Ozark field notes, May.
Arkansas’s blue birds split between forest specialists (Cerulean Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo) and open-country birds (Eastern Bluebird, Indigo Bunting). The state’s geography - the Ozarks in the north, the Mississippi delta in the east, hardwood bottomlands in the south - puts all of them in driving distance of any town. Twelve species in total; ten of them are findable in a single weekend in May.
The 12 blue and blue-toned birds of Arkansas
Bright blue resident songbirds:
- Eastern Bluebird - blue back, rusty breast. Open fields, fence posts, nest boxes. Year-round.
- Blue Jay - larger, crested, white wing bars. Year-round.
- Indigo Bunting - all-over electric blue. Summer breeder, brushy edges and roadsides.
- Blue Grosbeak - deep cobalt with rusty wing bars. Summer.
Forest specialists:
- Cerulean Warbler - sky-blue tiny warbler. Mature hardwood forest, mostly migration.
- Blue-headed Vireo - blue-grey hood, white spectacles. Migration and winter.
- Black-throated Blue Warbler - sharp blue back, white belly. Migration only.
Waders:
- Great Blue Heron - the big grey-blue wader. Year-round any wet habitat.
- Little Blue Heron - small blue adult, white juvenile. Eastern delta marshes.
Other blue-tinted:
- Belted Kingfisher - blue-grey crest. Year-round near water.
- Purple Martin - dark blue-purple. Summer; very social, nest in dedicated houses.
- Tree Swallow - iridescent blue-green back. Migration, breeding sparse in north.
How to tell them apart
Three songbirds people confuse most:
- Eastern Bluebird has a rusty breast. Always.
- Indigo Bunting is all blue, smaller, often singing from a wire.
- Blue Grosbeak is larger than Indigo Bunting and has rusty wing bars.
If it’s a tall blue wader, it’s a heron. If it’s tiny and moving in the canopy, it’s a warbler or vireo.
Where to find them in Arkansas
- Ouachita National Forest - hardwood specialists (Cerulean Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo).
- Ozark National Forest - Eastern Bluebird, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak in open patches.
- Cache River NWR - Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, the delta wading list.
- Holla Bend NWR - winter Bald Eagles, year-round Eastern Bluebird, Belted Kingfisher.
May and early June are the peak: breeding males are at their brightest and most vocal.
Attracting Eastern Bluebirds to your Arkansas yard
Arkansas is excellent bluebird country - much of the state is open agricultural land that bluebirds prefer. The recipe:
- A proper nest box with a 1.5-inch entrance hole.
- Pole-mounted, 5-6 feet up, 50+ feet from any building.
- Open ground in front for hunting from a perch.
- Mealworms in late winter and early spring.
Audubon Cedar Bluebird House
The nest box that actually fits.
A solid cedar bluebird nest box with a 1.5-inch entrance hole sized specifically for Eastern Bluebirds. Excludes house sparrows and starlings (which can't fit). Front-opening for easy cleaning between broods. The standard endorsed by the North American Bluebird Society.
- 1.5-inch entrance, bluebird-specific
- Solid cedar, weather-rated for years outdoors
- Front-opening for spring cleaning
Woodlink · NABB
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The bottom line
Arkansas’s twelve blue-bird list runs from canopy warblers to fence-post buntings to delta-marsh herons. Best season is May; best easy yardbird is the Eastern Bluebird; best forest specialty is the Cerulean Warbler in the Ouachitas.
See also our regional notes for Alabama and Arizona.
