Species Photos
The following images illustrate natural postures and variation in the appearance of Painted Buntings.
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 |
 |
| Male in definitive (adult) plumage. | Female. This is the only |
| This plumage is acquired with the |
widespread, yellowish-green |
| second prealternate molt; all subsequent |
bird with a conical bill in |
| male plumages are similar. | North America. |
| |
 |
| Basic I plumage (first cycle). Similar to the female |
| plumage, but note the retained inner remiges (inner |
| primaries, outer secondaries) and primary coverts. |
 |
| Note the blue feathers on the face and nape. |
| Up to 40-45% of males in Alternate I plumage |
| show a variable amount of blue on the head and |
| neck; a few females in alternate plumage also |
| show
blue in these same regions. |
 |
| Second-cycle (Alternate I) male in |
| song. Some males breed at this stage, |
| although they usually only have access |
| to lower-quality territories. |
 |
| Painted Buntings are granivorous during most |
| of the year, but primarily consume arthropods |
| during the breeding season. Only the female |
| provisions nestlings. |
 |
| Painted Buntings have been caged and sold since at least the time of |
| Audubon. The capture and sale of Painted Buntings is prohibited in the |
| US, but is legal in Latin America, where buntings are sold domestically. |
| Buntings also are exported to Europe, Asia, and to other Latin American |
| countries. Migratory
birds with declining global populations, such as |
| the Painted Bunting, are not yet protected from the international |
| live bird trade. |
