Indigo blue bunting bird12/11/2023 As you drive along through the countryside, watch for a very small all-dark bird on a power line that’s a male Indigo, and it may turn blue as you drive by and glance at it in better light (recommended glancing time, no more than one second). They are absent from the mowed-and-manicured parts of cities and suburbs but can still be found at times in parks where some “natural” habitat is allowed. Indigo Buntings are found wherever there is some shrubby or unkempt growth, from roadsides to old fields to openings in woods. As in many birds, females are about the same in size and shape as males but very different in color (see Identification). Nearly the whole bird is an intense blue, although the tone varies from one part of the bird to another and to some extent with the lighting it depends on feather structure, not on pigment. In Florida, the number can be as high as four.īlue indigos are members of Cardinalidae, the cardinal family.A first view of a male Indigo Bunting, especially through a scope, will reliably stun people who have never seen one before. Blue indigos usually have two broods a year, not necessarily with the same partners. All the sitting duties are handled by mom dad does some of the feeding, sometimes taking over the feeding of the fledged young as mom begins a second brood. The offspring will fledge in 10 days or less. She'll deposit two to six eggs, which will require about two weeks of incubation. The nest is a small cup made of grasses, leaves, twigs and bark. Female indigos build their nest without any help from her mate in a place not far off the ground, usually six feet or less. Nesting season in Florida begins in April. During the remainder of the years, dinner is mostly seeds and bugs with some berries mixed in. They will feed mostly bugs to their young offspring. During the summer breeding season, they will eat a lot of bugs, mixing in seeds and berries. Their diet will vary somewhat depending on the season. Their numbers soared until those fields started turning into forest or were redeveloped into other agricultural uses. As the groves were abandoned, they became fields of tall weeds and brush, providing perfect habitat for blue indigos. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission noted how the blue indigo population yo-yoed in Central Florida where hard freezes killed citrus groves. Elderberry thickets are a favorite in Florida. In winter, they'll take to a wider range of habitats, including grasslands, fields and lawns. They can be seen on along the edges of forests and in places where roads, powerlines or streams cut through them. Blue indigos aren't birds of the deep forest but rather brushy areas and thickets. Females are a dull brown, with some color in the breast. Males are the ones with the color, including some black striping in the wings. Indigo buntings appear stocky for their size. They are small birds, about five inches long, with a wingspan of less than nine inches. In winter, they retreat southward into Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. Their summer range covers most the United States east of the Rockies and extends into the Southwest. Indigo buntings are exclusively migratory, moving south in winter, north in spring at night, navigating by the stars. There are records of some unconfirmed sightings of indigos nesting as far south as Palm Beach County, but they're far more likely to be spotted here during the winter or when they're passing through as they migrate in spring and fall. Indigo buntings are common birds in parts of Florida, especially the Northern Panhandle where they breed in summer. Regardless, the effect creates one incredibly beautiful, bird, especially with the deep blue of the sky as a backdrop. Instead, the blue appearance comes from the physical structure of the feathers, which reflect and refract blue light. Like all birds that appear blue, the indigo bunting, Passerina cyanea, doesn't have a drop of blue pigment in its feathers, which are actually a very dull brown-black. This blue bird isn't blue at all, at least not in an absolute sense.
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