Painted Bunting - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by richard bledsoe
Sebastian, Florida, USA, February 2005

Passerina ciris

Identification

Female
Photo © by marhowie
Kempner, Hill Country, Texas, May 2009

5 1/2" (14 cm)
Male

• Bright red underparts and rump
• Green back
• Blue head
• Red eye ring
  

Female

• Bright green all over
• Paler below
• Pale eye ring

Distribution

Two ranges:
Western range includes eastern New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, southern Kansas, southern Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, western Mississippi, and northern Mexico.

Eastern range includes South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Winters south to Panama and the Greater Antilles.

Accidental vagrant north and west of range.

Taxonomy

1st year male, Subspecies pallidor
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Laguna Seca Ranch, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA, April 2019

Subspecies

Adult Male, P. c. pallidior
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
High Island--Smith Oaks Sanctuary, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, USA, 19 April 2021

This is a polytypic species, consisting of two subspecies^[1]:

• P. c. pallidior:

• South-western US and northern Mexico; winters to western Panama

• P. c. ciris:

• Coastal south-eastern US; winters to Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Yucatan

Habitat

Flight
Photo © by Robert Steffens
Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina, USA, 5 August 2021

Open areas with dense brush at all seasons.

Behaviour

Males will fight to hold territories; these fights are sometimes bloody and even fatal.

Diet

Their main diet consists of seeds and insects, which they generally find on the ground or in a low brush.

Breeding

Displaying
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Lick Creek Nature Center, College Station, Brazos County, Texas, USA, May 2020

They are territorial with males defending the territory by singing from a high perch, often hidden in the gallery. They are generally monogamous though polygyny may occur. There will usually be two clutches.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Audubon
3. Brewer, D. (2019). Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/62218 on 11 August 2019).

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Painted Bunting. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Painted_Bunting

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