What is the Missouri State Bird?

What is the Missouri State Bird?

The Eastern bluebird was titled the official state bird of Missouri in 1927. The lovely eastern bluebird is one of the first birds to return north in springtime. The eastern bluebird is a songbird of medium size. It has a big round head, short tail, lumpy body, small black beak, a reddish-orange torso, blue tail, and blue wing. The female bluebird is a plain gray-blue with a dismal reddish torso.

The young ones have a dotted chest and hind. Their regular food consists of insects and small fruits mostly. The eastern bluebird’s song is a low-pitched warbling song. Their most common call is a low-pitched tu-a-wee. The male eastern bluebird executes a “nest demonstration display” to charm the female bluebird. The eastern bluebirds favor an exposed habitat with scant ground cover. Eastern bluebird nests are often found in tree hollows and in nest boxes.

The male Eastern Bluebird exhibits at his nest hollow to entice a female bluebird. He fetches nest material to the hole. He moves inside and outside and shakes his wings while balanced above that. That is all of his role in building the nest. Only the female Eastern Bluebird constructs the nest and nurtures the eggs.

State Bird of Missouri Facts

  • Common name:  Eastern bluebird
  • Scientific name:  Sialiasialis
  • Habitat:  Meadows and openings surrounded by trees, backyard, golf courses, field edges, etc.
  • Diet:  Mostly eats insects and other invertebrates. They also eat wild fruits and berries
  • Song and Calls: low-pitched warbling song. The most common call is a low-pitched tu-a-wee
  • Weight:  28-32 g
  • Length:  16-21 cm
  • Wingspan:  25-32 cm
  • Average lifespan:  6-10 years
  • Incubation period:  11-19 days

Babies produced in early nests typically leave their parents in the summertime. The young ones from later nests often stay with their parents in the winter. Eastern Bluebirds can be found across eastern North America and south as far as Nicaragua. Birds that are living beyond the north and in the west of the range have a habit of laying more eggs than the eastern and southern birds. Eastern Bluebirds mostly eat berries, insects, and wild fruit. Sometimes, Eastern Bluebirds have also been witnessed seizing and consuming larger prey items such as shrews, salamanders, snakes, tree frogs, and lizards.

Their average lifespan is 6-10 years. The oldest recorded Eastern Bluebird was about 10 years, and 6 months old. It was found dead in South Carolina in November 1999. Missouri’s state bird, the Eastern Bluebirds mainly live in open country areas around trees. The original habitations include open, regularly burned pine savannas, beaver ponds, developed but open woods, and forest openings. They are most common along pastures, agricultural fields, suburban parks, backyards, and golf courses nowadays.

Insects found on the ground are bluebirds’ chief food for most of the year. Key prey includes caterpillars, beetles crickets, grasshoppers, and spiders. During fall and winter, eastern bluebirds eat huge amounts of fruit including mistletoe, sumac, blueberries, black cherry, tupelo, currants, wild holly, dogwood berries, hackberries, honeysuckle, bay, pokeweed, and juniper berries. Hardly, Eastern Bluebirds have been documented eating salamanders, shrews, snakes, lizards, and tree frogs. Most of the time, Missouri state bird Bluebird eggs are pale blue. Infrequently a bird will lay a white one. Bluebirds are family-focused birds. Bluebirds can reach speeds up to 17 miles per hour in flight. Bluebirds love to bathe and play in backyard birdbaths during the winter season.

The law designating the native “bluebird” as the official Missouri state bird is Section 10.010 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, Title 2 (SOVEREIGNTY, JURISDICTION, AND EMBLEMS) Chapter 10 (State Emblems) Section 10.010.

✅What is the State Bird of Missouri?

The Eastern bluebird has been the official state bird of Missouri since 1927. Eastern bluebird has a big round head, short tail, lumpy body, small black beak, a reddish-orange torso, blue tail, and blue wing.

✅Why is the Bluebird Missouri’s State Bird?

On March 30, 1927, the Eastern Bluebird was officially designated the Missouri State Bird. It is “common in Missouri” and “a symbol of happiness.”

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