Painted Bunting
Passerina ciris
Perhaps no other North American songbird rivals the beauty of the male Painted Bunting. Their coloring seems as if only the brightest colors in the crayon box were used to represent this ornate gem. First year males and females, though not as flashy, are shaded in hues of lime-green.
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and northeastern Mexico are the primary locations these birds migrate in spring to breed, but the coastal slopes of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida also host a breeding summer population. When summer passes and it’s time to move to warmer climates, they head south into places like southern Mexico and Central America, or south Florida and Cuba.
Today’s science classifies two subspecies:
- P. c. pallidior breeds in the interior USA in places like southeastern Kansas, and east to Tennessee and Mississippi, south to New Mexico and Texas, and adjacent Mexico in Chihuahua and Tamaulipas. In winter they migrate to Mexico from Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas, and south to Panama.
- P. c. ciris breeds in the east along the US Atlantic seaboard from North Carolina south to Florida. In winter, they migrate to southern Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba.
Recent genetic research cast doubt on the validity of this subspecific distinction, yet seems to agree there are differences in the eastern and western populations. The jury is still out. Until my 2020 visit to south Texas, I’d not had the thrill that comes with meeting these brilliant birds.
41 Photos
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first bright male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:34 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D504727Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first bright male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:38 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D504772Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first bright male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:38 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D504790Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first bright male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:39 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D504805Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first bright male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:39 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D504818Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first bright male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:40 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D504861Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first bright male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:41 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D504904Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first bright male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:44 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D504938Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: First year male Painted Buntings look very much like their moms. When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:51 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D505022Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: First year male Painted Buntings look very much like their moms. When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:53 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D505091Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: First year male Painted Buntings look very much like their moms. When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:58 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D505224Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: First year male Painted Buntings look very much like their moms. When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:58 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D505241Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: I was hoping to meet the male Painted Bunting in Texas, but this young lady was a nice consolation prize. My third visit to Atascosa NWR in South Texas was intended to pick up images of a couple of the birds I came up short with on my second visit. But then I started meeting new birds and I stayed all day. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:24 11:37 |
|
Location:
Atascosa NWR |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D506385-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: I was hoping to meet the male Painted Bunting in Texas, but this young lady was a nice consolation prize. My third visit to Atascosa NWR in South Texas was intended to pick up images of a couple of the birds I came up short with on my second visit. But then I started meeting new birds and I stayed all day. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:24 11:39 |
|
Location:
Atascosa NWR |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D506471-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: I was hoping to meet the male Painted Bunting in Texas, but this young lady was a nice consolation prize. My third visit to Atascosa NWR in South Texas was intended to pick up images of a couple of the birds I came up short with on my second visit. But then I started meeting new birds and I stayed all day. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:24 11:39 |
|
Location:
Atascosa NWR |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D506474-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: I was hoping to meet the male Painted Bunting in Texas, but this young lady was a nice consolation prize. My third visit to Atascosa NWR in South Texas was intended to pick up images of a couple of the birds I came up short with on my second visit. But then I started meeting new birds and I stayed all day. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:24 11:39 |
|
Location:
Atascosa NWR |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D506488-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: First year male Painted Buntings look very much like their moms. When I stopped to stretch my legs I was delighted to meet my first male Painted Buntings. I met these birds at a roadside rest on US-83 in Texas, several miles south of the Uvalde County line. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 9:54 |
|
Location:
Smyth Crossing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D505117Uvalde-LaPryor-Texas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Painted Buntings are some of the most gaudy birds on the planet and always draw the attention of bird-loving humans. With spring migration on South Padre Island (Texas) picking up, there’s no other place I’d rather be in April. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:02 12:39 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X0137-SPI_ConventionCentre |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Painted Buntings are some of the most gaudy birds on the planet and always draw the attention of bird-loving humans. With spring migration on South Padre Island (Texas) picking up, there’s no other place I’d rather be in April. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:02 13:17 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X0322-SPI_ConventionCentre |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Female Painted Buntings look very different from the bright males, though first year males look very much like their moms. Bird activity on Tuesday’s visit to South Padre Island was slightly less hectic than it was on the weekend, but it gave me some great bird encounters, including two birds brand new to me. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:20 11:07 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X9386SPI_ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: The ever popular Painted Buntings were everywhere on the lawns. Sunday was the 2nd day of the great warbler fallout, but unlike Saturday’s expedition, the sun shone through to light her subjects. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:18 15:43 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/750 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X8531-SPI_ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: The ever popular Painted Buntings were everywhere on the lawns. Sunday was the 2nd day of the great warbler fallout, but unlike Saturday’s expedition, the sun shone through to light her subjects. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:18 15:12 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/750 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X8350-SPI_ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Of all the brilliant birds passing through south Texas, perhaps no bird puts more smiles on Texas faces. This weekend provided the “perfect storm” for a warbler fallout on South Padre Island; a cold north wind, rain, and a ton of birds trying to head north. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:17 14:33 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X7424-SPI_ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: The ever popular Painted Buntings were everywhere on the lawns. Sunday was the 2nd day of the great warbler fallout, but unlike Saturday’s expedition, the sun shone through to light her subjects. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:18 15:43 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/350 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X8541-SPI_ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Most of the male birds have passed through already. Now it’s the girls we see here. It was a bright Sunday on South Padre Island, and I stayed over 9 hours. I started the morning with an hour at Sheepshead Sanctuary and drove to the Convention Centre for the rest of the day, and met a couple of birds new to me. |
Date Taken: 2021:05:02 15:55 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/180 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X5088_SPI-ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Most of the male birds have passed through already. Now it’s the girls we see here. It was a bright Sunday on South Padre Island, and I stayed over 9 hours. I started the morning with an hour at Sheepshead Sanctuary and drove to the Convention Centre for the rest of the day, and met a couple of birds new to me. |
Date Taken: 2021:05:02 16:25 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/125 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X5299_SPI-ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Most of the male birds have passed through already. Now it’s the girls we see here. It was a bright Sunday on South Padre Island, and I stayed over 9 hours. I started the morning with an hour at Sheepshead Sanctuary and drove to the Convention Centre for the rest of the day, and met a couple of birds new to me. |
Date Taken: 2021:05:02 16:38 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/180 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X5326_SPI-ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: I didn't see any female buntings, but the males were busy showing off. On my trip home from Texas in 2020, I stopped at this picnic area and met birds. It proved to be a good place to meet them again in 2021. It took me five days to putt my way out of Texas. I stopped along the road a few times to visit the birds. |
Date Taken: 2021:05:11 13:19 |
|
Location:
Roadside Stop |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X8363_LaPryor-TX-RoadSideRest |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: I didn't see any female buntings, but the males were busy showing off. On my trip home from Texas in 2020, I stopped at this picnic area and met birds. It proved to be a good place to meet them again in 2021. It took me five days to putt my way out of Texas. I stopped along the road a few times to visit the birds. |
Date Taken: 2021:05:11 13:19 |
|
Location:
Roadside Stop |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X8372_LaPryor-TX-RoadSideRest |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: I didn't see any female buntings, but the males were busy showing off. On my trip home from Texas in 2020, I stopped at this picnic area and met birds. It proved to be a good place to meet them again in 2021. It took me five days to putt my way out of Texas. I stopped along the road a few times to visit the birds. |
Date Taken: 2021:05:11 13:19 |
|
Location:
Roadside Stop |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X8378_LaPryor-TX-RoadSideRest |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Of all the brilliant birds passing through south Texas, perhaps no bird puts more smiles on Texas faces. This weekend provided the “perfect storm” for a warbler fallout on South Padre Island; a cold north wind, rain, and a ton of birds trying to head north. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:17 13:23 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X6934-SPI_ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Painted Buntings are some of the most gaudy birds on the planet and always draw the attention of bird-loving humans. With spring migration on South Padre Island (Texas) picking up, there’s no other place I’d rather be in April. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:02 12:38 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X0115-SPI_ConventionCentre |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Joining the flood of warblers in September on South Padre Island, was this female Painted Bunting harvesting grass seeds, a food source ignored by the visiting warblers. |
Date Taken: 2022:09:08 13:21 |
|
Location:
South Padre Island Covention Cen |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_8500020-SPI.Convention.Ctr_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow Warbler(Setophaga petechia) |
|
Description: We saw Yellow Warblers in the company of Wilson’s and Nashville Warblers and a Painted Bunting during our late afternoon boating adventure on the Rio Grande. |
Date Taken: 2022:09:25 17:21 |
|
Location:
Rio Grande River Ride |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: YellowWarblerPaintedBunting_8506741-RioGrandeBoatRide |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: This Painted Bunting female (or immature male) enjoyed bathing in the Rio Grande in the company of a Yellow Warbler. |
Date Taken: 2022:09:25 17:22 |
|
Location:
Rio Grande River Ride |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_8506782-RioGrandeBoatRide |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: This Painted Bunting female (or immature male) enjoyed bathing in the Rio Grande in the company of a Yellow Warbler. |
Date Taken: 2022:09:25 17:19 |
|
Location:
Rio Grande River Ride |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_8506706-RioGrandeBoatRide |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: This Painted Bunting female (or immature male) enjoyed bathing in the Rio Grande in the company of a Yellow Warbler. |
Date Taken: 2022:09:25 17:19 |
|
Location:
Rio Grande River Ride |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_8506705-RioGrandeBoatRide |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Joining the flood of warblers in September on South Padre Island, was this female Painted Bunting harvesting grass seeds, a food source ignored by the visiting warblers. |
Date Taken: 2022:09:08 13:11 |
|
Location:
South Padre Island Covention Cen |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/160 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_8509939-SPI.Convention.Ctr_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Joining the flood of warblers in September on South Padre Island, was this female Painted Bunting harvesting grass seeds, a food source ignored by the visiting warblers. |
Date Taken: 2022:09:08 13:11 |
|
Location:
South Padre Island Covention Cen |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_8509918-SPI.Convention.Ctr_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Joining the flood of warblers in September on South Padre Island, was this female Painted Bunting harvesting grass seeds, a food source ignored by the visiting warblers. |
Date Taken: 2022:09:08 16:45 |
|
Location:
South Padre Island Covention Cen |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_8500620-SPI.Convention.Ctr_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Painted Bunting(Passerina ciris) |
|
Description: Most of the male Painted Buntings came through south Texas a few weeks ago. Now we are seeing mostly the gals. Their paths overlap as they pass through south Texas on their way north. Tuesday’s birds at South Padre Island (Texas) were all great birds for me, but most of us at the Convention Center expected overnight north winds to provide a feast on Wednesday for interested birders. |
Date Taken: 2021:05:04 16:37 |
|
Location:
Convention Center |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/125 |
File Name: PaintedBunting_D5X6011_SPI-ConventionCtr |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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