First Sign of Spring

This bright bird of the western mountains is 61/2" - 7" long and one of the first migrants to return in the spring, often arriving while snow still blankets the ground.  Mountain Bluebirds are found from southern Canada to the Great Plains and in most of the mountains of the West.  They prefer sagebrush, grassland and meadow habitats, where they eat insects and some berries.  Bluebirds, being cavity nesters, use holes in trees, fence posts and cliffs for nests, and will use bluebird houses if they are available.  Mountain Bluebirds are distinguished from their relatives, Eastern and Western Bluebird, by their lack of brown or reddish markings.  Accomplished singers, Bluebirds are the most widespread member of the Thrush family but their numbers are threatened by loss of habitat.