Painted Bunting
(Passerina ciris)
Nonpareil, “without equal.” This is what the French have named these most spectacularly colored male
and bright green female songbirds. As spring-summer residents of Kiawah Island these gems return from their south
Florida and northern Caribbean wintering grounds to breed and delight all who catch a glimpse of them. Due in part to
coastal habitat loss, the painted bunting has suffered a significant decline in numbers. Preservation of low, dense, native
vegetation is critical to the continued survival of the species.
Interesting Facts and Features
• Male painted buntings have bright blue, green, and red plumage while females and
immature painted buntings are green in color.
• Painted buntings are a migratory species that are commonly seen on Kiawah in the
spring, summer and fall. They can be found in shrubland, marsh edges and dunes and
often feed at bird feeders offering white millet.
• Nests are typically deep, neatly woven, consist of plant fibers and are lined with hair or
fine grass. Nests are usually placed in low vegetation. They may have up to five eggs
that are grayish or bluish-white with gray or brown speckles.
• Male painted buntings are often targeted by trappers for the cage-bird trade.
• This bird is currently listed as a species of special concern on the Partners in
Flight Watch List.
Photograph courtesy of Paul Roberts
Kiawah’s Native Iris
by Sophia McAllister
O
ne of the many pleasures of springtime in the Lowcountry is the sight of an expanse
of bright blue or purple flowers with yellow and white accents overflowing spiky green foliage. Iris
virginica, aptly called the Southern blue flag iris, is a wetland species native to coastal plains from
Virginia to Louisiana. The blue flag returns year after year along streams, in ditches, sparse woods,
and meadows where there is full sun or partial shade and moist soil. In ideal conditions, it will grow to
four feet. Normal height is one to three feet tall.
The plant grows from rhizomes that spread underground and form thick, strong mats that help stabilize
edges around a variety of bodies of water, both fresh and brackish. The leaves shoot up from the base in a fan and are flat
and pointed in the shape of a sword.
Southern blue flag can be naturalized in the home garden if given the proper environment: plenty of sun and rich, moist
soil. It is a perfect plant for the border of a marsh or lagoon; and it can be used to good effect in a water garden with
other native wildflowers.
The root of the blue flag is toxic if ingested without proper preparation; however, Native American tribes of the
Southeast used it extensively for medicinal purposes, including skin and liver ailments and shock after alligator bite. n
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References:
SC Native Plant Society: www.scnps.org
US Dept of Agriculture Plant Database: www.plants.usda.gov