Blue Bunting

About the Blue Bunting

The blue bunting (Cyanocompsa parellina) is a species of passerine in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte described the blue bunting in 1850 as Passerina parellina, and then Cyanoloxia parellina. German ornithologist Jean Cabanis defined the genus Cyanocompsa in 1861, giving it its current binomial name.

The blue bunting is the only member of its genus. It has four subspecies, the nominate Cyanocompsa parellina parellina, C. p. beneplacita, C. p. indigotica, and C. p. lucida. The last is sometimes included in C. p. beneplacita.

The nominate subspecies of blue bunting is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long. Males weigh 11 to 24 g (0.39 to 0.85 oz) and females 9.8 to 21 g (0.35 to 0.74 oz). The nominate male is various shades of blue, sky blue on the forehead and cheek, blackish blue on the upperparts, ultramarine on the rump, and the underparts from chin to belly deep blue. The adult and immature females are overall dull brownish, with a reddish tinge to the belly. The immature male is overall... Wikipedia →