Indigo Bunting
Adult male Indigo buntings are known for their brilliant, almost iridescent, blue plumage. The crown of the bird is a darker blue, with a purple tint. Females and young are brown with only a tinge of blue on their tail and shoulders. They have blurred wing bars and an unstreaked back. Their beak is short and conical like a sparrow's.

In the early breeding season, the males chase other males that invade their territories and may end up fighting in the air. While fighting they give buzzing calls. They also display when being threatened by standing in erect posture, forming their feathers into a crest, compressing plumage, and by holding their head and tail held high. They may vocalize in this situation as well. Their songs, only sung by the male, play a large part in their social systems, especially with regard to territory, feeding, breeding, and aggression. Females vocalize, but with calls rather than songs. The male songs depend on the time of year and place they are living. During the winter, buntings may roost at night in rice fields with hundreds or thousands of other birds. During feeding in the daytime they are less social and feed individually or in small groups. They are migratory birds and have been seen flying in flocks together before long migrations. They are mainly nocturnal and fly at night, orienting themselves by the stars and other cues. They can fly as far as 2,000 miles to their destination. These perching birds can be seen atop wires by roadsides.

The Indigo bunting breeds in Eastern North America. It winters in Florida, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Their breeding habitat in North America is brushy and weedy, with clearings, open fields, open deciduous woods and swamps. During migration they look for open grasslands and leafy trees similar to their winter habitat in the south. In their winter habitat they are found in weedy fields, citrus orchards, bean and rice fields and savannas.
Indigo Bunting Range Map

Indigo buntings eat different foods depending on whether they are on their breeding grounds or their wintering grounds. During their breeding season in North America they eat insects, seeds of grasses and herbs, and berries. In winter they eat seeds, buds, and some insects found in their tropical environment. Since many of the birds like the habitat of open fields, they have been found eating rice in rice fields.


Visit Shaw Creek Bird Supply and see our selection of Bird Houses, Bird Feeders, Hummingbird Feeders & Heated Bird Baths .

Copyright © 2003 Shaw Creek Bird Supply