Connecticut Audubon Society Bird Finder for July 17: Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea

What it looks like: The males are a brilliant deep blue in spring and summer. Females and young birds are a chocolate brown. In fall during migration the males molt into the brown color but the oldest males will still retain a few blue feathers. Indigo Buntings are a little over five inches long, or similar in size to a goldfinch.

Where to find it: It is found throughout the state along the edges of fields, power line right-of-ways, early successional habitats, and weedy fields. Indigo Buntings will visit bird feeders in May during the spring migration and usually switch over to natural foods by June. Their preferred food is insects and seeds.

How to find it: Indigo Buntings are possible at any of the Connecticut Audubon Society sanctuaries, or other natural areas, that have brushy meadows and brushy field edges. The Pomfret sanctuary has many nesting pairs around the edges of our fields. The males call from the tops of the tallest tree or bush along the hedgerows and fields. The hedgerow at the parking lot and the trail behind the nature center always has at least one singing male. At the Trail Wood sanctuary check the scattered trees in the Starfield meadow. In September and October the Sunflower field at the Pomfret sanctuary usually has a couple dozen Indigo Buntings feeding in it. Remember they are mostly brown by then. You can also look for Indigo Buntings at our Pratt Sanctuary in New Milford, H. Smith Richardson Sanctuary in Westport, and Bank Farm South Sanctuary in Fairfield.

What if bird isn’t there? Many early successional bird species, including Common Yellowthroats, Blue-winged Warblers, and Eastern Towhees, are found in the same habitat. At this time of year some forest birds like Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and Yellow-throated Vireos can be found foraging in the small trees and shrubs for berries and insects.

Conservation status: The IUCN lists Indigo Bunting as being of least concern but Indigo Bunting numbers in Connecticut are down because of the loss of early-successional, scrub-shrub habitat the bird requires.

This week’s Connecticut Audubon Society Bird Finder was written by Andy Rzeznikiewicz and edited by Tom Andersen

Photo by Paula McVann, CarolinaBirds.org