Red Birds and Blue Birds

Birds to make you smile

This post is a mixture of red birds and blue birds to brighten your day. I saw this Cardinal near Catalina State Park. A friend who grew up in Texas told me that she never heard the name "Cardinal". She said these birds were referred to as "Redbirds" and that's all they were called.

We have Cardinals in Tucson year-round but the Western Bluebirds only visit our desert elevation during the winter months. The males have bright blue heads, necks, wings and tails. Bluebirds are a symbol of happiness in many cultures throughout history.

This Cardinal seemed to be hiding behind these skinny branches. It was very aware of me but didn't fly from behind that barrier.

This male Western Bluebird landed on the trunk of a palm tree at Agua Caliente Park. You can see the large orange/rusty vest that extends from below the neck and onto the back.

Male Vermilion Flycatchers are such special birds. Because of their hunting style, they are easy to spot out in the open as they move from perch to perch.

On the other hand, Western Bluebirds are much more hesitant to perch out in the open than Vermilion Flycatchers are. I was surprised that this bird remained on the palm trunk for as long as he did. I really like the texture of this tree as a background.

The Vermilion is the same one as above and was seen in a residential neighborhood that has a small tree lined space in it.

And here's a Western Bluebird on his branch. Did you know that the blue colors of a bird's feathers are not really blue? You can learn why here!

I've seen Western Bluebirds all over town this winter and I see them feeding from the ground. In the summer, insects are a large part of the diet of Western Bluebirds. During the winter, they will eat more seeds and berries. At a place like Agua Caliente Park, there are many berries that have fallen from palm trees for the Bluebirds to scavenge.

A Vermilion Flycatcher in a residential neighborhood. The background is the clay tiled roof of a home.

I'm not sure what this Bluebird was saying. I think he was reacting to another Bluebird in the area. He was perched upright but then lowered himself, 'spoke', and then flew off

We can always count on Birdnote to tell a good story, and in this case it has a nice story on the blue feathers of Bluebirds!