Western Bluebirds form cooperative breeding groups — yearling males often help their parents raise the next brood.
They're more colorful than their Eastern cousins: rust-orange wraps around the throat and shoulders, set against indigo wings.
Habitat loss in the early 1900s nearly extirpated them from California's coastal ranges; nest-box trails restored most populations.
They eat mistletoe berries in winter and are major dispersers of mistletoe across western oak woodlands.
Almost the same playbook as Eastern Bluebirds: mealworms, open ground, predator-proof boxes — but they want oak or pine nearby.
Mealworms in a tray or specialized feeder. They'll also take suet shreds and dried fruit in winter.
Pole-mount 5–6 ft up at the edge of open ground with oak or pine within 100 ft. Predator baffle is essential.
Plant native oak species, manzanita, toyon, or mistletoe-bearing trees for winter forage.
Shallow bath with sloped sides; running or dripping water is a draw.
Mount paired boxes 15–20 ft apart so swallows can claim one and bluebirds the other — they often nest as neighbors.
Don't site boxes in dense suburbs without open foraging ground; they need short grass or bare soil to hunt insects.
The bluebird of western forests and oak woodlands, ranging from southern BC down through the Pacific states, the Rockies, and into the Mexican highlands.
Resident from southern BC south through Washington, Oregon, and California. Higher elevations breed only in summer.
Breeds throughout the Rockies, Great Basin, and Sierra Nevada. Many migrate to lower elevations in winter.
Year-round in Arizona, New Mexico, and the highlands of central and southern Mexico.
Open pine and oak woodlands, savanna, and burned areas with standing snags. Increasingly common in suburban yards near oak or pine where nest boxes are provided.
Body sized to 5"×5" floor. The 1½" panel locks out larger nest competitors while letting the Western Bluebird pass cleanly.
See the full lineupPrefers more open habitat than Eastern Bluebird — face entrance toward open ground.