ID Keys (Male): Sky-blue upperparts, rusty chest, white belly, white
wing-bars.
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. The brilliantly colored male is shown to the right,
while a photo of the drabber female can be seen on the bottom of the page.
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.
Behavior
Usually forages on the ground or by
moving through low vegetation. Males are often seen singing in the
open, while females tend to stay hidden in cover.
Nesting
May and June
Song
High crisp warbling.
Migration
Summers throughout much of the western
United States. Primarily winters in western Mexico.
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.
