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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Perching Birds (Order Passeriformes)

-Cardinals and Allies (Family Cardinalidae)

-North American Buntings (Genus Passerina)

-Orange-breasted Bunting (Passerina leclancherii)


A small bunting of the lowlands and foothills. It is endemic to west Mexico. Occurs in brushy woodland and edge, adjacent weedy fields, and open grassy areas. Mainly seed-eaters, with some fruit and invertebrates being eaten.Often in small groups, feeding on roadside grasses and flushing up with brilliant blue flashes. Also feeds at all levels in fruiting trees and bushes. Male - electric turquoise blue and green above; rich yellow below with a burnished orange breast. Female duller overall - greenish above and yellow below, with a bluish tail.

Orange-breasted Bunting

Passerina leclancherii

Diet

  • Primarily seeds of grasses, herbs, and other small plants.

  • During the breeding season, also feeds on insects such as beetles, ants, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and spiders.

  • Occasionally consumes small berries and other fleshy fruits.

  • Forages mainly on the ground or in low shrubs within dense vegetation.

Range

  • Endemic to western Mexico, occurring along the Pacific slope from southern Nayarit through Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, and western Oaxaca.

  • Common in the Zihuatanejo region, where it is a year-round resident.

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, thorn scrub, brushy hillsides, woodland edges, second-growth, and overgrown agricultural areas, generally from sea level to about 1,500 m.

Male / Female

  • Male: Brilliant turquoise-blue head and upperparts, bright orange breast, yellow-orange belly, greenish back, and a stout bluish-gray bill.

  • Female: Olive-green to grayish-green upperparts with buff to yellowish underparts; lacks the male's vivid blue and orange colours.

  • Juvenile males: Resemble females but gradually develop blue and orange plumage as they mature.

  • The sexes are easily distinguished by their strikingly different plumage.

Size

  • Length: 13–14 cm (5.1–5.5 in)

  • Wingspan: 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in)

  • Weight: 14–18 g

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