INDIGO BUNTING 107 



merly unsuitable area. Over a broad area of contact and overlap speci- 

 mens show that hybridization and backcrossing are occurring, and 

 that both parental forms are present with the hybrids at some locali- 

 ties * * *. Measurements and weights of the specimens show that 

 clear size differences exist between the parental forms, and that color 

 pattern is correlated with weights and measurements in the hybrids." 



On June 26, 1929, near Warren in Marshall County, Minn., W. J. 

 Breckenridge collected a hybrid that was smging from the top branches 

 of a dead elm. The song was identical with that of the indigo bunting. 

 A nest in low bushes below the singing-tree was occupied by a typical 

 female indigo bunting. William Youngworth (1932) also collected 

 a male hybrid, on June 1, 1932, near the Niobrara River in Cherry 

 County, Nebr. He says, "The Indigo Bunting is a fairly common bird 

 in this region, and here also we found several Lazuli Buntings settled 

 for the summer." The song was typical of the mdigo bunting. 

 Mrs. Harold R. Peaseley heard what she thought was the song of an 

 indigo bunting at about noon on July 25, 1935, near Center Chapel, 

 some 5 miles west of Indianola, Warren County, Iowa. The bird, in 

 the top branches of a dead tree, proved to be a male lazuli bunting. 

 She studied the bird for an hour and says, "Its behavior seemed to 

 indicate a territory holding bu-d. It had three definite singing perches 

 in the immediate vicinity of this tree and one across a smaU field in an 

 Osage orange hedge. It drove a male indigo bunting out of its terri- 

 tory, and in so doing, the two birds came to rest for several minutes on 

 a wii'e fence directly in front of us." She relocated the bird on July 

 27, but a thorough search failed to reveal satisfactorily the female. 



Philip V. WeUs (1958) watched two pairs along Leeds Creek at 

 about 5,000 feet elevation in the Pine VaUey Mountains in south- 

 western Utah between June 6 and Aug. 1, 1957. Vegetation was a 

 closed stand of evergreen chaparral. Dwarf conifers formed a 

 sparse overstory; along Leeds Creek, bkch and willow were entwined 

 with wild grape. Edge effects were provided by the stream, by a 

 dkt road, and by some large clearings bordered by groves of deciduous 

 oak. The two pairs of indigo buntings were spaced about half a 

 mile apart along the road, in both cases near clearings. The favorite 

 singing perches were the relatively taU birches along the creek, 

 overlooking the cleared areas, but the birds also sang from junipers 

 and foraged in all plant communities of the area. 



During June one of the male indigo buntings was seen fighting 

 with a male lazuli bunting. The two bkds would take up singing 

 perches on trees about 100 feet apart and sing back and forth imtil 

 one took off in vigorous pursuit of the other. After about June 20, 

 the lazuli buntings disappeared from the indigo bunting areas, al- 

 though still sparingly present nearby. 



