- In southern Arizona, the Varied Bunting (Passerina Versicolor) is a prized summer resident that arrives from Mexico to breed, primarily timing its nesting cycle with the arrival of the monsoon rains in late summer
- Breeding males feature a stunning mosaic of plum, crimson, and lavender-violet that can look entirely black in poor light, while females are a plain, unstreaked mousy brown
- These inconspicuous songbirds strictly avoid urban areas and bird feeders, preferring dense desert washes, mesquite thickets, and arid thorn scrub along canyon slopes up to 4,000 feet