Green is such mundane color but, it’s far from the easiest colors to spot in the wild due to how easily it blends in with nature. In this article I’ll be going over 5 green birds in Florida, that you could try to find if you’re looking to capture images or if you just want to do a bit of birdwatching.
- Monk Parakeet
- Painted Bunting
- Nanday Parakeet
- Green Heron
- Red Eyed Vireo
5 Green Birds In Florida
1. Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta Monachus)
- Size: 28 – 30cm
- Weight: 95 – 105 grams
- Wingspan: 46 – 50cm
Although monk parakeets aren’t native to Florida, they were manually introduced to the state. That’s why you’ll likely see them, in South Florida specifically, year round.
Monk parakeets are recognised by their mostly green plumage where there upper head, wings, back and tail feathers are a darker green color, with the front head, belly and breast a grayish/green color. The beak is also an orange color. Male and females look very much the same too.
These parakeets can be found around open savannas, scrub forests, and palm groves, especially where rainfall is low. They’ll also perch upon houses and power transformers too.
Monk parakeets are known to eat fruits, nuts, vegetables, seed, sprouting seed and pelleted seeds if available.
These parakeets actually have quite the long lifespan where they are know to live for between 20 – 30 years.
2. Painted Bunting (Passerina Ciris)
- Size: 12 – 13cm
- Weight: 13 – 19 grams
- Wingspan: 21 – 23cm
Painted buntings can be found in Florida mostly when making their migratory path through but, some further south may decide to camp in the state throughout the fall and winter months.
Although painted buntings come in a variety of colors where their neck, breast and lower back is red, their head is blue whilst their upper back and wing is green. Females on the other hand are almost completely green.
You can find painted buntings around thickets, woodland edges with riparian thickets, shrubbery and brushy areas.
As for what they eat, it includes seeds, primarily those of grasses and weeds, berries, smaller fruits and a variety of smaller insects.
Most painted buntings can live for an average of 5 – 6 years whilst some have been known to live for 10+ years.
3. Nanday Parakeet (Aratinga Nenday)
- Size: 27 – 30cm
- Weight: 135 – 145 grams
- Wingspan: 58 – 62cm
Vagrant packs of nanday parakeets can be found in Florida, particularly near south of the state.
These parakeets are recognised by their black head, beak and black tip of the wings with the body and the remainder of the wings green in color. Females and males look pretty much the same.
You’ll often find nanday parakeets around open savannah, pastures, scrub forest, and palm groves.
As for want they eat, it includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries, and high quality pelleted seeds.
Nanday parakeets are known to have lived for 18.7 years (which is a verified) whilst other accounts have stated a nanday parakeet can live around the 30 year range.
4. Green Heron (Butorides Virescens)
- Size: 40 – 44cm
- Weight: 230 – 250 grams
- Wingspan: 54 – 58cm
Green herons are permanent residents of Florida so that means they can be found in the state year round.
These heron’s are recognised by their darker green back and wings, maroon chest and neck, with yellow legs and a relatively long and pointy black beak. Females on the other hand are mostly brown and gray in color.
Green herons tend to spend the majority of their time around wetlands like lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, streamsides and rivers.
As for what they tend to consume, it includes a variety of different sources such as small fish like minnows, sunfishes, gizzard shad, crustaceans, aquatic insects, frogs, tadpoles, grasshoppers, snakes, earthworms, snails and other smaller rodents.
Green herons don’t have the longest of lifespans for a bird of their size, with the maximum known life expectancy said to be around 8 years.
5. Red Eyed Vireo (Vireo Olivaceus)
- Size: 11 – 13cm
- Weight: 20 – 24 grams
- Wingspan: 23 – 25cm
Red eyed vireos can be found in Florida when they’re about to breed. Like most other birds, this season starts early spring and will ends around the beginning of fall.
These vireos are recognised by there green feathers from head, wings and back, white feathers on their breast and the stand out red eye. The females look very similar to the males.
As for where you’ll often see these birds perching or flying around, it would include environments with large expanses of deciduous forest, particularly deciduous trees with large leaves, like maple trees for example.
Red eyed vireos tend to eat mostly insects like caterpillars, moths, beetles, wasps, bees, ants, bugs, flies, as well as the occasional fruit and berry.
Red eyed vireos tend to live for around 6 – 7 years, whilst the oldest recorded one died at 10 years and 2 months.
