Western Bluebirds in West Texas

There are plenty of Eastern Bluebirds around west Texas.  However, there is another bluebird  that is not seen very often here, and that is the Western Bluebird, (Sialia mexicana).  Yesterday I was lucky enough to see about a half dozen of them in a small local park area.  Besides that, I was also fortunate to be able to get my vehicle close enough for these pictures.

Western Bluebird

Western Bluebird

Now compare these with the image below of an Eastern Bluebird, (Sialia sialis).  The blue covers the entire head and chin of the Western, whereas on the Eastern the blue stops just below the beak.  The Western belly is more grayish, in contrast to the bright white belly of the Eastern.

Eastern Bluebird

The Eastern is found pretty much in the entire United States west of the Rockies.  You can see the Western usually in very far West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and the Pacific coast.  Here in San Angelo, we are about 300 miles east of their usual range.  Enjoy the images and click in any of them to see an enlargement.