This is another one of the frames I managed to capture when the female painted bunting and her fledgling were hanging around the bird feeder. For a second or two they both clung to this plant stalk. Prior to this time, I'd only seen the male, swathed in blue, red and yellow. The females blend much more closely into the environment with their subtle green color.
when you get lucky
All summer our bird feeder has been visited by a male painted bunting. He's resplendent with blue, red and yellow colors. These are such brilliantly colored birds that people sometimes think they're exotic, not native. But yes, they are native to parts of Texas. I'd captured a few frames of the male--or males, I'm not sure if I've been seeing the same one or several--but the lighting has never been great when I've seen it. And I'd never seen the females; they're harder to spot. They're a pale green and either they'd not come to the feeder before or I'd not noticed the faint hues that set them apart from the other birds.
Last week, I saw an interesting interaction near the feeder. A bird feeding a fledgling. She'd grab seeds from the feeder and then flit down to the fledgling. Of course, I grabbed the camera. Through the lens, I saw the faint green hues. Finally! The elusive female painted bunting had shown herself. She's been back nearly every day since. I've had the camera ready.