In April 2019, we went to Malibu Creek State Park. I heard a bird chirping and saw this brightly colored Lazuli bunting on a distant branch. The lazuli bunting is a North American songbird named for the gemstone lapis lazuli. Males tend to be quite vocal and defensive of their territories especially early in the breeding season.
2019年4月我們去馬里布溪州立公園 (Malibu Creek State Park)逛逛，聽到鳥鳴，看到遠處樹枝上這隻顏色鮮艷的白腹藍彩鹀。白腹藍彩鹀是一種北美鳴禽，以寶石青金石命名。雄鳥往往喜歡發聲來捍衛自己的領地，尤其是在繁殖季節的早期。
Photo Date: 2019.04.21 Location: Malibu Creek State Park, California
Notes 筆記
- The lazuli bunting is a North American songbird named for the gemstone lapis lazuli.
- The male is easily recognized by its bright blue head and back, its conspicuous white wingbars, and its light rusty breast and white belly. The female is brown, grayer above and warmer underneath.
- Lazuli buntings breed mostly west of the 100th meridian from southern Canada to northern Texas, central New Mexico and Arizona, and southern California. On the Pacific coast their breeding range extends south to extreme northwestern Baja California. They migrate to southeastern Arizona and Mexico.
- Their habitat is brushy areas and sometimes weedy pastures, generally well-watered, and sometimes in towns.
- They eat mostly seeds and insects. They may feed conspicuously on the ground or in bushes, but singing males are often very elusive in treetops.
- Males arrive on breeding grounds a few days before females and perch conspicuously on taller shrubs at territory boundaries to advertise their presence. When a female arrives in a male’s territory he follows and sings near her until they form a pair bond. Pairs are mostly monogamous during the breeding season, but some individuals seek out additional mates, a phenomenon known as extra-pair copulation. Once paired within their territory, males can be quite aggressive and often attack or chase intruding males.
- The female chooses where to place the nest. It takes the female about 5–7 days to complete the nest.
- 白腹藍彩鹀是一種北美鳴禽，以寶石青金石命名。
- 雄鳥很容易辨認，它有亮藍色的頭和背、顯眼的白色翼條以及淺銹色的胸部和白色腹部。而雌鳥是棕色的，上面比較灰，下面顏色比較暖色些。
- 白腹藍彩鹀的主要繁殖地在西經100度線以西，從加拿大南部到德克薩斯州北部、新墨西哥州中部和亞利桑那州以及加州南部。在太平洋沿岸，它們的繁殖範圍向南延伸至墨西哥的下加利福尼亞州的最西北部，它們會遷移到亞利桑那州東南部和墨西哥。
- 它們的棲息地是灌木叢的地區，有時是雜草叢生、水充足的牧場，有時在城鎮。
- 它們主要吃種子和昆蟲。它們可能會在地面或灌木叢中大大方方的覓食，但鳴唱的雄鳥則在樹梢上躲躲藏藏。
- 雄鳥比雌鳥早幾天到達繁殖地，並明顯地棲息在領地邊界處較高的灌木上，像是通知大家它們的存在。當雌鳥到達雄鳥領地時，他會跟隨並在她附近唱歌，直到它們形成配對關係。在繁殖季節，配對大多是社交單配偶一夫一妻制，但有些鳥會尋找更多的配偶，這種現像被稱為額外配對交配。一旦它們在領地內配對，雄鳥就會變得非常有攻擊性，並且經常攻擊或追逐入侵的其它雄鳥。
- 雌鳥選擇在哪裡置巢。雌鳥大約需要5-7天來完成建巢。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Lazuli bunting
- All about birds: Lazuli Bunting
Birds Posts 鳥的帖子