{"id":12885,"date":"2019-07-08T06:30:08","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T10:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=12885"},"modified":"2019-07-08T11:46:54","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T15:46:54","slug":"take-5-indigo-buntings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-indigo-buntings\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Indigo Buntings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Take a walk through a weedy meadow or shrub-filled forest edge and there’s a chance you might spot a flash of brilliant jewel blue singing boisterously from a treetop or telephone wire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only are male Indigo Buntings gorgeous in their azure plumage, but they are also prolific singers and may whistle their high-pitched songs from dawn until dusk. Individual notes are often clustered in pairs and pairs often come in threes (“what what, where where, here here?<\/em>“) but songs can vary widely from one individual to the next\u2014young males learn their songs not from their fathers but from their nest neighbors, creating distinct “song neighborhoods”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fascinatingly, Indigo Bunting feathers contain no blue pigment. Like all blue birds, their coloring comes from the microscopic structure of the feathers that refracts and reflects blue light and absorbs other colors. Females are plain brown but may occasionally have a slight hint of blue on their wings, while immature and molting males have splotchy blue and brown patches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five photos of male Indigo Buntings from our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a> photo contest. The 2019 contest is open, so submit your nature photography today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Indigo
Indigo Bunting \u00a9 Yunzhong He<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Indigo
Indigo Bunting \u00a9 Davey Walters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Indigo
Indigo Bunting \u00a9 Amy Powers-Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Indigo
Indigo Bunting \u00a9 Amy Severino<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Indigo
Indigo Bunting \u00a9 Jaymie Reidy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Take a walk through a weedy meadow or shrub-filled forest edge and there’s a chance you might spot a flash of brilliant jewel blue singing boisterously from a treetop or telephone wire. Not only are male Indigo Buntings gorgeous in their azure plumage, but they are also prolific singers and may whistle their high-pitched songs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":12888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[28,317,83,84],"class_list":["post-12885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5","tag-birds","tag-indigo-bunting","tag-photo-contest","tag-photography"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/07\/2795Amy_PowersSmith22956.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3lP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16884,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/species-highlight-5-birds-for-bird-a-thon\/","url_meta":{"origin":12885,"position":0},"title":"Species Highlight: 5 Birds for Bird-a-thon","author":"Kaylin D.","date":"May 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On May 13, birders from across the state will be hiking quietly through bushes, binoculars in hand, patiently waiting for a bird to come into view. Throughout the heat of the day and into the cover of darkness, these dedicated birders silently wait. Why, you may ask? All for a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/KForesto-3663-750x500-69214820-c7a7-4824-8adc-c1f5db65b2b5-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/KForesto-3663-750x500-69214820-c7a7-4824-8adc-c1f5db65b2b5-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/KForesto-3663-750x500-69214820-c7a7-4824-8adc-c1f5db65b2b5-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/KForesto-3663-750x500-69214820-c7a7-4824-8adc-c1f5db65b2b5-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2982,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-other-snow-bird\/","url_meta":{"origin":12885,"position":1},"title":"The Other Snow Bird","author":"Rosemary","date":"January 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Snowy owls have been getting a lot of attention this season, mainly due to the large influx we are seeing in the Northeast. These owls aren't the only birds that prefer the comparably mild Massachusetts winter over the extreme temps in the Arctic tundra. Snow buntings\u2014sometimes known as the \u201csnowflake\u201d\u2014also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/11\/bunting2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13522,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-snow-buntings\/","url_meta":{"origin":12885,"position":2},"title":"Take 5: Snow Buntings","author":"Ryan D.","date":"January 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Snow Bunting is the quintessential winter songbird visitor: they breed in the Arctic in summer, making their nests in the rocky tundra, and only visit Massachusetts when they \"fly south\" for the winter. In fact, their breeding range is so far north that it exceeds that of all other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snow Bunting \u00a9 Lee Millet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/01\/123Lee_Millet20679.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/01\/123Lee_Millet20679.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/01\/123Lee_Millet20679.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/01\/123Lee_Millet20679.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12549,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-birds-of-the-rainbow\/","url_meta":{"origin":12885,"position":3},"title":"Take 5: Birds of the Rainbow","author":"Ryan D.","date":"April 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Spring is in the air and all of Massachusetts is eagerly awaiting the return of bright, beautiful color to the drab, grey-brown landscape of winter. 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The days are getting longer and warmer, the trees are leafing out and budding left and right, and spring bird migration is picking up steam. Doesn't it just make you want to sing? 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