ML121521711

Age and sex

Unknown age, Male - X

Media notes

The blue suffusion to the breast and sides suggests this is an adult male Indigo Bunting that has already molted into basic plumage, but it remains unclear if the white tips to the greater coverts are too bold for this species and instead indicative of a hybrid Indigo × Lazuli Bunting. Photographed on 29 October 2018 by Curtis A. Marantz at Chiriaco Summit, Riverside County, California.

Observation details

I spotted this bird foraging on the front lawn of the main house located adjacent to the parking lot, where it remained quietly for the duration of our observations. I did my best to study this bird with my binoculars and I took several photos, but when some kids arrived home from school and walked by the yard, the bunting flew off while I went to get my scope. As such, my views were good, but also relatively brief, and from a distance at which I had a hard time seeing the finer details through binoculars. This was a notably small, sparrow-like bird that was considerably smaller than the only other bird seen on the lawn with it, an American Robin. I quickly noted that this bird had a stout bill that was not much longer than it was deep at the base, and which tapered from a conspicuously deep base to a broadly pointed tip along a culmen that appeared to be slightly decurved. I thought the forehead and crown were smoothly rounded on a head of unremarkable size for a bunting, that the neck was short and inconspicuous, and that the body was plump, full chested, and with a posture that was maybe halfway between horizontal and diagonal when it was foraging on the lawn. I failed altogether to note both the primary projection and the placement of the wingtips relative to the base of the tail, and I noted only that the tail appeared to be slim and of medium-length. My views of the plumage patterns were about as superficial as those of the structure. I noted immediately that this was a plain bird that was a warm-brown in coloration. I thought the head was a warm, medium-brown and with no obvious pattern to a face that appeared to be quite plain. The back contrasted little with the head and neck, but it did seem to be a little darker and maybe more of a chestnut-brown in color. The wings were not boldly marked, and they did not contrast strongly with the upperparts, but I did notice darker centers that contrasted with warm brown, if not cinnamon-brown, fringes on the remiges. I suspect the wing coverts were similarly marked, but the pattern of fringing was subtle, and this bird appeared to lack the whitish wingbars typical of a Lazuli Bunting. The tail was dark, but I cannot now remember anything more about it. The underparts were somewhat lighter in coloration than the upperparts, but my impression was they too were brownish to buff overall, albeit with a more whitish throat that was poorly demarcated, and I thought I could see at least some indication of a few blurry streaks on the center of the breast. I nevertheless thought the sides and flanks were unmarked. I noted that the bill was extensively pale, maybe yellowish or flesh-colored, and possibly with the culmen or tip darker, but I cannot now remember much about the precise color or pattern. I also noted that the eyes were dark, but I have no recollection whatsoever about the color of the legs or feet. Further illustrating the superficial nature of my views in the field, I noted only in my photos a blue base to the tail and suffusion of blue speckling on the sides of the neck and breast that I assume reflect blue bases to feathers that had brown tips, and probably enough blue to be indicative of this bird being an adult male in basic plumage.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

1600

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/320 sec

Dimensions

1258 pixels x 838 pixels

Original file size

2.09 MB