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Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae
Genus: Passerina

ICUN Redlist - World Status:

Least Concern

Description

The indigo bunting is 4.5 inches in length with a wingspan of 7-9 inches. It has a small, cone-shaped bill and gray or black legs and feet. The male is a bright blue during breeding season and a duller blue in the winter. The female is brown with a lighter streaked breast and a touch of blue on her tail and shoulders.

Range

map The indigo bunting breeds from the Great Plains south to Texas through the eastern United States. It winters from southern Florida south to the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America There are isolated populations found in some areas of the western United States.

Habitat

The indigo bunting is found in brushy and weedy areas at the edges of farmland, orchards, woods, powerline and railroad openings, swamps, and streams.

Diet

The indigo bunting eats spiders, insects, berries, and seeds. It feeds alone during the breeding season and in flocks in the winter.

Life Cycle

During the breeding season, the male chooses and defends a breeding territory. The female indigo bunting chooses a nesting site and builds a nest of leaves, grass, and bark in a shrub. She lays 1-5 eggs and incubates them for 12-14 days. The female feeds and cares for the chicks. The chicks fledge when they are 8-14 days old, but stay with the female for a few more weeks. The female may have more than one brood a year.

Behavior

The indigo bunting is a neotropical migrator. It usually migrates at night and can travel as far as 2,000 miles to its winter range.

Audio Credit: xeno-canto.org Chris Parrish