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Mountain bluebirds, as their name implies, breed at high elevations in much of western North America. They move downslope in harsh weather, and most of these birds were wintering in dry open fields at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area near Riverside, California (others were in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado). As can be seen, they greatly favor fenceposts as perches. Adult males are sky-blue all over (less intensely colored in winter); females are soft brown with touches of blue in the wings and tail; juvenile males are in between. Bluebirds are closely related to thrushes and like many thrushes, their young have a spotted appearance, as in the juvenile at lower left (photographed above treeline in the White Mountains of eastern California). |
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