By Sally Siko

One of the prettiest birds we’ve got flying around NC each spring is the Indigo Bunting. I spotted this handsome fella yesterday while leading a birding trip in eastern NC.
It’s always a treat to get a good photo these incredibly beautiful birds.
Those bright blue feathers look amazing, a dazzling spectacle sparkling in the morning sun.

Have you ever wondered why these birds appear to glow so vividly?
It turns out that those vibrant blue hues of the Indigo Buntings plumage are due to structural coloration. Their feathers contain microscopic structures that scatter and reflect light, creating the appearance of blue.
This structural coloration is similar to how the sky appears blue due to scattering of sunlight by molecules in the atmosphere.
Pretty neat huh?

These lovely birds are best spotted in areas of open ground, weedy fields and overgrown brushy areas. Areas containing stands of willow trees near ponds are also good places to look. Aside from looking for that bright blue color, the easiest way to locate one is to listen for their songs (one of the noisiest birds in North Carolina, males can be found singing well into August.)
The males usually can be seen singing from the tippy tops of trees with bare branches overlooking fields or ponds.
They can be found in all 100 of NC’s counties from now through mid- October so you still got plenty of time to get out there and see one too!

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5