The eastern bluebird is dimorphic. Males have a bright blue head, back and wings. The breast is brownish red. Females are lighter with gray on the head and back and some blue on the wings and tail. The female's breast is usually light and more orange than the male's. There are seven subspecies. I've seen the nominate ssp. sialis, found in southern and southeastern Canada, eastern and central U.S. and northeastern Mexico. We have western bluebirds where I live which I see quite frequently.
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| I saw this when I was with my sons, Sam and Andrew, on the Patsy Pond Nature Trail in eastern North Carolina on May 13, 2024. The photo below is just a cropped version of this one. |
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| This and the next photo were taken in Shawnee Mission Park, Kansas, on November 1, 2024. |
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| Illustration of of a female, ssp. sialis, from Birds of the World. |
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| Illustration of male, ssp. sialis, from Birds of the World. |
The difference between the western and eastern bluebird is male western bluebirds have blue (male) or gray (female) throats, while eastern bluebirds have an orange throat. The mountain bluebird lacks orange anywhere on its body.
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| This and the next photo of western bluebirds were taken near the Chilao Visitor Center in the San Gabriel Mountains above Los Angeles on June 18, 2025. They are the ssp. occidentalis which are found throughout Southern California. |
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| Western bluebird female illustration from Birds of the World. |
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| Western bluebird male illustration from Birds of the World. |
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| Mountain bluebird, female, near Kenton, Oklahoma on October 19, 2020. |
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| Mountain bluebird, female, illustration from Birds of the World. |
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| Mountain bluebird, male, illustration from Birds of the World. |
Range maps for each of the three species of bluebirds, from Birds of the World.
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