Fun Lazuli Bunting Facts For Kids

Our planet is gigantic. The total number of species found here can be very difficult to calculate. As humans, we have explored so much of life on land.

The exploration of life found in water is still in its earliest stages. Being aware has its effects.

In our vast world even if we do not have any other species of humans left who survived, we must remember that we are all connected by life itself. Nature has its own way of making us feel included and songbirds are one such way.

Even if these birds are only singing to communicate within themselves, we as beings of awareness feel joyous listening to them.

The animal discussed here is the lazuli bunting, a songbird that resides commonly in North America.

Females of the species in this family are of a buff-brown shade with the same pumpkin-colored breast but paler bars of black and white on their wings.

The males of the species in this family who do not breed tend to have a mix of mottled blue and tan on their heads; their blues are not as bright as breeding males.

Here are some interesting facts about the lazuli bunting bird species, afterward do check our other articles on common kingfisher facts and birds of paradise facts as well.

Lazuli Bunting Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a lazuli bunting?

A lazuli bunting is an animal belonging to the cardinalidae family and the Passerina genus. Their genus makes them a songbird that is known for their vocal skills.

What class of animal does a lazuli bunting ​belong to?

The lazuli bunting belongs to the class of Aves. This classified them as birds, and these birds are able to fly, unlike some other members falling into this category.

How many lazuli buntings are there in the world?

There are expected to be around 5.2 million lazuli buntings in the world. The exact calculation may be a little difficult, but that is the approximation made after research and observation.

Where does a lazuli bunting live?

Lazuli buntings usually prefer shrubs, open woodlands, riparian areas, and similar regions. These birds can build their nests between 2-10 ft (0.6-3.0 m) off the ground. Nests are usually built on shrubs or on the little cove on the branches of the trees.

What is a lazuli bunting's habitat?

Lazuli buntings spend a lot of their time close to it on the ground. These birds hop around woodlands, shrubs, along the sides of rivers and streams, in search of food.

Who do lazuli Buntings live with?

Lazuli buntings tend to forage for food together. These birds are not known to be close-knit, but they remain somewhat in close proximity.

How long does a lazuli bunting live?

Lazuli buntings live between 5-7 years, but the oldest lazuli bunting found alive was nine years old. Remember that it depends a lot on how their natural surroundings were perceived by them.  

How do they reproduce?

North American indigo bunting or lazuli buntings reproduce sexually. Males arrive at the breeding grounds to claim and defend their territories. Females arrive later, are courted by males, choose who to mate with, and build a nest. Pairs can sometimes double brood in one season.

Their breeding season falls between late May through early August. Lazuli buntings have eggs that are very pale blue and look almost white.

A female lays around 3-5 eggs at once, and incubation lasts up to 12 days. The hatching can sometimes take up to two days, and chicks weigh around 0.045 oz (1.27 g) after hatching. After 8-11 days, chicks become fledglings, fly out of the nest but stay close around.

What is their conservation status?

Their conservation status is listed as least concern by IUCN because of their numbers being consistent over the years as witnessed during the migration. Hence, the conservation status for lazuli buntings does not warrant any serious efforts.

Lazuli Bunting Fun Facts

What do lazuli buntings look like?

North American lazuli buntings are small songbirds. The North American male lazuli bunting is the brightly colored counterpart that everyone recognizes the similar species with. These birds have brightly lit blue splashes over their heads and wings.

The chest is orange or a reddish-brown shade with a white underside. They have bars of black and white on their wings. Their eyes are usually black, the beak is usually conical and a dark grey or black shade.

How cute are they?

They look absolutely adorable even in migration and in their habitat. Their little size with their white belly but mighty and bright appearance attracts the eyes of many. This sadly means that they are equally attractive to predators. Songbirds can be inspirations for artists and quite enticing to humans in general, but they should not be kept as pets.

How do they communicate?

The lazuli bunting call is vocally expressive. The bird males develop their unique lazuli bunting song during their first breeding. They incorporate syllables heard from other bird males singing around them and arrange those into their own original tune. They are known to serenade the chosen female with their song till she agrees to mate.

How big is a lazuli bunting?

Lazuli buntings are often compared with their cousin bird species, the indigo buntings. The size difference between the two is very slight. The lazuli bird is about an inch larger in size than the indigo, with their size being 5.1-5.9 in (13-15 cm) and their wingspan ranging between 8.0-8.7 in (20.3-22.0 cm).

How fast can a lazuli bunting ​fly?

The wingspan of the male bird and female lazuli buntings bird differ slightly as noticed when birds are in migration. The male has a wingspan of 8.2-8.7 in (20.8-22.0 cm), while the female sports wings that spread up to 8.0-8.5 in (20.3-21.5 cm).

Their flight speed during migration is not specified but based on the average speed of other species of the Passerina at around 20 mph (32.18 kph).

How much does a lazuli bunting weigh?

There are slight differences between the females and the males of the bird species lazuli bunting. Males weigh around 0.6 oz (18 g) while females weigh around 0.5 oz (13 g).

What are their male and female names of the species?

The male and female counterparts of lazuli buntings do not have any separate names. They are simply called the female lazuli bunting and the male lazuli bunting.

What would you call a baby lazuli bunting?

A baby lazuli bunting fledgling can be called a hatchling or chick or a juvenile lazuli bunting.

What do they eat?

Blue bunting birds are known to be granivores most of the time. However, they include insects like grasshoppers, butterflies, caterpillars as well. They eat berries like serviceberry, chickweed, wild oats, and other grasses.

They especially prefer proso millet. One can also put up bird feeders for the frequent those as well. Ground feeding stations, large hopper feeders, or low platform feeders will be the most attractive options for these birds.

Are they dangerous?

Lazuli buntings are quite small in size. They can be territorial and would only attack when threatened, like most members of the animal kingdom.

Would they make a good pet?

Lazuli buntings are not meant for domestication. We may help them sustain their survival on the planet, but some species are better left in their natural habitat. They thrive in the wild with all their seasonal activities and are important to maintain balance in the ecosystem.

Did you know...

The lazuli bunting was given its name after the Lapis lazuli gemstone from Egypt. This was due to the brilliant blue hue everyone has come to associate the species with. The scientific name of lazuli buntings, Passerina Amoena, translates to a beautiful sparrow.

Lazuli buntings and Indigo buntings are known to fight for their territories against each other when their habitat overlaps.

Ironically, lazuli buntings have also been known to mate with Indigo buntings and produce hybrids.

Lazuli buntings are polygynandrous. Lazulis may or may not choose to have more than one mate.

The collective terms used for a group of lazuli buntings are decoration and mural.

Lazuli buntings, unlike other migratory birds, molt their feathers on their way to the migratory ground. They stop to shed first and then reach the grounds where these North American birds will spend their winter.

The lazuli bunting's Adaptations

With time lazuli buntings have adapted to the urbanization around them. They can be found in fields, yards, thickets, recently burned regions, hillsides. These North American birds predominantly lived in the western part of North America and adapted to regions due to mating. Their entire geographic expanse is divided into breeding and no breeding areas.

The lazuli bunting's nest

The site for the nest is chosen by the female. The female lazuli bunting goes around collecting materials like grass, twigs, weeds, leaves.

They are built around 2-10 ft (0.6-3.0 m) off the ground and woven with a spider web or silk from caterpillars. It takes around a period of 5-7 days for the female to complete building the nest.

How to pronounce lazuli bunting

For everyone who has trouble with lazuli bunting pronunciation; it is pronounced laz-uh-lie , laz-yoo-lie or laz-yoo-lee buh-un-tying or buhn-ting .

How to tell a lazuli bunting apart from a bluebird

Lazuli buntings can easily be told apart from bluebirds; the former is smaller, has a thick bill and white bars on their wings which are very prominent. Bluebirds lack these characteristics in their appearances.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these blue-footed booby bird facts and skimmer facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Lazuli Bunting coloring pages.

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