The Bluebird of Happiness That Wasn't

I was on a mission.  Hyperion & I were on a gator in the back forty at Loud Thunder, transporting critical fire-starting materials to our fellow campers. Suddenly we crossed paths with a stunning bird!  He sped into view and lit on the ground in front of us, looking for water in an old puddle.

"Look, it's a blue bird!" Hyperion shouted over the noise of the gator.

"Stop!  Stop!" I yelled, scrambling for my camera.  I had never photographed a bluebird before!

The bird hopped down the trail in front of us a couple of times and then soared into the treetops.

With our naked eyes, we thought it was a bluebird.  It certainly was blue. However, upon examining this digital image, I realized that no - this was not an Eastern bluebird!  They have brown breasts.  So what was it?  I noted the two-toned beak, with the upper beak actually curving, and the deeper bluish-purple on the head.  Purple is not a common bird color in the Illinois woodlands.  I soon discovered that this was an indigo bunting!

This one is a male.  The females are always brown.  The scientific name is Passerina cyanea.  A passerine is a sparrow or a sparrow-like bird.  Cyanea comes from Greek, meaning "dark blue" - you know, like the color cyan.  Indigo comes from another Greek word that stands for "dye from India".

So, in the end, this wasn't my bluebird of happiness.  Instead, it was my indigo bunting of happiness - a lovely jewel in the crown of my conclave weekend.