Indigo Bunting

June 9, 2025

Commonly seen throughout New England from early April until late May then they seem to disappear. For us we are lucky to have a pair that seem to have made a home somewhere on our property. We see them come to our bird feeders either early in the morning or just before dusk to feed. I was able to get this picture of the male. It’s brilliant blue feathers from a distance at times looks jet black. The female not as brilliant blue as the male has irregular blue patches, is a soft brown overall with a whitish throat. It also has blurry brown streaks on her breast with a blue wash tail.

Indigo Bunting, if you are lucky enough to have a pair stay around, starting in June Indigo start looking for nesting sights. They make their way to the north from their wintering home in central America. Strong trade winds or airflows help carry the Indigo Bunting northward across the Gulf of Mexico to their summer home in New England.

Indigo Bunting make their nest using the upright forks of small trees or shrubs, or within the tangle vines. The nest ,constructed by the female, is of a cup shape, made of grass, leaves and bark strips. The inner nest is lined with rootlets, hair and feathers. The female will lay between 3 to 4 eggs and will incubate them 12 to 13 days.

Woodland edges and deciduous forests are home to the Indigo Bunting. They can also be found in regeneration forest clearings, shrubby fields, power line edges, orchards, and abandoned pastures.

The Indigo Bunting feeds on insects, like spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, weevils, flies and larva which they find in low vegetation. You may also see them at your backyard feeder and they are also known to eat seeds of dandelions, goldenrod and other native plants.

Categories: Backyard Birds, Birds