Adult males have a bright blue head, red throat and chest, and a bright green back. Females are a plain green all over. Juveniles look more like adult females but are grayer in color until they mature. They have short, relatively thick beaks. 

About the size of a sparrow, the painted bunting weighs between 0.46 to 0.67 ounces (13-19 grams) and is on average around 5 inches (13 centimeters) long. 

The species has two distinct populations in Southern North America and Central America. The western population favors scrub-brush habitats while the eastern population prefers coastal plains and agricultural lands. Generally, this species prefers areas with dense brush as well as the edges of woodland habitats. 

The western population winters in southern Mexico and Central America while the eastern population winters in southern Florida and the Caribbean. The western population breeds from Kansas south to Texas, Louisiana, and northern Mexico, while the eastern population breeds along the coast of North Carolina south to northern Florida.

Up to 12 years in the wild.

This species has numerous calls, including bright, high-pitched chirps and warbling whistles. 

Eats seeds and insects. The painted bunting mostly forages near the ground. Insects are favored in summertime.

Active during the day and sleeps in dense vegetation at night.

During breeding season males will establish and defend territories from other males. Fighting males will peck, scratch, and strike each other, sometimes to the death. Females that enter a male’s territory are treated to numerous displays in hopes of wooing her. Outside of breeding season painted buntings are mostly solitary though they may form small flocks on the wintering grounds.

They breed from late spring through early summer. The nest is typically 3-6 feet off the ground and females usually lay 3 or 4 bluish white or pale gray eggs with brown spots. Females incubate the eggs for 11-12 days. The hatchlings leave the nest around two weeks after hatching. 

This species is relatively common, with an estimated global breeding population of 15 million birds. However, a survey of North American birds found the species declined 33% between 1966 and 2019. The primary threats to the species are habitat loss and degradation from human development. 

Painted buntings are also trapped and sold as cage birds in their wintering grounds in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Researchers suggest tighter regulations on the remaining illegal wildlife trade in this species would help protect it. More broadly, additional research is needed to develop a conservation strategy to reverse this species’ long term decline.