Posted by Robin Diaz on December 22, 2002 at 17:40:10:
In Reply to: Mountain Bluebird in ENP posted by Robin Diaz on December 22, 2002 at 17:05:17:
The female/immature male Mountain Bluebird can be seen easily from Research Road, as it seems to prefer snags in that area. It will frequently be on or close to the ground along the road edge. It picks up Brazilian Pepper berries and can be seen regurgitating the seeds. It will also hover and hawk insects.
Most noticeable features: prominent white eye ring; pale "stripe" across forehead; black bill that is slim and longer than Eastern Bluebird; wing tips that go ~2/3 down tail; long primary extension; tertial edgings and striking sky blue/turquoise blue on the tail, rump and primaries. The head, nape and mantle are one color (soft gray) with no contrast. The chin is pale with gradual darkening of brownish-gray on upper breast, then blending into gray along belly. The undertail coverts are bright white. The flanks are the same gray as upper belly. The tail has dark tips ~1/8 up the tail. There is no
rufous on the bird.
The bird vocalized once this morning, giving a soft "chup" as it flew from the ground to the mound top.
The rendition in Sibley is lighter than this bird, and with the bill shown as straight. (There is a very slight decurve at the tip of this bird's bill.) National Geographic (3rd Edition) has very intense colors, but shows the tertial edging. Nat'l Geo shows a thicker bill than the ENP bird. Audubon Master Guide has a good photo, although it seems a little washed out compared
to "our" bird. The photo in Kenn Kaufman's new book is closest to this bird's looks.
While there is nothing in the field marks to indicate anything other than Mountain Bluebird, they are known to hybridize with Eastern Bluebirds. Good photos were taken today, so they will be scrutinized carefully. At times when
the wind ruffled the feathers, there seemed to be a subtle underlying blue tinge on the lower mantle. Perhaps an immature male?
The bird was seen at 4:10 PM near the galvanized pipe. The wet, open fields to the east are good habitat for the bird, so perhaps it will stay for a while.