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I made it over to Prospect Park on my Tuesday lunch hour for this Painted Bunting, which is getting more media coverage than other, rarer, birds ever do, basically because it is undeniably the most gaudily colored songbird in North America. Not mentioned is the fact that there is some doubt as to its origin. It’s been seen associating with a group of European Goldfinches, which are presumably escaped cage birds, and while it’s illegal to have native migratory birds as pets, there is a black market and adult male Painted Bunting would be highly desirable; vagrants are typically first year birds with a drab, all green plumage. Still, it is not banded, and doesn’t show obvious signs of cage-wear on feathers or feet, so folks are leaning towards calling it legitimate.