Varied bunting

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Varied bunting
Passerina versicolorAOP02CA.jpg
Male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cardinalidae
Genus: Passerina
Species:
P. versicolor
Binomial name
Passerina versicolor
(Bonaparte, 1838)
Passerina versicolor map.svg
  Breeding
  Year-round
  Nonbreeding

The varied bunting (Passerina versicolor) is a species of songbird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae.

Contents

The range of the varied bunting stretches from the southern parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States south throughout Mexico as far as Oaxaca. Small disjunct populations occur in the state of Chiapas in Mexico and southeastern Guatemala. [2] This stocky bird has a short tail and rounded bill. It is 11–14 centimetres (4.3–5.5 in) long, has a wingspan of 21 centimetres (8.3 in), and weighs 11–13 grams (0.39–0.46 oz). [3] Breeding males are purple-red with a bright red patch on the nape, which becomes browner in the fall. Females are plain light brown, resembling the female indigo bunting but lacking streaking on the breast. Varied buntings inhabit deserts and xeric shrublands, preferring thorny brush thickets, thorn forests, scrubby woodlands, and overgrown clearings. They forage on the ground for insects, fruit, and seeds. Varied buntings weave open-cup nests of grass and spider webs in the outer branches of thorny shrubs, [3] usually near water. [2] Females lay two to five bluish-white to bluish-green eggs, [3] which they incubate for about fourteen days. The young are fully feathered after 10 days, and are ready to leave the nest several days later. [2]

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References

Passerina versicolor Passerina versicolor.jpg
Passerina versicolor
  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Passerina versicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22723954A132171640. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22723954A132171640.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Varied Bunting". 2007 Audubon WatchList. National Audubon Society. Archived from the original on 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  3. 1 2 3 "Varied Bunting Life History". All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2009-07-15.

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