Indigo Bunting vs Lazuli Bunting

Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea

How to recognise an indigo bunting?

General appearance

The Indigo Bunting is characterized by a size comparable to a Sparrow, around 5 1/2 inches or 14 cm. Its main features include a rounded wing shape and a tail which can be notched, squared or rounded. Some seasonal variations can influence its coloration.

Male vs female

Adult males stand out with a dark blue color in spring/summer. However, during autumn, males along with females transition to a brown tone. They normally exhibit fine streaks on their chest and a blue tinge on their tail.

Juvenile

One-year-old males during summer could exhibit a distinctive marking, taking on a blue shade interspersed with a white belly. This can make them unique compared to their adult counterparts.

Size

4.7 - 5.1 in/0.4 - 0.6 oz

Habitat

Primary habitat

The indigo bunting prefers brushy pastures, bushy wood edges, and favors roadsides, old fields grown into bushes, and edges of woodlands for nesting. They can also be found in clearings within deciduous woods and edges of swamps.

Additional range

In the west, they are typically near streams. In the winter, their range extends to the tropics, where they are commonly found around brushy edges of farm fields.

Range Map

What do indigo buntings like to eat?

Natural diet

The indigo bunting primarily consumes seeds and insects. During the breeding season, its diet consists predominantly of insects and spiders, but also includes some seeds and berries. The young indigo buntings are initially fed mostly insects. In the winter months, the diet shifts to consist largely of seeds, though some insects are still consumed.

Bird feeders

Indigo buntings commonly visit bird feeders where they consume items such as small seeds, including millet and thistle. They may also eat sunflower seeds and occasionally visit feeders with suet or mealworms.

What does an indigo bunting sound like?

The Indigo Bunting is known for its rapid, excited warble, uniquely featuring each note or phrase given twice. This bird's call pattern is complex, characterized by falling and undulating notes for varied expression. Its call types encompass a captivating array of buzzes, chirps or chips, and whistles, contributing to a rich and multifaceted vocal profile.

Call

Audio by Jonathon Jongsma

/ CC BY-SA 3.0

Song

Audio by Jonathon Jongsma

/ CC BY-SA 3.0

There's more to learn about Indigo Bunting

View full details

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

There's more to learn about Lazuli Bunting

View full details

Indigo Bunting

Tap To compare

Lazuli Bunting

Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea

General appearance

The Indigo Bunting is characterized by a size comparable to a Sparrow, around 5 1/2 inches or 14 cm. Its main features include a rounded wing shape and a tail which can be notched, squared or rounded. Some seasonal variations can influence its coloration.

Male vs female

Adult males stand out with a dark blue color in spring/summer. However, during autumn, males along with females transition to a brown tone. They normally exhibit fine streaks on their chest and a blue tinge on their tail.

Juvenile

One-year-old males during summer could exhibit a distinctive marking, taking on a blue shade interspersed with a white belly. This can make them unique compared to their adult counterparts.

Size

4.7 - 5.1 in/0.4 - 0.6 oz

There's more to learn about Indigo Bunting

View full details

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

View full details

How to tell the Indigo Bunting from the Lazuli Bunting

Visual differences

The Indigo Bunting is smaller, about 5 to 5 1/2 inches long, while the Lazuli Bunting is slightly larger, around 5 1/4 to 6 inches. Adult male Indigo Buntings are a uniform deep blue, whereas male Lazuli Buntings have a bright blue head and back with an orange breast and white belly. Female Indigo Buntings are more uniformly brown with a hint of blue, while female Lazulis are brown with pale undersides and hints of blue on the wings and tail. Both species have short, conical bills, but Lazuli Buntings have darker wing and tail edges.

Key differences and behavior

Indigo and Lazuli Buntings, both small seed and insect-eating passerines, differ notably in their behavior and habitat preferences. Indigo Buntings breed in brushy pastures and wood edges, often sing communally, and navigate using star patterns, reflecting their nocturnal migration habits. In contrast, Lazuli Buntings prefer open grassy areas and form unique song neighborhoods, defending territories even from Indigo Buntings in overlapping ranges. Both species adapt their diets seasonally, favoring insects in summer, but show slight variations; Lazuli Buntings consume weed seeds and waste grain in winter. Breeding behaviors also differ; Indigo males may mate with multiple females per territory, while Lazuli males are more territorial. These differences aid in field identification beyond their distinct songs and coloration.