Painted Bunting
The Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) is one of North America’s most colorful songbirds, with males displaying vivid blue heads, red underparts, and green backs, while females and juveniles are bright green and yellow-green. Found in the southeastern United States, they breed in dense brushy areas and migrate to Central America and Florida for winter. Their diet includes seeds, insects, and spiders. Due to habitat loss and trapping for the pet trade, their populations face pressure. The Painted Bunting’s dazzling plumage has earned it the nickname “nonpareil,” meaning “without equal.”
