THE
BLUEBIRD THAT AINT A BLUEBIRD
By Charles Kennedy
When migrating birds start turning up at feeders in
the spring I get a lot of phone calls and questions. There is one recurring
question that I have answered many times through the years. The calls start coming about
the middle of April. A very excited person will tell me that there is a
"bluebird" on their birdfeeder, but its a "bluebird that aint a
bluebird!" So what is it?
Experience from years past gives me a clue to the identity
of this bird but for fun I consider the possibilities The caller has already said that it
"aint a bluebird!", which eliminates the Eastern Bluebird. This species
has had a lot of publicity and is well known by backyard birdwatchers.
I also rule out the Blue Jay for similar reasons. Even
small children know this loud, aggressive bird which is common in woods and yards
throughout our area.How about the Belted Kingfisher? Well he is mostly blue but unless
there is a pond or river in your backyard, I dont think so.
Since the spring migration is at its peak, I think of the
Cerulean Warbler. This is a light blue beauty who would be headed north to raise a family.
Cerulean warblers are rare in the coastal plain of Alabama however, and would have no
interest in a birdfeeder unless it were stocked with worms and insects.

Cerulean Warbler
|
|

Blue Grosbeak
|
|
So I ask, "Is your bird fairly small, dark blue, and
has brownish patches on his wings that look like sergeants stripes?" When they answer
no, I scratch the Blue Grosbeak.The possibilities have been narrowed down to one. The
final question is, "Is the bird solid blue with the head and wings a little darker
than the rest of the body, and he shines when the sun hits him? "It usually takes a
few seconds to calm the caller down enough to tell him that he has a male Indigo Bunting
on his feeder. The female Indigo Bunting is a bluebird that aint blue.

Indigo Buntings |
|
The Indigo Bunting is one of the bird species that
Ornithologists (bird scientists) refer to as Neo-tropical Migrants. This means that they
are like a lot of Yankees, they fly south for the winter. In the spring the Indigos start
to return as early as March and by the middle of April are fairly common at birdfeeders in
Alabama. They nest throughout the state and in summer can be found in brushy areas, along
roadsides, and along the edges of woods.
They build a well woven nest in a small sapling in dense
cover in which the female lays two to four pale blue eggs. Their favorite foods are weed
seeds, small fruits, and berries but they will also eat a few insects and caterpillars.
What a delight it is to see a "Bluebird that
aint a Bluebird
click
here to return to Stories Index
Will you
please consider this...
If you plan to make purchases at Amazon.com
take a detour on your way to the Amazon Super Store to this page
and visit Amazon by clicking the Amazon Logo below.. Amazon will
send us a percentage of the price of the items you purchase and
this will be credited to our project fund. Amazon offers a very
complete selection of birding and nature books, binoculars,
music, cameras, electronics and almost anything else you can
think of. And if you've shopped at Amazon you already know the
prices are very competitive. The prices won't be any higher if
you use our link to visit Amazon but we won't benefit unless you come here first every time you go shopping at Amazon.
click here
to learn more about the AWCA Projects your purchases will support
|