Bird Watching: ?Ghost Bluebird? is the new Mom for single parent Bluebirds, 0 by 2dCousinDave

2dCousinDave wrote:
I think you can assume they will chase away the fledglings as soon as the male stops feeding them. That will be when they are about 45 days old (about one month after they fledge).

I have never heard of a female adopting another female's offspring. It may have happened somewhere sometime, but I have never heard of it. Last year I had a new female take up with a male that already had four 6 day old nestlings and she killed them. This year it happened again and the female started a new nest on top of the previous female's eggs and also chased away the stepchild fledglings within the time frame I outlined above.

I notice considerable differences in the markings of bluebirds. Some males, for example, are dark and shiny blue, while others are lighter and still others are blue but faded to the point where their blue looks almost gray and they can be mistaken for females, especially by the casual observer. I have had three different females in three years and they all displayed different coloring. The new female I have now has dark wing and back feathers but is lighter in the chest area than the two before her. But I have photographed some in the field that who's color was more washed out than she is. Nothing quite like yours seems to be, however. I will be interested to see a better picture when you get it.

Also, I notice my Papa puts each of his new females "in their place." By that I mean for the first several days he really beats up on them and never allows them to feed ahead of him and seems to be upset with them if they are not in the nestbox, sitting on the eggs when he thinks they should, for example. They seem to watch him carefully for clues as to how, what and when they should act. Could be your new female is undergoing a similar initiation process and will assert herself more when he lets up on her and she is more confident of her role.

I cropped your picture as much as I dared. It lacks detail but you can see it a little bit better.

Dave

This message was edited Jul 20, 2008 9:24 AM