Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

My Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds (Eastern Region) states that Indigo Buntings have no blue pigment; they are actually black, but the diffraction of light through the structure of the feathers makes them appear blue.   Females and fall males are brown.

They are usually found in south-central Canada and the central and eastern U.S.A., however the range is expanding in the west and southwest U.S.

Their habitat is brushy slopes, abandoned farmlands, old pastures, fields grown up to scrub and rural roadside thickets, railroad right-of-ways, and where woodlands meet open areas.

The attractive birds are quite beneficial to farmers and fruit growers, as they consume many insect pests and weed seeds.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder