So while leaves are not directly related to this late-season molt, they coincidentally are a great indicator of the amount of food available to birds from year to year. Birds feast during harvest season to build the stores of energy that will carry them through the winter-and also to enrich their bodies with nutrients for building strong and healthy feathers. And in the same way that an abundance of sun, rainfall, and frostless nights bring on the most vibrant autumns, these favorable conditions also lead to a plethora of insects and natural forest foods. Under optimal conditions, the loss of chlorophyll from leaves gives way to reveal orange-tinted carotenoids and red-hued anthocyanin pigments which account for the drastic change in color. The answer lies in their responses to weather: bluebird plumage patterns are correlated with the vibrancy of leaf pigments in autumn, and they share the same biological causes. Feel free to click the image and download a large version, so you can enjoy the ephemeral beauty of fall for a little while longer. Raisa Kochmaruk illustrated this article in colored pencil, graphite, and watercolor (though not necessarily in that order). How are bluebirds like fall foliage? Bluebirds In Autumn

Despite the months of cold and shortening days to come, bluebirds put on fresh attire for the last, glorious days of fall, and they won’t molt again until next fall.

In fact, this year brought out a wave of ‘mega-watt’ bluebirds which look quite out of place alighting on their usual posts. Similar to the fall color phenomenon, the plumage of the Eastern Bluebird appears more vibrant during some autumns than others. One songbird in particular draws the eye with its flashes of blue, starkly contrasting the golden hues of the fields in which it lives. While remnants of the autumn migration pass overhead, songbirds are busy in the fiery foliage that rolls down hillsides into meadows and backyards below.Ĭhange isn’t only for the leaves, however. Raisa Kochmaruk By Raisa Kochmaruk, Cornell Class of ‘21Īnd Robyn Bailey, NestWatch project leaderįrom mountain peaks to foothills all across North America, this fall has brought a particularly vibrant symphony of color-both in birds and the leaves of deciduous trees.

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