Cyanocompsa

The blue bunting (''Cyanocompsa parellina'') is a species of passerine in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Taxonomy and systematics

French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte described the blue bunting in 1850 as ''Passerina parellina'', and then ''Cyanoloxia parellina''. German ornithologist Jean Cabanis defined the genus ''Cyanocompsa'' in 1861, giving it its current binomial name.

The blue bunting is the only member of its genus. It has four subspecies, the nominate ''Cyanocompsa parellina parellina'', ''C. p. beneplacita'', ''C. p. indigotica'', and ''C. p. lucida''. The last is sometimes included in ''C. p. beneplacita''.Brewer, D. (2020). Blue Bunting (''Cyanocompsa parellina''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blubun.01 retrieved May 17, 2021

Description

The nominate subspecies of blue bunting is long. Males weigh and females . The nominate male is various shades of blue, sky blue on the forehead and cheek, blackish blue on the upperparts, ultramarine on the rump, and the underparts from chin to belly deep blue. The adult and immature females are overall dull browish, with a reddish tinge to the belly. The immature male is overall gray-blue with a browish wash on the belly.

Compared to the nominate, the ''C. p. beneplacita'' male is a duller blue and the female paler and with less of a reddish tinge on the belly. The male ''C. p. lucida''s blue is between those of the nominate and ''C. p. beneplacita'' and the sky blue covers more of its head. The female is similar to that of ''beneplacita''. The male ''C. p. indigotica'' is dull indigo on the darker areas and cerulean on the lighter ones; the female is lighter brown than the nominate.

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of blue bunting is the most widespread. It occurs from Veracruz in eastern Mexico south and east through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador into northwestern Nicaragua. ''C. p. beneplacita'' is mostly confined to Nuevo León in northeastern Mexico, though it occasionally wanders into Texas and Louisiana. ''C. p. lucida'' is found in northeastern and eastern Mexico. ''C. p. indigotica'' ranges in western Mexico from Sinaloa south to Oaxaca and Chiapas.

The blue bunting inhabits dense vegetation such as scrubby areas, thickets, and the undergrowth and edges of tall forest. In elevation it ranges up to in Mexico and to in Guatemala.

Behavior

Feeding

The blue bunting forages singly or in pairs through low vegetation. Its diet has not been described.

Breeding

Little information published about the blue bunting's breeding phenology. Nests have been described; they were cups made of rootlets and other fine plant material and placed in bushes. Clutches were of two and three eggs.

Vocalization

The blue bunting's song is "a sweet, rather sad warble

Its call is a metallic not

Status

The IUCN has assessed the blue bunting as being of Least Concern. It is fairly common and " ems able to accept moderate modification of habitat."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2226631

blue bunting
Birds of Central America
Birds of Mexico
Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Birds of the Sierra Madre Oriental
Birds of the Sierra Madre del Sur
Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula
Birds of Belize
Birds of El Salvador
Birds of Guatemala
Birds of Honduras
Birds of Nicaragua
blue bunting
blue bunting