May Bird of the Month: Painted Bunting

Today I will be sharing about a colorful little bird known as the painted bunting.  It has absolutely gorgeous colors and, based on its name, it seems only appropriate that is should be painted.

Painted Bunting

This photograph shows the male of the species.  The female of the species is green only.  Have you ever wondered why the male birds are always more colorful than the females? (I say always, but I would love to be shown an example otherwise-nature rocks!)  The males use their bright colors to attract the females by showing that they are the sexiest and strongest male available.  Not only does the bright plumage (feathers) show that the male is healthy enough to produce the colors, but it also shows that he is agile enough to avoid the predators that will easily spot his bright colors.  Cool, huh?  If you want to see some more examples of this, try searching for videos of birds of paradise.  Those males are crazy.

Anyway, I have had quite a bit of fun painting these little guys, as well as using their colors in my jewelry.  Here is a small painted box I did of the male painted bunting.

Box on Etsy

Here is a necklace I made inspired by the painted bunting.  As always, it is modeled by my lovely ceramic bird (I've named her Wanda White Bird).

Necklace on Etsy