Indigo Bunting Photo Gallery
Breeding male
Sparrow-sized, stocky bird with a short tail and a conical bill. Breeding males are bright blue overall, with slightly richer blue on the head.
© Daniel Irons / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, July 01, 2016Female/immature male
Sparrow-sized but finchlike in appearance with a conical bill. Females/immatures are brownish, with faint streaking on the breast and sometimes a touch of blue on the wings, tail, or rump. Note white throat.
© Andrew Newmark / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, July 06, 2019Breeding male
Sings a bright, lively song of sharp, clear, high-pitched notes, with most of the notes doubled. (First song heard from off-camera is an Ovenbird, not an Indigo Bunting.)
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 28, 2011Not all videos have soundNonbreeding male
Finchlike with a short tail and conical bill. Nonbreeding males are covered in irregular patches of blue and brown.
© Gil Ewing / Macaulay LibraryTexas, January 24, 2010Female/immature male
Indigo Buntings migrate at night, using the stars to navigate.
© Matthew Eckerson / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, October 19, 2019Female/immature male
Note tinges of blue at shoulder and in tail; otherwise, plumage is brown with faint streaks on the breast and a whitish throat.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryApril 01, 1998Not all videos have soundFemale/immature male
Stocky with a conical bill. Females/immatures are brownish overall (darker above and paler below) with blue highlights in the wings and tail. Note tan wingbars.
© Dan Vickers / Macaulay LibraryGeorgia, October 02, 2016Breeding male
Found in weedy and brushy areas, especially where fields meet forests.
© Daniel Jauvin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, May 22, 2017Nonbreeding male
Can look blotchy during molt, with patches of blue breeding plumage mixing with brownish nonbreeding plumage. Note normal bill (not grosbeak sized) and compact proportions with short tail.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 23, 2008Not all videos have soundMales and females/immature males
Often feeds in flocks in weedy fields, clinging to stems and eating small seeds.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 29, 1998Not all videos have soundCompare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Cardinals and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Cardinalidae)
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