Today (Wednesday April 8) I was able to watch the Mountain Bluebird west of
Toledo almost continuously from about 11:00 to 12:30. Much of this time it
was far enough away that it required a telescope for good studies, as it
ranged through the large open field west of 295 and Wilkins and along the
fenceline of the airport east of the road. But it was seldom out of sight,
and with its characteristic color and habit of perching up in the open, it
was identifiable (at a superficial level) practically out to the limit of
vision.

This is the most highly migratory of the three species of bluebirds, nesting
as far north as central Alaska and wintering as far south as the central
plateau of Mexico, and it has a well-established history of wandering out of
range. Although this is only the second Ohio record, there are many records
in the east, even as far as the Atlantic Coast (and beyond the coast: one
came aboard a ship 70 miles at sea off Massachusetts!), so its occurrence
here is not entirely unexpected.

Especially at the eastern limits of its breeding range, on the prairie
provinces of Canada, Mountain Bluebird is known to interbreed fairly often
with Eastern Bluebird. So with records out of range, there's always the
question whether the bird is a "pure" Mountain Bluebird or possibly a hybrid
or backcross. I went to look at the Toledo bird partly with this in mind,
and I'm happy to say that this bird looks like "the real thing," a
pure-blooded Mountain Bluebird.

Color is the most immediately obvious I.D. point, but it's not the only one.
In studying the Toledo bird, I was looking most closely at its shape.
Mountain Bluebird has a distinctly thinner, longer-looking bill than the
other two bluebird species. It usually doesn't look quite as large-headed or
round-shouldered as the others. It also has distinctly longer wingtips and a
longer tail. These give it a more stretched-out or elongated look while
perched, and they also change its flight silhouette and flight action,
making it look less compact, more graceful, more buoyant in the air. In
parts of the southwest where all three bluebird species occur together, it's
possible to pick out Mountain Bluebirds in flight overhead by their long,
pointed wings, long tails, and graceful wing action. Voices differ as well,
but in my experience Mountain Bluebirds call mainly when they're in flocks
and tend to be silent at other times. I didn't hear a sound from the Toledo
bird.

I've seen specimens of Eastern X Mountain hybrids that were almost entirely
blue but with intermediate structural characteristics and the wrong shading
of blue in some areas. The Toledo bird has the right shades of blue and gray
in all areas of its plumage. It appears to be, as Tom Kemp already
suggested, a young male, in its second calendar year. In the field, the
surest sign of its age is on the wings, where the innermost greater coverts
are bright sky-blue and the outer ones are gray with narrow whitish edges.
If it were a full adult, the greater coverts would be entirely sky-blue. The
age also explains the tinges of gray on the head and underparts. Regardless,
it's a gorgeous bird, and I hope it sticks around for many more birders to
enjoy it.

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio

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