Varied Bunting, Passerina versicolor

Varied Bunting, Passerina versicolor dickeyae, Male. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, March 2018. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Varied Bunting, Passerina versicolor dickeyae, Males. Photograph taken within a residential community in Hereford, Arizona, June 2011. Photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Behrstock, Sierra Vista, Arizona (naturewideimages.com).

The Varied Bunting, Passerina versicolor dickeyae, is one of four subspecies of Varied Bunting, all of which are found in Mexico. They are a member of the Cardinalidae Family of Cardinals and Allies, which has forty-nine members placed in fourteen genera, and one of seven global species of the Passerina Genus. In Mexico they are known as azulillo morado. They are known for the males spectacular plumage and their conspicuous singing.

The Varied Bunting is small in stature. They are sexually dimorphic, however the males and females have similar plumages during the winter months being light brown with paler underparts and they are without wing bars, stripes, or distinctive markings. The males have reddish purple bodies, a blue crown and rump, a red nape with an overall dark purple appearance. Their short, conical bills have a black upper mandible with a pale lower mandible and a dull green-yellow gape; their iris is dark brown to grayish brown; and, their legs are purplish gray; and, their feet are bluish-gray with yellow-olive soles.

The Varied Bunting is widely distributed in Mexico being found primarily in arid thorn brush at the edges of riparian areas, thorn forests, scrubby woodland, and overgrown clearings. They avoid human developments. They feed on seeds and fruits supplemented by arthropods. They have been poorly studied and very little is known about their biology and behavioral patterns.

The Varied Bunting is found in throughout Mexico except in the states of Baja California, northern Baja California Sur, northwest Sonora, northern Chihuahua and south of Veracruz and Oaxaca. The dickeyae subspecies is found from Sonora to west central Chihuahua and south to Colima. The northern populations make southerly migrations for the winter; the southern populations are year-round residents at elevations up to 1,900 m (6,300 feet).

From a conservation perspective the Varied Bunting is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are a popular component of the caged bird trade being popular house pets in Mexico; approximately 6,000 birds are shipped annually to Europe and Japan. Their long-term survival is threatened by urban development, human encroachment and habitat loss.