One thing's for sure: When it comes to beauty and variety, it's tough to beat the buntings. They are found in a wide array of North American locations, from the high arctic tundra to the low country of the Southeast. The coloration of these birds is as distinct as their ranges. Males show everything from stark black and white palettes to a rainbow of colors. Females tend to have more subtle hints of coloring. Some buntings are related to sparrows or longspurs, while others are kin to cardinals and grosbeaks, yet another sign of their diversity. Learn more about these bright birds and where to find them.
Blue Beauties
The most widespread group, indigos are the buntings of the East. Their core breeding range stretches from southern Quebec to central Florida and west all the way to Arizona and New Mexico. Look for bright blue males singing cheery paired notes from perches in brushy fields or woodland edges.
Predominately brown, tan, and white, females and young males show hints of blue feathering. Like most other buntings, male indigos molt into a more subdued winter plumage. During migration, the blotchy birds can play tricks on even the most talented birder's eyes, as the feather coloring doesn't match up with anything in field guides. Indigo buntings will occasionally visit thistle seed feeders, so be on the lookout, especially in spring.
Jewels of the West
この記事は Birds & Blooms の April/May 2022 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は Birds & Blooms の April/May 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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Sense or Nonsense? - Why some birds can taste and smell - but others can't
Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
Maple Mania - Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
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Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
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