Saturday, October 25, 2014 · 5:10 p.m.

Eastern bluebird: Riverwalk Bird of the Week

Eastern bluebirds have made an amazing comeback, thanks largely to artificial nest boxes in backyards and suburbs across the country. (Photo: Harold Sharp)


This week, we feature an eastern bluebird by Harold Sharp, taken at the Greenway Farm in Hixson.

Interesting facts
—The male eastern bluebird displays at his nest cavity to attract a female. He brings nest material to the hole, goes in and out, and waves his wings while perched above it. That is pretty much his contribution to nest building; only the female eastern bluebird builds the nest and incubates the eggs.


—Eastern bluebirds occur across eastern North America and south as far as Nicaragua. Birds that live farther north and west of the range tend to lay more eggs than eastern and southern birds.

—Eastern bluebirds eat mostly insects, wild fruit and berries. Occasionally, eastern bluebirds have also been observed capturing and eating larger prey items such as shrews, salamanders, snakes, lizards and tree frogs.

—The oldest recorded eastern bluebird was 10 years and 5 months old.

This information is courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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