Family: Cardinalidae, Cardinals view all from this family

Description 5-5 1/2" (13-14 cm). Sparrow-sized. Male bright blue with pale cinnamon breast, white belly and wing bars. Female dull brown, lighter below, with 2 pale wing bars. Female Indigo Bunting similar, but lacks conspicuous wing bars.

Habitat Dry, brushy ravines and slopes; cleared areas and weedy pastures.

Nesting 3 or 4 pale blue eggs in a loose cup of grass and rootlets in a bush.

Range Breeds from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota south through western United States to southern California, northern New Mexico, western Oklahoma, and eastern Nebraska. Winters south of U.S.-Mexico border.

Voice   A high-pitched, excited series of warbled phrases, the first notes usually repeated, descending the scale and ascending again at the end; similar to song of Indigo Bunting, but phrases less distinct and only the first phrases repeated.

Discussion The Lazuli hybridizes with its eastern counterpart, the Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), on the Great Plains, where their ranges overlap. A diligent songster, the male patrols the perimeter of his territory, spending much time on his song perches.