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painted bunting

 
Dictionary: painted bunting
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n.
A small finch (Passerina ciris) of the southern United States and Mexico, the male of which has brilliant multicolored plumage. Also called nonpareil.


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Western Bird Guide: painted bunting
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Home > Library > Animal Life > Western Birds


Passerina ciris 5½″ (14 cm). The most gaudily colored North American songbird. Male: A patchwork of blue-violet on head, green on back, red on rump and underparts. Female: Very plain; greenish above, paling to lemon-green below; no other small finch is so uniformly green.

Voice: Song, a wiry warble; suggests song of Warbling Vireo.

Range: S. U.S., ne. Mexico. Winters to Panama.

Habitat: Woodland edges, roadsides, brush, towns, gardens.

Wikipedia: Painted Bunting
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Painted Bunting
A male in Texas
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cardinalidae
Genus: Passerina
Species: P. ciris
Binomial name
Passerina ciris
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) belongs to the Passerina genus of birds in the Cardinal family Cardinalidae.

Contents

Taxonomy

The Painted Bunting was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his eighteenth century work, Systema Naturae.[1] There are four recognized subspecies of the Painted Bunting:[2]

  • P. c. ciris , the nominate subspecies.
  • P. c. pallidior
Male


Description

The male Painted Bunting is often described as the most beautiful bird in North America. Its beautiful colors, dark blue head, green back, red rump and underparts, make it easy to identify, but is difficult to spot since it hides in foliage even when it sings. The plumage of female and juvenile Painted Buntings is green and yellow-green, serving as camouflage.

Distribution and habitat

The Painted Bunting is found in thickets, woodland edges and brushy areas, along roadsides, in suburban areas, and gardens. The male was once a popular caged bird, but now its capture is illegal.[3] Populations are declining on the East Coast where habitat is being lost to development. The breeding range includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Montana and Louisiana.

Behavior

Painted Buntings are mostly monogamous and are solitary or in pairs during breeding season, but sometimes exhibit polygyny. They are shy, secretive and often difficult to see. Males sing from exposed perches and often hop on the ground. The Painted Bunting eats seeds, spiders, insects and caterpillars. It lays 3 or 4 gray-white eggs, spotted with brown which are incubated by the female for about 11-13 days and the young are ready to leave the nest around 2 weeks after hatching.

References

Lanyon, S.M. and Thompson, C.F. Site fidelity and habitat quality as determinants of settlement pattern in male Painted Buntings. Condor 88:206-210, 1986.

  1. ^ Linnaeus, Carolus (1758) (in Latin). Systema Naturae. Stockholm: Holmiae (Laurentii Salvii). p. 320. OCLC 174638949. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ix0AAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1. Retrieved 2008-02-04. 
  2. ^ "Passerina ciris". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. ITIS-North America. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179156. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 
  3. ^ Peterson, Roger Tory (1999). A Field Guide to the Birds. HMCo Field Guides. p. 252. ISBN 0395963710. http://books.google.com/books?id=r6yakrkA74AC&pg=PA252&dq=Passerina+ciris&as_brr=3&sig=Y7fhiWqD0nLm7tQhkncquN16Gdc. 

Further reading

Book

  • Lowther, P. E., S. M. Lanyon, and C. W. Thompson. 1999. Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). In The Birds of North America, No. 398 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Thesis

  • Finke MA. M.A. (1979). TERRITORIALITY AND USE OF SPACE BY MALE PAINTED BUNTINGS, PASSERINA CIRIS CIRIS (L.). State University of New York College at Geneseo, United States -- New York.
  • Forsythe DM. Ph.D. (1974). SONG CHARACTERISTICS OF SYMPATRIC AND ALLOPATRIC INDIGO AND PAINTED BUNTING POPULATIONS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. Clemson University, United States -- South Carolina.
  • Womer DB. M.S. (1987). BREEDING HABITAT ANALYSIS OF THE INDIGO BUNTING (PASSERINA CYANEA) AND THE PAINTED BUNTING (PASSERINA CIRIS) IN EAST TEXAS. Stephen F. Austin State University, United States -- Texas.

Articles

  • Academy Of Natural Sciences Of P. (1999). Painted Bunting: Passerina ciris. Birds of North America. vol 0, no 398. p. 1-23.
  • Barber DR & Martin TE. (1997). Influence of alternate host densities on brown-headed Cowbird parasitism rates in black-capped Vireos. Condor. vol 99, no 3. p. 595-604.
  • Bochkov AV, Fain A & Skoracki M. (2004). New quill mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acari : Cheyletoidea). Systematic Parasitology. vol 57, no 2. p. 135-150.
  • Brennan SP & Schnell GD. (2005). Relationship between bird abundances and landscape characteristics: The influence of scale. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment. vol 105, no 1-3. p. 209-228.
  • Conner RN, Dickson JG, Williamson JH & Ortego BN. (2004). Width of forest streamside zones and breeding bird abundance in eastern Texas. Southeastern Naturalist. vol 3, no 4. p. 669-682.
  • Durden LA, Oliver JH & Kinsey AA. (2001). Ticks (Acari : Ixodidae) and spirochetes (Spirochaetaceae : Spirochaetales) recovered from birds on a Georgia barrier island. Journal of Medical Entomology. vol 38, no 2. p. 231-236.
  • Kilgo JC & Moorman CE. (2003). Patterns of cowbird parasitism in the southern Atlantic coastal plain and piedmont. Wilson Bulletin. vol 115, no 3. p. 277-284.
  • Klicka J, Fry AJ, Zink RM & Thompson CW. (2001). A cytochrome-b perspective on Passerina bunting relationships. Auk. vol 118, no 3. p. 611-623.
  • Kopachena JG & Crist CJ. (2000). Macro-habitat features associated with painted and Indigo Buntings in northeast Texas. Wilson Bulletin. vol 112, no 1. p. 108-114.
  • Kopachena JG & Crist CJ. (2000). Microhabitat features associated with the song perches of Painted and Indigo Buntings (Passeriformes : Cardinalidae) in northeast Texas. Texas Journal of Science. vol 52, no 2. p. 133-144.
  • Lanyon SM & Thompson CF. (1984). Visual Displays and Their Context in the Painted Bunting Passerina-Ciris. Wilson Bulletin. vol 96, no 3. p. 396-407.
  • Lanyon SM & Thompson CF. (1986). Site Fidelity and Habitat Quality as Determinants of Settlement Pattern in Male Painted Buntings Passerina-Ciris. Condor. vol 88, no 2. p. 206-210.
  • Norris DJ & Elder WH. (1982). Distribution and Habitat Characteristics of the Painted Bunting Passerina-Ciris in Missouri USA. Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science. vol 16, p. 77-84.
  • Quay WB. (1985). Cloacal Sperm in Spring Migrants Occurrence and Interpretation. Condor. vol 87, no 2. p. 273-280.
  • Spicer GS. (1977). 2 New Nasal Mites of the Genus Ptilonyssus Mesostigmata Rhinonyssidae from Texas USA. Acarologia. vol 18, no 4. p. 594-601.
  • Springborn EG & Meyers JM. (2005). Home range and survival of breeding painted buntings on Sapelo Island, Georgia. Wildlife Society Bulletin. vol 33, no 4. p. 1432-1439.
  • Taylor WK. (1974). NEW HYBRID BUNTING (PASSERINA-CYANEA X PASSERINA-CIRIS). Auk. vol 91, no 3. p. 485-487.
  • Thompson CF & Lanyon SM. (1979). Reverse Mounting in the Painted Bunting Passerina-Ciris. Auk. vol 96, no 2. p. 417-418.
  • Thompson CW. (1991). Is the Painted Bunting Actually Two Species? Problems Determining Species Limits between Allopatric Populations. Condor. vol 93, no 4. p. 987-1000.
  • Thompson CW. (1991). THE SEQUENCE OF MOLTS AND PLUMAGES IN PAINTED BUNTINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORIES OF DELAYED PLUMAGE MATURATION. Condor. vol 93, no 2. p. 209-235.
  • Thompson CW. (1992). A KEY FOR AGING AND SEXING PAINTED BUNTINGS. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 63, no 4. p. 445-454.
  • Young BE. (1991). ANNUAL MOLTS AND INTERRUPTION OF THE FALL MIGRATION FOR MOLTING IN LAZULI BUNTINGS. Condor. vol 93, no 2. p. 236-250.

External links


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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Western Bird Guide. Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds, by Roger Tory Peterson. Copyright © 1990 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Painted Bunting".  Read more