Mountain Bluebird in Great Sand Dunes National Pk ©2008 Bo Mackison

This male Mountain Bluebird seemed to be admiring the setting sun as it dropped below the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado in mid-October. The mountain bluebird is one of three bluebird species in the United States–the other two are the Eastern Bluebird and the Western Bluebird–but the only one to be all blue instead of having a brownish underbelly.  The females of all the species are more difficult to identify, as they lack the blue intensity of the male, and tend to be an overall grayish-blue.

The Mountain Bluebird is found throughout the western parts of the States, usually west of the Rockies. This guy was perched only a few hundred yards from the nearest peaks, the Sangre de Cristo Range.

Pretty little guy, isn’t he? He’s the first Mountain Bluebird I’ve ever seen.