Bluebirds are among the most beloved of North America‘s birds. They delight with their bright blue plumage and cheerful song, announcing the arrival of springtime happiness. When they move into your garden and build a home, that can only mean one thing: more bluebirds. Read below to learn when bluebirds lay eggs and have baby chicks!
Three Species of Bluebird
There are three species of bluebird: the western bluebird, the eastern bluebird, and the mountain bluebird. The conservation status of all these birds is least concern.
The Western Bluebird

The male western bluebird guards the nest and helps raise his baby chicks.
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The western bluebird, Sialia mexicana, is found in the western part of North America, from Canada all the way down to Central Mexico. This little bird’s mating season begins in May and continues into July. It’s not only monogamous, but offspring from a previous brood might help to raise the latest brood. This helps the parents to stay faithful, for the helpers see off other males who try to take advantage when the father isn’t around. Helpers also increase the chances of baby chicks surviving to adulthood. Western bluebirds nest in cavities carved out by other animals or nest boxes.
The female usually lays one or two clutches of three to eight eggs in the breeding season. The eggs are incubated by the female for 12 to 18 days. When she needs to look for food, the male briefly guards the nest, but she must return quickly. When the eggs hatch, she’s the only one who broods the baby chicks. However, both parents feed the chicks and make sure the nest is kept clean. Non-breeding birds become helpers. These birds may have returned to their parents’ nest because they lost their mate, or their chicks didn’t survive.
Western bluebird chicks are helpless when they’re born, but they grow quickly and are independent at two weeks old. They’re ready to mate when they’re a year old, and they live about six years.
The Eastern Bluebird

The eastern bluebird lays light blue eggs and incubates them for about two weeks.
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This little bird, S. sialis ranges to the east of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to as far south as Honduras and Cuba. The eastern bluebird doesn’t appear to be as reliably monogamous as the western bluebird, and the appearance of helpers isn’t as frequent. But like the western bluebird, the female lays two clutches of three to seven eggs during the breeding season which is starts in spring and lasts until summer. The female builds the nest in a cavity, usually one excavated in a dead tree by a woodpecker, or in a provided nest box. It usually takes her about 10 days. The nest is in the shape of a cup, and she lines it with hair, grass, feathers, and other soft, dry material.
The eggs are light blue, and the female incubates them from 13 to 16 days. The male helps her care for the baby chicks, and she broods them for about a week. The chicks leave the nest when they’re about 15 to 20 days old.
Eastern bluebird chicks, like western bluebird chicks, are helpless at first. They’re grayish when they’re born and have speckles on their breast, which fade as the blue color strengthens. They start to breed themselves when they’re about a year old or may stay with their parents to help raise the next brood. Eastern bluebirds live six to 10 years.
The Mountain Bluebird

The mountain bluebird has the greatest range of all bluebirds, and the male is famous for his completely blue plumage.
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This bluebird, S. currucoides is famous for the male’s solid, cerulean blue plumage. Found mostly in western North America, it has the greatest range of all the bluebirds and is found from Alaska to Central Mexico. They are somewhat monogamous, though they’re not above getting together with birds beside their mate. As with the western and eastern bluebirds, they have helpers to help raise their chicks. These helpers are usually older offspring, but now and then helpers aren’t related to the pair at all.
The mountain bluebird has a long mating season that can start in very early spring and continue until August. If the female starts early, she can produce two clutches. If she starts late, she will only have one. Like other bluebirds, the female is responsible for nest building, and the male guards her.
The female mountain bluebird lays about four to six eggs, usually one a day. After she lays her last egg, she starts to incubate them for 12 to 16 days, mostly during the day. As with the other bluebirds, only the female incubates the eggs. Unlike the other bluebirds, the female doesn’t have to leave the nest to look for food but is fed by the male.
The chicks hatch in the order in which their egg was laid. They are helpless and are brooded by their mother for about seven days, depending on how many chicks there are and the weather conditions. The mountain bluebird male looks for food, brings it back to the nest and passes it to the female, who feeds the chicks. All species of bluebird chicks are fed insects almost exclusively. Mountain bluebird baby chicks fledge in about three weeks. After this, the parents feed them less and less to encourage them to be independent, but it can take chicks two more months until they’re truly on their own. Mountain bluebirds can live for about 10 years.
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