The lazuli bunting (''Passerina amoena'') is a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

named for the gemstone

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, ...

Description

Measurements: * Length: 5.1-5.9 in (13-15 cm) * Weight: 0.5-0.6 oz (13-18 g) * Wingspan: 8.7 in (22 cm) The male is easily recognized by its bright blue head and back (lighter than the closely related

indigo bunting The indigo bunting (''Passerina cyanea'') is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern Sout ...

), its conspicuous white wingbars, and its light rusty breast and white belly. The color pattern may suggest the

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and

western bluebird The western bluebird (''Sialia mexicana'') is a small North American thrush. Taxonomy The western bluebird was formally described by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1832 and given the binomial name ''Sialia mexicana''. Six su ...

s, but the smaller size (13–15 cm or 5–5.9 inches long), wingbars, and short and conical bunting bill quickly distinguish it. The female is brown, grayer above and warmer underneath, told from the female indigo bunting by two thin and pale wingbars and other

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

details.

Call

The song is a high, rapid, strident warble, similar to that of the indigo bunting but longer and with less repetition.

Distribution and habitat

Lazuli buntings breed mostly west of the 100th meridian from southern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to northern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, central

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. On the Pacific coast their breeding range extends south to extreme northwestern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. They migrate to southeastern Arizona and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Their

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is brushy areas and sometimes weedy pastures, generally well-watered, and sometimes in towns.

Diet

They eat mostly

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s. They may feed conspicuously on the ground or in bushes, but singing males are often very elusive in treetops.

Breeding

It makes a loose

cup nest A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American robin or Eurasian bl ...

of grasses and rootlets placed in a bush. It lays three or four pale blue

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. In the eastern and southern part of its range, it often hybridizes with the indigo bunting.

Gallery

File:IGP4686 (3).jpg, left, Immature male lazuli bunting. File:I087b Lazuli Bunting.jpg, left, Upper figure, male; lower, female

References

* *

External links

Lazuli bunting species account
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology

- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
Lazuli bunting videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

VIREO (with photo of egg

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

) {{Taxonbar, from=Q786964

lazuli bunting The lazuli bunting (''Passerina amoena'') is a North American songbird named for the gemstone lapis lazuli. Description Measurements: * Length: 5.1-5.9 in (13-15 cm) * Weight: 0.5-0.6 oz (13-18 g) * Wingspan: 8.7 in (22 cm) The male i ...

Native birds of Western Canada Native birds of the Western United States Birds of Mexico

Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental