What is the New York State Bird?

What is the New York State Bird?

Eastern bluebird was titled as the official state bird of New York in 1970. The lovely eastern bluebird are one of the first birds to return north in springtime. New York’s state bird the eastern bluebird is a songbird of medium-size. It has a big rotund 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 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 hollowsand in nest boxes.

State Bird of New YorkFacts —

  • 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. 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

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. New York’s state bird, the Eastern Bluebirds naturally have more than one fruitful offspring every year. Babies produced in early nests typically leave their parents in summer time. 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 which are living beyond north and in the west of the range have a habit of laying more eggs than the eastern and southern birds.

New York’s state bird, the Eastern Bluebirds mostly eat berries, insects and wild fruit and. 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, 6 months old. It was found dead in South Carolina on November 1999. Eastern Bluebirds mainly live in open country area 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 now-a-days.

Insects found on the ground are bluebird’s chief food for most of the year. Key prey include 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, Bluebird eggs are pale blue most. 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 bluebird as the official New York state bird is Section 78 of the New York State Consolidated Laws, STL – State, Article 6 (ARMS AND GREAT SEAL OF STATE) Section 78.

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