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Bluebirds communicate with one another through the use of sounds and gestures. Songs are given by both sexes, but most often by the male. He uses it to announce his territory and to attract a female. When directed toward other males inside his nesting territory it becomes very aggressive, even to the point of audible bill-snapping. Another important sound for the bluebirds is for alarm or danger. This can consist of a short harsh calls or rapid chattering. At the beginning of nesting season if the male does not have a mate, he will start singing loudly from tree tops. Once he attracts a female he becomes much quieter and then resorts to using gestures. These movements are very interesting to observe, they are called wing-waves. The male will use this gesture by lifting one wing or both in a quick wave like fashion to attract the female attention. You can witness this action of the male on top of his nest box as he tries to convince the female that this is a great place to raise a family. Along with wing waving he is singing softly too. He’s hoping the female will accept his invitation and if she enters the nest box it’s a good sign she did. Also bluebirds can deviate from their normal flight pattern as a way of communication. This is done mostly by the male during territory formation and courtship. In one type of flight display he uses slow long wing beats, in another he flies with a lopsided flight, in another he will hover in front of the nest entrance. All these types of communication help them to organize their lives and to successfully breed and to survive in the wild.
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