Quick identification
Painted bunting (Passerina ciris)
Adult males combine blue head, red underparts and green back; females and young birds are bright green overall with a sturdy seed-eating bill.
Season and local range: Spring and fall passage migrant.
Habitat and island setting
Shrubby migrant cover, native gardens and woodland edges used after Gulf crossings.
Where to look
Convention Centre plantings, Nature Center gardens and the Valley Land Fund lots can concentrate migrants during the right weather. Birds may move as tides, wind, fronts, water levels and activity at the site change.
What the bird is doing
Recently arrived songbirds need food and rest. Stay on paths, keep water drips unobstructed and avoid surrounding a low, tired bird.
Watching birds
Use binoculars or a camera zoom, stay on public paths and leave feeding, resting and nesting birds enough room to continue normal behavior. If a bird stops feeding, stands alert, calls repeatedly or moves away because of you, increase the distance. Check access information in the South Padre Island birding guide before making a special trip.