Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:41:55 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Lovelace, Glen (DelDOT)" Subject: DiMaggio's Bunting species account MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Hello All, I did some research last night and learned some interesting facts about this species. Identification: All DiMaggio's Buntings are small white birds, but the races differ in size and color of the caps. The josephicus race is the largest of the species. It can be identified by its blue caps and thin blue stripes that run from head to tail. Females of the josephicus race are the most conspicuous of any of the races. They can be identified by a golden cap and white feathers that often seem to ruffle upwards in the wind. The dominicus race is the smallest of the races. It sports a red cap and two red patches at the legs that give the appearance of socks. Overall, its plumage is grayer than the josephicus race. The vincentius race has a black cap, black epaulettes and a yellow bill to distinguish it from the other races. Little is known about the females of the dominicus and vincentius races. Distribution: The DiMaggio's Bunting is common across the northeast and midwest. Its summer range extends from Boston to Washington DC, west to St Louis and Chicago. The josephicus race is most in the mid-Atlantic, particularly in the New York City area. The dominicus race is most in New England, being especially abundant in the Boston area. The vincentius race is less numerous the other races, but is more common in the midwest in places such as Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. In migration, all three subspecies arrive in Florida beginning in late February and through March. It is generally not seen further north until late March or early April. It can be seen in its summer range through the end of September. The josephicus race remains later than the others, being seen most years through mid-October. Habitat and Diet: All three subspecies inhabit large, open, grassy fields. The preferred choice of fields are ones that are 300 to 400 feet to a side, with an area of bare dirt in one corner. The bunting will establish perches within the dirt area that are 90' apart. It has the peculiar habit of using these perches only in a counterclockwise direction. While DiMaggio's Buntings are predominately seed eaters as with other buntings, in summer, they can often be seen catching flies. The josephicus race is known as a strong, graceful flyer, seeming to get to its prey with little effort. Because of this and its stripes, birders have nicknamed it as the "Yankee Clipper". The dominicus race uses short, but fast wingbeats to achieve nearly equal efficiency at catching flies. In a bit of unexplained behavior, older birds of the josephicus race have been observed to have a affinity for coffee grounds. Good Birding, Glen Lovelace III Seaford, DE ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================