Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Aves › Passeriformes › Cardinalidae › Passerina
Conservation status: least_concern
The indigo bunting is a small seed-eating bird belonging to the cardinal family. Its diet consists primarily of insects during the summer months and seeds during the winter months.
How To Identify
Males are unmistakable with brilliant blue plumage on the head, crest, and back, contrasting sharply with bright yellow accents. Females are generally duller, displaying muted brown and grayish tones.
Habitat
Indigo Buntings inhabit open woodlands, brushy fields, forest edges, and shrubby areas across eastern North America and parts of Central America.
Behaviour
Males sing persistently from exposed perches to defend territory, often repeating their song over 100 times per hour, and they are known for their remarkable ability to learn regional song dialects.
Native Range
The indigo bunting ranges from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter.
Did You Know?
Male Indigo Buntings are among the few songbirds that can see ultraviolet light, which may help them perceive their brilliant plumage in ways invisible to humans. Despite their vivid blue coloring, they are actually black birds whose feathers scatter light to create the illusion of blue.
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