![]() Blue in a sea of yellow, Indigo Bunting among sunflowers | image by Laura Wolf via Flickr | CC BY 2.0 5. They balance on the stalks of wild grasses, searching for their next meal. Indigo Buntings thrive on seeds from grasses that grow in these open spaces. Indigo Buntings take advantage of human development.Įven though these songbirds haven’t taken well to human suburban development, they love the grassy corridors that roads, railroad tracks, and power lines make as they cut through densely forested areas. However, the blue feathers of his head and back are still visible. His tail, wings, and part of his neck may be brown. They are sometimes referred to as the “blue canary”.Īt other times of the year, the male has more brown feathers. Their heads are slightly darker than the rest of them, although some may have darker blue wingtips. Some may have diffuse light blue stripes on their wings too.ĭuring the breeding season, males are a bright cobalt blue. Throughout the year, they are differently colored.įemales are dusty chestnut brown year-round. It’s easy to tell male and female Indigo Buntings apart. While they often defend their territories against each other, they also may share songs and even interbreed to form hybrids. In areas of the western Great Plains, the Indigo Bunting can be found alongside another blue bird, the Lazuli Bunting. Indigo buntings sometimes breed with Lazuli Bunting Their range has recently expanded into the Southwest and the Four Corners region. In the United States, they have traditionally been found from Maine south to Florida and west to Texas and North Dakota. Specifically, they spend spring and summer in the eastern and southwestern United States, then fall and winter in Central America and some islands of the Caribbean. Indigo Buntings split their time between North and Central America. You can spot them in the southwestern and eastern United States. For the birder in the East or Southwest, this is a great species to keep an eye out for – and even consider feeding in your backyard! Continue reading to learn 12 facts Indigo Buntings. This omnivorous songbird has captured the hearts of many by way of its bright blue color. So this beautiful blue-feathered display can actually be seen as a trick of nature.The Indigo Bunting’s whistling song and flash of blue wings is like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day. Because of this, they can appear as shades from turquoise to shades of black, depending on how the light hits them. The blue color is generated by the diffraction of light through their feathers which makes them appear blue. (The mnemonic often used for identifying their paired call is, “ fire fire where? where? here here see it? see it?”) I arrived at the picnic at about 11:30AM and that bird sang almost without ceasing until I left at 3:00PM.Īn interesting piece of information about the Indigo Bunting is the fact that its color is actually not blue at all, but black…(believe it or not). At a recent picnic at Fort Harrison State Park, I could hear an Indigo Bunting singing nearby as soon as I walked up. With his astonishing beauty, the male Indigo Bunting seems to know his beauty, and glorify in it, by singing persistently. ![]() I’ve added a second picture to this BOTM so you can see the contrast between the male and female.) And indeed, she is not often seen, but even when seen, she is easily overlooked. Which is actually a very good thing, as the female spends her time trying to stay concealed as she incubates eggs and cares for the young. ![]() (The deep velvet blue of the male…that is! So void of distinguishing field marks, the female Indigo Bunting hardly seems to even be a member of the same species of bird. The deep velvet blue feathers of the Indigo Bunting sets this bird apart indeed. With such a pretty name, you’d expect a pretty bird…and you’d not be disappointed. This month’s featured bird is the Indigo Bunting. But seen at close range and in good light, this bird’s appearance can be almost breathtaking. Seen from a distance or in poor light, this month’s Bird of the Month just seems like a small, dark bird. ![]()
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