A painted bunting sports a jaw-dropping rainbow of colors. Learn what the male and female looks like, what the bird eats and see the range map.
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What Does a Male and Female Painted Bunting Look Like?
Bright, bold and adorned in rainbow hues, a painted bunting is always a stunner. Identifying a male painted bunting is a snap. No other bird sports a striking blue head, red belly with a green back and green streaks on the wings.
The painted bunting’s French name, nonpareil, literally means “without equal.” With feathers this fabulous, it’s no exaggeration!
“When painted buntings are younger than two years old, they’re all green,” says Jennifer McCarthey Tyrrell, community science and research program manager at Audubon South Carolina. “Females don’t sing, so if you see a green bird singing, that’s a second-year male who’s found his voice but is yet to earn his colors.”
Range
Painted buntings spend their summer breeding season in two main spots: one stretching from Texas to Kansas, and another along the Carolina coast. In winter, they migrate to Florida, Mexico or Central America, often joining mixed flocks of songbirds.
Nests and Eggs
During breeding season, male painted buntings become fiercely territorial. They often stake out a few acres and defend them aggressively—sometimes through intense fights that leave one or more birds injured.
“Male painted buntings break out some impressive moves to woo the ladies,” Jennifer says. “They flatten themselves out, fan their tails and quiver their wings in a high-energy display. Sometimes the female shows interest. Other times she just keeps pecking at seeds on the ground, much to the male’s dismay.”
The female builds a nest in dense, low shrubs and lays three to four pale brown-speckled eggs. She takes on all the parenting duties—from incubating the eggs to feeding the chicks. The hatchlings leave the nest in about nine days, and the mom often goes on to raise a second brood.
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Diet: What Do Painted Buntings Eat
Like other bunting species, these beauties primarily feed on seeds from native grasses, such as little bluestem and muhly, and native sedges. “Painted buntings prefer white millet at feeders,” Jennifer says. “They also feed insects and caterpillars to their chicks.”
During the breeding season, they switch to protein-heavy insects for extra energy. Females may steal bugs caught in spiderwebs, and even pull webs down to feast on the spiders that built them.
Once breeding season ends, they return to seeds, especially ones they find on or near the ground.
Do Painted Buntings Visit Bird Feeders?
“Indigo buntings love the black oil sunflower seeds I put out. But their more colorful relative, painted buntings, do not. How can I attract them?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Kara Minter Petal, Mississippi.
Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman say, “In terms of food, painted buntings are seedeaters. For those fortunate enough to have them on their list of yard birds, white millet seems to be the seed of choice. Birdbaths with moving water—a dripper or mister, for example— can also help entice these multicolored marvels to your yard.”
Painted buntings are wary and easily scared off, so hang a feeder with a protective cage around the tube to discourage larger bully birds.
Habitat
Despite their bright colors, these buntings are surprisingly skilled at staying hidden, foraging in semi-open habitats with dense brushy edges that offer quick cover when danger strikes. To provide shelter, plant native species such as red cedar, wax myrtle or black willow.
“The right native plants and habitats encourage buntings to visit your backyard and stick around,” Jennifer concludes. With a little effort and patience, you might just spot one of these flying rainbows in your own backyard!
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Painted Bunting Song
Once the territory is secure, males sing and spread their feathers to attract a mate. Only male painted buntings sing songs like: graffiti graffiti spaghetti-for-two. If you think you see a plain green female bursting into song, it’s most likely an immature male in his first year.
Bird songs courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Learn how to identify a varied bunting.
Caged Songbirds
Painted buntings are often targeted for illegal pet trade and trafficked for underground bird-singing competitions, where their vibrant looks and melodic voices make them prized contenders in the black market. In some communities, owning one is seen as a status symbol—but it’s a costly one that can result in hefty fines and even jail time.
About the Experts
Jennifer McCarthey Tyrrell works as a community science and research program manager at Audubon South Carolina. Jennifer has a master’s degree in environmental studies from the College of Charleston.
Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman are the official bird experts for Birds & Blooms. They are the creators of the Kaufman Field Guide series and they lead birding trips all over the world.
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