WHEN YOU
LOOK
Western Bluebird
The Western Bluebird
When you see a Western Bluebird, you see... a family.
Valeria Olivas Gonzalez
When you see a Western Bluebird, you see a family. Even during migration, Western Bluebirds stay close to their family members to protect their homes. Their families are their homes. As someone who immigrated with their family from another country in search of a more opportunities for the future, I see myself in the Western Bluebird. They’re North American birds with an appreciation for family, unity, and adaptation as they live in vast parts the continent. I hear their chirps in the laughter of my family and feel their warmth whenever I see my grandparents in Mexico. Moving was much harder on my parents than me because I don’t remember much of how my life used to be, but that doesn’t mean that we have lost our connection to our homeland. I have lots of family here in Idaho and just as much living in Mexico. Regardless of the distance, we all look out for each other to preserve our heritage and community. Western Bluebirds are quite like my family and me in that way. There is much to learn about what a family is through the Western Bluebirds because their connection to life is beneficial rather than destructive. Practicing this would make us humans much happier creatures.
A Western Bluebird
A Western Bluebird catching a snack.
Birds are co-parental animals that take care of each other well into their adult years. Whether they are hibernating or foraging for food, birds look after one another. That bond between birds can be seen clearly in Western Bluebirds. The Western Bluebird is a North American bird that often migrates for breeding. They live in forests, and their most common habitat is inside a Ponderosa Pine tree cavity. Western bluebirds live in burrow-like nests to be safe from the environment and other aggressive bird species. The most common locations for the Western Bluebird are Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, California, and central states in Mexico like Michoacan and Puebla. That said, not all Western Bluebird choose to migrate. It is a case-by-case situation depending on the breeding of the Western Bluebirds. Western Bluebirds eat insects such as grasshoppers, spiders, and beetles caught by fly-catching. The male bluebirds have an opaquer blue hue to their wings, while the female bluebird has a more diluted blue. The male bluebird must impress the female bird with songs and food.
In humans, survival means more than just food and shelter; it means social interactions, emotional intimacy, and a support system. It is easy to call animals, especially birds, fragile creatures with simple lives, but there is much we can learn from them. Western Bluebirds take care of their young equally, spend winters together, take care of their neighbors, and don’t hurt their surroundings. My parents made a huge sacrifice coming to the United States with little in their pockets for a better future, one where our entire family could be happy together. And I know that no matter where in the world I am, my home is where my family is, just like the Western Bluebird. Their hearts may be small compared to that of a human, but it seems to be full of love. With this love, they make homes, not houses.
A Western Bluebird, soaring!
A female Western Bluebird, (left) spending time with a male Western Bluebird, (right)