Passerina amoena
Status: Fairly common regular spring and fall migrant west and west central, uncommon east central and east. Uncommon regular breeder west, rare casual north.
Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM10346, 11 Jul 1910 Glen, Sioux Co.
Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025).
This species and Indigo Bunting hybridize; for a discussion see the Lazuli x Indigo Bunting (hybrid) species account.
Spring: Apr 28, 28, 28 <<<>>> Jun 7, 8, 9 (away from breeding range)
An earlier date is 22 Apr 1990 Dundy Co (Grzybowski 1990).
Migrants arrive in early May.
Migrants have been reported statewide; reports from the east have increased since 2000; as of 2024 there were about 97 such reports 28 Apr-5 Jun, over half since 2013. In 2020, there were 11 reports in the east 2-25 May, all of single birds.
- High counts: 19 in Carter Canyon, Scotts Bluff Co 5 Jun 2020, 16 near Chadron, Dawes Co 24 May 2022, 14 at Buffalo Creek Pond, Banner Co 21 May 2021, and 14 at Crawford, Dawes Co 18 May 2026.
- A “wave” of 8 was in Adams Co 24 May 1938 (Staley 1938).
Summer: Currently, breeding is probably restricted to a few disjunct areas in the Panhandle with suitable habitat, primarily the Pine Ridge in Sioux and Dawes Cos, the Wildcat Hills and Scotts Bluff NM areas in Scotts Bluff Co, and the Bighorn Escarpment in Scotts Bluff and Banner Cos.
Perhaps peripheral with few Jun-Jul records but possible irregular breeding are the Agate area in Sioux Co (seven records 17 Jun-17 Jul), Long Canyon in Banner Co (seven records 15 Jun-31 Jul), Oliver Reservoir and the Pine Bluffs area in Kimball Co (six records 22 Jun-21 Jul), and the Lake McConaughy area including extreme southeastern Garden Co (six records 11 Jun-2 Jul), Chase Co (four records 12 Jun-4 Jul, see below), and the Niobrara River Valley (five records 10 Jun-8 Jul).
Although Johnsgard (1980) stated that Lazuli Bunting bred east to eastern Cherry Co, recent reports are few. There are no recent breeding season reports between the Pine Ridge and eastern Cherry Co, suggesting that summering Lazuli Buntings in the Niobrara Valley from Valentine eastward, if they continue to occur there, are disjunct and may be at risk of extirpation by genetic swamping by Indigo Bunting. Brogie and Mossman (1983) found several singing male Lazulis, albeit outnumbered 40:1 by Indigos, and considered Lazuli Buntings to have “certainly nested” in the preserve (Mossman and Brogie 1983). Mollhoff (2001) showed summer occurrences in Keya Paha/Brown Cos in the period 1984-89.
One was about three miles east of Niobrara, Knox Co 5 Jun-3 Jul 2001, and reports farther east are of one on a BBS route in Knox and Antelope Cos between 1967 and 1977, a nest with eggs found by Ed Brogie as far east as Hoskins, Wayne Co 10 Jul 1977 (Mollhoff 2022), and a singing male in Dixon Co 2 Aug 2004.
Scattered Jun-Jul reports east of the Panhandle are Jun 2008 Thomas Co, 14 Jun 2025 McPherson Co, and Mollhoff (2001) showed a summer occurrence in Custer Co in the period 1984-89. In Lincoln Co there are three breeding season reports: 30 Jun 1965, 30 Jun 1966, and 22 Jun 2003.
In the southern Panhandle away from Scotts Bluff and Banner Cos, reports are 18 Jun 2023 Bridgeport SRA, Morrill Co, 22 Jun 2023 Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co, 11 Jul 2026 Ash Hollow SHP, Garden Co, and 27 Jun 2026 Deuel Co. At Crescent Lake NWR, Garden Co there are four reports 2-17 Jun that are likely migrants, although one was there 1 Jul 1977.
Reports for Jun-Jul in the southwest are few. During the second breeding bird atlas 2006-2011 there were reports in Chase, Dundy, and Hitchcock Cos (Mollhoff 2016). Additional reports in Chase Co are 12 Jun 2013, 13-18 Jun (1-2) 2009, 13 Jun 2013, and 4 Jul 1989. One was at Rock Creek SRA, Dundy Co 18 Jun 2025. Mollhoff (2001) showed a summer occurrence in Furnas Co in the period 1984-89.
Reports in summer in the east are not expected and are probably overshoot spring migrants; these are 11 Jun 1976 Douglas-Sarpy Cos, 19 Jun 1983 Otoe Co, and 19 Jun 2004 York Co. However, Brooking collected eggs (HMM #2268) from a nest at Spring Branch, Clay Co 23 Jun 1915 (Mollhoff 2022).
- Breeding phenology:
Eggs: 23 Jun- 10 Jul (Mollhoff 2022)
Fledglings: 19 Jul-1 Aug - High Counts: 14 at Buffalo Creek WMA, Scotts Bluff Co 23 Jun 2023, 13 at Carter Canyon, Scotts Bluff Co 13 Jun 2022, 11 along Old Stage Road, Scotts Bluff Co 14 Jun 2021, 11 at Ponderosa WMA, Dawes Co 8 Jul 2023, and 11 at Cedar Canyon WMA, Scotts Bluff Co 13 Jun 2024.
Fall: summer <<<>>> Oct 4, 4, 4
Departure begins in Jul-Aug and is usually completed by late Sep.
Later dates tend to be easterly; these are 6 Oct 2019 Douglas Co, 10 Oct 1975 Sarpy Co “excellent details” (Williams 1976), and 13 Oct 1916, a male specimen, HMM 2829, taken at Inland, Clay Co.
There are a few reports in fall away from breeding areas other than those cited above: 6 Jul 1977 Wayne Co, 8 Jul 2009 Lincoln Co, 15 Jul 2010 Frontier Co, 15 Jul 2023 Hitchcock Co, 9 Aug 2020 Dundy Co, and 1 Oct 2016 Loup Co.
Lazuli Bunting begins fall molt on the breeding grounds but suspends it to undertake a molt migration to the southwestern USA, where the molt is completed (Greene et al 2020).
High counts: 22 in East Ash Canyon, Dawes Co 5 Sep 2015, 6 at Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co 19 Aug 2021, 5 at Wind Springs Ranch, Scotts Bluff Co, 25 Aug 2001, 5 at Wright’s Gap Road, Scotts Bluff Co 4 and 12 Aug 2018, and 5 at Carter Canyon, Scotts Bluff Co 6 Aug 2023.
Images
Abbreviations
BBS: Breeding Bird Survey
HMM: Hastings Municipal Museum
NM: National Monument
NWR: National Wildlife Refuge
SHP: State Historical Park
SRA: State Recreation Area
UNSM: University of Nebraska State Museum
WMA: Wildlife Management Area (State)
Literature Cited
AviList Core Team, 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025.
Brogie, M.A., and M.J. Mossman. 1983. Spring and summer birds of the Niobrara Valley Preserve, Nebraska: An annotated checklist. NBR 51: 44-51.
Greene, E., V.R. Muehter, and W. Davison. 2020. Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.lazbun.01.
Grzybowski, J.A. 1990. Southern Great Plains Region. American Birds 44: 454-457.
Johnsgard, P. A. 1980. A preliminary list of the birds of Nebraska and adjacent Great Plains states. Published by the author, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA.
Mollhoff, W.J. 2001. The Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas 1984-1989. Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Occasional Papers No. 7. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
Mollhoff, W.J. 2016. The Second Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas. Bull. Univ. Nebraska State Museum Vol 29. University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
Mollhoff, W.J. 2022. Nest records of Nebraska birds. Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Occasional Paper Number 9.
Mossman, M.J., and M.A. Brogie. 1983. Breeding Status of selected bird species on the Niobrara Valley Preserve, Nebraska. NBR 51: 52-62.
Staley, A.H. 1938. A wave of migrating Lazuli Buntings at Hastings, Adams Co. NBR 6: 32.
Williams, F. 1976. Southern Great Plains Region. American Birds 30: 90-95.
Recommended Citation
Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2026. Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena). In Birds of Nebraska — Online. www.BirdsofNebraska.org
Birds of Nebraska – Online
Updated 3 Sep 2026