• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Local Navigation
  • Skip to Search
  • Skip to Sitemap
  • Skip to Footer
Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea ORDER: PASSERIFORMES FAMILY: CARDINALIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

  • Similar Species
  • Related Species
  • Go to:

A brilliantly blue bird of old fields and roadsides, the Indigo Bunting prefers abandoned land to urban areas, intensely farmed areas, or deep forests.

Attract this bird with the perfect feederSponsored Ad

Appearance

Finchlike
Finchlike
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Small songbird.
  • Short, thick bill.
  • Male brilliant dark blue all over.
  • Female dull brown.

Male Description

Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: Blue all over, deepest on head. Black in front of eyes. Occasionally with some brown on back, wing, breast, or under tail, or whitish on belly. Wing feathers dark, edged in blue. Upper bill blackish, lower mandible blue-gray.
Nonbreeding (Basic) Plumage: Brown, with some blue edges to scattered feathers; some birds may be more blue than brown. Often whitish on lower belly and under tail. Blackish in front of eyes. Bill whitish to blue-gray. Gape yellowish.

Female Description

All brown. Unstreaked or with indistinct streaks on chest. Faint buff wingbars. May have some blue-tinged feathers on wing, tail, or rump. Upper bill brown to blackish, lower mandible pale.

Immature Description

Similar to adult female, with brighter buff wingbars. First-year male shows variable amount of blue and brown, may have distinct wingbars.

Range Map Help

Indigo Bunting Range Map
View dynamic map of eBird sightings

Field MarksHelp

  • Breeding adult male
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    Breeding adult male
    • Small, stocky songbird
    • Short conical bill
    • Brilliant blue overall, but appears grayer in poor light
    • Blue wings edged in black
    • © Andy Johnson, Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 2010
  • Breeding adult male
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    Breeding adult male
    • Stocky, short-tailed songbird
    • Silver-gray conical bill
    • Brilliant blue overall
    • Some dark edges on wing feathers
    • © Roy Brown Photography, Union County, Georgia, May 2010
  • Breeding adult male
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    Breeding adult male
    • Small, stocky songbird
    • Short, silver-gray, conical bill
    • Brilliant blue overall
    • © Norm Townsend, Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 2011
  • Breeding adult male
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    Breeding adult male
    • Small, stocky songbird
    • Conical, silvery-gray bill
    • Mostly bright blue
    • Some black edging on wings
    • © Kelly Colgan Azar, Chester County, Pennsylvania, July 2010
  • Nonbreeding adult male
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    Nonbreeding adult male
    • Small and stocky with short conical bill
    • Mostly bright blue
    • Patches of dusky gray and brown on wings, head and neck
    • © CleberBirds, Winter Garden, Florida, March 2011
  • First winter male
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    First winter male
    • Small and stocky songbird
    • Short, conical bill
    • Mostly pale brown
    • Patches of bright blue on breast and head
    • © Carlos Escamilla, Corpus Christi, Texas, April 2011
  • First winter male
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    First winter male
    • Small and stocky with short, conical bill
    • Mostly pale brown
    • Blue patches on breast and wings
    • © Robert Strickland, Beverly Hills, Florida, February 2010
  • Breeding female
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    Breeding female
    • Stocky songbird with short, conical bill
    • Warm brown above, paler below
    • Contrasting whitish throat
    • Faint streaks on breast
    • © Kelly Colgan Azar, Chester County, Pennsylvania, July 2010
  • Nonbreeding female
    Zoom In

    Indigo Bunting

    Nonbreeding female
    • Small, stocky songbird
    • Short, conical bill
    • Mostly warm brown with paler throat and belly
    • Faint streaks on breast
    • © CleberBirds, Winter Garden, Florida, March 2011

Similar Species

  • Breeding adult male
    Zoom In

    Blue Grosbeak

    Breeding adult male
    • Similar to Indigo Bunting but larger and heavier
    • Silver/gray bill much thicker and heavier than on Indigo Bunting
    • Bright rusty wing-bars
    • Narrow black patch at base of bill
    • © photosbyjoe, Texas, June 2011
  • Female
    Zoom In

    Blue Grosbeak

    Female
    • Similar to Indigo Bunting but larger and stockier
    • Very thick, heavy bill
    • Warm brown overall with darker brown on face
    • Rusty wing-bars
    • © Carlos Escamilla, Laredo, Texas, May 2011
  • Breeding adult male
    Zoom In

    Lazuli Bunting

    Breeding adult male
    • Similar to male Indigo Bunting in shape
    • Lighter, sky blue on head and back
    • Buffy-orange breast and white belly
    • Bold white wing-bars
    • © Keith Alderman, Fort Collins, Colorado, June 2010
  • Adult female
    Zoom In

    Painted Bunting

    Adult female
    • Similar to female Indigo Bunting in shape, but greener overall
    • Bill longer and more curved than Indigo Bunting
    • Mostly pale olive-green throughout, but immature females can be drabber
    • © CleberBirds, Winter Garden, Florida, March 2011
  • Adult female
    Zoom In

    House Sparrow

    Adult female
    • Similar to female Indigo Bunting but larger and much stockier
    • Heavy, yellow/gray bill
    • Pale beige stripe through eye
    • Bold patterns on wings and upper back
    • © Robert Scott, Milton, Ontario, Canada, December 2010
  • Adult male
    Zoom In

    Eastern Bluebird

    Adult male
    • Similar to male Indigo Bunting but larger and more slender
    • Small, thin black bill
    • Rusty orange on breast and flanks
    • © Debbie McKenzie, Alabama

Similar Species

  • Eastern Bluebird had reddish chest and white belly.
  • Blue Grosbeak larger, with much thicker bill and obvious rufous wingbars.
  • Female Lazuli Bunting similar, but has more uniform pinkish buff breast and throat, and more conspicuous wingbars.
  • Female Varied Bunting more uniformly brown, without trace of wingbars, and a slightly more stubby bill.