The male Painted Bunting is a remarkably pretty bird and one that I enjoyed seeing and photographing when I last visited the USA and specifically Florida in January last year. I had returned to Palm Beach County hoping to improve on the Painted Bunting photographs that I had taken on a previous visit. I had been told of an area where I could get really good close up views and so it proved.
What’s more, it was quiet, very quiet and for the entire afternoon I had the Painted Buntings to myself. I was even more amazed with this species when I saw them close up. They were coming to a feeding station and if I remained still they were not at all concerned about me sitting on the ground very close to them. The bird above is an adult male in full colour, one of at least 3.
Also there were females and I believe newly fledged youngster. I am quite sure that the bird below is a juvenile but females are also this colour.
This is almost certainly a juvenile bird. You can tell this by the presence of light coloured “fleshy gapes” at the corner of the beak. This proves that not only was this bird bred close by but also that it is around 8 to 10 weeks old which proves that breeding took place as late as October.
Charles Fleming
Charles Fleming is a wildlife photographer and nature blogger based in South West England. His blog "Wildlife in a Suburban Garden" has more than 1400 entries and a link to his galleries where you can view more than 4000 images from home and abroad, including a gallery of birds of the world featuring photographs of more than 500 species. "My aim is to try and put my readers and viewers intimately close to the subject and to share the thrill of watching and photographing birds and wildlife at close quarters".
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