Discover the Beautiful Blue Birds You Can Spot in Rhode Island

Even though Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country, it has a lot of different habitats, from woods to wetlands, to beaches, to urban and suburban areas. This means the state supports a surprising diversity of plant and animal species. When it comes to birds, some of Rhode Island’s prettiest species are blue—an exceedingly rare color in nature. And as we’ll show you, it’s not even a color birds can produce; it’s just an optical illusion. This guide covers some of the blue birds you might see around the state. If you want even more detail about them, check out the National Audubon Society.

Why Is Blue a Rare Bird Color?

Blue is one of the rarest colors in nature because birds don’t really make blue pigment the way they do other colors, like red or yellow. They look blue because of microscopic structures in their feathers that scatter light. This is called structural coloration. The shape of these structures reflects only blue wavelengths back to the eye, creating an optical illusion of blue. Some birds display non-iridescent blue that stays the same from all angles, while others show iridescent blues that shift and shimmer with light, giving an otherworldly appearance. So blue feathers are rarer and more remarkable than you might realize. Fortunately, though, the birds on our list are not so rare: none of the following species is endangered. Now there’s a bit of animal news you don’t often hear!

1. Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata

One of the easiest-to-spot birds in the eastern United States is the Blue Jay. It has bright blue feathers, a distinctive crest on its head, and a loud, raucous call. Blue jays frequently travel in family groups so which multiplies their chaos, just like human families. They will frequently show up at backyard feeders, but they may be the only birds around when they’re there, as they tend to be pretty aggressive toward other birds. Their songs are not as pretty as their plumage, but they are able to mimic the call of hawks; a neat trick to scare off other species and hog all the birdseed. Blue jays are considered to have above-average intelligence for birds.

2. Eastern Bluebird – Sialia sialis

The Eastern Bluebird has a brilliant royal blue back, wings, and head and a reddish-brown and white color pattern on its breast. The females have a duller grayish-blue and rust color. This is often the pattern in nature, where a male’s color helps it attract mates, while the female’s dull color helps her stay camouflaged while sitting on her eggs. These birds like open spaces with scattered trees. They will also use nest boxes, but they have to be of the correct size and correctly placed to be attractive to them.

3. Indigo Bunting – Passerina cyanea

Male indigo buntings are a dazzling electric blue during the breeding season, while females are a dull brown with faint blue on their wings and tail. They like high perches near woodland edges, brushy fields, and clearings. They’re especially active during the late spring and summer. Their song is sort of a high-pitched warble. They use it to announce their territory to rivals and to attract mates. Interestingly, they migrate at night using the stars to navigate. This keeps them on track to fly back and forth all the way from Central America to the eastern United States every year.

4. Tree Swallow – Tachycineta bicolor

The tree swallow is a sleek, agile flyer. Its back is a glossy blue-green color, and it’s crisp white on the underside. These birds like to nest in birdhouses or natural holes near wetlands, open fields, and ponds. They’re graceful fliers, swooping low over water or grasslands in pursuit of flying insects. Tree swallows form large flocks during migration, and they like to roost communally. Unlike many other songbirds, tree swallows can digest bayberries and other waxy plant materials, providing them with a steady food source in winter when insects are scarce.

5. Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica

These are fast, agile fliers that make acrobatic maneuvers to catch insects in the air. They’re easy to identify in flight because of their deeply forked tail that makes a distinctive silhouette against the sky. Barn swallows have a steel-blue back and cinnamon-colored underparts. They build their cup-shaped mud nests under eaves, bridges, and barn rafters. Their vocalizations have been described as “cheerful chittering.”

6. Belted Kingfisher – Megaceryle alcyon

The belted kingfisher is blue-gray on the back, with a white belly and a thick black bill. Something unusual about this species is that the females are more colorful than males. Females have a chestnut band across the belly that males lack. They dive headfirst from above to snatch prey from the water. The streamlined shape of the kingfisher’s bill inspired Japanese engineers in designing the aerodynamic nose of Japan’s bullet train.

7. Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea

An interesting thing about little blue herons is that they start out white as juveniles, similar to snowy egrets. Over time, darker feathers grow in, resulting in a muted slate-blue color with maroon or indigo feathers on the head and neck. Little blue herons hunt in shallow freshwater or brackish wetlands. They like to eat fish, frogs, and aquatic insects.

8. Black-Throated Blue Warbler – Setophaga caerulescens

This is a migratory species in Rhode Island. The males are deep, velvety blue on top with a black face and throat. The females are mostly olive-gray with a dim blue wing patch. These are forest birds that prefer the understory layer. They hunt insects when they stop over during their spring and fall migrations.

9. Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea

This bird is tiny and almost constantly in motion. It has a high-pitched, wheezy kind of vocalization. The color and shape of this bird often get it mistaken for a mockingbird. It’s little but mighty: fiercely territorial and aggressively defending the area where it nests. Its nest is usually small and shaped like a cup, and camouflaged with lichen on the outside so that it looks like part of the tree. Their call is a sharp “spee spee” sound. This is a bird you’ll find not just in the forest but in suburban areas as well.

10. Blue-Winged Warbler – Vermivora cyanoptera

This bird is mainly yellow, but as the name indicates, it has striking blue wings. They interbreed with golden-winged warblers, producing hybrids known as Brewster’s and Lawrence’s warblers. Hybridization is common enough to be a conservation concern, and these hybrids can sometimes make identification challenging for birders. They like the scrubby undergrowth and young forests that come up after the environment has been disturbed by nature or cleared off by people. They have a song described as a “bee-buzz” sound.

Blue Birds of Happiness

Each bird in this list brings a thrill of pleasure to anyone fortunate enough to see it, whether you’re a birdwatching enthusiast or just someone who happens to look out the window at the right time. The “blue bird of happiness” is not just a cliché—it comes in at least 10 different species in Rhode Island!

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