Lazuli Bunting vs Varied Bunting

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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Varied Bunting

Passerina versicolor

How to recognise a varied bunting?

General appearance

The Varied Bunting is a small bird measuring 4 1/2-5 1/2 inches (11-14 cm), about the size of a Sparrow. Its distinctive coloration includes hues of black, blue, brown, and red. The bird's wing shape tends to be rounded, and the tail shape can range from notched, rounded to square-tipped.

Male vs female

Males are distinguishable by their darker appearance from a distance, appearing almost black. In good light, their plumage consists of dull purple coupled with a red nape and blue forehead. Their colors are obscurely hidden by brown edging in the fall. Females, on the other hand, are a plain brown and lack any wing-bars or chest streaks, making them relatively less colorful than their male counterparts.

Juvenile

The description does not provide specific details on the juvenile Varied Bunting. However, similar bird species often look like the females until their adult plumage develops, associating them with a duller, brown coloration.

Size

4.3 - 5.5 in/0.4 - 0.5 oz

Habitat

Primary habitat

The varied bunting predominantly seeks habitats within dense, thorny brush areas, typically alongside streams within canyons and under the cover of scattered trees.

Additional range

Despite a main preference for areas near water, they may also reside in flat, dry deserts within the United States, provided there is a sufficient density of brush foliage.

Range Map

What do varied buntings like to eat?

Natural diet

The varied bunting's natural diet consists of seeds and insects. During the breeding season, it likely feeds chiefly on insects, while still consuming some seeds and berries. Food provided to its young at the nest is predominantly insect-based. In winter, its diet probably shifts to include a greater proportion of seeds.

Bird feeders

The varied bunting is not commonly seen at bird feeders. Its primary natural diet of insects and seeds suggests that if it does visit feeders, it may be attracted to those offering seeds similar to its natural diet, such as sunflower seeds or millet.

What does a varied bunting sound like?

The varied bunting is renowned for its complex, undulating series of sweet, melodious notes. Each note or phrase in this series is typically repeated, creating a rich tapestry of sound. In terms of its call type, the varied bunting leans towards the buzz, chirp/chip, and whistle. Hence, its vocalizations are beautifully varied, comprising a delightful mixture of sounds that are often repeated in an appealing, rhythmic pattern.

Call

Audio by Paul Marvin

/ CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Song

Audio by Paul Marvin

/ CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

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Lazuli Bunting

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Varied Bunting

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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Varied Bunting

Passerina versicolor

General appearance

The Varied Bunting is a small bird measuring 4 1/2-5 1/2 inches (11-14 cm), about the size of a Sparrow. Its distinctive coloration includes hues of black, blue, brown, and red. The bird's wing shape tends to be rounded, and the tail shape can range from notched, rounded to square-tipped.

Male vs female

Males are distinguishable by their darker appearance from a distance, appearing almost black. In good light, their plumage consists of dull purple coupled with a red nape and blue forehead. Their colors are obscurely hidden by brown edging in the fall. Females, on the other hand, are a plain brown and lack any wing-bars or chest streaks, making them relatively less colorful than their male counterparts.

Juvenile

The description does not provide specific details on the juvenile Varied Bunting. However, similar bird species often look like the females until their adult plumage develops, associating them with a duller, brown coloration.

Size

4.3 - 5.5 in/0.4 - 0.5 oz

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How to tell the Lazuli Bunting from the Varied Bunting

Visual differences

Lazuli Buntings are slightly larger (5-6 inches) and heavier (0.46-0.63 oz) than Varied Buntings (4.5-5.5 inches, 0.39-0.46 oz). Male Lazuli Buntings are bright blue with orange breasts, while Varied Bunting males appear darker, with purple-blue and red hues. Female Lazuli are brownish with light blue tinges, contrasting with the plain brown female Varied without wing-bars. Lazuli have dark wings with bluish edges, whereas Varied's plumage is more uniformly blended. Lazuli Buntings have a short, conical bill, suitable for seeds, similar to Varied Buntings.

Key differences and behavior

Lazuli Buntings (Passerina amoena) and Varied Buntings (Passerina versicolor) are both small, seed and insect-eating birds, but they exhibit distinct behavioral differences. Lazuli Buntings, which develop unique songs recognizable by their peers, are highly territorial and form song neighborhoods, often found in open, brushy areas. They participate in mutual territory defense with Indigo Buntings where ranges overlap. Varied Buntings, preferring dense, thorny brush near water, are less territorial and engage in elaborate courtship displays. Lazuli Buntings are occasionally attracted to feeders, unlike the elusive Varied Bunting, which avoids populated areas, making it a challenge for birders to spot. Lazuli Buntings nest low in shrubs, while Varied Buntings nest in dense foliage, with both parents nurturing their young.