08.11.24: Maturing bunting

The morning I ran across this bird perched above a field in a Central Ohio park I was stumped trying to identify the species. The mix of brown and blue plumage had me puzzled. Later that day, when I saw the photo on the computer, I still had no clue what type of bird it was.

So I posted the photo to an online bird identification forum I use. Within minutes I had a response: “That’s an excellent photo of an immature male Indigo Bunting transitioning to its blue adult breeding plumage.”

Huh. I would never have guessed that. So I did some research.

Various bird sites online show pictures of the male Indigo Bunting in its easily identifiable blue breeding plumage or in its blue and brown winter plumage. But photos of female Indigo Buntings are identified as “female or immature Indigo Bunting.” That’s because  immature Indigo Buntings and the females of the species have identical brown plumage. There’s no way to easily identify an immature male Indigo Bunting until it first begins transitioning to the blue breeding plumage.

Indigo Buntings are rather common birds, so it's odd that I don't run across them more often during my photo hikes. I have only about 50 photos of Indigo Buntings in my collection, but it’s a treat each time I find one.

One of my favorite bird information websites (All About Birds) says the male Indigo Bunting “looks like a scrap of sky with wings.” It’s hard to come up with a better description than that.

The adult male has this deep blue plumage during the summer breeding season. The wings and tail are black with blue edges and the crown is often a slightly richer blue than the rest of the body. The blue makes it easy to spot against the green in the fields or trees and is used to attract a mate.

During the fall and winter months the adult male has plumage similar to the year-round plumage of the female Indigo Bunting— dark brown upper parts and lighter brown beneath— although the male can retain some blue feathers year round.

Indigo Buntings typically spend summer days in or near weedy fields, singing from the tallest plant or tree they can find.