Bluebirds on the Aerial

We used to see one or two Eastern bluebirds now and then in the spring or summer, but they never stayed long. We still only see them occasionally, usually on the TV aerial out back -- sometimes just the male, sometimes his wife, or sometimes the two of them together -- but we see them more frequently than we used to. 

Probably that's because our neighbours put up a bluebird box a few years back. We've seen bluebirds coming and going from that box since, sometimes coming to roost on the telephone line that nearly crosses over our drive. 

The bluebird is a kind of thrush, like the American robin. Male Eastern bluebirds have a rust-coloured breast and a blue back, tail, and wings. The female is a sort of greyish colour, with blue washed in her tail and wing feathers; she, too, has a red breast. The juvenile of the species is also grey, with blue in the wings and tail, but their breasts are speckled greyish and white. We've never seen a juvenile, but there's a nice depiction of one in Eastern Birds, by Roger Tory Peterson.  

Bluebirds eat snails, insects, worms, fruits, and berries, according to Peterson. Usually the ones who come to our aerial are there to rest, or to scope out the ground for insects and the like. 

The Eastern bluebird population, according to our parents, has been declining, which is why we have seen so few of them. Used to be, before we were born, that our parents would see them in this area all the time. They like farms, roadsides, and open country with some trees -- which may be why they're on the decline in this area, which used to have a lot more farmland and fewer houses than it does now. 

We got the image from Google Images (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=600&q=eastern+bluebird&oq=eastern+&gs_l=img.1.4.0l10.1827.3320.0.7125.8.7.0.1.1.0.53.297.7.7.0...0.0.0..1ac.1.17.img.yFp6fBY54qk).