Lazuli Bunting -- South Dakota Birds

Lazuli Bunting

Passerina amoena

Lazuli Buntings are birds of brushy areas, and have actually benefited from the brushy habitats which often are the result of forest cutting activities.  They are the western counterpart to the East's Indigo Bunting.  Their ranges overlap in South Dakota, and the two species often interbreed (see photo at bottom for Lazuli x Indigo Bunting cross).

Habitat: Prefers brushy areas, including streamside thickets, brushy fields, brushy undergrowth along woodland edges, and sometimes in sagebrush habitats.  

Diet: Eats both seeds and insects.  The summer diet includes a great many insects, and spiders, as well as the seeds of grasses and weeds, and waste grain.  The winter diet is primarily seeds and grains.

Breeding: Breeding Bird Survey map

Song: High crisp warbling.

Migrations: Summers throughout much of the western United States.  Primarily winters in western Mexico. 

Similar Species: Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak.  See the Identification Tips page for differentiating between these species.

Feeders: Will attend feeders for small grains and seeds.

Status: Stable in most areas.  Numbers are locally much higher than historical levels, due to the brushy second-growth habitat that often results from forest cutting activities.

Further Information: 1) USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Lazuli Bunting

2) Cornell University's "All About Birds - Lazuli Bunting"

3) E-nature.com: Lazuli Bunting

Photo Information: Top Photo: June 29th, 2003 -- Lawrence County -- Doug Backlund

Bottom Photo -- Lazuli/Indigo cross: May 31st, 2003 -- Lawrence County -- Doug Backlund

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This page was last edited on 02/03/08