A Synopsis of the Birds of North America

by John James Audubon

GENUS IV. SPIZA, Bonap. PAINTED-BUNTING.

Bill short, moderately stout, conical, acute; upper mandible rather narrower, with the dorsal line somewhat convex, the ridge narrow, the sides sloping and a little convex, the edges inclining upwards for a third of their length, then direct, with a slight notch close to the narrow declinate tip; lower mandible with the angle short and rounded, the dorsal line very slightly convex, the sides rounded, the edges involute, the tip acute. Nostrils basal, roundish, partly concealed by the feathers. Head broadly ovate; neck short; body rather full. Feet of moderate length; tarsus much compressed, with seven scutella; toes of moderate size, hind toe large, lateral equal. Claws slender, compressed, well arched, acute. Plumage full, soft, and blended. Wings of moderate length, the second and third quills longest, the first about equal to the fourth. Tail of moderate length, emarginate. Palate anteriorly with their narrow ridges, forming a large oblong hard knob at their base; tongue higher than broad, deeply grooved above, pointed; œsophagus dilated into a crop; stomach elliptical, muscular; intestine of moderate length; cœca very small.

169. 1. Spiza Ciris, Wils. Blue-headed Painted-Bunting.—Painted-Bunting. Painted-Finch.

Plate LIII. Male and Female.

Male with the head and hind neck ultramarine-blue, eyelids vermilion; fore part of back and scapulars yellowish-green; rump purplish-red; smaller wing-coverts purplish-blue, secondary coverts green; quills and tail-feathers dusky; lower parts bright vermilion. Female yellowish-green above, greenish-yellow beneath. Young like the female. In the second year, the male with the upper parts olive-green, the lower dull orange, paler behind, head as in the adult; in the third year, with the back mottled with yellow and light green, the secondary coverts green, the rest as in the adult.

Male, 5¹/₄, 7¹/₂.

From Texas to North Carolina, and up the Mississippi to Natchez. Abundant. Migratory.

Painted Bunting, Emberiza Ciris, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. iii. p. 68.

Fringilla Ciris, Bonap. Syn. p. 107.

Painted Bunting, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 477.

Painted Finch, Fringilla Ciris, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 279; v. v. p. 517.

170. 2. Spiza cyanea, Wils. Indigo Painted-Bunting.—Indigo Bird.

Plate LXXIV. Male and Female.