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Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

Posted on May 22, 2016

This Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) ((and what a very appropriate Latin species name that is)) may be a first-spring male coming into his full blue splendor. He was belting out his song in this forest cut, perching on tree branches on the edge of the woodland and finding a shrub or two to allow me a better look while snagging a snack.

Indigo Bunting ALT-4136

Indigo Bunting ALT-4130

They are persistent songsters with the tune carrying on all morning and likely through the afternoon. If you are truly lucky – like Twan – then you regularly get to see these birds in your backyard at your thistle feeder. What a striking contrast to the green that is finally taking over the landscape.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator