It is no wonder that Roger Tory Peterson called the Painted Bunting the most gaudily colored songbird in North America. It has shown a significant decline across its range during the past 35 years. The reasons for decline include habitat loss and trapping for the pet trade. Even though they are fairly common in Big Bend they are still very diffult to photograph since the male often hides in the middle of the shrubs. We managed to get a great shot of this male since in late April he was just establishing his territory and was hopping around from tree to tree anouncing himself. They can also be found in our home state of New Mexico near the Texas border in May. During mating season the male takes the opportunity to sing any chance he gets. This guy is singing from a blade of grass:   (Click). Even against a bright blue sky they stand out:   (Click). Here is a closeup shot:   (Click). Still he was moving around a lot and was often a blur of color making for some out of focus (or artistic?) shots as well:   (Click) .

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