Varied Bunting

The Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor) is a small, elusive songbird belonging to the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). Found primarily in Mexico and along the southern borders of the United States, it is celebrated for the male's complex, tapestry-like plumage. Despite their brilliant coloration, these birds are remarkably skulking and difficult to spot, preferring to stay buried inside dense, thorny desert scrub. When they do step into the light, they present an array of purples, reds, and blues that make them a highly sought-after species for birdwatchers visiting the American Southwest.

Identifying a male Varied Bunting requires a combination of good light and patience. In poor lighting, the male appears as a dark, almost black sparrow-sized bird. In direct sunlight, his plumage is revealed as a rich, complex mixture of plum-purple, cherry-red, and deep blue. He features a distinctive reddish-purple patch on the nape, a bright blue crown and rump, and dark lores that create a masked look.

Females and immature birds are much more understated. They are a plain, warm grayish-brown overall, lacking the obvious wingbars of other buntings and possessing cleaner, unstreaked underparts. To distinguish the female from other species, note her highly curved upper bill (culmen) and warm, buffy-brown wash, which distinguishes her from the green-yellow of a female Painted Bunting and the colder, subtly streaked gray-brown of a female Indigo Bunting.

Varied Buntings are birds of arid and semi-arid brushlands. Their preferred breeding habitats include dense thorny scrublands, desert washes (arroyos) lined with mesquite and acacia, canyon bottoms, and riparian thickets.

Their geographic range extends from southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and West and South Texas southward throughout much of Mexico. Northern populations are migratory, arriving on their US breeding grounds in late spring (around May) and departing by early autumn. Southern populations in central and southern Mexico are year-round residents.

Unlike their bolder relatives like the Painted or Indigo Buntings, Varied Buntings are notoriously shy. They spend most of their time foraging low in dense thickets, feeding on a varied diet of insects, seeds, and the fruits of desert cacti.

During the breeding season, males become slightly more conspicuous as they ascend to the mid-canopy of small trees to sing. Their song is a sweet, rapid, and varied warble, comprised of thin, high-pitched phrases that are less buzzy than a Lazuli Bunting and softer than a Painted Bunting. Their typical call is a sharp, metallic click or 'pika' sound. Breeding is closely tied to summer rains (the monsoon season in the Southwest), which trigger a surge in insect populations. They construct a small, neat cup nest made of grasses and spiderwebs, hidden securely in a low fork of a thorny shrub.