July 5, 2025

I saw him this morning preparing to take a dip in the birdbath. A bath to clean those striking blue feathers of this male Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea).

Bathing allows birds to freshen and sustain their feathers. Bathing helps birds in their ability to fly, assisting with insulation, and in waterproofing those feathers. And of course it helps to eliminate any soil, and parasites.

This care of their feathers helps but doesn’t keep them from wearing out. Indigo Buntings molt twice a year. Males go from their vibrant blue coloring during mating season to brown for their winter garb in autumn, and back to their mating season blue in the spring. Females wear their brown plumage year round, but also molt in autumn and spring.

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