It's not just Snow White's cheerful avian attendants, or those "happy little bluebirds" that Dorothy, of The Wizard of Oz, imagines flying "over the rainbow." Across cultures and times, blue birds have been regarded as harbingers of happiness. They seem to bear the cloudless sky on their backs, and their presence can lift our spirits.
Far West Texas is home to several species of azure-hued avians. Some of these bird species are full-time residents, while others are summering now in our region.
They're small, stocky birds, and the males are bright blue on their throats and backs. Western bluebirds are among the region's most vibrant creatures, said Trans-Pecos ornithologist Cecilia Riley.
"That's a beloved bird," she said, "and they are year-round residents in all of our sky islands in Far West Texas. They prefer the pinyon-oak forest at mid to upper elevations during the summer months."
They're nesting now in the high country, in old woodpecker holes or cavities in dying trees. In winter, they spread across the region, foraging for juniper berries and other ripening fruits in flocks of 60 or more.
Nesting boxes can be a boon for these bluebirds. But at elevations below 6,000 feet, the boxes are apt to be claimed by other birds.
"When I first moved out here, I had dreams of having nesting western bluebirds in the backyard," Riley said. "And of course, I learned a little bit more about bluebirds since then and they're not going to nest here in my backyard, but the box is used anyway."
Like crows and ravens, jays are intelligent, vocal birds. Woodhouse's scrub jays are a foot long and have blue heads, wings and tails. In summer, smaller nesting birds try to avoid their detection.
"They do have a little bit of a nasty habit in the summer months," Riley said. "They will take an egg or a nestling from a nest of another species if they find it. No one can resist an egg, I guess."
As their name suggests, Woodhouse's scrub jays thrive in low, scrubby country. But they're moving into higher terrain, as another jay species forsakes that habitat.
Steller's jays have pronounced crests, and their coloration ranges from rich blue to silver. They need wet canyons. Amidst intensifying drought, such settings are vanishing in West Texas.
"Ten years ago you could reliably count on seeing a few of them in two of the different canyons we bird up in the Davis Mountains," Riley said, "and now they're almost impossible. You still get one once or twice a year maybe, but they're very difficult to find here."
There's a third jay that's not hard to find. In Texas, Mexican jays live only in the Chisos Mountains. And these blue-and-white birds know where hikers stop to rest along trails.
"They come right away and sit right next to you," Riley said. "You're not supposed to feed birds in the national park, but I suspect they've eaten many a granola bar – because who can resist that, if a bird just comes and sits right next to you on your bench?"
Then, there are two blue migrants. Blue grosbeaks figure in Indigenous lore as symbols of renewal. They journey from the tropics to nest here in streamside thickets and shrubs.
Varied buntings are true desert birds – of a gorgeous blue, with "jaunty red caps," Riley said. They winter in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico, and nest here in harsh desert arroyos.
"The drier the habitat, the better," she said. "People don't usually hike long distances in the habitat in which this bird lives, so they're not encountered as much. But it's a pretty abundant breeding bird in the summer. It's really pretty."
Keep your eye out for these blue West Texas birds – emblems of optimism in any season.
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