A few years back my son returned from a trail hike at Purgatory Creek Trail with some exciting news. He had seen a beautiful bird that had more than a few colors. He wanted me to go with him the next day so I could take photos of this colorful bird.
When we arrived at the location of the sighting, it was not to be found. We decided to wait for it to show up. Within the hour a male, the colorful one, and then a female, green in color, came to a small area of standing water for a drink. We were at least 25 feet away when I started taking pictures. I researched it later and found out it was a painted bunting.
The painted bunting’s scientific name is Passerina ciris. Its population is 45 million, but decreasing. It breeds in shrubby thickets and along forest edges. It winters in thorn scrub and shrubby forests or savanna edges. The adult male painted bunting is one of the most colorful of all US breeding birds. In Mexico, the painted bunting is commonly known as “siete colores,” or seven colors. In Louisiana, it is called “nonpareil,” French for “without equal.”
