Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena) lives in open shrublands across North America. It feeds on seeds and insects. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Lazuli Bunting
- The lazuli bunting gets its common name from the deep-blue gemstone lapis lazuli, a nod to the male's vivid plumage. The male is easily recognised by a bright blue head and back that are lighter than those of the indigo bunting, plus conspicuous white wingbars, a light rusty breast and a white belly. It is a small bird, measuring only 13-15 cm in length and weighing 13-18 g, which enhances the striking effect of its colouration.
- The male flaunts a bright blue head and back that is lighter than the indigo bunting's, together with bold white wingbars, a light rusty breast and a white belly, making it instantly recognisable. Its overall colour pattern can resemble that of eastern and western bluebirds, yet the bird is smaller, only 13-15 cm long, and possesses short, conical bunting-type bills. These size and bill differences, along with the wingbars, quickly set it apart from similar species.
- Lazuli buntings breed mostly west of the 100th meridian, ranging from southern Canada down through northern Texas, central New Mexico, Arizona and southern California. On the Pacific coast their breeding range even reaches extreme north-western Baja California. When the season changes they migrate southeastward, moving into southeastern Arizona and further into Mexico. Their preferred habitats are brushy, well-watered areas and occasionally weedy pastures or towns.
- The lazuli bunting's Pacific-coast breeding range reaches the extreme north-western tip of Baja California, extending the species' western distribution far beyond the mainland. Its overall breeding area lies mostly west of the 100th meridian, stretching from southern Canada down through northern Texas, central New Mexico, Arizona and southern California.
- In the eastern and southern portions of its range the lazuli bunting frequently interbreeds with the indigo bunting, producing hybrid offspring where the two species' breeding territories overlap. This hybridisation occurs in the same habitats used for nesting, such as bushes in brushy, well-watered areas. The mixed pairs lay the typical three or four pale-blue eggs in a loose cup nest of grasses and rootlets.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeNorth America
HabitatOpen shrublands
DietSeeds and insects
About the Lazuli Bunting
In the warm, sun-kissed meadows of North America, the Lazuli Bunting dances through the air, its iridescent blue plumage glimmering like a fragment of sky as it flits between the tall grasses. With each effortless flutter of its wings, this diminutive songster weaves a trail of beauty, its melodic trills and whistles filling the air as it pursues its ceaseless quest for seeds, insects, and nectar. As it alights upon a swaying stem, the Lazuli Bunting's very presence seems to embody the ephemeral essence of summer itself, a fleeting yet unforgettable glimpse of avian loveliness.
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Lazuli Bunting photographed on Feravox
