Blue Bunting
Blue Bunting
Cyanocompsa parellina
At a Glance
In dense thickets and woodland edges of Mexico and northern Central America, the Blue Bunting is fairly common. In the United States it is a rare and irregular visitor to far southern Texas, mostly occurring in winter. It has very rarely strayed farther up the Texas coast, once reaching Louisiana.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Cardinals, Perching Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Forests and Woodlands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets
Region
Texas
Range & Identification
Description
Sexes similar — Length: 5.5 - 6.3 in (14 - 16 cm); wingspan: 8.7 - 9.8 in (22 - 25 cm); weight: 0.5 - 0.7 oz (15 - 20 g). The appearance of a Blue Bunting may suggest Indigo Bunting but the Blue Bunting has a thicker, stubbier bill. Male shows contrasting patches of darker and brighter blue; female plain warm brown all over. No wing-bars (see Blue Grosbeak).
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Blue, Brown
Wing Shape
Rounded
Tail Shape
Notched, Rounded, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
Call note a hard click or chink. Song a variable warble, sweet but slightly melancholy, swee slee lee.
Call Pattern
Undulating
Call Type
Chirp/Chip, Warble, Whistle
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