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Left: female Mountain Bluebird on a Wax Currant bush. Right: male Mountain Bluebird on a dead tree branch.
NPS Photo / Rachel Ames
Size: 6.5-8” Description: Males are sky-blue overall with darker wings and tail, lighter underparts and white under the tail. Females are mostly gray-brown with tinges of pale blue on the wings and tail. Migratory Status: Spring and summer residents of Rocky Mountain National Park. Habitat: Nest in tree cavities and prefer mountain grasslands and sage shrublands adjacent to open coniferous forests, aspen forests and the alpine tundra to 10,000 and occasionally 13,000 feet. Diet: Eat mostly insects including beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars and spiders. They forage by perching on shrubs or tall grasses and often hover before catching prey on the ground or in mid-air.
Mountain Bluebird (song)
Mountain Bluebird song recorded at Twin Owls in Rocky Mountain National Park. Note that the buzz of a hummingbird flying by, the song of a House Wren and the call of a Green-tailed Towhee can also be heard in the recording.
Mountain Bluebird song recorded in Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park. Note that a House Wren, American Robin and American Crow can also be heard in the recording.