Mountain Bluebird

Left: female Mountain Bluebird on a Wax Currant bush. Right: male Mountain Bluebird on a dead tree branch.

NPS Photo / Rachel Ames

Size: 6.5-8”
Description: Males are sky-blue overall with darker wings and tail, lighter underparts and white under the tail. Females are mostly gray-brown with tinges of pale blue on the wings and tail.
Migratory Status: Spring and summer residents of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Habitat: Nest in tree cavities and prefer mountain grasslands and sage shrublands adjacent to open coniferous forests, aspen forests and the alpine tundra to 10,000 and occasionally 13,000 feet.
Diet: Eat mostly insects including beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars and spiders. They forage by perching on shrubs or tall grasses and often hover before catching prey on the ground or in mid-air.

 

• Mountain Bluebird (song)

  
  

  Mountain Bluebird song recorded at Twin Owls in Rocky Mountain National Park. Note that the buzz of a hummingbird flying by, the song of a House Wren and the call of a Green-tailed Towhee can also be heard in the recording.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  10/14/2020

 

• Mountain Bluebird (call)

  
  

  Mountain Bluebird call recorded in Upper Beaver Meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  10/14/2020

 

• Mountain Bluebird (song)

  
  

  Mountain Bluebird song recorded in Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park. Note that a House Wren, American Robin and American Crow can also be heard in the recording.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  10/14/2020