Species
Painted bunting
Passerina ciris
A dazzling bunting of blue, green and red, nesting in coastal thickets and yards in Georgia.
Photo Shiva Shenoy (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 12 to 14 cm long
- Weight
- About 13 to 19 g
- Habitat
- Coastal thickets, maritime forest edges and yards
- Diet
- Seeds and insects
- In Georgia
- A summer resident on the coast, April to October
- Voice
- A sweet, warbling song
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Male
- Blue head; red underparts; green back
- Female
- Bright green all over
- Told apart from
- Other buntings, none of which are green
- Where to look
- Coastal thickets and feeders on the coast
Behaviour
Painted buntings forage on the ground and in shrubs for seeds. Males take two years to reach full colour.
Why they matter
The eastern painted bunting population is small and restricted mostly to the coast from North Carolina to Florida, including Georgia. It is threatened by habitat loss and the illegal cage-bird trade in its winter range.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup in a dense shrub
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 11 to 12 days
Chicks — Fed by the female
Lifespan — Several years
Living around people
- Coastal thickets and native shrubs support them.
- It is illegal to trap or keep painted buntings.
Misconceptions
- A green bunting is a different species. Females and young males are green.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | In Florida and the Caribbean | In Florida and the Caribbean | In Florida | Arriving | Nesting | Nesting | Second broods | Young fledging | Present | Leaving | In Florida | In Florida |
Where it lives
Recorded in 42 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
Mexico
- Campechein winter
- Chiapasin winter
- Chihuahuabreeding
- Coahuilabreeding
- Colimain winter
- Durangobreeding
- Guanajuatoin winter
- Guerreroin winter
- Hidalgoin winter
- Jaliscoin winter
- Mexico Cityin winter
- Michoacanin winter
- Morelosin winter
- Nayaritin winter
- Nuevo Leonbreeding
- Oaxacain winter
- Pueblain winter
- Queretaroin winter
- Quintana Rooin winter
- San Luis Potosiin winter
- Sinaloain winter
- Sonorabreeding
- State of Mexicoin winter
- Tabascoin winter
- Tamaulipasin winter
- Veracruzin winter
- Yucatanin winter
If you found one
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