Varied Bunting

Passerina versicolor

Seemingly dark and dull at a distance, males sport a spectacular color pattern when seen up close. Note red nape and throat, brilliant blue forehead, purplish cheek, and red arcs behind the eyes. Body is rich purple set off by a blue rump. Female is exceptionally plain. She is a warm, medium-brown with very few markings, distinguished from other female buntings by plainer wings and belly and curved top of the bill. Prefers brushy habitats often with steep slopes, especially riparian areas and desert washes. Generally uncommon. Listening for their song, a low, rough warble, is often the best way to find them.

识别特征

The varied bunting (Passerina versicolor) is a species of songbird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. The range of the varied bunting stretches from the southern parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States south throughout Mexico as far as Oaxaca. Small disjunct populations occur in the state of Chiapas in Mexico and southeastern Guatemala. This stocky bird has a short tail and rounded bill. It is 11–14 centimetres (4.3–5.5 in) long, has a wingspan of 21 centimetres (8.3 in), and weighs 11–13 grams (0.39–0.46 oz). Breeding males are purple-red with a bright red patch on the nape, which becomes browner in the fall. Females are plain light brown, resembling the female indigo bunting but lacking streaking on the breast. Varied buntings inhabit deserts and xeric shrublands, preferring thorny brush thickets, thorn forests, scrubby woodlands, and overgrown clearings. They forage on the ground for insects, fruit, and seeds. Varied buntings weave open-cup nests of grass and spider webs in the outer branches of thorny shrubs, usually near water. Females lay two to five bluish-white to bluish-green eggs, which they incubate for about fourteen days. The young are fully feathered after 10 days, and are ready to leave the nest several days later.

分类信息

Genus: Passerina; Family: Cardinalidae; Order: Passeriformes.

学名
Passerina versicolor
命名信息
(Bonaparte, 1838)
Passeriformes
Cardinalidae
Passerina

分布与栖息地

迁徙
Complete migrants

行为

Migration pattern: Complete migrants.

保护状况

Population trend: stable.

种群趋势
stable

照片

分布

鸟叫声

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