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
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon
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It’s Canada’s national day
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Christmas market at Belvedere Palace in Vienna
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Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Arkansas
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International Sloth Day
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New York City Marathon
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Native American Heritage Month
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Road-trip worthy attraction in the heartland
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National Merry-Go-Round Day
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Over the boardwalk
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Goats don t grow on trees
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National Park Week continues
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Polar bears
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Porcupine
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Dressed for winter fun
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Innerdalsvatna Lake, near Ålvundeidet, Norway
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Daiichi Tadami River Bridge, Fukushima, Japan
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Badlands National Parks 45th anniversary
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Lake Pehoé, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
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American bison
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When Death Valley blew its top
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National Park Week: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
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Chapel on the rock
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Islands that turned the tide
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A bird of beauty
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Let the harvest begin
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50 years of the Endangered Species Act
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Jane’s Carousel delights
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Make your list and check it twice
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Yosemite National Park turns 132