![]() ![]() There's no eye ring and only a hint of wing bars, but a close examination of the bird's head finally provides a hint for identification: a two-tone bill in which the top is black, the bottom pinkish-tan. Their bodies are covered by neutral brown feathers, and wings and tail are colored to match. Indeed, female Indigo Buntings (above and below left) at first glance are totally devoid of field marks and have no distinctive shape or size. " Most of the time they don't even have to finish the sentence before we suggest "female Indigo Bunting." That's when we get phone calls that start out with "I've got this little brown bird eating sunfl. We tell beginners that with a little work and a trusty field guide, even a sparrow, female duck, or winter shorebird can USUALLY be identified, but just when novices start to feel a little confident with their skills, the "most nondescript bird in North America" suddenly shows up at a feeder in spring and confounds them completely. Of these, the one most folks notice most quickly is color, including field marks such as spots, wing bars, eye rings, and tail spots. Then we suggest the use of three criteria that help in identification of any new bird: color, size, and shape. Photo credit Alabama Rick.When beginning birdwatchers seem overwhelmed at trying to identify all the avian visitors to their backyards, we first remind them that everybody-novices and experts alike-learns new species the same way: one bird at a time. There are no management plans for this abundant species. Their numbers increase in areas of shrubs with weeds and herbs, and diminish in areas of agriculture, urbanization, and where old fields are returning to forest (Payne). ![]() The population of Indigo Buntings is healthy and in some places in the southeastern United States it may be the most common songbird along roadsides. However, some individuals can move to sites far outside their normal migration route and be seen in British Columbia and Washington (Payne). Indigo Buntings winter almost entirely outside the United States and migrate to Mexico, Central America, and some Caribbean Islands. It has bred at Grand Canyon National Park since 1964. Sine the 1940s it has expanded its range as a summer resident into parts of the southwestern United States. The Indigo Bunting is widespread from the northern Great Plains across all the eastern United States and in southern Canada south of the coniferous forests. The males will sometimes assume the feeding of the fledglings as the female attempts a second brood (Kaufman). The female feeds the chicks and they will fledge in about 10 more days. Usually three to four bluish-white eggs are deposited and will hatch in less than two weeks. The nest is an open cup of grass, weeds, and leaves lined with finer materials. The female does almost all the caring for the nest and hatchlings. The male will mark the territory with song and can have more than one female in the territory. The Indigo Bunting is a bird that inhabits dense shrubs and low trees. After its second winter it will molt into its definitive alternate all-blue plumage and will do so every spring after that. The Marymoor Indigo Bunting was a bird in this stage of development. These first spring males can have a blotchy appearance and often have white feathers under the belly (Payne). After its first winter it will undergo its first pre-alternate molt in which feathers on its head, body, and some wing and tail feathers will be blue and other feathers will be brown. The male Indigo Bunting takes two spring cycles to molt into all blue plumage. The male Indigo Bunting which was seen at Marymoor Park in June sported plumage that was a mix of blue and brown, which was the result of the molt strategy of birds in the genus Passerina (Howell). In winter, the female takes on a more cinnamon coloration following a late summer molt. The female in contrast is a pale brown with two faint wing bars and streaks on the chest and flanks. The male Indigo Bunting in summer is entirely bright blue with the color darker and almost purple on the head (Payne). The species epithet cyanea is from the Greek kuaneos, dark blue (Holloway). The males are brightly colored in alternate (breeding) plumage and the females are more cryptically colored in brown plumage. All four species display strong sexual dimorphism. caerulea) is also in this genus, but we will focus on the four buntings. ciris) Buntings, comprise the four buntings in the genus Passerina, from the Latin for sparrow. Along with the Indigo Bunting, the Lazuli ( P. ![]()
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