Rose-bellied Bunting Passerina rositae Scientific name definitions

With its shocking color combination of turquoise and raspberry pink, Rose-bellied Bunting (Rosita's Bunting) is one of Mexico’s most distinctively plumaged birds.  Endemic to the Pacific Slope east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, it is found in southeastern Oaxaca and southwestern Chiapas. It occurs in moist to semi-arid woodlands at elevations of 150-800 m. The IUCN considers it Near Threatened due to its small range and threats of habitat loss. Rosita's Bunting, as the species is best known, was discovered by A. L. François Sumichrast a naturalist who resided in Orizaba before moving to the Pacific Slope of Oaxaca where he discovered this species. He named it after his wife, thinking that the bunting and his wife were the two most beautiful creatures he had seen.

13·5–14·5 cm; 19·5–20·5 g (Chiapas). Male is bright electric-blue above, purplish-blue on crown, becoming brighter on lower back and rump; lores dark, white eyering broken in front and behind (giving two crescents); shoulder bright blue, primaries and secondaries greyish-black with broad blue edgings (giving overall blue appearance to closed wing); rectrices bright blue with black shafts; chin greyish-white, throat and chest blue, reddish-pink mottling on chest becoming salmon-pink on belly and vent; flanks blue; iris dark brown; bill blackish above, pale greyish-blue below; legs lead-grey. Female has head and upperparts greyish-brown, sometimes with hint of bluish, becoming bluish on rump; wing feathers dull brown, buff-brown edging is less contrasting than on similar congeneric females, rectrices grey with bluish on outer webs; face grey-brown, pale broken eyering; buffy brown or pinkish-buff below , becoming warmer on throat to lower breast and paler on lower belly; bare parts as for male. Immature male has crown dull grey-black, bright deep indigo-blue feathers growing through as moult progresses, back grey-brown with bright blue patches, uppertail-coverts bright blue, chin whitish, throat, chest and belly rose-coloured, lower belly yellowish-buff; immature female similar to adult, but generally duller, with only faint blue on uppertail-coverts and rump, underparts dusky buff.

No information available on diet. Forages singly and in pairs. Occurs at lower to middle levels.

Song  a sweet, slightly burry warble; call  note a wet “plik” or “plek”.