The Painted Bunting: A Songbird Facing Multiple Threats

The Painted Bunting is unquestionably the most colorful songbird in the southern United States (cover photo, Figure 1). The male exhibits dazzling splashes of blue, green, yellow, and red plumage, and the reserved female possesses a solid coat of bright green, which blends in with the brush and trees where the nest is located. Because of its limited geographical range and stealthy nature, relatively few birders have experienced the delight of seeing this bird, and its dramatically declining population (Dybas 2018) has further reduced the chances of spotting it.

Figure 1.

Painted Bunting taken at Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina on May 16, 2022.

The Painted Bunting is categorized into two subspecies that are nearly identical in appearance but display distinct geographical distributions separated by a distance on the order of 500 km (Yirka et al. 2021). The eastern subspecies, Passerina ciris, breeds in a region that stretches from coastal North Carolina to northern Florida and includes an inland area in southern South Carolina and southeastern Georgia. The western subspecies, Passerina pallidior, breeds in a region extending from coastal Louisiana and Texas northward to southeastern Kansas and southern Missouri (Yirka et al. 2021). During the fall, the eastern population migrates southward to southern Florida and portions of the Bahamas and Cuba, while the western population migrates to portions of coastal Mexico and Central America. Given their geographic separation, these two populations no longer interact or breed, suggesting that the Painted Bunting will eventually divide into two different bird species (Dybas 2018). Within its breeding region, the Painted Bunting is typically present in bushy areas and woodland edges, often staying hidden within the dense cover of the vegetation. The males may be spotted by looking in the direction of their warbling songs during the breeding season. They often appear on an exposed perch higher up in the brush or trees. While the male sings out to announce its territory, the female typically remains hidden in the brush near the nest. In suitable habitats, both the male and female may be seen frequenting bird feeders.

There has been a concerning decline in the number of Painted Buntings over the last fifty-plus years. According to the Breeding Bird Survey, the bird’s combined eastern and western populations have declined about 55 percent over the last thirty years (Dybas 2018). Springborn and Meyers (2005) report that the estimated number of individuals in the eastern population, Passerina ciris, decreased by about 75 percent between 1966 and 1996. Since 1996, this population has become so sparse in places that it is difficult to get a handle on the population trends across the southeastern US (Meyers 2011). Concern for the decline in the eastern and western populations of the bird species prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Partners in Flight (Springborn and Meyers 2005) to identify the Painted Bunting as a “species of concern” and a “near threatened” species.

Several factors have been tied to the decline in Painted Bunting populations. Habitat loss in the summer breeding areas is unquestionably a major factor in the rapid reduction of the eastern population (Meyers 2011, Springborn and Meyers 2005). Painted Buntings are most common in dense marine shrubs, particularly live oak, which occur along the coast, largely on the barrier and sea islands from the Carolinas southward to Georgia and northern Florida (Meyers 2011, Dybas 2018). Many of these islands have seen rapid residential and commercial development over the last several decades, and this has greatly diminished the acreage of the Painted Bunting’s breeding habitat. In addition, many of the individuals in this eastern population winter in South Florida, which has seen a similar pattern of development and consequent habitat loss. Also, the reduction in riparian habitats near the southern US and Mexican coastlines, which are used during migration by the western population, have further contributed to the population decline (Lowther et al. 1999, Sykes and Holzman 2005). Given its extraordinary colors and beauty, the Painted Bunting has unfortunately been trapped in portions of its wintering grounds and sold as a...