Detail from painting by Terry O'Nele.
All copyrights of Song Bird artwork retained by the artist. No reproduction of any part without permission of the artist.
|
The adult male indigo bunting in full
breeding plumage is the only small North American finch
that appears blue all over. In fact, the bird has no blue pigment at all –
light refraction gives the feathers a blue coloration. The bird is
usually seen singing from a high perch or in poor light and appears as a black silhouette,
relying on perfect lighting conditions to reveal his bright turquoise-blue color.
The female is a drab brown with indistinct streakings. Both sexes are 5 1/2 inches long.
Song
Its song is a fast, excited warble,
the rhythm suggested by "sweet-sweet, where-where,
here-here, see-it, see-it." The bird sings throughout the day from his arrival
in spring until mid-August and sometimes later. The bunting also has a flight song,
usually sung at dawn and twilight. The flight song may last for eight seconds or
more and has an effervescence similar to a leisurely goldfinch song. The call note
is "tsick."
Habitat
The birds prefer
a combination of dense concealing cover for nesting and moderately high perches for
singing. Woodland edges and openings, abandoned farmland, cornfields, shrubby roadsides,
open brushy fields and hedgerows are among its preferred habitats. The birds avoid
mature forests.
Migration and winter range
When the young have
grown strong and the male is dressed in his brown fall plumage,
the birds leave for central Mexico and the West Indies and head south to central
Panama. They depart the United States almost totally in the winter except for a population
that lingers in the extreme southern tip of Florida.
Food
During the summer,
insects and spiders are almost the exclusive diet with many larvae taken. Seeds and
some fruit may be taken.
Nest
A shallow cup
of twigs, leaves and plant fibers, placed in a dense brush tangle or low tree.
|
Return to Resources
Back
Next
