Bird
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
A summer resident that nests in Louisiana. Found in all 64 parishes, across 9 habitats.
- Here
- Summer
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 9

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Summer
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 9
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Louisiana 9
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
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.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
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.
Other habitats in its models (74)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Louisiana. Those recorded in Louisiana first, the rest by region.
Elsewhere in the South (31)
- 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.
- Cumberland Riverscour Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer.
- Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
- Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation Winter.
- Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
- Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
- Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer.
- South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer.
- South Florida Mangrove Swamp Summer.
- South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer.
- South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer.
- Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer.
- Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer.
- Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer.
- Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer.
- Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern 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 (40)
- Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer.
- 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 - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
- 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 Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland 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.
- 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.
- South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer.
- 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.
- Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer.
- Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.
Seasons in Louisiana
- Summer: nests here, in all 64 parishes.
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 6
- Southern DewberryRubus trivialis
- Garden Dew BerryRubus aboriginum
- Northern DewberryRubus flagellaris
- Pennsylvania BlackberryRubus pensilvanicus
- Sand BlackberryRubus cuneifolius
- Common ElderberrySambucus nigra subsp. canadensis
Plant genera in its diet records (2)
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Louisiana, 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.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Birds 153
- Cape May WarblerDendroica tigrina
- Greater RoadrunnerGeococcyx californianus
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Inca DoveColumbina inca
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Monk ParakeetMyiopsitta monachus
- Smith's LongspurCalcarius pictus
- Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- Western Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia hypugaea
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Bronzed CowbirdMolothrus aeneus
Plants 958
- Muck SunflowerHelianthus simulans
- Canada LettuceLactuca canadensis
- Annual FleabaneErigeron annuus
- Common Evening-primroseOenothera biennis
- Cutleaf Evening-primroseOenothera laciniata
- Dog-fennelEupatorium capillifolium
- Threadleaf SundropsOenothera linifolia
- Carolina Crane's-billGeranium carolinianum
- Golden CrownbeardVerbesina encelioides
- Blackeyed SusanRudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima
- Downy Ground-cherryPhysalis pubescens
- Gray Ground-cherryPhysalis grisea
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Birds 124
- Black-chinned HummingbirdArchilochus alexandri
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Bell's VireoVireo bellii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
Plants 267
- Elliott's BlueberryVaccinium elliottii
- Possumhaw HollyIlex decidua
- Cherrybark OakQuercus pagoda
- Shagbark HickoryCarya ovata
- PondberryLindera melissifolia
- Blunt Broom SedgeCarex tribuloides
- Louisiana SedgeCarex louisianica
- Smooth Hedge-nettleStachys tenuifolia
- Common Cup-plantSilphium perfoliatum
- Heartleaf NettleUrtica chamaedryoides
- Clustered FescueFestuca paradoxa
- American BladdernutStaphylea trifolia
Forest edges and thickets
Birds 90
- Spotted TowheePipilo maculatus
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- Rufous HummingbirdSelasphorus rufus
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- Bell's VireoVireo bellii
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
Plants 131
- Southern DewberryRubus trivialis
- Buffalo CloverTrifolium reflexum
- Cutleaf GoldenrodSolidago arguta
- Hairy LettuceLactuca hirsuta
- Saltmarsh Morning-gloryIpomoea sagittata
- Earleaf GreenbrierSmilax auriculata
- Trailing LespedezaLespedeza procumbens
- Creeping LespedezaLespedeza repens
- Violet LespedezaLespedeza frutescens
- Wand LespedezaLespedeza violacea
- Hairy Small-leaf Tick-trefoilDesmodium ciliare
- Hoary Tick-trefoilDesmodium canescens
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Indigo Bunting Avoids forest interior
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus





































































