Indigo Bunting

The Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, is a small seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. The Indigo Bunting is closely related to the Lazuli Bunting, and will interbreed with the latter species where their ranges overlap.

The Indigo Bunting is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

along the prairie-forest ecotone, the Indigo Bunting was undoubtedly restricted in numbers by the relatively closed canopy of the climax forest. . . . In the East the opening of the forest canopy by agriculture, logging and burning, and in the western grasslands the planting of trees, coupled with cessation of burning, converted great areas into potential Indigo Bunting habitat. This species has apparently responded to these changes with a great increase in population and extension of range. . . . More

The Indigo Bunting, one of our best known songbirds, is a small migratory species that breeds in eastern North America and winters primarily in southern Florida, Mexico and Central America, and on islands in the Gulf of Mexico. It sings through the late spring and summer in brushy and weedy places. More

The Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, is a small seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the stars to navigate. Its habitat is farmland, brush areas, and open woodland. The Indigo Bunting is closely related to the Lazuli Bunting, and will interbreed with the latter species where their ranges overlap. More

Indigo Buntings in Utah USA with Special Reference to Interspecific Competition with Lazuli Buntings. Condor. vol 77, no 4. p. 509-510. * Young BE. (1989). First Specimen Record of the Indigo Bunting Passerina-Cyanea New-Record in British Columbia Canada. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 103, no 3. * Young BE. (1991). More

The Indigo Bunting is sexually dimorphic (males and females look different). Adult males areblue and have no wing bars. The female is mostly unstreaked and light brown, although some females may be tinged with blue. Young resemble the female with faint light colored wing bars. First-year males during the breeding season are variable in color, blue or mixed blue and brown. After the breeding season males molt and resemble females temporarily. More

The elusive vibrant Indigo Bunting is a pleasant surprise for any bird enthusiast. This small bird stays away from urban areas and enjoys living in sparsly forested areas surrounded by small pastures. The beautiful male bird has a summer plumage of an indigo blue while the female is a constant brown throughout the course of the year. More

The Indigo Bunting is rated as Least Concern at this time. The range of the Indigo Bunting is approximately 6 million square kilometers. The population of this bird species is about 28 million individual birds. The prior rating for the Indigo Bunting was Lower Risk. That rating was downgraded to Least Concern in 2004. The Indigo Bunting is native to numerous countries throughout the Caribbean as well as Central America and North America. More

The male Indigo Bunting is a rich, deep blue all over, but may appear dark and blackish in poor light. Older male buntings are first to arrive on their North American breeding grounds in late April to mid May. They will have already staked out their territories by the time the females arrive about two weeks later. More

Indigo Bunting Range MapView dynamic map of eBird sightings Field MarksHelp - * MalePopOutZoom In Male * © Charles L. More

of the Indigo Bunting consists primarily of insects during the summer months and seeds during the winter months. Contents * 1 Taxonomy * 2 Description * 3 Distribution and habitat * 4 Behavior * 4.1 Breeding * 4. More

Indigo BuntingIndigo Bunting It was a really good thing that the one day a year that the indigo bunting came to our backyard fell on one of the days that I could be here to watch the fun. He is the only native bird that is dark blue all over. We had a one day viewing last year. He stops by for a snack, and we have to be grateful that we at least seem to be considered a rest stop with food. More

of the Indigo Bunting consists primarily of insects during the summer months and seeds during the winter months. Taxonomy The Indigo Bunting is included in the family Cardinalidae, which is made up of passerine birds found in North and South America, and is one of seven birds in the genus Passerina. It was originally described as Loxia cyanea by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae. More

Indigo Buntings usually begin to breed in early summer. The female selects the nest site preferably located close to the ground in open bushy areas or along edges of farmed lands. They also breed in clearings in open deciduous woodlands, in abandoned agricultural fields and in swamps. She builds the nest in about 8 days. The nest is an open cup of soft leaves, grasses, stems and strips of bark. The female lays 1 to 4 unmarked white eggs, one each day after sunrise. More

* The Indigo Bunting migrates at night, using the stars for guidance. It learns its orientation to the night sky from its experience as a young bird observing the stars. * Experienced adult Indigo Buntings can return to their previous breeding sites when held captive during the winter and released far from their normal wintering area. More

What Indigo Buntings Eat Indigos like a variety of food, including seeds, nuts, berries, insects, mosquitoes, flies, aphids, small spiders, buds, rice, goldenrod, thistle, grasses, and herbs. So they are likely to eat any type of good bird food, though putting out birdseed with real nuts and fruits one of the best ways to attract these bright birds. Buntings also prefer small seeds over large ones. More

Specially prepared for Indigo Bunting for Glove Free Gardening! More

The Indigo Bunting is a small bird, with a length of 11.5" More

The male Indigo Bunting is a rich, deep blue all over, but may appear dark and blackish in poor light. Song is composed of loud, strident high-pitched notes that are often delivered in pairs. A popular memory-phrase for the song is "fire-fire, where-where, here-here, seeit-seeit." Indigo Buntings frequent forest clearings and second-growth habitat in the East and Midwest. More

The male's plumage is iridescent: Indigo Bunting feathers have no pigment; they are actually black, but when light shines and reflects through the feathers from different angles it makes them appear blue - sometimes even with green, purple and black. In the fall, the male is brown with a streaked chest due to molting which may help its survival during migration. The adult male becomes entirely blue by spring's breeding time. More

Indigo bunting is an uncommon summer resident in Lincoln County, present 15 May to 3 August (Tout 1947). Breeding Range: Uncommon and local summer resident in the Platte River Valley west to Lincoln County. Rosche (1979) considered indigo bunting a common nesting species at the Cedar Point Biological Station, Keith County, during 18 July to 19 August 1977. One was also reported at Kingsley Dam 17 July to 18 August 1978. More

Adult male breeding Indigo Bunting is unmistakable. The only relief from its overall bright blue plumage is the two-toned bill, with black upper mandible, and grey lower. It has a short, conical bill, and black or grey legs and feet. Adult male winter is browner, due to extensive brownish feathers fringes, but blue still apparent on rump, tail and wings, and often elsewhere. More

philosophy otherwise?), but an indigo bunting’s blue is what is called a structural color. The underlying pigment, melanin, is brown, but the feather’s microscopic make-up causes different wavelengths of light to bounce in different directions, giving it a variable appearance. Backlit or in the shadows, an indigo bunting looks almost black. In direct sunlight—bingo!—those lovely indigo rays hit your eyes or a camera lens. More

Since the 1940s the Indigo Bunting has been pioneering west out of its core range in the eastern United States, and these pioneers are becoming ever more frequent in San Diego County. From two sightings in spring and summer 1997, one in 1998, and none in 1999, we went to seven in 2000, 11 in 2001, and at least six already in 2002. The Indigo Bunting's arrival brings new prominence to an often neglected identification problem, distinguishing the brown female Indigo from the female Lazuli Bunting. More

In the 1960s the Indigo Bunting was just another vagrant from the eastern United States. But the front of its expanding breeding range has now almost reached the Pacific coast. Today this brilliant bird, though still rare, is becoming ever more frequent as a summer visitor to San Diego County's inland valleys and foothills. A noticeable upswing in occurrences coincided with the arrival of the new millennium. More

male indigo bunting from other members of the finch family. Females and immature males have light brown plumage, wings with buff-colored and scattered blue feathers, and unstreaked or indistinctly streaked breasts. These beautiful birds offer more than aesthetic pleasure-their means of feather coloration and their migratory, song-learning and breeding behaviors are equally fascinating. ******FEATHER COLORATION************************ The intensely blue hues of the indigo bunting's plumage result structural, rather than pigment coloration. More

The Indigo Bunting, a member of the finch family, is a familiar summer visitor to Eastern North America. This beautiful little songster prefers brushy pastures and edge habitat where brushy fields meet the forest. Its winter range extends from extreme SE Texas and Florida through Central America and the West Indies. Males vigorously defend their territory by singing and displaying from a utility wire or other open perch. More