Lazuli Bunting Identification

Breeding male

Small, stocky songbird with a cone-shaped bill and a gently sloping forehead. Breeding males are brilliant blue above with a pumpkin-colored breast and a white belly. Note white shoulder patch.

Female/immature male

Females/immature males are warm brown above with blue tints on the wings and tail and an unstreaked pale cinnamon breast. Note buffy wingbars.

Breeding male

Perches upright and sings from exposed perches in low trees, shrubs, or wires. Males sing a complex series of jumbling and squeaky notes and give a sharp, metallic pik.

Nonbreeding male

Nonbreeding males have a pumpkin-colored breast, but their backs and heads are mottled blue and tan.

Juvenile

Breeding male

Sings a complex series of jumbled notes.

Female/immature male

Small, finchlike, stocky songbird with a cone-shaped bill. Females/immature males are warm grayish brown above, with an unstreaked pale cinnamon or tan breast.

Breeding male

Male Lazuli Buntings perch upright and sing from exposed perches in low trees, shrubs, or wires. Brilliant blue head and pumpkin breast are distinctive.

Male

Frequents bird feeders, especially ones that offer white proso millet, sunflower seeds, or nyjer/thistle seeds.

Breeding male

Breeds in brushy hillsides, areas near streams, wooded valleys, thickets and hedges along agricultural fields, recently burned areas, and residential gardens of western North America.

Female/immature

Females/immatures are warm grayish brown above, with an unstreaked pale cinnamon or tan breast.