The species’ remarkable combination of colors is evident in this Painted Bunting photo taken by David Hollie. Are you lucky enough to see male and female Painted Buntings at one of your seed feeders?
The oldest Painted Bunting on record was banded 14 years ago, and still returns to the same yard each spring (photo by Jim Konrad).
A program that enlisted the help of birders who attracted Painted Buntings to their feeding stations was initiated by a group of biologists centered in the Carolinas – the Painted Bunting Observation Team (PBOT) – a research program that banded and monitored buntings across the East Coast side of the species’ range. Feeder hosts let the group know when they were attracting Painted Buntings to their feeders, which would elicit a response by a team member to capture, band, and release the colorful songbirds to learn more about them.
Thereafter, the host birders recorded the activities of banded Painted Buntings at their feeders, sometimes over the course of years, which revealed information about their longevity, site fidelity, and other behaviors to the team, and to science. This all started 14 years ago, when Lex Glover, a retired wildlife biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and Jamie Rotenburg, a professor at the University of North Carolina, started the PBOT. During that first season, one special male Painted Bunting was banded that would make this story even more significant.
After the Painted Bunting was banded, its activities were monitored and documented by Ann Knolte and Hank Stallworth at their feeding station at their stunning farmhouse surrounded by flower gardens in South Carolina. In fact, even after the PBOT program ended, Ann Knolte continued taking detailed notes of bunting behavior in her yard that included information about the banded bunting that continued to visit the area for years.
The Oldest Painted Bunting on Record
Fast-forward to last month – July 2023 – Ann contacted Jennifer Tyrrell at Audubon South Carolina, who subsequently visited Ann and Hank’s property with Katie Galletta to determine if this beautiful male Painted Bunting was as old as they suspected. To that end, they confirmed its age and identity from the metal band still braceleting its leg.
To date, the oldest Painted Bunting on record was 14 years old, and sure enough, 14 years after Ann and Hank’s bunting was banded, it tied the longevity record for the species! This impressive discovery is a great credit to the people who took the time to band and study Painted Buntings, as well as the birders who provided vital habitat and a feeder full of seeds for the buntings, all right in their own yards.
As for the 14-year-old Painted Bunting noted in this story, he’s still visiting Ann and Hank’s backyard oasis as he prepares for his migration south. “Now we wait until next spring,” said Jennifer Tyrrell. Will the banded bunting return for a 15th season, breaking the record as the oldest Painted Bunting? Only time will tell.
