Last updated on May 3rd, 2023 at 11:17 pm
If you’re going birding in Utah, prepare yourself to see a wide variety of birds, including several in each shade of blue, each identifiable by distinct features and behaviors. Learn to recognize the differences between them, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a seasoned birder.
Here are 14 of the most common blue colored birds in Utah:
1. Western Scrub-Jay
The Western Scrub-Jay is recognizable by its blue head, wings, and tail. It also has a white throat, gray or tan underside, and a brown back.
The Western Scrub-Jay lives in dry, shrubby areas like canyons, pine forests, and juniper forests. They live in the western United States year-round and do not migrate.
These birds are louder and bolder than most. They also have distinctively long, pointed beaks and can be seen using them to get pine nuts out of pinecones.
2. Steller’s Jay
Steller’s Jays have a distinctive triangular crest on its head and bright blue plumage on its wings, forehead, and tail.
They are found in evergreen forests across North America, especially at high elevations.
Steller’s Jays are loud, bold birds, quick to investigate new sights and sounds. They have long legs that allow them to hop from place to place and rounded wings.
3. Little Blue Heron
The Little Blue Heron has a dark, slate blue body and a purple head, along with a two-toned bill slate blue and black.
These birds are slender, smaller than a Great Blue Heron.
You can find Little Blue Herons in and near streams, flooded fields, and swamps, as well as in salt flats where the waters are still and quiet.
4. Reddish Egret
Reddish Egrets vary in color, but some develop a grayish-blue body and a red-pink head and neck.
These birds have bicolored bills in pink and black, and they have steel blue legs.
You can find a Reddish Egret in shallow saltwater ecosystems like salt flats, mangrove forests, and lagoons.
They hunt fish, luring them in with their shadows and then pouncing.
5. Tricolored Heron
Tricolored Herons are blue-gray, white, and purple, with darker colors on the outside and white on its underbelly and chest.
They have long, sharp beaks used for hunting prey.
You can find Tricolored Herons in coastal areas, including mangroves and lagoons, as well as saltmarshes.
In the non-breeding season, Tricolored Herons can also be found in freshwater marshes, canals, and lake edges.
6. Blue Jay
Blue Jays are famously aggressive, with loud, jarring calls and a tendency to bully other birds.
They have a signature blue crest and a blue body patterned with white and black markings.
Blue Jays are found across the United States and are common guests at bird feeders.
See the following video as an example of a Blue Jay’s call for use in identification:
7. Painted Bunting
The adult male Painted Bunting has a bright blue head and a crimson chest, orange back, and vibrant green wings.
Its beak is short and stubby for eating seeds, and its body is small, about the size of a sparrow.
You can find Painted Buntings in grassy areas when they’re foraging, rarely going out in the open except in the case of breeding males.
Breeding males will sit in an open field, singing for the opposite sex.
8. Broad-billed Hummingbird
The Broad-billed Hummingbird is very brightly colored; it has a brilliant blue neck and blueish green chest, as well as some purple plumage in the tail.
The males are much more colorful than the females.
You can find Broad-billed Hummingbirds frequenting gardens with nectar-rich, tubular flowers or near rivers in areas with sycamore trees and cottonwood trees.
9. Black-throated Blue Warbler
The Black-throated Blue Warbler is recognizable by its light blue head, back, and tail, paired with a black face and a white chest and underbelly.
These birds are found in hardwood forests, particularly where they are dense with shrubberies.
They migrate with the seasons and can be found in tropical areas during the winter.
10. Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird has brilliant blue feathers on its head, back, and wings and a reddish-brown chest and throat. Its underbelly is white.
You can recognize an Eastern Bluebird by its deliberate and slow movements or by the shallow and jerky flaps of its wings.
See this video for an audio clip of the calls of an Eastern Bluebird:
11. Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireos are native to woodlands and can be found pecking tree branches looking for insects. They also leap from branches to catch insects in mid-air.
You can recognize a Blue-headed Vireo by its blue-grey head, yellow wings, and white chest. These birds are small with rapid wings and can hover in the air.
You can also identify a Blue-headed Vireo by its sound, captured in this clip:
12. Bronzed Cowbird
The Bronzed Cowbird is small and mostly black but has brilliant blue, shiny feathers on its wings and tail.
They can often be found around cows and other large animals, eating insects kicked up from the dirt.
The Bronzed Cowbird is related to Blackbirds and Orioles and can be found in farmlands and the open country.
The Bronzed Cowbird travels far out of its normal range into new environments during the breeding season, including mountain forests and deserts.
13. Glossy Ibis
The Glossy Ibis is a medium-sized wading bird with a reddish-brown body and a dark blue face surrounded by white feathers.
These birds are about 20 inches long (50.8 cm), whether male or female, and tend to live in flocks.
You can find a Glossy Ibis along wetlands and shores, as well as anywhere else with shallow water or mud. This often includes agricultural fields.
14. Rivoli’s Hummingbird
The Rivoli’s Hummingbird is found in the southwestern United States and Mexico, recognizable by its blue-green throat, purple forehead, and bright green wings.
The males are much more brightly colored than the females.
Rivoli’s Hummingbirds live in mountain forests and canyonlands, and they can be found feeding from tubular flowers with a long bill.