{"id":93903,"date":"2021-08-23T05:56:55","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T11:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=93903"},"modified":"2024-08-12T07:06:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T12:06:55","slug":"immature-lazuli-bunting-look-for-the-gape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/08\/23\/immature-lazuli-bunting-look-for-the-gape\/","title":{"rendered":"Immature Lazuli Bunting – Look For The Gape"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ImmatureImmature Lazuli Bunting perched in a serviceberry \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When I photographed this immature Lazuli Bunting three years ago today these images were eclipsed by me finding a rare Baltimore Oriole<\/span><\/a> in the same area of the Wasatch Mountains. My report was the 7th confirmed sighting of a Baltimore Oriole in Utah.<\/p>\n

Okay, back to the Lazuli Bunting.<\/p>\n

I haven’t seen many Lazuli Buntings this month and that may be because the serviceberries lining the roads I take in the Wasatch Mountains are pretty bare of fruit due to our drought conditions this year. Right now the buntings should be fattening up for their fall migration so I’m certain they have moved around to find ripe berries somewhere else.<\/p>\n

I am often asked for bird identification via messages, emails, or in the field and I very aware that juvenile and immature birds can be tricky. Immature Lazuli Buntings can look superficially like the females of this species.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Lazuli Bunting perched in a serviceberry – Inset showing the fleshy gape<\/span><\/p>\n

The gape tells me that this Lazuli Bunting is definitely an immature bird. Adult females would not show this fleshy gape, their gape is smoother and less fleshy looking. Sure, there are plumage differences between immature Lazuli Buntings and mature females of this species but the fleshy looking gape is a great key feature to look for in the field and they show that feature even when they are leaving on fall migration.<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung Lazuli Bunting checking for ripe serviceberries \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I have missed seeing the adult and immature Lazuli Buntings feasting on the ripe and juicy serviceberries<\/span><\/a> this summer. I hope that this winter we will have ample snow and next year a wet spring so the shrubs can set fruit for the birds. Given that we are in a mega drought I am not going to hold my breath or count on it.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Lazuli Bunting photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I photographed this immature Lazuli Bunting three years ago today these images were eclipsed by me finding a rare Baltimore Oriole in the same area of the Wasatch Mountains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,380,4594,26,773],"tags":[6523,6530,5817,3940,12147,6259,6375,4067,10265,4071,1828,4069,4270,4104,7289,2315,6522,4193],"class_list":["post-93903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-lazuli-buntings","category-morgan-county","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-amelanchier-utahensis","tag-bunting","tag-buntings","tag-canyon","tag-fleshy-gape","tag-forest-edge","tag-gape","tag-immature","tag-inset","tag-juvenile","tag-lazuli-bunting","tag-mountains","tag-passerina-amoena","tag-perched","tag-serviceberries","tag-summer-3","tag-utah-serviceberry","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-gape-mia-mcpherson-inset-7588.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-oqz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53812,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/08\/26\/lazuli-buntings-in-serviceberry-trees-fattening-up-before-migration\/","url_meta":{"origin":93903,"position":0},"title":"Lazuli Buntings In Serviceberry Trees – Fattening Up Before Migration","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past couple of weeks I have been able to photograph male, female and immature Lazuli Buntings as they have been gorging on the fruits of Serviceberry trees to fatten up before their migration.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult male Lazuli Bunting in a Serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-male-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-male-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Lazuli Bunting perched on a serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-juvenile-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-juvenile-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-juvenile-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-juvenile-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59574,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/08\/17\/pre-migration-lazuli-buntings-fattening-up-on-fruit\/","url_meta":{"origin":93903,"position":2},"title":"Pre-migration Lazuli Buntings Fattening Up On Fruit","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"One year ago today I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing pre-migration Lazuli Buntings fattening on the fruits of serviceberries and most of them were either immature or female buntings.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Lazuli Bunting foraging in a serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-female-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6291.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-female-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6291.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-female-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6291.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-female-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6291.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71957,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/07\/15\/male-lazuli-buntings-photographed-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":93903,"position":3},"title":"Male Lazuli Buntings Photographed In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past week I have had the pleasure of photographing male Lazuli Buntings high in the Wasatch Mountains in several different settings.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lazuli Bunting male perched in tall grasses, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-male-grasses-mia-mcpherson-4973.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-male-grasses-mia-mcpherson-4973.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blooming Serviceberry in June, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/serviceberry-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-7912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/serviceberry-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-7912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/serviceberry-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-7912.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/serviceberry-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-7912.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104434,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/21\/young-lazuli-bunting-in-a-serviceberry\/","url_meta":{"origin":93903,"position":5},"title":"Young Lazuli Bunting In A Serviceberry","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I escaped into the coolness of the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning for a few hours. While I was there I photographed this young Lazuli Bunting.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lazuli Bunting juvenile in a serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6695.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6695.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6695.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6695.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}