Nevada State Bird
Mountain Bluebird
(Sialia currucoides)
Adopted on April 4, 1967.
The Nevada Federation of Women's Clubs, during the years 1930 and 1931, by vote of the citizens and school children of the state, selected the mountain bluebird as their choice for the state bird of Nevada.
During the 1967 session of the legislature, Clark County Assemblyman Stan Irwin introduced a bill to designate the Mountain Bluebird, (Sialia currucoides,) as the Nevada state bird. The bill passed both houses and was signed by the governor on April 4th, 1967. NRS 235.060
Nevada State Bird: Mountain Bluebird
The Mountain Bluebird is most likely to be confused with other bluebirds. Male Mountain Bluebirds lack any reddish coloration on their under parts unlike Eastern and Western Bluebirds. Females are more difficult to separate. Eastern Bluebirds have a brownish throat and white belly while Mountain Bluebirds have gray throats and bellies. Western Bluebirds are browner on the breast than Mountain Bluebirds and have thicker bills. Male Mountain Bluebirds might be confused with other all blue birds like Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks but these birds have much thicker, conical bills.
The mountain bluebird is six to seven inches in length. It has a small, pointed black bill and black legs and feet. The male is a deep sky blue above and a paler blue below with a white stomach. The female is a duller blue-gray on her wings with a gray throat, back and crown.
Characteristics of the Mountain Bluebird
Identification
- Length: 6 inches
- Thin bill
- Most often seen in open habitats
Adult male
- Bright blue plumage; brightest on upperparts
- Lacks any brown coloration
Female:
- Blue wings and tail-duller than male
- Remainder of plumage gray
- Eye ring
Juvenile
- Blue wings and tail-duller than male
- White eye ring
- Spotted underparts
The Mountain Bluebird lives in the Nevada high country and destroys many harmful insects. It is a member of the thrush family and its song is a clear, short warble like the caroling of a robin. The male is azure blue with a white belly, while the female is brown with a bluish rump, tail, and wings.
Nevada Statutes
The law designating the Mountain Bluebird as the official Nevada state bird is Section NRS 235.060 (State bird) of the Nevada Statutes, Title 19 (MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS RELATED TO GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS) Chapter 235 (STATE EMBLEMS; GIFTS AND ENDOWMENTS, STATE SEAL AND MOTTO) Section 235.060.
TITLE 19- MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS RELATED TO GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
CHAPTER 235-STATE EMBLEMS; GIFTS AND ENDOWMENTS, STATE SEAL AND MOTTO.
SECTION 235.060.
NRS 235.060 State bird. The bird known as the Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) is hereby designated as the official state bird of the State of
Nevada.
(Added to NRS by 1967, 702)
Taxonomic Hierarchy: Mountain Bluebird
Kingdom: Animalia - animals
Phylum: Chordata - chordates
Subphylum: Vertebrata - vertebrates
Class: Aves - birds
Order: Passeriformes - perching birds
Family: Muscicapidae - old world flycatchers
Genus: Sialia Swainson, 1827 - bluebirds
Species: Sialia currucoides (Bechstein, 1798) - Azulejo palido, mountain bluebird
