Adult male eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis, photographed at Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
Image: Louis Shackleton, 20 December 2010 [velociraptorize].
Canon EOS 5D, EF 100-400L IS USM zoom
Question: I am always surprised by how often females and juveniles of this North American mystery bird species are mistaken for other, similar species -- can you identify this individual? And, because I like asking questions, can you tell me how this bird colours its plumage?
Response: This is an adult male eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis. You've seen this species here before, but from a different angle.
This species colours its feathers through a combination of pigment colours and structural colours. The pigments produce red, orange and yellow plumage colours whilst blue-based colours are the result of light reflected from a feather that may or may not contain melanin or other background pigments. Green plumage, for example, usually is the result of a combination of pigment and structural colours.
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and (mostly) appreciative audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.
