Bluethroat
Bluethroat
Cyanecula svecica
At a Glance
A prize find for birders who visit northwestern Alaska is this elusive little chat. Bluethroats usually skulk in low dense shrubbery, but sometimes a male will perch up conspicuously to sing, or even sing in brief flights above the thickets. The song is quite variable, often including imitations of other birds. The colorful throat patch of males is prominently shown off in aggressive encounters between rivals, as well as in courtship.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Perching Birds, Thrushes
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Tundra and Boreal Habitats
Region
Alaska and The North
Behavior
Direct Flight, Flitter
Population
50.000.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Alaska nesting birds winter in southeast Asia. Migrants apparently come across Bering Strait; seldom seen in Aleutians, although regular farther north on St. Lawrence Island.
Description
4 3/4" (12 cm). Mostly pale and drab except for male's bright blue throat (with red central spot). Female and young have white throat with dark border; on all, note rusty patches at base of tail.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Blue, Brown, Gray, Red, Tan
Wing Shape
Rounded
Tail Shape
Rounded, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
Song loud, varied, and introduced by repeated dip, dip, dip. Sometimes mimics the song of other birds. Alarm call is huyt-tock.
Call Pattern
Falling, Flat, Rising, Undulating
Call Type
Buzz, Chirp/Chip, Rattle, Whistle
Habitat
Dwarf willows, thick brush. In Alaska, breeds in areas where open tundra is broken by dense low thickets of willow and dwarf birch, especially along drainages or near water. In Eurasia found in various kinds of low brushy habitats, including thickets near water or along forest edge, or scrub in drier hills.
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Behavior
Eggs
5-6, sometimes 4-8. Pale blue-green, finely dotted with reddish brown. Incubation is mostly or entirely by female, about 13-14 days.
Young
Both parents feed nestlings. Young can fly at about 14 days, may leave nest 1-2 days earlier.
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly on the ground under dense cover, picking up insects from the soil or from low plants. Sometimes flies up short distances to catch insects in the air.
Diet
Mostly insects. Diet in North America not well known. In Eurasia, feeds on many insects, especially beetles, caterpillars, ants, sawfly larvae, crane flies and other flies, and others. Also eats spiders, plus some snails and earthworms. Eats berries and a few seeds, perhaps mainly in fall.
Nesting
Nesting habits in Alaska not well known, probably similar to those in Eurasia, described here. Male sings to defend territory, from hidden perch or from top of shrub; sometimes performs short flight-song display. In courtship, male faces female, points bill up to show off throat pattern, raises tail, hops around female while singing. Nest site is on ground under dense low shrubs or tucked into side of grass tussock. Nest (built mostly or entirely by female) is an open cup of grass, weeds, twigs, moss, rootlets, lined with plant down and animal hair.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Small population in Alaska probably stable or possibly increasing. Widespread and common in Eurasia.