You are here: Home : About the Zoo : Animal Finder : Fairy bluebird
Fairy bluebird are a conspicuous, noisy and restless canopy bird keeping to the treetops.
photo: Tom Gillespie
Characteristics: About 10 in (25cm). The male has a shining blue and velvety black plumage that is unmistakable. The female has a stocky shape and is a dull blue with greyish black flight feathers. The irises are red; bill and feet are black. They have a sharp, quick call often uttered in flight and a song of loud melodious series of whistling notes. Juveniles resemble females but the eyes are a dull color. There are six subspecies recorded across this bird’s range.
This species is found in India, Andamans, SW China, the Greater Sundas and Palawan as well as Vietnam, Burma, Laos, Maylasia, Borneo, Thailand, parts of Indonesia and parts of the Philippines. They are common residents of moist deciduous evergreen lowland forests.
These beautiful birds are usually found in loose flocks but occasionally are seen in pairs. They are a conspicuous, noisy and restless canopy bird keeping to the treetops. However, they can best be viewed in the wild about mid-day when they habitually come down to bathe or drink in streams and small rivers.
Diet: They eat fruit almost exclusively and some insects as well. At N.C. Zoo they are fed a fruigivore diet made up of Bird of Paradise pellets, chopped fruits and vegetables and topped with chopped fruit.
Reproduction: The nest is a large but shallow cup of vegetation material and roots. The cup is well padded with moss,leaves or rootlets and is usually built in tree branches about 20 feet off the ground. Despite the size of the nest, they blend in well and are hard to find. They lay 2 eggs that are pale blue-green in color and spotted with brown or lilac gray. The incubation period is 13 days and the young fledge at about 12 days old. They are however not weaned until about 42 days old. These birds have successfully nested and reproduced in Aviaries.
References:
- Lekaagul, Boon Song and Edward Cronin Jr. – 1974- ‘Bird Guide to Thailand’ 2nd Edition, Publisher Association for the Conservation of Wildlife
- Smythes, Bertram- 1960- “Birds of Borneo” 3rd edition – The Sabah Society with the Maylayon Nature Society
- Rutgers,A., and K.A. Norris – 1977 – “Encyclopedia of Aviculture” Vol. 3 Blandford Press
- Harrison, Dr. C.J.O. – 1978- “Bird families of the World” Elsevier Publishing
- King, Ben, Martin Woodcock, E.C. Dickinson- 1983- “Birds of SE Asia”
e-mail this page
print this page
N.C. Zoo is a member institution of AZA and an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr. Secretary; Michael F. Easley, Governor. A part of the North Carolina Government portal.
The Zoo is closed Christmas day and during severe weather. Call our information line at: 1-800-488-0444.
