Painted+Bunting

=**Painted Bunting //(Passerina ciris)//**=



**Scientific Classification:**

 * Domain || Eukaryota ||
 * Kingdom || Animalia ||
 * Phylum || Chordata ||
 * Class || Aves ||
 * Order || Passeriformes ||
 * Family || Cardinaliae ||
 * Gensus || Passeria ||
 * Species || P. ciris ||

**Habitat:**
The painted Bunting bird has two didtinct ranges in North America. It is found in woodland edges and brushing areas, in suburban areas and gardens. It is found in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,, Georgia, Lousinana, and northern Mexico. in the winter it can be found in southwestern Mexico and the second, eastern population ranges from the Atlantic coastal areas of Florida to North Carolina with a winter range in south Florida to the Caribbean.



=Physiology= ====Painted Buntings like to be by them selfs alone or in pairs during the breeding season, but they like to have more than one female at he same time. They are shy, secretive and often difficult to see. Males sing from exposed perches and often hop along the ground. The Painted Bunting eats seeds, spiders, and insects. The young painted buntings are ready to leave the nest around two weeks after hatching. The painted bunting bird was once a very popular caged bird, but its capture and holding is currently illegal. The rate of singing may be as great as 10 songs per minute.====

=Species interactions= Painted Buntings are highly territorial when breeding. Painted Buntings frequently join mixed-species flocks of other granivorous birds. = = = = =**Reproduction**= The breeding season  begins in early May, until early June, and extends into late July. Breeding habitat  includes areas with dense thickets or  shrub  growth. The nest  is usually located in a  tree and it is created by the female. The nest is cup-shaped and constructed with grass , leaves, and other plants. The female lays  3-5  eggs  that she incubates for about a period of 11-12 days. Males feed  this first  batch  of young alone if the female begins to nest again. Parental care of the young is solely the female'sresponsibility until fledging occurs 12-14 days later.

**Size/Age/Growth**
The painted bunting is about 5 inches long. Adults weigh about 0.8  ounces. Painted buntings are small brightly color birds. They are about 12 to 13cm in length with an average body weight of 16 grams. The males are very brightly colored. The head and nape of the males is blue, the back is bronze-green and the rump and underparts are red.The females are less brilliantly color having dark greenish upperparts and yellow-green underparts.The wings and tail of both the male and female are dark brown or black contrasting with the rest of the body. The feet and legs, eyes and bill of both sexes are dark in color. The feet and legs are dull to dusky brown, the eyes are dark brown to hazel and the bill is dark brown to blackish in color. Plumage of juvenile birds resembles that of the adult female. The males differentiate from the females during their second year where they begin to exhibit the blue feathers on their head. =Free Topic=

=Work Cited= BirdLife International (2011) Species factsheet: //Passerina ciris//. Downloaded from web on 02/05/2011. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2011) IUCN Red List for birds. 02/05/2011

BirdLife International 2008. //Passerina ciris//. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. web.Downloaded on April 27,2011

Schulenberg, Thomas. "painted bunting." //Passerina ciris// (2009): n. pag. Web. 1 May 2011.

Stefanyk, D. 2001. "Passerina ciris" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed May 01, 2011 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Passerina_ciris.html. .