The Indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea)

The Indigo Bunting is an attractive, small seed eating bird, around 4.5-5 inches in length, with a wingspan of 8-9 inches and weighing O.4-0.6 oz. They have small conical bills that differ slightly with gender of the bird. With the adult male the lower part is light blue and the upper part dark brown to black. The bill of the female is light bluish green. Their legs and feet are grey or black.

Male Indigo Bunting - by Gareth Rasberry - CC BY-SA 3.0

In summer the plumage of the adult male is deep blue which can look black in poor light. They have black wings and tail with blue coloring around the edges.

In autumn and winter the male's plumage changes to a dun color, similar to the females, but often still retains some of their blue coloring. The adult female has a brown body with faint dark streaks on the underside and this coloration remains all year round with the female.  Read more