Orange-breasted Bunting Passerina leclancherii

The Mexican endemic Orange-breasted Bunting ranges along the Pacific slope from extreme southern Nayarit south to western Chiapas, and inland to western Puebla. It is found from sea level up to about 1200 m in arid habitats, including thorn forest, open woodland, and the edges of roadsides and agricultural clearings. Adult males are blue above with a mossy green crown and mantle, and are yellow below with an orange wash across the breast. Not surprisingly, they are popular in the cage bird trade—which may account for extralimital records close to the U.S. border. Orange-breasted Bunting is a bit smaller (length 12.5 cm) and shorter-billed than Rose-bellied Bunting (Passerina rositae), with which it may occur, and both sexes of Orange-breasted are yellow below.