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Hi I just saw my first one this week. ( Indigo bunting)  I noticed the same thing you did, that the beak seemed to be yellow in some angles, and looked black most of the time, especially with binoculars.

Are you still visiting this website ?  : )

This is my first posting, so I hope I am doing this right. We have recently relocated to Southwest Missouri and have (within the past 3 weeks or so) been noticing this same type of bird. I saw it again this morning and finally decided to look into what type of bird it is, so here I am! I also noticed someone from Northwest Arkansas had also posted a message about seeing a similar bird, which would make sense, since we are in the same geographical area.
I am not so sure that the bird I'm seeing has a yellow beak. It seems to be darker. It also seems to have a little bit of black or dark brown on the wings.

My wife gasped when she saw this bird at the feeder on our deck this morning, here in Minneapolis. It was about 11 am on a bright, sunny day. This is a mature urban forest environment of elms, lindens, maples, oaks and so on. There are two large lakes in the neighborhood, home to ducks and geese and, in recent years, a pair of loons or two. A large wooded cemetery nearby has an adjacent bird sanctuary. For a city setting, it's pretty bird-friendly.

We had a good look at the blue bird for about a minute from twelve feet away. I was just going for the camera when the bird flew off.

What we saw was a blue bird with yellow beak, finch sized. It had irridescent blue body feathers and a hint of gray in its wings. The beak was very yellow, not yellowish gray. We didn't notice the color of the legs and feet.

Later in the day we had a male indigo bunting at the same feeder. It had decidedly gray wings and a black beak.

We are not birders per se but we enjoy having little birds around. Our copy of Sibley's guide doesn't include this little blue guy. The web photos of that South American yellow-beaked blue finch don't show the iridescence that we saw in the yellow-beaked bird today.

That the bunting would show up on the same day at the same feeder is curious and of course makes me wonder if we have some kind of exotic bunting family unit passing through.

I understand the skepticism of those who suggest the mystery bird's beak just looked yellow but really wasn't. All I can say is that the color combination was striking, and that there was nothing unusual about the lighting conditions.

The feeder normally attracts purple finches, goldfinches, sparrows and (less often) cardinals. It has black oil sunflower, millet, striped sunflower and safflower seeds.

Spring is about three weeks later than usual here, FWIW.
 

I've been reading this thread with the same skepticism that most have.

I've had an Indigo Bunting (or maybe more, I'm not sure if it's the same one at my feeder) visiting my feeders today. Some times I would grab the binoculars and his beak was obviously gray-black. But I happened to look out at another time and it looked banana yellow. Upon close inspection, the bottom part of the jaw was yellow- but the top part was black- like in earlier pictures someone posted. It was definitely an Indigo Bunting. Without my binoculars, however, I would've assumed the entire beak was yellow. Glad he didn't fly away before I could grab them! 

I don't know if this photo will download properly; I joined the Whatbird Forum today and I am new to the user capabilities.  I ran into this Forum today while trying to ID a bird that I photographed a few days ago.   The bird was Blue with a definite Yellow Bill.  I live near the Great Smokey Mountains.  I could not find the bird in any identification guides for North America, so I jumped on the internet and found this lively discussion.   I have read all 130+  posts and replies in this Forum and am thus familiar with the different views including the Indigo Bunting Theory.  It is clearly logical to use the scientific method of proof, such as a Photo.  It looks in photo and to the eye, to be a Yellow Billed Blue Finch.   Upon reading all 130+ responses to this subject, I am open-minded.  A lot of wildlife on the globe appears to be changing behaviors, migrations, and territories. This is the First year that Brown-Headed Cowbirds and Great -Tailed Grackles have been on my property daily, even in the middle of May; AND the Bird ID guides and websites show that these two (2) birds should not even be in the Appalachian mountains at this time.   I realize that the example is not the same as a bird from another Continent.  But, there is land all the way from Brazil to North America.  Is it probable? NO.   Is it possible? YES.   So, I am open-minded. 

Upon reading all the responses, It is my observation that there are many reports of this Bird from a lot of regions in North America.  But, they also appear to be new in bird observation history; all starting within the last few years. A Blue bird with a Yellow beak?  It is not as though bird watchers have been reporting this bird phenomenon for the last 40 years.  It appears to be new in observation history.   I don't believe that all of the reports of the Bird in question were made by individuals that suddenly starting seeing the same phenomenon, all beginning within the last few years; When previously, the subject of confusion between a Yellow billed Blue bird in North America was not a subject of confusion for birdwatchers in North America.   So, I am open-minded.

I hope the photos download. Maybe it only gives a link. I have enjoyed this Forum.  Very Helpful, Thank you all.   

AppalachianBirdLover:

Your bird is definitely an Indigo Bunting. I live in Ringgold, GA, don't know if you're familiar with it, but very close to Chattanooga, so I am very familiar with the birds of the Smokies. The bird in the photo is a perfect example of an Indigo Bunting, no doubt about it.

Hope this helps!