the lazuli bunting , passerina amoena , is a north american songbird named for the gemstone lapis lazuli .
the male is easily recognized by its bright blue head and back (lighter than the closely related indigo bunting), its conspicuous white wingbars , and its light rusty breast and white belly .
the color pattern may suggest the eastern and western bluebirds , but the smaller size (1314 cm or 55.5 inches long), wingbars , and short and conical bunting bill quickly distinguish it .
the female is brown , grayer above and warmer underneath , told from the female indigo bunting by two thin and pale wingbars and other plumage details .
the song is a high , rapid , strident warble , similar to that of the indigo bunting but longer and with less repetition .
lazuli buntings breed mostly west of the 100th meridian from southern canada to northern texas , central new mexico and arizona , and southern california .
on the pacific coast their breeding range extends south to extreme northwestern baja california .
they migrate to southeastern arizona and mexico .
their habitat is brushy areas and sometimes weedy pastures , generally well-watered , and sometimes in towns .
these birds eat mostly seeds and insects .
they may feed conspicuously on the ground or in bushes , but singing males are often very elusive in treetops .
this bird makes a loose cup nest of grasses and rootlets placed in a bush .
it lays three or four pale blue eggs .
in the eastern and southern part of its range , it often hybridizes with the indigo bunting .
