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Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
© Dave Menke

Length: 5-7 in.
Habitat: open areas with scattered trees and fencerows; farmlands, orchards, suburbs.

The sweet chirrup and the flash of blue in garden or orchard or along a rural road have made the Eastern Bluebird a special favorite. But for many years this much-admired bird has been in trouble: introduced House Sparrows and Starlings have taken over its preferred tree holes. Fortunately, bluebirds will nest in birdhouses specially designed to keep out the alien intruders. In many areas, hundreds of these houses have been set up along "bluebird trails"—ambitious projects that have halted the species' decline and even reversed it in some places.