Eastern Bluebird Research Paper

The Eastern Bluebird is one of the most popular song birds, ranging all over North America. Being a permanent resident in the southern and eastern United States running down into Central America. It is a breeding resident in North Dakota among many other states, residing in rural and suburban areas all over the bird’s range. The Eastern Bluebird have a beautiful royal blue back and head, reddish-brown on the breast with a white belly. The males are more brightly colored than the females, the females have this grayish hue amongst the royal blue. This species can reach six to eight inches tall, with a wingspan reaching from nine to twelve inches, and can weigh up to 1.1 ounces (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/lifehistory).

Bluebirds can sight their tiny prey items from 60 feet or more away, their diet consists of insects, caterpillars, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, and spiders. In fall and winter, bluebirds eat large amounts of fruit including mistletoe, sumac, blueberries, black cherry, tupelo, currants, wild holly, dogwood berries, hackberries, honeysuckle, bay, pokeweed, and juniper berries. Eastern Bluebirds have been recorded eating salamanders, shrews, snakes, lizards, and tree frogs which is rare for this species. Birds of prey, snakes, and various mammals, especially cats and raccoons are the main predators of Eastern Bluebirds (MN DNR