Birds, Wildlife, and Photography
The Beauty of the Indigo Bunting
Believe it or not, indigo buntings are not blue
Some things are not as they seem. For example, prairie dogs are not dogs but rodents. Fireflies are not flies but beetles. A lead pencil does not contain lead but graphite. Likewise, male indigo buntings are not blue as they seem to be.
The feathers of male indigo buntings lack blue pigment. During the mating season, structures in the feathers of male birds reflect and refract light to make them appear blue. In winter, the males appear brown, as do the females year-round.
Indigo buntings often navigate by night, using stars to find their way. They spend their summers in eastern North America and the American Southwest. They winter in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands.
Indigo buntings prefer to live in the brushy edges of forests, open deciduous woods, and on farmland. They forage on the ground and eat…
