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Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea

Photo by RickBohler
Published on Project Noah
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30.2593, -81.4338

Field Notes

Description:

This is the first one I've ever seen, The all-blue male Indigo Bunting sings with cheerful gusto and looks like a scrap of sky with wings. Sometimes nicknamed "blue canaries"

Habitat:

Weedy fields and shrubby areas near trees,

Notes:

Foraging for seeds and gleaning insects off branches in low vegetation, Indigo Buntings hop along the ground and cling athletically to stems and reeds. Singing males tend to perch high in shrubs, trees, or on telephone lines. When disturbed, an Indigo Bunting may fly to the top of a shrub, raise its crest feathers, and swing its tail from side to side. Indigo Buntings usually forage alone during the breeding season; on their wintering grounds and during spring and fall migration, they feed in flocks on lawns and open grasslands. Males defending territory approach each other with slow, fluttering "butterfly" display flight, holding their wings at right angles to their bodies. Early in the breeding season, you may see two males grappling in the air and falling to the ground, singing loudly, clasping each other's feet.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)

I use to live in Florida and they use to land in trees in my back yard. They are very intelligent birds.
Another beauty. Yes, thanks for sharing :)
Beautiful series Rick,first photo si gorgeous,congrats and thanks for sharing your great spotting page with us all

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