indigo bunting

American  

noun

1. a North American bunting, Passerina cyanea, the male of which is indigo.

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indigo bunting British  

noun

1. a North American bunting, Passerina cyanea, the male of which is bright blue and the female brown

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Etymology

Origin of indigo bunting

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Example Sentences

Among the other types of birds were also soras, indigo buntings and wood thrushes.

From New York Times

Blue jays, eastern bluebirds, and indigo buntings are all blue birds, but the rich azure of an indigo bunting is nothing like the softer, sky blue of a jay.

From National Geographic

The rose-breasted grosbeak is there too, and the red-eyed vireo, and the indigo bunting.

From Washington Post

The researchers spotted birds in the severely burned patches that they didn’t find in the unburned ones, including the indigo bunting, chestnut-sided warbler and eastern towhee.

From Washington Post

Butterflies floated over stalks of milkweed, and an indigo bunting piped from a treetop at the edge of a ragged field.

From Washington Post