Indigo Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
At a Glance
In parts of the East, Indigo Bunting may be the most abundant songbird, with the deep-blue males singing along every roadside. The plain brown females are seen far less often, and they have good reason to be inconspicuous: they do almost all the work of caring for the eggs and young, hidden away in dense thickets. This species favors brushy edges rather than unbroken forest, and is probably far more common today than several hundred years ago.
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
Arroyos and Canyons, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Forests and Woodlands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Urban and Suburban Habitats
Region
Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Direct Flight
Population
77.000.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Many migrate across the Gulf of Mexico in both spring and fall. The Indigo Bunting migrates at night and can navigate by the stars. Important studies of bird navigation and migration have involved this species.
Description
Both sexes — Length: 4.7–5.5 in (12–14 cm); wingspan: 7.5–8.7 in (19–22 cm); weight: 0.4–0.6 oz (12–18 g). The adult male Indigo Bunting is dark blue in spring/summer (see Blue Grosbeak). Females and males are brown, usually with fine streaks on the chest, and a blue tinge on the tail. A one-year-old male in summer may be blue with a white belly.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Tan
Wing Shape
Rounded
Tail Shape
Notched, Rounded, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
Rapid, excited warble, each note or phrase given twice.
Call Pattern
Complex, Falling, Undulating
Call Type
Buzz, Chirp/Chip, Whistle
Habitat
Brushy pastures, bushy wood edges. For nesting, the Indigo Bunting favors roadsides, old fields growing up to bushes, edges of woodlands, and other edge habitats such as along rights-of-way for powerlines or railroads. Also in clearings within deciduous woods and the edges of swamps. In the West, it is usually near streams. During winter in the tropics, it is most common around brushy edges of farm fields.
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Behavior
Eggs
3-4, rarely 1-2. White to bluish-white, rarely with brown or purple spots. Incubation is by female only, 12-13 days, sometimes 11-14 days.
Young
Fed only by female in most cases. At some nests, male helps feed young when they are nearly old enough to fly. Young usually leave nest 9-12 days after hatching. Male sometimes takes over feeding of fledged young while female begins second nesting attempt. 2 broods per year.
Feeding Behavior
Forages at all levels from the ground up into shrubs and trees. The Indigo Bunting takes insects from leaves, seeds from the ground or stems, and berries from shrubs. Forages alone in summer, in flocks in winter.
Diet
Mostly seeds and insects. In breeding season, the Indigo Bunting feeds mainly on insects and spiders, and also some seeds and berries. Young in the nest are fed mostly insects at first. In winter, eats many seeds and also some insects.
Nesting
The male Indigo Bunting establishes territory in the spring and defends it with song. A male may have more than one mate at a time living on his territory. Nest site is usually 1-3 ft above ground, rarely up to 30 ft or more, in dense shrub or low tree. Late in the season, may nest in large weeds such as goldenrod. Nest (built by female) is an open cup of grass, leaves, weeds, bark strips, lined with finer materials.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Does well in brushy rural areas, but not in urbanized areas or regions of intense agriculture. Since the 1940s, the Indigo Bunting has extended its breeding range to include much of the southwest.
Climate Threats Facing the Indigo Bunting
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
