I am not sure how the bluebird became associated with happiness, but, according to the wiki on the subject, it is a tradition that is both widespread and ancient. And of course, in its origins it almost certainly referenced some other blue bird than the North American thrushes that have acquired (or appropriated) the name. Eastern Bluebird (shown here in this shot from yesterday from Sana Anna National Wildlife Refuge in Alamo Texas) and the western Bluebird which share the two tone blue and rufous coloration, and the Mountain Bluebird which is almost entirely blue. Still, I have to admit that I do find our North American Bluebirds conducive to cheerfulness. They are such perky little guys, going about, at least in migration, in flocks of up to 40 birds, decorating the trees and bushes with their splash of unlikely blue.

I mean, look at these attitudes here. Don’t they make you smile (at least just a little)? No? How about this one?

All taken with the Canon SX40HS at 1680mm equivalent field of view (840mm optical plus 2x digital tel-converter). f5.8 @ with shutter speeds between 1/320th and 1/500th and ISOs between 100 and 200. Program with iContrast and –1/3 EV exposure compensation.

Processed in Lightroom for Intensity and Sharpness.

And for the Sunday thought: We humans are prone to externalizing our most precious internal states. Happiness is a bluebird…the Bluebird of Happiness. Maybe the feature more apt about Bluebirds and happiness that is caught in these images is sense of arrested motion. Bluebirds are seldom still for more than a second, and, without warning or apparent provocation, the whole flock will shoot at high speed from their current perches in a tree to decorate tall grasses in the meadow. Maybe it is that fleeting nature of happiness that we celebrate in the bluebird. On the other hand, Bluebirds generally don’t move far at a hop. They settle within easy sight of their original perch and work an area well before abandoning it. During nesting season they are very sedentary, if still highly active. They reside on territory about their nests and are easy to see over a matter of months. They are the model of domestic bliss. So I your take on what aspect of happiness the Bluebird represents might depend on the season and the place where you see them. Still, of course, we are externalizing…projecting our human feelings and needs onto the Bluebird. I do find them cheering to watch…and testimony to both the creator’s joy and sense of humor. Such unlikely little creatures! And I have to admit that the world is a happier place, for me, for having Bluebirds in it!