Painted Bunting
I am excited to share this Painted Bunting, a rare sighting for us here in Maryland, and a lifer for me! 💃
A fellow bird club member had this male Painted Bunting show up at her feeder for breakfast and allowed me to watch and wait to see if it’d show again yesterday morning.
And it did! I was about 45 minutes into waiting while enjoying and photographing the numerous other birds flitting around.
I did crop heavily just to see this bird up close, so many colors!
Just stunning!
Once it left the feeder, it disappeared into this shaded bush I lightened up.
It’s normal range….
Painted Bunting’s Map Range (courtesy AllAboutBird.org)
(orange, breeding; yellow, migrating; blue – winter grounds; red – Maryland sighting)
With the vivid fusion of blue, green, yellow, and red, it’s as if this male Painted Bunting has flown straight out of a child’s coloring book!
💃 Yep, I am still dancing with this lifer! Thank you, Cristina & Lou for the opportunity, you made my weekend!
Bay Photos by Donna 
Agree, just stunning!
Thanks, Hans!
A stunner!
Thank you, Michael!
You’re welcome, Donna.
What a wonderful gift from your friends! Beautiful bird with such incredible colours. Glad you got such great shots .
I am still on Cloud 9, I always wanted to see this bird!
Knock-your-socks-off stunning!
Thank you to you and your friend for sharing.
I heard there has been another one showing up in Anne Arundel County for three years in a row and staying all summer. I think you and I would be more than happy to host a pair of these every summer, right, Martha?!!
Wow, what a thrill! Excellent shots of this far-from-home ranger!
It is truly remarkable, and surely lives up to its name! I am still on Cloud 9!
Yay!
🤗💃🤗
Gorgeous.
Gwen.
This little bird is indeed a work of art! Thanks, Gwen!
Hi Donna…
WOW!!! That is an absolutely gorgeous bird! AND…your photos are outstanding!
Steve
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Thank you, Steve! I am still on Cloud 9!!
What a great yardbird! Congratulations!
It’s gotta be one of the top five everyone would love to have! Thank you, Bruce!!
OH WOWZA!!!! It’s gorgeous. Congratulations, on the Lifer and high five to the friend that you come over to see it too. WOW!!
Thank you, Deborah! After about 1/2 hour waiting, my mind was telling me it probably left the night before and journeyed on. When it was suddenly on the feeder, I almost lost my breath! I talked to my friend little while ago, it is still there, since June 8. I’m still on Cloud 9! 🤗💃😊
I would be too! 😄
I’m so thrilled you had this opportunity, Donna! We are fortunate to have Painted Buntings here in Florida and I recently gave my little birder granddaughter a stuffed Audubon Painted Bunting (by Wild Republic) for her birthday. Soon after, she and her parents got to see their first Painted Bunting here – they were as excited as you! ☺️
Thank you!! During our mid-west and south coast travels, I looked and looked for the Painted Bunting, just hoping to see one. Now here home in Maryland, WOW! Who knew? I love your granddaughter’s birdie story, how awesome to get to see one, her little stuffed bunting is now extra-special!! 🤗💃😊
What a beautiful bird!
A work of art for sure! Thanks, Ken!
That’s a beautiful bird – at first glance I thought it was a Lady Gouldian Finch.
A stunner for sure! I had to look up what a Lady Gouldian Finch looked like, I never heard of them.
They are domestic birds as you learned, but so colorful. When I had my canary, I ordered some supplies and treats from a woman who raises them, huge aviaries full of those lovely birds.
Congratulations. That’s a terrifically colourful lifer
Thank you, IJ!
What a beautiful bird. Congratulations! 😉
Thank you, Pepper! 🤗💃😊
So beautiful
A stunner for sure, thank you!
What a beautiful colour array Donna, fabulous captures my friend!
Thank you, Ashley! Our closest in colors to your gorgeous parrots!
What wonderful and peculiar bird. Almost tropical colours…
Makes me want to go to the beach!
Plumage so unreal, it looks like it was hand-painted. 🎨 Definitely a painter’s muse! 😀
It truly is incredible, and a work of art! Thank you! 😀
Fabulous plumage
Thanks Sheree!
What a beautiful bird — and so far above its range.
I agree! It makes us wonder, how many other birds are out of range that we don’t know about!
One can almost say ‘ Is it real?’ What a fabulous bird, painted bunting! Thank you Donna.
It is truly amazing, isn’t it?! I am still Cloud 9ing, Sandy! 😉
Wow, what a beautiful bird and so far from its usual range. Glad hear you were able to observe it. (Suzanne)
Thank you, Suzanne! I am tickled ‘rainbow’!! 😉
I would have thought this was a tropical bird that is never seen in North America. Looking at the range map (and thanks for including, I was going to look it up) I see that should have a better chance of seeing one in Missouri than Maryland, so I’m going to keep an eye open for one. 🙂
I looked for this bird in Florida many times with no luck. And now find it in Maryland, lol. I surely do hope you see one or a pair, David! They love bird seed feeders.
BRB
I just looked up eBird sightings for Missouri, Painted Buntings had last sightings in June 2025 down at Sand Prairie Conservation Area in Benton. More in Taney County. For your St Louis Cty, the last sighting was May 7, 2023. For most part if they would appear, it’d be around Missouri May-Aug. I’m going to wish with fingers crossed you have one show up for you somewhere in your travels this summer! Your backyard would be perfect alongside your beautiful flowers!
Thanks for the info. I will definitely be on the look out now knowing that seeing one is not an impossibility. I shouldn’t have to look too hard though as one would be hard to miss.
This is the sort of friend that a bird photographer needs to have. 🙂
I agree 🙂
So beautiful.
I agree!
Congratulations on this new lifer, Donna! So aptly named. I can see why you’re still dancing!
Thank you, Barbara! It was a true delight! 🤗💃😊
Beautiful bird, Donna. Your excitement was obvious!
Thank you, Curt! 🤗💃😊
Stunning and exquisite. Very nice shots – congrats on the new lifer!
Thank you, Bob, for your comments! I’m still dancing!!
Very exciting! Beautiful photos 😊
Big excitement, I am still dancing, Belinda! 🤗💃😊
As you suggested, it doesn’t look like it could be a real bird. It’s so brightly coloured! Hard to miss if one turns up though! 👍👍😊
Thanks, Mike! It looks like my youngest 4 yo grandson colored it 😉😊
He’s good at colo(u)ring then! If you’d posted it on 1st April, nobody would have believed it wasn’t an AI image for Fool’s Day! (Or maybe it was…? 🤔)