Painted Bunting

This is probably the most colorful bird of North America. As one would expect, it is found in the warmer parts of the US, in southern states and along the Gulf of Mexico. There are two distinct populations of Painted Buntings: the western population from Mississippi and Kansas south to the Gulf Coast and eastern population found along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina south to Florida. Birds of the western population start to migrate south for the winter before they molt. They will molt in stages along the way. This is unusual for songbirds. Birds of the eastern population, in the Florida area, molt first before they migrate.
Here I've painted one of these colorful male finches in a mesquite tree.

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