Eastern bluebird, the state bird of Missouri

How to recognize it

The eastern bluebird is a plump, short-billed member of the thrush family, about 7 inches long and weighing about an ounce. Males are bright blue above, with a rusty orange throat, breast and sides and a white belly. Females are a grayer, duller blue, with paler rusty underparts. Young birds are heavily spotted, with only hints of blue.

Its song is a soft, warbled run of whistles, sometimes written as cheer, cheerful charmer, and its call is a liquid turee. The Missouri secretary of state notes another reason the bird suits the state: its red, white and blue coloring.

How it lives

Bluebirds hunt from a low perch and drop to the ground to snatch crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, spiders and other small prey. In fall and winter they rely heavily on wild fruit, such as grapes and holly berries. They nest in tree cavities or in nest boxes and often raise two or more broods a year.

Where to see one in Missouri

The eastern bluebird is a common summer resident across Missouri, most visible from mid-March through November in farm country and along grassy edges with nest boxes. Look in pastures, farmland, roadsides, forest clearings and large rural yards: open country with scattered trees. In winter it becomes uncommon in southern Missouri and rare in the north.

A comeback story

Eastern bluebirds once declined with the loss of natural nest cavities and competition for the rest from introduced house sparrows and European starlings. Nest box programs helped them recover substantially, and many Missourians put up boxes for them. Today the Missouri Department of Conservation ranks the species a common summer resident.

The state bird since 1927

The bluebird became Missouri’s state bird in 1927, and the law was re-enacted in 1957. Missouri also has a state game bird, the northern bobwhite, named in 2007. New York is the only other state with the eastern bluebird as state bird.