Indigo Bunting

In Tikal NP in Guatemala, with my guide, Rony, we were in thick jungle without much light. Rony points out a blue bunting. I was having a hard time seeing it. I was taking photos, just hoping for the best, and when I got home I was searching through a series of photos looking for any bird. It was so dark it was hard to identify any bird in the photos. I finally was able to locate it. The first photos were horrible, only bits and pieces of the bird, but I took quite a few and the later photos got better as the bird moved around. To my surprise, I actually got a fairly decent photo. I was surprised again when iNaturalist indicated it might be an indigo bunting, blue bunting was the third choice. I indicated indigo bunting and I have one identifier that agrees. 

This is the best photo.

From there, they go downhill.

These are the best. You can imagine what the others are like. 

During breeding season the male appears as a vibrant "cerulean blue," only the head is indigo. The wings and tail are black with cerulean blue edges. In fall and winter plumage, the male has brown edges to the blue body and head feathers, which overlap to make the bird appear mostly brown. the adult female is brown on the upperparts and lighter brown on the underparts. 

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. I was surprised by how much of the U.S. they are found in.