A FIRST TIME VISITOR...

to our back deck was an Indigo Bunting.

This little beauty appeared after a hard downpour, and everywhere was wet and soggy.  It seemed a bit timid as he stayed on the edge and quickly flew off back into the trees.  However, we were very happy for its visit.  I have never actually seen one before except for those in nature photos.  Mine are not the best but I am very happy for them, and I hope it revisits.

 I was surprised to find out that they belong to the Cardinal family, and just like the male and female Cardinal, they are easy to tell apart as they are dimorphic.  A fun word and I put the meaning below.  I found the info here. 

"dimorphic"

which means occurring or existing in two different forms.

A breeding male Indigo Bunting is blue all over, with slightly richer blue on his head and a shiny, silver-gray bill. Females are basically brown, with faint streaking on the breast, a whitish throat, and sometimes a touch of blue on the wings, tail, or rump. Immature males are patchy blue and brown.  Our visitor as you can tell, is a male.  

To see beautiful photography and more information, you can click on this website. 

The Indigo Bunting is broadly distributed in North America and all members of its population move south in the winter.  Another surprise for me, migration takes place at night, though they sometimes continue their flight after daylight arrives.  They frequently return to the same breeding area in subsequent years, with males doing so more often than females. 

The oldest known Indigo Bunting in the wild lived over eleven years.

More interesting facts:

Indigo Buntings split their time between North and Central America. Specifically, they spend spring and summer in the eastern and southwestern United States, then fall and winter in Central America and some islands of the Caribbean. 

In the United States, they have traditionally been found from Maine south to Florida and west to Texas and North Dakota. Their range has recently expanded into the Southwest and the Four Corners region. 

One theory is that Indigo Buntings use the stars to navigate during migrations.  Tiny though they may be, these small birds are able to fly hundreds of miles thanks to the help of an internal clock that enables them to determine their location in space. The birds migrate at night so they can see the stars overhead when they fly. To chart a course, they fixate on a specific star. They fly at a specific angle between the star and the earth. Geometrically, this points them in a straight line that allows them to accurately arrive at their destination.

They sometimes breed with the Lazuli Bunting.

In areas of the western Great Plains, the Indigo Bunting can be found alongside another blue bird, the Lazuli Bunting. While they often defend their territories against each other, they also may share songs and even interbreed to form hybrids.  

During the breeding season, males are a bright cobalt blue. Their heads are slightly darker than the rest of them, although some may have darker blue wingtips. They are sometimes referred to as the “blue canary”. 

At other times of the year, the male has more brown feathers. His tail, wings, and part of his neck may be brown. However, the blue feathers of his head and back are still visible. 

After mating, the male Indigo Bunting doesn’t contribute much to his mate’s hefty job of building the nest, incubating the eggs, and feeding the growing chicks. One thing he does do is defend his territory vigorously against intruders. 

In some situations, however, the pair might mate again when their brood is about to fledge the nest. While the female goes to another part of her mate’s territory to build a second nest, the father of the fledging chicks might take over the feeding role. 

They adapt according to what food is available. In the winter, seeds are usually present from the ripening and harvesting of autumn. Since many live near abandoned agricultural land, they take advantage of successional plants that may seed or fruit and leave remnants for the winter.  However, in the spring and summer, Indigo Buntings feast on insects. The first food the mother feeds her chicks after hatching is insects. 

It’s more difficult to attract Indigo Buntings to your bird feeder, because they are more shy than other birds. If you have a large yard with a low, brushy area with grasses and shrubs, consider placing a feeder at the edge. Indigo buntings might make an appearance in such a comfortable location.  (I would say we were very lucky to see ours.)

Some birds are gregarious throughout the year. Not Indigo Buntings! During the summer months, they prefer to forage for insects alone. Wintertime is another story. Flocks of buntings work together to find seeds and locate the most nutrient-dense food sources. 

It may surprise you to learn that the male Indigo Bunting’s vibrant blue feathers are not, in fact, pigmented at all. His feathers appear blue for the same reason that the sky appears blue – the reflection of light. Structures within the feather reflect only the blue light. 

Male buntings love to sing.  Their songs can last for longer than they do – up to 20 years! Males learn their songs from other males in the area. You can tell it’s an Indigo Bunting according to the presence of double notes. 

Watch for males in the middle of summer. They like to perch in plain sight where they are visible to other males, females, and any potential threats. Sometimes, they’ll even fight between each other. These musical commotions involve mid-air tussles where the birds grab at each other’s feet mid-chirp! 

My thanks to this website for the above interesting information.