Enjoy this short photo essay of birds with “blue” plumage. While three are winging the blues, at the end is a bird that doesn’t like the blues. (Maybe it prefers “raspberry.”)
Remember blue feathers are due to microscopic feather structures and light reflectance, not blue-producing pigments. Sometimes birds identified with a different color can appear blue. An earlier link to this phenomenon is below the photo essay.
GO FIND OTHER SPECIES THAT STUNNINGLY SING THE BLUES IN NATURE
LIST OF SPECIES:
These blue beauties with an * asterisk have occurred or live in or transit through the Yucatan Peninsula. Those with ^ may also live in the US some or all the time and those with just their names were photographed in Brazil but their range includes other areas.
*^Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, Colorín Azul (Spanish)
*^Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, Golodrina Bicolor (Spanish), Kusam (Mayan)
*^Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinicus, Gallineta Morada (Spanish)
*Blue-gray Tanager, Thraupis episcopus, Tangara Azulgris (Spanish)
*Red-legged Honeycreeper, Cyanerpes cyaneus, Mielero Patas Rojas (Spanish), Tsu’ust kaab (Mayan)
*^Blue Grosbeak, Passerina caerulea, Picogordo Azul
(Spanish)
*Yucatan Jay, Cyanocorax yucatanicus, Chara Yucateca (Spanish), Ch’eel (Mayan)
*^Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, Azulejo Gorjicanelo
(Spanish)
^Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Ara ararauna
Hyacinth Macaw, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus
^Florida Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens
REFERENCES:
Sal a Pajarear Yucatán (Guía de Aves), Birds and Reserves of the Yucatán Peninsula. A Guide to Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home
Cherie Pittillo, “nature inspired,” photographer and author, explores nature everywhere she goes. She’s identified 56 bird species in her Merida, Yucatan backyard view. Her monthly column features anecdotes about birding in Merida, Yucatan and also wildlife beyond the Yucatan.
Contact: [email protected] All rights reserved, ©Cherie Pittillo
