Perching Birds
Indigo Bunting
Passerina
cyanea
Description
5 1/2" (14 cm). Sparrow-sized. In
bright sunlight male brilliant turquoise blue, otherwise looks
black; wings and tail darker. Female drab brown, paler beneath.
Voice
Rapid, excited warble, each note or phrase
given twice.
Habitat
Brushy slopes, abandoned farmland, old
pastures and fields grown to scrub, woodland clearings, and forest
edges adjacent to fields.
Nesting
3 or 4 pale blue eggs in a compact woven
cup of leaves and grass placed in a sapling or bush in relatively
thick vegetation and within a few feet of the ground.
Range
Breeds from southeastern Saskatchewan east
to New Brunswick, and south to central Arizona, central Texas, Gulf
Coast, and northern Florida. Winters in southern Florida and in
tropics.
Discussion
Indigo Buntings have no blue pigment;
they are actually black, but the diffraction of light through the
structure of the feathers makes them appear blue. These attractive
birds are also found in rural roadside thickets and along the
right-of-way of railroads, where woodlands meet open areas. They are
beneficial to farmers and fruit growers, consuming many insect pests
and weed seeds.
Perching Birds