Gary Helm
"Incoming"
Split Painted Bunting Populations.
There are two separate breeding populations of Painted Bunting in the United States, one in the south-central U.S.; the other along the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to central Florida. This species winters in Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico south to Costa Rica and western Panama.
Painted Buntings are known to wander widely outside of the breeding season, as illustrated by the bird that spent the winter of 2015 in Central Park, New York.
Interestingly, the western population of Painted Bunting begins its fall migration before molting, then molts at staging areas before continuing its journey farther south. This migration-molt pattern is common among waterfowl but very rare among songbirds. The eastern population molts on its breeding grounds before migration, the more usual pattern.
Lovely Lurker, Fierce Fighter
Like other closely-related species such as the Varied Bunting, this bird's diet consists mostly of seeds, supplemented by high-protein insects during nesting season. Despite the males' bright colors, Painted Buntings are often hard to see outside of the breeding season since they prefer to lurk low in the dense cover of brushy areas and woodland edges.
On the breeding grounds, male Painted Buntings stake out territories of up to several acres through song and displays. Each male aggressively defends its territory and will fight intruding males by pecking, grappling, and striking with their wings. These fights sometimes end in the death of one of the males.
The lime-green female builds a cup-shaped grass nest in a small tree or shrub, where she lays three to four eggs and up to three broods each year. Chicks are fed by the female and fledge when they are 12-14 days old.
Juvenile males are the same green as the females until the fall of their second year, when they finally molt into their bright colors.
Found this male in my backyard. Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida.
"Incoming"
Split Painted Bunting Populations.
There are two separate breeding populations of Painted Bunting in the United States, one in the south-central U.S.; the other along the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to central Florida. This species winters in Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico south to Costa Rica and western Panama.
Painted Buntings are known to wander widely outside of the breeding season, as illustrated by the bird that spent the winter of 2015 in Central Park, New York.
Interestingly, the western population of Painted Bunting begins its fall migration before molting, then molts at staging areas before continuing its journey farther south. This migration-molt pattern is common among waterfowl but very rare among songbirds. The eastern population molts on its breeding grounds before migration, the more usual pattern.
Lovely Lurker, Fierce Fighter
Like other closely-related species such as the Varied Bunting, this bird's diet consists mostly of seeds, supplemented by high-protein insects during nesting season. Despite the males' bright colors, Painted Buntings are often hard to see outside of the breeding season since they prefer to lurk low in the dense cover of brushy areas and woodland edges.
On the breeding grounds, male Painted Buntings stake out territories of up to several acres through song and displays. Each male aggressively defends its territory and will fight intruding males by pecking, grappling, and striking with their wings. These fights sometimes end in the death of one of the males.
The lime-green female builds a cup-shaped grass nest in a small tree or shrub, where she lays three to four eggs and up to three broods each year. Chicks are fed by the female and fledge when they are 12-14 days old.
Juvenile males are the same green as the females until the fall of their second year, when they finally molt into their bright colors.
Found this male in my backyard. Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida.