Rare 'Painted Bunting' Bird Seen Chilling in Brooklyn

Prospect Park’s very own Painted Bunting. Photo by Will Pollard

A sole male specimen from a spectacular breed of Cardinal called the Painted Bunting has chosen Brooklyn’s own Prospect Park as a stop on its migration route this December, according to the Prospect Park Alliance.

“A lot of people are losing their sh*t over this bird,” Doug Gochfeld, a birdwatching guide at the park, told the New York Post.

At least 100 birdwatchers have flocked to the LeFrak Center, home to Prospect Park’s skating rink, since the bird was spotted by a member of the Brooklyn Bird Club three days ago, Prospect Park Alliance spokeswoman Grace McCreight told Patch.

“The bird is more commonly seen in Florida,” McCreight said. ”This is a very rare sighting.”

How rare? According to the Post:

“This is the first adult male painted bunting that’s ever had a recorded visit to Brooklyn — and one of only 10 birds of his species to have arrived since 1927, according to data compiled by the New York State Area Records Committee.”

The bird’s favorite spot in the park seems to be the green roof of the LeFrak Center, if we are to believe the minute-to-minute updates on the Prospect Park Bird Sightings Blog.

“Pleased to report that the Painted Bunting was spotted this morning in the same location as previously reported; south slope of Lefrak green roof,” a user named Sean Zimmer reported Wednesday morning. ”It then flew over to the plantings closer to the lake edge. It was keeping in very close company with the flock of European goldfinches.”

To see the Painted Bunting for yourself, McCreight recommends entering Prospect Park at the Lincoln Road entrance, walking toward the LeFrac Center and following the lead of the gigantic crowd of birders already gathered there.

“It’s like a unicorn emerging from the fog,” a birder in the crowd told DNAinfo Wednesday morning.