WhenToBird

Passerina ciris · Cardinalidae

When Do Painted Buntings Arrive in Kansas?

Adult male Painted Bunting
Photo: Kent P. McFarland, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Painted Buntings arrive in Kansas in early May, peak in early July (2.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakJul 1-7early July
Most gone byAug 1-7early August

Best: early July. First arrivals early May; most are gone by early August. Peak: on about 2.6% of Kansas checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seprare
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 8683 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 5710 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 5453 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 7868 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 5579 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 6307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 7830 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 6124 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 6442 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 6925 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 7257 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 11527 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 8908 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 11070 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 11050 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 16381 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.3% of 15899 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.3% of 15349 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.1% of 10474 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.3% of 11264 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.7% of 6783 checklistsJun 8-14: 2.2% of 5654 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.6% of 4716 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.4% of 6232 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.5% of 5073 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.0% of 4528 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.2% of 4210 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.7% of 5986 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.3% of 4661 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 4762 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 4823 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.3% of 7214 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 5989 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 5549 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 5255 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 7370 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 5829 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 6183 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 5504 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 7289 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 5535 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 5462 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 4929 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 6627 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 4670 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 4805 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 6341 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 8186 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Kansas that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Kansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Barber CountyBest late June · 18 checklists that week, 671 in all36%
  2. Wilson CountyBest mid July · 12 checklists that week, 551 in all33%
  3. Chautauqua CountyBest mid June · 10 checklists that week, 723 in all30%
  4. Allen CountyBest early July · 33 checklists that week, 1,562 in all26%
  5. Montgomery CountyBest early July · 16 checklists that week, 663 in all21%
  6. Elk CountyBest mid July · 11 checklists that week, 411 in all19%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clinton Recreation Area (west)Douglas County, best the second week of May · 28 checklists that week, 1,427 in all89%
  2. Olathe LakeJohnson County, best late May · 32 checklists that week, 140 in all74%
  3. Clinton Recreation Area (northwest)Douglas County, best late May · 38 checklists that week, 404 in all57%
  4. Tuttle Creek Recreation Area (south)Riley County, best early May · 21 checklists that week, 261 in all55%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Kansas, the Painted Bunting is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.1% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (150) to judge1 am: too few checklists (119) to judge2 am: too few checklists (97) to judge3 am: too few checklists (94) to judge4 am: too few checklists (124) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1459) to judge6 am: 1.4% of 12550 checklists7 am: 1.0% of 34128 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 45960 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 37806 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 32102 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 25896 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 24203 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 20269 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 20772 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 20978 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 22094 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 17739 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 13963 checklists7 pm: 0.7% of 10110 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4188) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (968) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (325) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (171) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0%0%0%0.1%
February0.1%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0%0%0.2%
May1.3%2.3%2.1%2.3%
June2.7%2.2%2.6%2.4%
July2.5%3.0%2.2%1.7%
August1.3%0.9%0.4%0.3%
September0.3%0.2%0.1%0.1%
October0%0%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Oklahoma: arrives mid April, 2 weeks earlier than Kansas
  • Arkansas: arrives mid April, 2 weeks earlier than Kansas
  • Texas: arrives the second week of April, 3 weeks earlier than Kansas
  • New Mexico: arrives early May, in the same week than Kansas

Common questions

When do Painted Buntings arrive in Kansas?
Painted Buntings arrive in Kansas in early May, peak in early July (2.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.
When do Painted Buntings leave Kansas?
Most Painted Buntings have left Kansas by early August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Painted Bunting in Kansas?
The Painted Bunting is reported most often in early July, on about 2.6% of Kansas checklists.
Where in Kansas are Painted Buntings seen most often?
By county, Barber County, Wilson County, and Chautauqua County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Painted Bunting (counties with at least 200 checklists).