Even as a child I loved birds. Everything about them fascinates me.
However, I credit the Painted Bunting for turning me into a binocular-toting, bird-chasing bird watcher. It was love at first sight; and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I saw my first Painted Bunting on a bird walk at the Acadiana Nature Park and Station in Lafayette and was blown away that birds this colorful could be seen in Louisiana. In a flash this multi-colored songbird was gone, somehow blending into the foliage. And so my quest began to discover a Painted Bunting every spring to marvel at its beauty.
Painted Buntings winter in southern Mexico and Central America then migrate to the United States to breed in the coastal Southeast and in the south-central U.S. The males are very territorial and aggressive. Males will attack one another by pecking and wing beating—sometimes fighting to the death.
Because of this territoriality, Painted Bunting males are easy to trap. Male decoys can lure them into cages for quick capture. This practice has been going on as far back as 1841 when John James Audubon reported that “thousands” of the birds were caught and shipped to Europe to become caged birds. While this practice is illegal today, trapping and selling buntings still occurs; the buntings are caught on their wintering grounds before migrating back to the United States.
Other causes of population decline for the Painted Bunting include habitat destruction and nest parasitism from the Brown-headed Cowbird (see the May 2013 issue for information on this bird). Their population is listed as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
My first bunting sighting was twenty-one years ago. Every year since then, it has become increasingly difficult to spot one; and sadly enough, I had a Painted Bunting-free spring in 2012. Whiskey Bay Road in Sherburne Wildlife Management Area is a good place to spot them, especially in May and early June when the males are setting up territories and singing their hearts out. If you are lucky enough to see the male Painted Bunting, you’ll never forget it.
Description: A small finch with a conical shaped bill; males have a blue head, bluish wings, red breast, red eye ring, and a bold splash of yellow on the back. Females are yellowish-green with more yellow on the underside. Immature males resemble females.
When: Buntings migrate to Louisiana in April and stay until the fall, leaving around October. They are found on the edges of woods, brushy roadsides, or semi-open areas near dense cover.
Breeding: Males set up territories in the spring and fiercely protect them. Nests are built by the females and are placed low in trees or shrubs; the cup-shaped nest is made mainly of woven grasses and leaves and lined with fine grass and animal hair.
Feeding: Though not common, buntings will visit backyard bird feeders for sunflower seeds if near dense thickets or wooded areas. Buntings mainly eat seeds and insects, but also eat grasses, berries and fruits. They feed on the ground and, during migration, can be seen in mixed flocks with Indigo Buntings.
Interesting facts: When courting, the males spread their tail feathers like a miniature turkey, while the females peck at the ground.
Birding questions? Email Harriett at harriett.pooler@gmail.com.
