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The Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) has been identified as a focal species of management concern due to a range-wide population decline of 3.2% per year from 1966-1995, and ongoing threats to populations on breeding and wintering grounds, particularly in the eastern part of its range. Although the primary cause of population declines is unknown, loss and fragmentation of maritime scrub-shrub habitats in the Southeastern Coastal Plain of the United States are thought to be the major factors influencing the eastern population of Painted Buntings during breeding season. Loss of riparian habitats in the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico, used during migration by the western population of Painted Bunting, may also be influencing population levels of this species. Additional factors that may be affecting eastern and western populations of Painted Bunting include capture of large numbers of individual Painted Buntings at their wintering grounds for sale in the pet trade industry, and Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism of Painted Bunting nests in fragmented habitats.
Date: September 2006
Sources: Rich, T.D., C.J. Beardmore, H. Berlanga, P.J. Blancher, M.S.W. Bradstreet, G.S. Butcher, D.W. Demarest, E.H. Dunn, W.C. Hunter, E.E. Inigo-Elias, J.A. Kennedy, A.M. Martell, A.O. Panjabi, D.N. Pashley, K.V. Rosenberg, C.M. Rustay, J.S. Wendt, and T.C. Will. 2004. Partners in Flight North American Landbird Conservation Plan. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY.
Catlin, D. 2000. The Nature Conservancy Species Management Abstract: Painted Bunting ( Passerina ciris ). Downloaded from (http://conserveonline.org) on 9/6/2006.
Lowther, P.E., S.M. Lanyon, and C.W. Thompson. 1999. Painted Bunting ( Passerina ciris ). In The Birds of North America, No. 398 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Species Profile from NatureServe
Painted Bunting Passerina ciris
Description:A small bird (bunting).
Life History:
Reproduction Comments: Eggs are laid March-July (mostly May-June). Usually produces two broods per year, sometimes up to four. Clutch size usually is three to four. Incubation, by female, lasts 11-12 days. Young are probably tended by female alone; leave nest at 8-14 days.
Ecology Comments:
In winter in Mexico, occurs singly or in small groups; individuals may return to the same wintering site in successive years (Rappole and Warner 1980). Mean territory size 3.15 hectares (range 0.64-6.66, n=19) in Missouri (Norris 1982, Norris and Elder 1982).
Mobility and Migration Comments: Thompson (1991a and 1991b) notes that the western population begins fall migration two months earlier than the eastern population, and that western birds undergo a molt while stopping in desert areas of the southeastern Arizona and northwestern Mexico (rather than molting while still on the breeding grounds as eastern birds do). Loss of riparian habitat in this area may be a "bottleneck affecting population numbers" (Lowther et al. 1999). Arrives in Costa Rica in late October, departs by late March (Stiles and Skutch 1989).
Food Comments: Eats mainly grass seeds, also insects and spiders (Terres 1980).
Distribution:
United States: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, KS, LA, MO, MS, NC, NM, OK, SC, TN, TX
Status:
Palustrine Habitat(s): Riparian
Terrestrial Habitat(s): Old field, Savanna, Shrubland/chaparral, Suburban/orchard, Woodland - Hardwood
Habitat Comments: In general, few data exist on habitat requirements and they are not well quantified (Lowther et al. 1999). Partly open situations with scattered brush and trees, riparian thickets and brush, weedy and shrubby areas, woodland edges, yards and gardens in the southern U.S. Nests in bush or vine tangle, usually 1-2 meters up; sometimes in tree in thick Spanish moss at greater height (Harrison 1978). Western breeding populations use semi-open country with scattered trees and shrubs, riparian areas, abandoned farmland and other early successional stages (Parmalee 1959, AOU 1998).
In the Ouachitas of southwestern Arkansas, common in areas with a patchy mixture of open pasture and well-developed fencerows where farms are still small and family-run (J. Neal, pers. comm.). In southwest Missouri, 18 of 19 measured territories included predominantly old field vegetation (82 percent), with the remainder woodland (18 percent). Vegetative characteristics, however, varied widely between territories suggesting that a broad range of conditions are tolerated (Norris 1982, Norris and Elder 1982).
The southeastern coastal population uses a variety of habitats for breeding (Lanyon and Thompson 1986, Cox 1996, Meyers et al. 1999). While Meyers et al. (1999) found nesting success to be similar in beach shrub-scrub, managed pine-oak forest, and old growth oak forest, some forest-nesting individuals traveled up to 800 meters to feed in grassy or marshy openings, while shrub-scrub birds remained in core areas. Lanyon and Thompson (1986) determined that salt marsh/forest edge territories were preferred over interior forest, and concluded they were of higher quality.
Territory sizes measured include 1.13 hectares for one in Oklahoma (Parmalee 1959) and an average of 3.15 hectares on the edge of the range in Missouri (range 0.64-6.66 hectares, n = 19; Norris 1982, Norris and Elder 1982). Territories tend to be larger when there are no other territories adjoining (Norris 1982, Norris and Elder 1982), and smaller in high-quality habitat where territories are contiguous (Finke 1979, Lanyon and Thompson 1986). Males tend to return to nesting sites used in previous year (Lanyon and Thompson 1986).
