Indigo Bunting Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesIndigo Bunting
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 sound
Nonbreeding 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 sound
Female/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 sound
Males 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 sound
Similar SpeciesBlue Grosbeak
Breeding male
Blue Grosbeaks are larger with a bigger and thicker bill than Indigo Buntings. Breeding males have rusty wingbars that Indigo Buntings do not have.
© Cliff Peterson / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 21, 2015Similar SpeciesBlue Grosbeak
Female/immature
Blue Grosbeaks are larger than Indigo Buntings with a heavier bill. Females/immatures are a richer buffy brown with darker wingbars than female/immature Indigo Buntings.
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay LibraryMaine, October 03, 2011Similar SpeciesLazuli Bunting
Breeding male
Breeding male Lazuli Buntings are easily separated from male Indigo Buntings by their pumpkin colored chest.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, May 28, 2017Similar SpeciesLazuli Bunting
Female/immature
On average female/immature Lazuli Buntings have bolder buffy wingbars and a warm unstreaked breast whereas female/immature Indigo Buntings often have faint streaking on the breast and a whiter throat.
© Marlene Cashen / Macaulay LibraryWashington, August 20, 2017Similar SpeciesPainted Bunting
Female/immature
Female Painted Buntings are distinctly greenish above, not buffy brown like female/immature Indigo Buntings.
© Shawn Billerman / Macaulay LibraryOklahoma, August 02, 2015Similar SpeciesEastern Bluebird
Adult female
Eastern Bluebirds are larger birds with straight, thin bills unlike the thick conical bill of Indigo Buntings. They also have an orangish wash on the breast that Indigo Buntings lack.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, February 21, 2017Similar SpeciesHouse Sparrow
Female
Female House Sparrows have a streaky back and a bolder, paler eyebrow than female/immature Indigo Buntings, which have an unstreaked back and a plain face.
© Douglas Faulder / Macaulay LibraryAlberta, May 07, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Cardinals and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Cardinalidae)
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