper woodlands and low-elevation ponderosa pine forests in the southwestern United States. They nest commonly at the lower elevations of pinyon-juniper woodlands in Colorado.
Pinyon Jays are an iconic bird of the intermountain west and were once common throughout the Pinyon-Juniper region.
Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird is a small migratory thrush that can be found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards in North America, including Colorado. The male Eastern Bluebird has a bright blue breeding plumage on its back and head, while the female has a grayish head and back with bluish wings.
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These birds are known for their beautiful colors and are a favorite of birders. Eastern Bluebirds can be found in open country with patchy vegetation and large trees or nest boxes, such as meadows, old fields, and golf courses. They typically sit in the open on power lines or along fences, with an alert, vertical posture.
Eastern Bluebirds are skilled fliers and feed on insects, fruits, and berries. They are also known for their vocalizations, using their voices to stay in touch with flock members and warn predators to stay away from their small, cup-like nests that are usually built inside old woodpecker holes.
Eastern Bluebirds typically have more than one successful brood per year and are permanent residents in many southern areas, arriving quite early in the north.
The increase in trees throughout the Great Plains during the past century due to fire suppression and tree planting facilitated the western range expansion of the species.
Western Bluebird
The Western Bluebird is a small North American thrush that can be found in open parklands of the American West, including Colorado. Here are some key characteristics of the Western Bluebird:
– Physical Characteristics: The Western Bluebird is a small, stocky bird that measures 15 to 18 cm (5.9 to 7.1 in) in length. The adult male has bright blue feathers on its head, back, and wings, with an orange breast and sides, a brownish patch on its back, and a gray belly and undertail coverts. The adult female has a duller blue body, wings, and tail, a gray throat, a dull orange breast, and a gray belly and undertail coverts. Both sexes have a thin, straight bill with a fairly short tail.
– Habitat: The Western Bluebird can be found in open parklands, coniferous forests, farmlands, semi-open terrain, and desert. They prefer open areas with low perches and ground cover to catch insects.
– Behavior: Western Bluebirds are known for their quiet, chortling calls and often gather in small flocks outside of the breeding season to feed on insects or berries. They nest in holes in trees or nest boxes and are among the birds that nest in cavities. Western Bluebirds are territorial and may engage in battles with rival males.
– Conservation Status: The Western Bluebird has experienced a decline in numbers over much of its range in recent decades. Providing birdhouses may help to support their populations.
In Colorado, Western Bluebirds can be spotted in open parklands and coniferous forests.
Mountain Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird, Cabin Lake Viewing Blinds, Deschutes National Forest, Near Fort Rock, Oregon
The Mountain Bluebird is a small migratory thrush that can be found in mountainous districts of western North America, including Colorado. Here are some key characteristics of the Mountain Bluebird:
– Physical Characteristics: The Mountain Bluebird is a small thrush that measures 15.5 to 18 cm (6.1 to 7.1 in) in length and weighs 24 to 37 g (0.85 to 1.31 oz). Adult males have bright turquoise-blue feathers on their backs and heads, with a white lower belly, while adult females have duller blue wings and tail, a gray breast, crown, throat, and back.
– Habitat: Mountain Bluebirds can be found in open country with some trees, in winter, also treeless terrain. They prefer open territories year-round, including alpine meadows and clearings, as well as lower-elevation grasslands, plains, fields, farmland, pastures, and mountain meadows. They are often found in burned or cut-over areas, or where prairie meets forest.
– Behavior: Mountain Bluebirds are known for their quiet, warbled songs and often hunt insects from perches or while on the wing, at times resembling a tiny American Kestrel with their long wings, hovering flight, and quick dives. They nest in cavities in trees or nest boxes and are among the birds that nest in cavities. Mountain Bluebirds are territorial and may engage in battles with rival males.
– Conservation Status: Mountain Bluebirds are not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List and their numbers are apparently stable.
In Colorado, Mountain Bluebirds can be spotted in high, open country across western North America, as far north as Alaska.
Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay
Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay is a medium-sized bird that is native to western North America, ranging from southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho to central Mexico. Here are some key characteristics of the Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay:
– Physical Characteristics: Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay is approximately 27-31 cm (11-12 in) in length (including its tail), with a 39 cm (15 in) wingspan, and about 80 g (2.8 oz) in weight. The species has a blue head, wings, and tail; a gray-brown back; and grayish underparts. The throat is whitish with a partial blue breast band (“necklace”). Compared to the California scrub jay, Woodhouse’s has a duller blue, darker gray underparts, a less distinct blue necklace, and a straighter bill.
– Habitat: True to its name, Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay inhabits areas of low scrub, preferring pinyon-juniper forests, oak woods, and other scrubby habitats. They are nonmigratory and can be found in urban areas, where they can become tame and will come to bird feeders.
– Behavior: Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay is known for its harsh and scratchy call. They are omnivorous and feed on a variety of foods, including insects, nuts, seeds, and fruits. They are also known to cache food for later use. Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay is named after the American naturalist and explorer Samuel Washington Woodhouse.
– Conservation Status: Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay is not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List and their numbers are apparently stable.
In Colorado, Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay can be found in areas of low scrub, such as pinyon-juniper forests and oak woods. They are nonmigratory and can also be found in urban areas.
Steller’s Jay
Steller’s Jay is a large songbird that is native to western North America, including Colorado. Here are some key characteristics of the Steller’s Jay:
– Physical Characteristics: Steller’s Jays are large songbirds with large heads, chunky bodies, rounded wings, and a long, full tail. The bill is long, straight, and powerful, with a slight hook. Steller’s Jays have a prominent triangular crest that often stands nearly straight up from their head. They are about the same size as a Western Scrub-Jay, between a robin and a crow. The head is blackish-brown, black, or dark blue, depending on the subspecies of the bird, with lighter streaks on the forehead.
– Habitat: Steller’s Jays are birds of coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests. They are common in forest wildernesses but are also fixtures of campgrounds, parklands, and backyards. They are most numerous as a breeder in the mountains and along the northern coast.
– Behavior: Steller’s Jays are known for their harsh and scratchy calls and often gather in small flocks outside of the breeding season to feed on insects or berries. They are omnivorous and feed on a variety of foods, including insects, nuts, seeds, and fruits. They are also known to cache food for later use. Steller’s Jays are sassy, nosy, intelligent, and loud, and they love to mimic the vocalizations of many species of birds.
– Conservation Status: Steller’s Jays are not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List and their numbers are apparently stable.
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In Colorado, Steller’s Jays can be found in coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests. They are common in forest wildernesses but are also fixtures of campgrounds, parklands, and backyards.
Lazuli Bunting
The Lazuli Bunting is a small, stocky songbird that can be found in brushy hillsides, thickets, gardens, and streamside trees throughout the western United States, including Colorado. Here are some key characteristics of the Lazuli Bunting:
– Physical Characteristics: Male Lazuli Buntings are striking, blue birds with rufous breasts, black wings and tails, and white bellies. They have a bright blue head and back, lighter than the closely related Indigo Bunting, and conspicuous white wingbars. Females are brownish overall with a blue tinge on the wings and tail.
– Habitat: Lazuli Buntings can be found in brushy areas, weedy pastures, and sometimes in towns, generally well-watered. They prefer habitats with a mix of shrubs, trees, and open areas.
– Behavior: Male Lazuli Buntings are conspicuous in summer, singing in the open, but the singing males are often very elusive in treetops. They feed mostly on seeds and insects and may feed conspicuously on the ground or in bushes. Lazuli Buntings make a loose cup nest of grasses and rootlets placed in a bush and lay three or four pale blue eggs. In the eastern and southern part of their range, they often hybridize with the Indigo Bunting.
– Conservation Status: Lazuli Buntings are not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List and their numbers are apparently stable.
In Colorado, Lazuli Buntings can be found around thickets and streamside trees in the western part of the state. Male Lazuli Buntings are striking birds that are sure to catch the eye of any birdwatcher.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is a tiny, long-tailed bird that can be found in broadleaf forests and scrublands throughout the western United States, including Colorado. Here are some key characteristics of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher:
– Physical Characteristics: Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are pale blue-gray birds with grayish-white underparts and a mostly black tail with white edges. They have a long tail, a thin, straight bill, and a white eye ring. Males have a deep blue cap on their head, while females are less blue.
– Habitat: Blue-gray Gnatcatchers can be found in open woods, oaks, pines, thickets, and streamside trees. They prefer habitats with a mix of shrubs, trees, and open areas.
– Behavior: Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are known for their soft but insistent calls and their constant movement. They are omnivorous and feed on a variety of foods, including insects, spiders, and small fruits. They are also known to use vocal displays and postures to chase away rivals. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers build a cup-shaped nest out of grasses and rootlets and lay three to six pale blue eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the young.
– Conservation Status: Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List and their numbers are apparently stable.
In Colorado, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers can be found in open woods, oaks, pines, thickets, and streamside trees. They are tiny birds that are often overlooked due to their small size and constant movement.
FAQS
1. What is the most common blue bird found in Colorado?
The Western Bluebird is one of the most common blue birds found in Colorado.
2. What is the smallest blue bird found in Colorado?
The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is the smallest blue bird found in Colorado.
3. What is the largest blue bird found in Colorado?
The Steller’s Jay is the largest blue bird found in Colorado.
4. Are all blue birds in Colorado migratory?
No, not all blue birds in Colorado are migratory. Some, like the Blue Jay and Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay, are permanent residents.
5. What is the habitat preference of blue birds in Colorado?
Blue birds in Colorado can be found in a variety of habitats, including forests, woodlands, parks, suburban areas, open country, and mountainous districts.
6. What do blue birds in Colorado eat?
Blue birds in Colorado are omnivorous and feed on a variety of foods, including insects, nuts, seeds, fruits, and berries.
7. Are blue birds in Colorado endangered?
Most blue birds in Colorado are not endangered. Their populations are apparently stable.
8. What is the best time of year to spot blue birds in Colorado?
The best time of year to spot blue birds in Colorado is during the breeding season, which varies depending on the species. For example, the breeding season for the Mountain Bluebird is from April to July.
Source: https://petstutorial.com
Category: Birds
