I had the pleasure of seeing this little guy at a nature center two weeks ago and was surprised at how fat he was. He is called a ground robin because he sort of looks like a robin, but he doesn't stay in the tree tops. He stays low finding worms and insects under dead leaves on the ground. The also likes to eat fruit and berries.
They make their nest on the ground .
Another relative is the indigo bunting. They can be found here in Texas (maybe) in the summer. The males are a lovely bright blue with black tinges along it's wings. The female looks just like her sparrow cousins with only a very slight tinge of blue along her wings and of course we all know why- females cannot attract attention while nesting. The fathers are colorful (like the cardinal) to attract the attention of predators away from their spouses.
We saw this in our backyard last week. Our beautiful daddy cardinal was eaten by a cat while protecting his family.My kids sobbed for days- we had a funeral and buried our lovely little man. Just today, I saw a new daddy out side, so maybe our female found herself a new guy.
This is the painted bunting. The reason I posted this even though it was not in our actual study is because it is expected to visit us next month!
If you are in the Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana area, he might stop in and say hello! That is a great time to spend lots of time outdoors just for the sight of him. My Peterson's guide shows that he might even visit around Charleston, SC and he also hangs around the very southern tip of Florida during the winter.
The female is a lovely muted green- another little tip: they will only be the size of a sparrow.
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