Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), Anza Trail, about 0.5 miles north of the Tubac Bridge, Santa Cruz County

This molting male Painted Bunting was discovered and photographed by Gary Graves on 20 September 2010.

Rare early fall transient, casual after early October. While the pattern of migrants in Arizona suggests that fall migrants are wild birds, Painted Bunting is a common cage bird in Mexico and it is impossible to know if birds are escapes or not.

Unmistakable.

20 September 2010, photo by Gary Graves