Diet

• Primarily small seeds of grasses, sedges, and other herbaceous plants.

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

• Forages mainly on the ground or among tall grasses and low vegetation, often in small flocks outside the breeding season.

Range

• Found from eastern and southern Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America to northern Argentina.

• In Mexico, it occurs along both the Pacific and Gulf lowlands, including the Zihuatanejo region, where it is a common year-round resident.

• Inhabits grasslands, brushy fields, agricultural land, roadsides, woodland edges, second-growth, gardens, and open scrub, generally from sea level to about 1,500 m.

Male / Female

• Male: Glossy blue-black plumage with a metallic sheen and a small white patch on the underside of the wing that flashes during its characteristic vertical display flights. The bill is short, thick, and black.

• Female: Warm brown upperparts with buff-coloured underparts, faint streaking on the breast, and a pale eyebrow. Lacks the male's glossy black plumage.

• Juvenile males: Resemble females before gradually moulting into the glossy blue-black adult plumage.

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

Size

• Length: 10–11 cm (3.9–4.3 in)

• Wingspan: 15–17 cm (5.9–6.7 in)

• Weight: 8–12 g (0.28–0.42 oz)