Bird

Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea

A summer resident that nests in Alabama. Found in all 67 counties, across 17 habitats.

Here: Summer
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 17

Male Indigo Bunting, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Morgan Caygill, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 383579597. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: Summer
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 17
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 17

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 17

WinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Florida Panhandle Beach VegetationGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory ModifierGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCumberland Riverscour; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and BaygallFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerAllegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerSouth-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerSouthern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerSouth-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

SummerSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (61)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (23)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer.
Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer.
Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer.
South Florida Mangrove Swamp Summer.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer.

Northeast (3)

Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer.

Land cover and other classes (35)

Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer.
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer.
Developed, Low Intensity Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Winter.
Recently Burned Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Grassland Winter.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Summer: nests here, in all 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 8

Black Raspberry
Rubus occidentalis
Shrub. Native
Southern Dewberry
Rubus trivialis
Vine. Native
Allegheny Blackberry
Rubus allegheniensis
Shrub. Native
Northern Dewberry
Rubus flagellaris
Shrub. Native
Pennsylvania Blackberry
Rubus pensilvanicus
Shrub. Native
Sand Blackberry
Rubus cuneifolius
Shrub. Native
Swamp Dewberry
Rubus hispidus
Shrub. Native
Common Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Tree. Native

Plant genera in its diet records (2)

Rubus 1 diet record. 7 native plants in Alabama
Sambucus 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.