Their breeding habitat in North America is brushy and weedy, with clearings, open fields, open deciduous woods, and swamps. During migration they look for open grasslands and leafy trees similar to their winter habitat in the south. In their winter habitat they are found in weedy fields, citrus orchards, bean and rice fields, and savannas. They are commonly kept as cage birds. Perching birds are a major component of the earth's ecosystems, consuming many varieties and amounts of food, in return serving as food for others and hosts for parasites.
Songbirds help distribute plants by carrying seeds to new location.
They are also killed for sport and food, and they are a popular cage bird in Europe when captured on their tropical wintering grounds. The Birds of North America, No.4, Indigo Bunting. A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Editors. Robbins, Bruun, and Zim 1983, A Guide to Field Identification, Birds of North America. Page last updated 29 July 1997.