©Joan Lansberry

All bluebirds have blue on their heads, backs, and tails, however the female's blue has a gray-brown tinge. The bluebird's song is a rich, warbling ''turr, turr-lee, turr-lee''. They also have a ''tew!'' call note and a chittering 'scold' call.

(from my journal)
August 8, 1998

... I still felt scummy by late morning. Laura suggested it was post-partum picture blues, and the best thing to cure it would be to do another drawing. But it should be a fun project, not something intensely challenging. I looked through some of my wildlife calenders, seeing if anything intrigued me. I found the bluebird I had scanned last year. Perhaps 'the bluebird of happiness' would inspire me. By the time I'd finished his head, seeing the life within him emerging, my mood lifted. I'd originally sketched the flowers in the foreground exactly as they were in the photograph, but decided as the picture progressed to redesign their order. By the time I'd finished Eastern Bluebird, I felt, yes, even happy!