They have a beautiful song, Linda. It took me quite some time to know where that "sound" was coming from as I had never heard it before. My first painted bunting appeared at my feeder on Easter Sunday of 2003 and they have appeared randomly since then.

Well it looks like the buntings were just passing through, as I haven't seen them for several days. I'm sure the mockingbirds were eating my matters. At first they were doing a great job keeping the hornworms in check, then they must have decided the tomatos were what grew the worms, so went pecking for more. I caught them in the act then later read they like tomato seeds.

Hi there, Not sure about which part of Texas you are in, but I have 2 friends in Texas who host Painted Buntings each year. They adore White Millet. You can buy a bag of pure white millet at WBU or Tractor Supply has a mix which is largely white millet with sunflower seed mixed in.

Saw this bird the first time when I went on a birding tour at Mitchell Lake in San Antonio. I'm not a birder, but there's so many birds that come through there on their yearly migrations it's worth checking out in the spring if you have any interest. They've also done a really nice job with the native landscaping. We've never seen them at our place and it's relatively nearby. The guide explained they're kind of shy birds and like lots of cover. Since we have mostly pastures around us, it's not really the right habitat for them. Have also seen them a few times on hikes in Government Canyon. But never sitting long enough to get a good look. Those are great pictures of them. Lisa