Bunting are birds noted for their bright and colorful plumage.  A male indigo bunting is appears a brilliant blue color when in sunlight.  Male lazuli bunting are a turquoise blue on the back, with a rusty red breast and a white belly.  Meanwhile, a male painted bunting are a multi-colored (make me think god didn't have enough of one color left, so just tossed what ever he had left on it), with a rich blue-purple head, a  lime green back, and a bright red stomach and tail.

Bunting are in the finch family, so that means that seeds are their primary food.  They love seeds of dandelions, lamb's quarters, smart weed, goldenrod, and asters.  They also love grass seed and millet (which is usually in a mixed bird seed).  During the summer months, they will also dine on grasshoppers, crickets, flies, wasps, ants, aphids, beetles, caterpillars, and small fruits like elderberries and raspberries.

They like brushy and weedy areas, so if you landscape your yard and want buntings, be sure to include lots of shrubs and hedges.  Also consider planting blackberries, phlox, or a large garden of bushy perennials sunflowers.

Also, if you plant a vegetable garden that includes lettuce, consider leaving some of the lettuce to grow seed stalks, because buntings also love the seeds of the lettuce plant.

 
 

Ways to Attract Birds to your Yard

Feeding the Birds	Providing Water for the Birds
Providing Housing for the Birds	Landscaping and Gardening for the Birds
Other Methods to Attract Birds	Providing Safety for Birds

 
 
 

Other Birds You May Want to Attract

Back to the Main Page	Attracting Hummingbirds
Attracting Orioles	Attracting Cardinals
Attracting Finches	Attracting Bluebirds
Attracting Woodpeckers	Attracting Tanagers

 
 

Since June 10, 1999