From the archives

I really didn't feel like finding photos or editing them last night, but noticed this one that was ready to post. I have so many Mountain Bluebird photos on my computer, so try to slip one in every once in a while : )

That day, 12 June 2013, this pair of Bluebirds, seen SW of the city, let me take many photos of them, with and without food collected for their babies. Not sure if this female has a small spider in her bill. I found it fascinating to see the different kinds of insects that they caught, and each time they returned with something new, they would perch on the barbed-wire fence near the nesting box and give me a few wonderful poses.

In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays."

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id

www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...