Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), Morris K. Udall Park, Tucson, Pima County

This male Indigo Bunting was first found at Morris K. Udall Park in east Tucson on 8 February 2010 by Molly Pollock. It was photographed there by Dave Stejskal on 16 February 2010.

Indigo Bunting has been on the increase in recent decades as a breeder and migrant throughout Arizona, but it is extremely rare to casual as a winter visitor, with fewer than ten winter reports this decade.

Breeding plumaged males are nearly unmistakable small, solid blue birds.  They could only be confused with Blue Grosbeaks, which have larger bills and rufous wing bars.  Nonbreeding and first year male Indigo Buntings, like this bird, have brown feathers mixed into the plumage. 

16 February 2010, photo by David Stejskal