bluebird

/blooh"berrd'/, n.

1. any of several small North American songbirds of the genus Sialia, having predominantly blue plumage, as the eastern S. sialis, which has a blue back and a reddish-brown breast.

2. See fairy bluebird.

3. (usually cap.) a member of Camp Fire, Inc., who is between the ages of six and eight.

[1680-90; BLUE + BIRD]

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Any of three North American bird species (songbird genus Sialia) of the chat-thrush group.

The eastern bluebird (S. sialis), which is 5.5 in. (14 cm) long, and the western bluebird (S. mexicana) are red-breasted forms found east and west of the Rockies, respectively. The mountain bluebird (S. currucoides), also found in the West, is all blue. Bluebirds arrive from the south in earliest spring. They live in open country and woodlands and nest in holes in trees or in fence posts and bird boxes.

Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana)

Herbert Clarke

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▪ bird

   any of the three species of the North American genus Sialia of the chat-thrush group (family Turdidae, order Passeriformes). The eastern bluebird (S. sialis), 14 cm (5 ¹/₂ inches) long, and the western bluebird (S. mexicana) are red-breasted forms found east and west of the Rockies, respectively; the mountain bluebird (S. currucoides), also of the west, is all blue. Bluebirds arrive from the south in earliest spring, uttering soft, blurry notes. They live in open country and woodland glades; they nest in holes in trees or in fenceposts—and in bird boxes, if they are not driven away by starlings or house sparrows.

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