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Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)

The Western Bluebird is monogamous. The male normally finds its partner while traveling with others in a group during winter. The female Western Bluebird is attracted by the vivid blue color of the male and by the availability of a nest hole that is always scarce. Once the male is able to secure a nesting hole, the female is enticed to join him. They then form a pair and the male protects his partner and nest from rival birds as well as predators.

The male Western Bluebird has a deep cobalt blue hood, upperparts and throat. It has a rusty red breast and a crescent mark across its upper back. Its belly and undertail covert wings are grayish white. The female is less colorful with brownish gray hood and breast and flanks with a chestnut hue. Its wings and tail are a dull blue and it has the prominent white eye ring common to thrush birds of which it is actually a member.
As reference for this wildlife painting I selected an aged, field stone farm house Near Lake City, Colorado and although it was built over a century ago, it still maintains a sturdy vigil over the Gunnison River that glistens though a nearby grove of aspen. Also abundant to this region are the Western Bluebirds, ….So, in attempting to capture the Western Blue Birds mating and nesting habits, I felt that it would be a unique touch to introduce the old cowboy boot bird house, plus an array of eave dangling antiquities, along with a pair of Western Bluebirds, getting their foot in the door on their own form of western lodging.