When I saw a flash of bright blue this past Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I thought for sure that it was a male Eastern Bluebird, but when I looked more closely, I was thrilled to see that it was an Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). Ever since one of my youngest viewers, a four year old named Benjamin, commented that bluebirds have as much orange as blue, I have been very conscious of species that have colors associated with their names.
In the bird world, most of the species names are associated with mature males, which tend to be a lot more colorful than females. The female Indigo Bunting, for example, is not blue at all, but is brownish in color. When I was just getting started in photographing birds, I remember being confused when I was told that a sparrow-looking bird at which I was pointing my camera was a Red-winged Blackbird—it was neither black, nor did it have red wings.
Some of the photographers in my area have recently posted images of a Blue Grosbeak, another bird that has bright blue feathers. They tend to be uncommon, but I will certainly be keeping my eyes open for flashes of blue, a color that seems to be relatively rare in the world of wildlife.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Benjamin has a message : “Hi, Mr. Mike! I like the very blue feathers on the bunting bird. You have more birds than Gem does in her yard. I love to see all of yours.” We are on our way back to visit the weekend posts. Thank-you, Mr. Mike!
I sure hope that you don’t mind playing the role of the messenger. Please tell Benjamin that I am always excited to receive his comments, questions, and criticisms. I love walking around for hours in local wildlife refuges and parks looking for interesting things to photograph. I am fortunate that I don’t have to travel far to see such a wide variety of species.
Beautiful bluebird and you just gotta love Benjamin! 🙂
I love trying to see the world through the eyes of a four year old inquisitive and perceptive boy. It inspires me in the way I present my images and I often ask myself if they would spark the interest of a child.
Children can definitely teach us so much!
So pretty. Great photo, Mike.
Oops I realized I messed up! I had just read how it wasn’t a bluebird but my mind apparently still thought that it was when I wrote my comment!
I saw my first Indigo Bunting of the year this morning. I was especially excited to see it because it was visiting one of my feeders and I don’t think I have hosted this species of bird before. I also had a first (observed) visit of the year from a rose breasted grosbeak. Now I shall have to look into blue grosbeaks so that I can identify it should I ever encounter one.
Beautiful color.
Very Nice Mike! And very colorful. I have only seen one, but it flew away before I could get a photo!
I am actually surprised by how many of them I have seen in the last week, though none have let me get close enough for a really good shot. As long as I keep seeing them, I’ll be trying to photograph them–I just love that electric blue color.