INDIGO BUNTING
This bird is widespread through the county. They arrive in May and stick around throughout the summer months. Look for places that you find goldfinches and you’ll like find Indigo Buntings as well. Sure bets are Point Pelee National Park, Ojibway Park, Holiday Beach Conservation Area and Hillman Marsh Conservation Area.
The all-blue male Indigo Bunting sings with cheerful gusto and looks like a scrap of sky with wings. Sometimes nicknamed “blue canaries,” these brilliantly colored yet common and widespread birds whistle their bouncy songs through the late spring and summer all over eastern North America. Look for Indigo Buntings in weedy fields and shrubby areas near trees, singing from dawn to dusk atop the tallest perch in sight or foraging for seeds and insects in low vegetation.
Size & Shape
Indigo Buntings are small (roughly sparrow-sized), stocky birds with short tails and short, thick, conical bills. In flight, the birds appear plump with short, rounded tails.
Color Pattern
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.
Behaviour
Male Indigo Buntings sing from treetops, shrubs, and telephone lines all summer. This species eats insects, seeds, and berries, and can be attracted to backyards with thistle or nyjer seed. While perching, they often swish their tails from side to side. Fairly solitary during breeding season, Indigo Buntings form large flocks during migration and on their wintering grounds.
Habitat
Look for Indigo Buntings in weedy and brushy areas, especially where fields meet forests. They love edges, hedgerows, overgrown patches, and brushy roadsides. When not singing from the tallest perches in the area, they can often be seen foraging among seed-laden shrubs and grasses.
*Images and description were sourced from: allaboutbirds.org
