This time of year, from late spring to summer, male adult indigo buntings take it up a notch and turn a brilliant deep blue. They fly to a high perch—like our cheerful fellow atop a sunflower—and sing from morning to night to try to catch the attention of females. Indigo buntings are members of the "blue" clade (subgroup) of the cardinal family. During breeding season, you"ll find the small, seed-loving songbirds in brushy habitats in pastures, along roadways, and at the edges of forests throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Canada down to Florida. But you"ll have to keep a sharp eye out for the plain brown females, who are usually tending to their young deep in the thicket.
Dressed to impress
Today in History
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Groundhog Day
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Dark Sky Week
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Protecting Alaska
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World Rivers Day
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Happy Fathers Day!
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It’s not a pinecone, it’s a pangolin
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The power of the forest
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Design for Each and All
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Meet our fuzzy Earth Day mascot
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National Napping Day
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Tennis in the park
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Independence Day
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Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art
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Oh, to sleep under the northern lights
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Bridges to the past
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Illuminated Uluru
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On the hunt
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Midnight sun
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Park of the Monsters, Bomarzo, Italy
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No, it s not a leaf. Happy Look-alike Day
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Black grouses lekking
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A peek behind the royal curtain
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We heart Berlin
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Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Hanging out on a limb
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Christmas comes to New York City
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Alaska Bald Eagle Festival
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International Literacy Day
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Tolkien Reading Day
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In the Supertree Grove