Mountain Bluebird
(Sialia arctcia or
Sialia currucoides)
Adopted on February 28, 1931.
The Mountain Bluebird (Sialia arctcia or Sialia currucoides) was adopted as the state bird for Idaho by the state legislature in 1931.
Idaho Statutes TITLE 67
STATE GOVERNMENT AND STATE AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 45
67-4501. STATE BIRD DESIGNATED. The Mountain Bluebird (Sialia arctcia) is
hereby designated and declared to be the state bird of the state of Idaho.
STATE BIRD
Idaho Session Laws, 1934, page 113.
AN ACT, DESIGNATING THE STATE BIRD.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
Section 1. That the Mountain Bluebird (Sialia arctcia) is hereby designated and declared to be the state bird of the State of Idaho.
Approved February 28, 1931.
Few birds are held in higher esteem than the bluebird. In poetry and prose, the bluebird is always a symbol of love, happiness, and renewed hope. Three species of bluebird are found in North America: the Mountain Bluebird Sialia currucoides, the Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis, and the Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana.
The Bluebird is about seven inches long, has an azure blue coat, and a blue vest with white underfeathers. The mother bird wears a quiet blue-gray dress and usually lays six or seven blue-white eggs. The Bluebird's nest is usually built in a hollow tree or in a crevice. The Bluebird is very neat about one's home and carries all refuse some distance from the nest.
Identification
- Length: 6 inches
- Thin bill
- Most often seen in open habitats
Adult male
- Bright blue plumage; brightest on upperparts
- Lacks any brown coloration
Female:
- Blue wings and tail-duller than male
- Remainder of plumage gray
- Eye ring
Juvenile
- Blue wings and tail-duller than male
- White eye ring
- Spotted underparts
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Taxonomic Hierarchy |
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Kingdom |
Animalia -- animals |
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Phylum |
Chordata -- chordates |
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Subphylum |
Vertebrata -- vertebrates |
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Class |
Aves -- birds |
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Order |
Passeriformes -- perching birds |
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Family |
Muscicapidae -- old world flycatchers |
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Genus |
Sialia -- bluebirds |
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Species |
Sialia arctcia |