Lazuli Bunting "looking like a two-year-old kid who just finished eating blueberry pancakes"4938 Solstice CYN Southern California_
"If you look at a U.S. map you’ll see that the geographical center of the contiguous United States is somewhere around Lebanon, Kansas. (I think a cornstalk marks the spot.) Everything to the left of Lebanon is considered the West and everything to right is the East. Lazuli Buntings are western birds; they hate to go to the right of Lebanon. They are much happier in the part of the country where lost calves are called “dogies” and the deer and the antelope really do play with each other.
The “lazuli” part of Lazuli Bunting’s name refers to the adult male’s striking blue coloring. His plumage is so vivid that even bluebirds are jealous. Anyone who was actually paying attention to what I wrote earlier might be confused right now. How could a bird “as colorful as a sparrow” be striking blue? You see, only the adult males in breeding plumage have this handsome coloring. As you noted, Dianne, the bird in Wellfleet appears to be a young male and has not molted into its signature plumage yet. His few blue feathers are rather spotty, looking like a two-year-old kid who just finished eating blueberry pancakes.
Typically, Lazuli Buntings can be found in and around thickets, brushy areas, chaparral and tumbleweeds, which the birds use as mobile homes. They often feed on the ground, eating a variety of seeds and small insects. When it comes to nesting and raising young, it is the dull-colored female that does most of the work. The male does very little with the kids because he is too busy singing. The male Lazuli Bunting loves to sing and never seems to stop. Even later in the summer when most other birds have had enough with the singing, he still keeps at it. And while any constant singing can be annoying, the male bunting’s sound is even more annoying because he always sings the same song. Research has shown that the male bunting develops a song unique to him, and once he learns it he’ll sing it over and over and over. I feel bad for him. You know how awful it is have a song, say like, “Camptown Races” (doo-da, doo-da) stuck in your head? This poor bird has the same song stuck in his head his whole life and has to sing it all the doo-da day." www.birdwatchersgeneralstore.com
This youngster was just so much fun.
Lazuli Bunting "looking like a two-year-old kid who just finished eating blueberry pancakes"4938 Solstice CYN Southern California_
"If you look at a U.S. map you’ll see that the geographical center of the contiguous United States is somewhere around Lebanon, Kansas. (I think a cornstalk marks the spot.) Everything to the left of Lebanon is considered the West and everything to right is the East. Lazuli Buntings are western birds; they hate to go to the right of Lebanon. They are much happier in the part of the country where lost calves are called “dogies” and the deer and the antelope really do play with each other.
The “lazuli” part of Lazuli Bunting’s name refers to the adult male’s striking blue coloring. His plumage is so vivid that even bluebirds are jealous. Anyone who was actually paying attention to what I wrote earlier might be confused right now. How could a bird “as colorful as a sparrow” be striking blue? You see, only the adult males in breeding plumage have this handsome coloring. As you noted, Dianne, the bird in Wellfleet appears to be a young male and has not molted into its signature plumage yet. His few blue feathers are rather spotty, looking like a two-year-old kid who just finished eating blueberry pancakes.
Typically, Lazuli Buntings can be found in and around thickets, brushy areas, chaparral and tumbleweeds, which the birds use as mobile homes. They often feed on the ground, eating a variety of seeds and small insects. When it comes to nesting and raising young, it is the dull-colored female that does most of the work. The male does very little with the kids because he is too busy singing. The male Lazuli Bunting loves to sing and never seems to stop. Even later in the summer when most other birds have had enough with the singing, he still keeps at it. And while any constant singing can be annoying, the male bunting’s sound is even more annoying because he always sings the same song. Research has shown that the male bunting develops a song unique to him, and once he learns it he’ll sing it over and over and over. I feel bad for him. You know how awful it is have a song, say like, “Camptown Races” (doo-da, doo-da) stuck in your head? This poor bird has the same song stuck in his head his whole life and has to sing it all the doo-da day." www.birdwatchersgeneralstore.com
This youngster was just so much fun.