Lazuli Bunting vs Brown-Headed Cowbird

Lazuli Bunting

Passerina amoena

How to recognise a lazuli bunting?

General appearance

The lazuli bunting is a small passerine bird with a compact body and a distinctive blue and orange coloration. Its short, conical bill is well-suited for seed-eating. The bird's wings and tail feathers are dark with bluish edges, offering a striking contrast to its vibrant body colors.

Male vs female

Males are renowned for their bright blue plumage on the head and back, contrasting with a vivid orange breast and white belly. Females, however, are more subdued with brownish tones overall, tinges of blue on the wings and tail, and paler underparts. This sexual dimorphism helps in easy identification.

Juvenile

Juvenile lazuli buntings resemble females in their coloration with predominantly brown feathers. As they mature, young males gradually develop the characteristic blue and orange plumage seen in adults. During this transition, they may exhibit a patchy mix of brown and emerging blue feathers.

Size

5.1 - 5.9 in/0.5 - 0.6 oz

Habitat

Primary habitat

Lazuli Bunting typically breeds in brushy areas with open grassy ground nearby. These habitats include scrub oak patches, chaparral, and streamside thickets.

Additional range

During migration and in winter, it can be found in weedy fields, open woods and brushy places. It also sometimes inhabits sagebrush or pinyon-juniper woods.

Range Map

What do lazuli buntings like to eat?

Natural diet

The lazuli bunting primarily consumes seeds and insects. During the summer, more than half of its diet consists of insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, true bugs, wild bees, and ants. In the winter, its diet shifts to include a higher proportion of seeds. These seeds mainly come from grasses, along with weed seeds and waste grain. The young lazuli buntings are mostly fed insects.

Bird feeders

Lazuli buntings are occasionally drawn to bird feeders that offer small seeds such as millet or sunflower seeds. Feeders with mixed birdseed blends can also attract them, especially during their migration period when alternative food sources are beneficial.

What does a lazuli bunting sound like?

The Lazuli Bunting's vocalizations comprise a high-pitched, excited series of warbled phrases, typically starting with repeated first notes. Its song descends the scale and ascends towards the end, echoing the Indigo Bunting's song but with less distinct phrases and only repeating the initial ones. The call patterns are complex and undulating with a buzzing, chirp or chip, and whistle-like type of sound.

Song

Audio by Jonathon Jongsma

/ CC BY-SA 4.0

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Brown-Headed Cowbird

Molothrus ater

How to recognise a brown-headed cowbird?

General appearance

The brown-headed cowbird is a medium-sized bird, approximately the size of a robin or sparrow, measuring between 6-8 inches or 15-20 cm. Its wing shape is broad and the tail is either rounded or square-tipped. The bird's coloration includes hues of black, brown, green, and tan.

Male vs female

In terms of gender differences, male brown-headed cowbirds are glossy black and sport a contrasting brown head. On the other hand, females have a different appearance, with a plain dusty brown color and a darker sparrowlike bill.

Juvenile

Juvenile brown-headed cowbirds have a unique appearance that changes as they mature. Initially, they are streaked and tend to resemble female adults but their coloration grows darker as they age. Further observation is needed to note if this pattern is consistent across all seasons.

Size

6.3 - 7.9 in/1.1 - 1.8 oz

Habitat

Primary habitat

The brown-headed cowbird favors open or semi-open countrysides like farms, fields, prairies, and wood edges, concentrating in farmlands or pastures during winter for easy foraging.

Additional range

In the breeding season, it is more widespread, occupying grasslands, brushy regions, forest edges, and even deserts, yet it avoids dense unbroken forests.

Range Map

What do brown-headed cowbirds like to eat?

Natural diet

The brown-headed cowbird's diet primarily consists of seeds and insects. During summer, their diet is about half seeds and for more than 90% in winter. The seeds include those from grasses, weeds, and waste grain. The remainder of their diet is largely insects, particularly grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars, along with spiders and millipedes.

Bird feeders

At bird feeders, brown-headed cowbirds typically consume seeds. They may eat a variety of birdseed mixes, such as sunflower seeds, millet, and cracked corn, which are commonly available in feeders.

What does a brown-headed cowbird sound like?

The brown-headed cowbird's vocalizations are highly varied, encompassing sounds described as a squeaky gurgle, a check or rattle-like call, and a chatter, chirp, or whistle. These vocal expressions can follow a falling, flat, or rising pattern. The cowbird's call types can range from a simple "hi", to a more complex trill, all contributing to its unique bird song.

Call

Audio by Jonathon Jongsma

/ CC BY-SA 3.0

Call

Audio by Dkazdan

/ CC BY-SA 3.0

Song

Audio by Jonathon Jongsma

/ CC BY-SA 4.0

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Lazuli Bunting

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Brown-Headed Cowbird

Lazuli Bunting

Passerina amoena

General appearance

The lazuli bunting is a small passerine bird with a compact body and a distinctive blue and orange coloration. Its short, conical bill is well-suited for seed-eating. The bird's wings and tail feathers are dark with bluish edges, offering a striking contrast to its vibrant body colors.

Male vs female

Males are renowned for their bright blue plumage on the head and back, contrasting with a vivid orange breast and white belly. Females, however, are more subdued with brownish tones overall, tinges of blue on the wings and tail, and paler underparts. This sexual dimorphism helps in easy identification.

Juvenile

Juvenile lazuli buntings resemble females in their coloration with predominantly brown feathers. As they mature, young males gradually develop the characteristic blue and orange plumage seen in adults. During this transition, they may exhibit a patchy mix of brown and emerging blue feathers.

Size

5.1 - 5.9 in/0.5 - 0.6 oz

There's more to learn about Lazuli Bunting

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Brown-Headed Cowbird

Molothrus ater

General appearance

The brown-headed cowbird is a medium-sized bird, approximately the size of a robin or sparrow, measuring between 6-8 inches or 15-20 cm. Its wing shape is broad and the tail is either rounded or square-tipped. The bird's coloration includes hues of black, brown, green, and tan.

Male vs female

In terms of gender differences, male brown-headed cowbirds are glossy black and sport a contrasting brown head. On the other hand, females have a different appearance, with a plain dusty brown color and a darker sparrowlike bill.

Juvenile

Juvenile brown-headed cowbirds have a unique appearance that changes as they mature. Initially, they are streaked and tend to resemble female adults but their coloration grows darker as they age. Further observation is needed to note if this pattern is consistent across all seasons.

Size

6.3 - 7.9 in/1.1 - 1.8 oz

There's more to learn about Brown-Headed Cowbird

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How to tell the Lazuli Bunting from the Brown-Headed Cowbird

Visual differences

Lazuli Buntings are small, weighing 0.5-0.6 oz and measuring 5-6 inches, with vibrant blue and orange plumage (males) and pale brown with bluish tinges (females). They have a compact body and short, conical bill. Brown-Headed Cowbirds, heavier at 1.1-1.8 oz and larger at 6-8 inches, males display glossy black bodies and brown heads, while females are plain dusty brown with darker bills. Cowbirds show a broader wing shape and rounded/square-tipped tail. Thus, both species differ notably in size, color, and shape.

Key differences and behavior

The Lazuli Bunting and Brown-Headed Cowbird exhibit distinct behaviors despite both consuming seeds and insects. Lazuli Buntings create song "neighborhoods" and aggressively protect their breeding territories, crafting nests in low shrubs. In contrast, Brown-Headed Cowbirds engage in brood parasitism, laying their eggs in others' nests and relying on them to rear their young, often ejecting host eggs. Lazuli Buntings prefer brushy areas and open woods during breeding, while Cowbirds favor open fields and edge habitats, avoiding dense forests. While both species visit feeders, Lazuli Buntings are drawn during migration for seeds, while Cowbirds readily forage near livestock year-round, maintaining a diet of seeds and insects.