Sialia sialis
The Eastern Bluebird speaks softly. Its song is a low, blurry warble of short whistled phrases, about two seconds long, often written as cheer, cheerful, charmer. The most frequent call, in every season, is a mellow, wavering tu-a-wee. When a predator prowls near the nest, it turns loud: a steady chit-chit-chit.
“cheer, cheerful, charmer”
Every sound the Eastern Bluebird makes
3 sounds to learn, 2 with a recording.
Warbling Song
Low pitch · Phrase
A short, low warble: a few soft phrases of one to three notes each, sometimes with a harsher chattering note mixed in, about two seconds in all. The notes sound blurred at the edges, closer to a hummed whistle than a bright, ringing song. Unpaired males sing it from a high perch or in flight; while the female is laying eggs, her mate switches to a much softer version.
“cheer, cheerful, charmer”
Mainly in the nesting season, most often early in the season while males are claiming territories.
Tu-a-wee Call
Low pitch · Single note
A two- or three-part whistle, low and soft, with a questioning, wavering tone: tu-a-wee or chur-lee, dipping slightly before it rises at the end. Under a second long, it is easy to lose beneath traffic noise. Pairs and family flocks use it to keep in touch, and parents give it when bringing food to the nest.
“tu-a-wee”
Year round; in winter it is the bluebird sound you are most likely to hear.
Chit Alarm
Mid pitch · Series
A loud, steady chit-chit-chit that keeps going as long as the threat stays, given when a ground predator such as a cat or snake approaches the nest. A single harsh screech is a different message: one bluebird telling another it has come too close.
Mostly around nest boxes in spring and summer.
What to listen for
- A quiet warble from a wire, fence post or nest box over short grass.
- Songs only about two seconds long, built from blurry, low phrases.
- A short, wavering tu-a-wee in any month, often from birds you have not spotted yet.
- A steady chit-chit-chit near a nest box means a predator is on the ground nearby.
Birds that sound like the Eastern Bluebird
By ear: A robin's song is a longer, louder string of about ten clear whistled phrases (cheerily, cheer up) at a steady beat. A bluebird's song is shorter, lower and softer, with blurrier phrases.
By ear: Western Bluebird songs are hesitant strings of call notes, and its usual call is a soft kew, often given several times in a row. The Eastern's tu-a-wee is longer and more wavering.
By ear: Mountain Bluebird calls are a thin, nasal, unmusical tew or peu, flatter than the Eastern's warbled tu-a-wee. The two overlap on the northern Great Plains.
When and where you'll hear it
When
Most vocal from March to July, at dawn and during the day.
- Dawn
- Daytime
Where
Across the US east of the Rockies, scarce only in southern Florida and far southern Texas, plus a separate year-round population in southeastern Arizona. Most southern and central birds stay all year, while in the northern states bluebirds are mainly summer residents.
- Northern states
- Mostly a summer bird: back by March or April and largely gone by November, though some now winter in southern New England.
- Southeast Arizona
- A paler Mexican form lives here year round, in oak grassland around the Patagonia, Santa Rita and Huachuca Mountains. Western Bluebird is the more common bluebird in the region, so a soft kew is more likely a Western and a wavering tu-a-wee this species.
- Open country
- Yards
Practice the Eastern Bluebird in the app
Practice the “cheer, cheerful, charmer” until you can name it without looking. Wings & Whistles plays it in an interactive listening lesson, mixed with the birds you’ll hear around it.
How to recognize the Eastern Bluebird by sight
The Eastern Bluebird is a small thrush with a plump body and short bill. Males are vivid blue above with a rusty red-orange breast and a white belly. Females have a similar pattern but in subdued gray-blue and duller orange tones on the breast. Juveniles are grayish with brown spotting on the chest and back, and they show hints of blue in the wings and tail.
Similar-looking species (2)
- Western Bluebird: Very similar in appearance; Western Bluebird males have an all-blue throat (the rusty-orange does not extend up onto the throat) and often more extensive orange on the back, whereas Eastern Bluebirds have a white belly and the orange is confined to the chest.
- Mountain Bluebird: Male Mountain Bluebirds are entirely sky-blue with no orange at all, unlike the orange-breasted Eastern Bluebird. Females are gray-brown with pale blue wing and tail tints and lack any rusty coloration.
Eastern Bluebird sounds FAQ
When does the Eastern Bluebird sing?
The Eastern Bluebird is most vocal from March to July, mostly at dawn and during the day.