Indigo Bunting...what year?

[Jim Buescher]

I know the molt cycle of the male indigo bunting can be quite complex but was hoping somebody can tell me the age of this bird from this image. I'm guessing it's a second-year male. Photo was taken July 7th in Ohio. Thank you.

[Jim Buescher]

Here's the image:

[John Chardine]

Hi Jim- I'm without my Birds of North America reference material right now. I should have thought that by July, a male Indigo Bunting fledged in 2011 would be in full adult breeding plumage. Likewise, an adult male in July should still be in full breeding plumage. That leaves a male fledged earlier on in 2012, perhaps. I have never seen a just-fledged male Indigo to know how much blue (if any) they show.

[Jim Buescher]

Thanks John. From what I've read the indigo bunting may not have his full blue breeding plumage until the second year but individuals can differ greatly in appearance. There's also presupplemental, prebasic and preformative molts which adds to the confusion. Here's a link that I've found that helps to age the indigo bunting but doesn't fully answer my question regarding the bird in the photo.

http://www.migrationresearch.org/mbo/id/inbu.html

[John Chardine]

Thanks Jim. It does seem like a mess! I know others in the genus (e.g., Painted Buntings) can retain their immature plumage longer than a year so it makes sense for Indigos too. What does Sibley have to say about it (don't have my copy here right now)?