Indigo Bunting
© Paul Brown Jr.
Published:
October 24, 2011
Paul Brown Jr. photographed this Indigo Bunting
(Passerina cyanea) in May 2011 in his backyard in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, and posted it to our
Backyard Gallery. The bird spent only a day in Paul's yard before moving on. It perched atop "an old fencepost that is an eyesore, but the birds love it," he says.
"I have many feeders and a garden pond with a 40-foot stream with a series of falls that dump into the pond," Paul tells us. "It runs 24/7 and the sound of water attracts many migrants every spring and fall. I have a camo tent set next to the pond that I spend many hours in. My neighbors think I’m nuts, but you never know what is going to show up!"
The unusual white feathers on the bunting's head probably aren't a sign that the bird is partially leucistic. We asked Contributing Editor
Julie Craves about them, and she says, "They look like incoming pin feathers, which have a grayish sheath." The bird may have been in a limited molt period when the photo was taken.
Paul used a Canon 40D and a 100-400mm lens.
See more photos of buntings:
• Lazuli Bunting
• Painted Bunting
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