"Painted Bunting A.K.A Rainbow Bunting"

The painted bunting (Passerina ciris) is part of the Cardinalidae bird family, along with many colorful cousins, including the northern cardinal, scarlet tanager, dickcissel, lazuli bunting, and blue grosbeak.

 

Native American folklore explains the painted bunting’s bright colors as a choice by the Great Spirit, who was running out of colors for birds and gave the last species, the painted bunting, the leftover dabs of color from other birds.

 

There are two subspecies of painted bunting, with the eastern subspecies being very slightly brighter in color and having very slightly shorter wings than its western counterpart.

 

Unlike most male songbirds that molt into their bright, recognizable plumage within a few months of hatching and certainly by the time they’re a year old, male painted buntings don’t gain their iconic bold colors for two years after hatching.

 

Despite its color, male painted buntings can be hard to spot because these are shy birds that tend to stay in thickets, shrubby areas, and other sheltered locations where their bright colors may seem more muted.

 

These colorful birds are also called nonpariels (without equal), painted finches, and rainbow buntings. Females are called greenies in reference to their bright green plumage.

 

These are mostly seed-eating birds, and eat grass and flower seeds as well as seeds offered from feeders. Insects and spiders are an important source of protein during the breeding season, when hungry hatchlings need more protein for proper growth. In late summer and early fall, painted buntings may eat some berries or fruit.

 

I found this male and others, including Females, in my backyard earlier this year.

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