A male Indigo Bunting in June sunlight looks like a piece of sky perched on a wire — an intense, almost electric blue with no markings at all. Like the Blue Jay's, the color is structural: in shadow the bird goes blackish, and the brown, sparrow-plain female barely seems the same species. Males sing a bright, paired-phrase song from roadside wires and treetops all summer, long after most birds have gone quiet.
Indigo Buntings love edges — brushy field margins, powerline cuts, young clearings — and are common across Michigan from mid-May to September. They migrate at night, navigating by the stars; classic planetarium experiments on this species proved songbirds learn a star map centered on the North Star.
Small seeds, buds, and berries, with insects and spiders featured heavily in summer feeding. At feeders they'll visit nyjer and white millet, especially during May migration.
If it's entirely blue with no orange breast, it's an Indigo Bunting. Eastern Bluebirds always show a rusty-orange chest; buntings are blue from chin to tail (and smaller).
There's no blue pigment — the color comes from feather microstructure scattering light. Backlit or shaded birds look blackish; the same bird in the sun is dazzling.
Mid-May through September, in brushy edges and along country roads. Males sing persistently through the hottest summer afternoons, when almost everything else has quit.
The peak falls from May through July, when the population is at its highest. The full window runs from March to November, with birds scarce at both edges.
Females are plain warm brown year-round, and first-year males are brown blotched with blue. Even adult males lose the blue in winter — and the blue is structural, produced by feather microstructure rather than pigment, so a male in poor light looks black.
Other birds you might be looking at instead.
Pick the park — it takes less than ten seconds.
Start typing the bird's name, then pick it from the list.
Suggest a birding spot to add to the map. I'll review it before it appears.
Thanks! Your suggestion has been sent for review.
Found something wrong or out of date? Tell me what to fix — it goes straight to my inbox. (No email needed.)
Thank you — your note is on its way. I appreciate the help keeping this accurate.