The Mountain Bluebird – Sialia currucoides – is a small migratory thrush that is found in the mountain areas of western North America. It has a light underbelly and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter underneath while females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast, grey crown, throat and back.
They nest in pre-existing cavities or in nest boxes. Mountain bluebirds are monogamous. The male can be seen singing from bare branches. The singing takes place right at dawn, just when the sun rises. Females usually build the nests themselves. Eggs are pale blue and unmarked, sometimes white. The clutch size is four or five eggs and the incubation normally lasts 2 weeks. The young are naked and helpless at hatching and may have some down and will take about 21 days before they leave the nest. Both males and females fiercely protect the nest.
Mountain bluebirds are omnivores and can live 6 to 10 years in the wild. They eat spiders, grasshoppers, flies and other insects, and small fruits. It is a relative of the eastern and western bluebirds.
