Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Bird a Day: Indigo Bunting

I'm working hard to get pictures of a new bird every day, I don't know if I'm going to make it the whole month but I'm going to try!  Today's bird is the Indigo Bunting.  Small and common in summer, the Indigo Bunting is so named for its brilliant blue plumage.  You can find them in old fields, along roadsides, and and edge habitat.  They love brushy areas and vine tangles where they can be head singing their bright song, which sounds like fire-fire where-where here-here

Indigo Bunting

Identification of Indigo Buntings is fairly straightforward.  Only one other bird has this bright of blue plumage and that is the Blue Grosbeak, but they are larger, have large beaks, and a chestnut wing patch.  See my bird a day post on them here to compare.  The female is a dull brown with hints of blue on her wings.  They resemble female House Finches but without the streaking.  You may be lucky enough to have these birds visit your feeder if you fill it with thistle or sunflower seed in the summer.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a beauty! I hope I see some at my feeders! Very nice shot, indeed!

Anonymous said...

I saw one of these yesterday & it was perched in a brushy area just as you said. It was small like a sparrow & so vivid blue. I felt I had seen a bit of Heaven. Thanks for the info. From Dawn in Shelbyville KY

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