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Bird name:

Varied Bunting

Passerina versicolor

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Cardinals and Grosbeaks (Cardinalidae)

Code 4

VABU

Code 6

PASVER

ITIS

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Breeding Location:

Wooded areas near water



Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester



Breeding Population:

Common but local



Egg Color:

White to light blue



Number of Eggs:



Incubation Days:



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Stalks, grass, cotton, snakeskin, and paper, with lining of rootlets, grass, and hair.



Migration:

Migratory



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General

Varied Bunting: Medium-sized bunting, mostly purple-blue with red wash on throat, breast, and back. Nape and eye-rings are red. Bill is gray and slightly curved down. Wings and tail are purple-blue. Female has brown upperparts with faint streaks, white underparts with brown wash on breast and sides, and blue-gray primaries and tail.

Range and Habitat

Varied Bunting: Breeds in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Breeding and Nesting

Varied Bunting: Three to four white to pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of stalks, grass, cotton, snakeskin, and paper, lined with rootlets, grass, and hair, and built in a low tree or bush, usually 2 to 10 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Varied Bunting: Eats seeds and insects; forages in low, dense vegetation and on the ground.

Readily Eats

Safflower, Apple Slices, Suet, Millet, Peanut Kernels, Fruit

Vocalization

Varied Bunting: Song consists of a series of high-pitched musical notes. Call is a wet "spik."

Similar Species

Varied Bunting: Lazuli Bunting is bright blue with a pale cinnamon-brown breast, and white belly and wing-bars; female is dull brown, paler below, and has two pale wing-bars.

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UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
NapeX
Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.
PrimariesX
The primaries are the flight feathers specialized for flight. They are attached to the "hand" equivalent part of the wing.
Parts of a Standing bird X
Head Feathers and Markings X
Parts of a Flying bird X