Wild Bird Thread!

[Laurajean]

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You're right ChickenOBoy, I don't believe it. My Smithsonian Bird handbook clearly shows it as blue, and if you do an internet search for pics of Indigo Buntings, all the pics are clearly blue. What is your source that they are black??

Maybe it's like the green sheen on cayugas? They are black but have a blue sheen?

No, they are clearly blue. Here's a pic from Animal Planet/Discovery's website:

(And yes, the females are brown but still not black or even close to black. Indigo Buntings are mostly on the Eastern half of the US, but have been spotted elsewhere)

 

[redhen]

I love the cardinals that we have here..

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Wait...do you guys have cardinals in the East?

 

[Laurajean]

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Oh sure, lots of them! And they look so pretty at the feeders after a snow storm, because they're so bright red in the middle of all white.

 

[saddina]

We get a few small seed eating birds (finch sized) that like the seed cones in the trees. Now they've begun picking up dropped feed when the quail shake a lil out.

 

[Chicken0Boy]

woops

 

[Laurajean]

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Don't promise because you are mistaken, I'm sorry. They ARE blue. On Discovery's website it does say the following, so maybe this is where you are getting this idea:

"At first glance male indigo buntings appear to be solid black, but caught in the right sunlight the bird is actually a brilliant electric blue. Due to their need to be inconspicuous while raising their broods, however, females are a drab brown."

But your comment that they have no blue pigment is just wrong. They ARE blue, very blue. They may appear to be black in the shade, but they are blue. I don't need to do any research on this, it's a known fact. They call them INDIGO for a reason, because they are Indigo BLUE.

But I think anyone who looks at the above photo would have to agree, this isn't a "sheen", it's simply blue.

 

[redhen]

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Oh sure, lots of them! And they look so pretty at the feeders after a snow storm, because they're so bright red in the middle of all white.

yup... we have alot here by our house...

 

[Chicken0Boy]

Ok, so I did a search and it all said they were blue. One website said they were black, and i didnt search anymore.....sorry for misleading you.

I guess i was wrong!

So do any of you have any purple martin houses?

 

[Laurajean]

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That's okay ChickenOBoy. If you ever see one you'll be amazed at how bright they are, really cool looking birds. There must be a lot of misconceptions about them out there, because my ex-boyfriend thought they were rare and endangered, which they are not. They just don't land on very many backyard feeders apparently. I felt lucky to have him at my feeder! I'll try to find the pic and upload it, although it was far away so it didn't come out very good. And he doesn't stay long, eats a few seeds and disappears! But I've seen him three times now.