12/31/2023 0 Comments Indigo bunting male and female![]() ![]() Breeds in shrubby areas at the edge of forests and fields. So this beautiful blue-feathered display can actually be seen as a trick of nature. Females are plain brown with a whitish throat, bluish tail, and faint streaks on the underparts. Because of this, they can appear as shades from turquoise to shades of black, depending on how the light hits them. Older males are bright blue in plumage, the head somewhat more purplish blue, while females are brown often with a touch of blue on the shoulders, rump and tail. The nest is often low in a shrub and hard to detect. The indigo bunting’s feathers are not really blue the male’s brilliant azure plumage is caused by the process of diffraction of light around the structure of the bird’s feathers. ![]() From a distance males can look black, but as you get closer or see them from a different angle, you’ll see vibrant blue feathers. Indigo Buntings construct a loose cup of grasses, leaves and animal fur held together with spider silk. The male indigo bunting is the only solid blue bird in the eastern United States, but it’s all an illusion literally a trick of the light. The blue color is generated by the diffraction of light through their feathers which makes them appear blue. Both males and females are 5 inches long with an 8 inch wingspan. (The mnemonic often used for identifying their paired call is, “ fire fire where? where? here here see it? see it?”) I arrived at the picnic at about 11:30AM and that bird sang almost without ceasing until I left at 3:00PM.Īn interesting piece of information about the Indigo Bunting is the fact that its color is actually not blue at all, but black…(believe it or not). At a recent picnic at Fort Harrison State Park, I could hear an Indigo Bunting singing nearby as soon as I walked up. With his astonishing beauty, the male Indigo Bunting seems to know his beauty, and glorify in it, by singing persistently. I’ve added a second picture to this BOTM so you can see the contrast between the male and female.) And indeed, she is not often seen, but even when seen, she is easily overlooked. Which is actually a very good thing, as the female spends her time trying to stay concealed as she incubates eggs and cares for the young. (The deep velvet blue of the male…that is! So void of distinguishing field marks, the female Indigo Bunting hardly seems to even be a member of the same species of bird. The deep velvet blue feathers of the Indigo Bunting sets this bird apart indeed. With such a pretty name, you’d expect a pretty bird…and you’d not be disappointed. This month’s featured bird is the Indigo Bunting. But seen at close range and in good light, this bird’s appearance can be almost breathtaking. This bird eats insects, fruits and seeds.Seen from a distance or in poor light, this month’s Bird of the Month just seems like a small, dark bird. After breeding season the males loose their. Most indigo buntings winter from Central America to Colombia in South America, although a few have been seen in the winter in the southern one-third of Illinois. The female and young are dull brown with small amounts of blue in the tail, and shoulders, and blurred wing bars. Fall migrants begin arriving in Illinois in mid-August. Winter male: blue obscured by brown and buff edging mottled brown and. Summer male: plumage unmistakable, entirely bright blue. The nest is often parasitized by the brown-headed cowbird that deposits an egg that the indigo bunting will hatch and raise, taking food and care away from its own young. Identification Highly sexually dimorphic. Bird Gallery Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting (male) © Wayne Wendel Passerina cyanea Family: ( Cardinalidae) Cardinals, Tanagers and Buntings Preferred Habitat : Woodlands and brushy fields. ![]() Three or four, pale-blue eggs are deposited by the female, and she alone incubates them over the 12- to 13-day incubation period. The female may use a snake skin in the nest base. It is lined with grasses, rootlets, hair and feathers. The nest is built by the female in dense vegetation close to the ground and composed of dried grasses, bark strips, twigs and other plant materials. ![]() The breeding season occurs from May through mid-August. The song includes different pitches usually with paired notes, like “sweet-sweet” or “chew-chew.” The indigo bunting migrates at night, with spring migrants beginning to arrive in April. Its song can be heard throughout the day in the spring and summer. A bird of open areas, it can be found in cultivated fields but is more common near bottomland forests. The indigo bunting is a common migrant and summer resident statewide and a rare winter resident in the southern one-third of Illinois. ![]()
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