Bunting
The buntings, Emberizidae, Emberiza are a family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. They are divided into four subgenera.
| Buntings | |
|---|---|
| File:28-090504-black-headed-bunting-at-first-layby.png | |
| Black-headed Bunting | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Clade: | Nine-primaried oscines |
| Epifamily: | Icteroidae |
| Clade: | Bunting and sparrow group |
| Family: | Emberizidae Vigors, 1825[1] |
| Genera | |
Other buntings are found in Cardinalidae and Passerellidae.
Characteristics edit
Emberizids are small birds, typically around 15 cm in length, with finch-like bills and nine primary feathers. The family ranges in size from the Sporophila seedeaters, the smaller species of which are about 10 cm and weigh 9–10 grams, to the Abert's Towhee, at 24 cm (9.5 in), and the shorter-tailed, but chunkier Canyon Towhee, at 54 grams (1.9 oz). They live in a variety of habitats, including woodland, brush, marsh, and grassland. The Old World species tend to have brown, streaked, plumage, although some New World species can be very brightly coloured. Many species have distinctive head patterns. Their diet consists mainly of seeds, but may be supplemented with insects, especially when feeding the young.[2]
The habits of emberizids are similar to those of finches, with which they sometimes used to be grouped. Older sources may place some emberizids in the Fringillidae, and the common names of some emberizids still refer to them as finches. With a few exceptions, emberizids build cup-shaped nests from grasses and other plant fibres, and are monogamous.[2]
Systematics and taxonomy edit
The relationships of these birds with other groups within the huge nine-primaried oscine assemblage are at this point largely unresolved. Indeed relationships within the Emberizidae as defined here are uncertain with the possibility that each of the three main groups may not be all that closely related.
The results of a recent biochemical study[3] suggest that Melophus, Latoucheornis, and Miliaria may be related to various members of Emberiza and perhaps should be subsumed within that genus.
Fringillariinae edit
Polymitra edit
- Cabanis's Bunting, Polymitra cabanisi
- Golden-breasted Bunting, Polymitra flaviventris
- Somali Bunting, Polymitra poliopleura
Fringillaria edit
- Cape Bunting, Fringillaria capensis
- Socotra Bunting, Fringillaria socotrana
- House Bunting, Fringillaria sahari
- Striolated Bunting, Fringillaria striolata
- Lark-like Bunting, Fringillaria impetuani
- Gosling's Bunting, Fringillaria goslingi
- Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Fringillaria tahapisi
Emberizinae edit
Miliaria edit
- Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra
Spina edit
- Chestnut-eared Bunting, Spina fucata
"Emberiza" edit
- Tibetan Bunting, "Emberiza" koslowi
Cia edit
- Jankowski's Bunting, Cia jankowskii
- Rock Bunting, Cia cia
- Sharpe's Bunting / Yunnan Bunting, Cia yunnanensis
- Meadow Bunting, Cia cioides
- Godlewski's Bunting, Cia godlewskii
Glycyspina edit
- Grey-necked Bunting, Glycyspina buchanani
- Cinereous Bunting, Glycyspina cineracea
- Ortolan Bunting, Glycyspina hortulana
- Cretzschmar's Bunting, Glycyspina caesia
Emberiza edit
- Cirl Bunting, Emberiza cirlus
- White-capped Bunting, Emberiza stewarti
- Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella
- Pine Bunting, Emberiza leucocephalos
Melophinae edit
"Melophus" edit
- Brown-rumped Bunting, "Melophus" affinis
Melophus edit
- Crested Bunting, Melophus lathami
Granativora edit
- Black-headed Bunting, Granativora melanocephala
- Red-headed Bunting, Granativora bruniceps
Schoeniclinae edit
Cristemberiza edit
- Yellow-throated Bunting, Cristemberiza elegans
Latoucheornis edit
- Slaty Bunting, Latoucheornis siemsseni
Schoeniclus edit
- Ochre-rumped Bunting / Japanese Reed-Bunting, Schoeniclus yessoensis
- Pallas's Bunting / Pallas's Reed-Bunting, Schoeniclus pallasi
- Reed Bunting / Common Reed-Bunting, Schoeniclus schoeniclus
Orospina edit
- Rustic Bunting, Orospina rustica
- Little Bunting, Orospina pusilla
- Yellow-breasted Bunting, Orospina aureola
- Chestnut Bunting, Orospina rutila
- Black-faced Bunting, Orospina spodocephala
- Yellow Bunting, Orospina sulphurata
- Yellow-browed Bunting, Orospina chrysophrys
- Tristram's Bunting, Orospina tristrami
- Grey Bunting, Orospina variabilis
In other families edit
Passerellidae edit
Chlorospingus seems to belong here too.[citation needed]
- Genus Arremon (13 species)
- Genus Arremonops (4 species)
- Genus Melozone (7 species)
- Genus Pipilo – towhees (9 species)
- Genus Aimophila (6 species)
- Genus Peucaea (8 species)
- Genus Oriturus – Striped Sparrow
- Genus Torreornis – Zapata Sparrow
- Genus Spizella (7 species)
- Genus Pooecetes – Vesper Sparrow
- Genus Chondestes – Lark Sparrow
- Genus Amphispiza (3 species)
- Genus Calamospiza – Lark Bunting
- Genus Passerculus (1–2 species) – savannah sparrows, Ipswich Sparrow, large-billed sparrows
- Genus Ammodramus (9 species)
- Genus Passerella – fox sparrows (probably 4 species)
- Genus Xenospiza – Sierra Madre Sparrow or Bailey's Sparrow
- Genus Melospiza (3 species)
- Genus Zonotrichia (5 species)
- Genus Junco – juncos (4 species)
The following are a group of apparently closely related neotropical sparrows known as the brush-finches
- Genus Atlapetes (around 28 species)
- Genus Buarremon (4 species)
- Genus Lysurus (2 species)
- Genus Pselliophorus (2 species)
- Genus Pezopetes – Large-footed Finch
Calcariidae edit
- Genus Calcarius (3 species)[4]
- Genus Rhyncophanes (1 species)
- Genus Plectrophenax – Arctic buntings (2 species)
Genera belonging elsewhere edit
The rest of the traditional Emberizidae are listed below. While they do not form a natural group most appear to be closer to various tanager genera, and for the largest part they are often known collectively as tanager-finches.
- Genus Amaurospiza – blue seedeaters (4 species) - may belong with certain grosbeaks (Cyanocompsa) in the family Cardinalidae.
- Genus Acanthidops – Peg-billed Finch
- Genus Camarhynchus – tree-finches (5–6 species)
- Genus Catamenia – atypical seedeaters (3 species)
- Genus Certhidea – Warbler Finch
- Genus Charitospiza – Coal-crested Finch
- Genus Coereba – Bananaquit
- Genus Coryphaspiza – Black-masked Finch
- Genus Coryphospingus (2 species)
- Genus Diglossa – typical flowerpiercers (14 species)
- Genus Diglossopis – blue flowerpiercers (4 species)
- Genus Diuca – diuca-finches (2 species)
- Genus Dolospingus – White-naped Seedeater
- Genus Donacospiza – Long-tailed Reed-finch
- Genus Emberizoides – grass-finches (3 species)
- Genus Embernagra (2 species)
- Genus Euneornis – Orangequit
- Genus Geospiza – ground finches (6 species)
- Genus Gubernatrix – Yellow Cardinal
- Genus Haplospiza (2 species)
- Genus Idiopsar – Short-tailed Finch
- Genus Incaspiza (5 species)
- Genus Lophospingus (2 species)
- Genus Loxigilla – Antillean bullfinches (4 species)
- Genus Loxipasser – Yellow-shouldered Grassquit
- Genus Melanodera (2 species)
- Genus Melanospiza – St. Lucia Black Finch
- Genus Melopyrrha – Cuban Bullfinch
- Genus Nesospiza – Tristan da Cunha finches (3 species)
- Genus Oryzoborus – seed-finches (6 species)
- Genus Paroaria – cardinal-tanagers (5 species)
- Genus Phrygilus – sierra-finches (11 species)
- Genus Piezorhina – Cinereous Finch
- Genus Pinaroloxias – Cocos Island Finch
- Genus Poospiza – warbling-finches (17 species)
- Genus Rhodospingus – Crimson-breasted Finch
- Genus Rowettia – Gough Finch
- Genus Saltatricula – Many-colored Chaco-finch
- Genus Sicalis – yellow-finches (12 species)
- Genus Sporophila – typical seedeaters (some 55 species)
- Genus Tiaris – typical grassquits (5 species)
- Genus Volatinia – Blue-black Grassquit
- Genus Xenospingus – Slender-billed Finch
References edit
- ^ John H. Boyd III (September 12, 2011). "CORE PASSEROIDEA IV: Emberizidae and Passerellidae". TiF Checklist. Retrieved 7-10-2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b Baptista, Luis F. (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 210–212. ISBN 1-85391-186-0.
- ^ Alström, P., Olsson, U., Lei, F., Wang, H-t., Gao, W. & Sundberg, P. Phylogeny and classification of the Old World Emberizini (Aves, Passeriformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 47, pp. 960-973.
- ^ Klicka J, Zink RM, Winker K. 2003. Longspurs and snow buntings: phylogeny and biogeography of a high-latitude clade (Calcarius). Mol Phylogenet Evol. Feb;26(2):165-75.
External links edit
- Emberizidae videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- Emberizidae sounds on xeno-canto.org
| File:Sterna diversity.png | This article is part of Project Bird Families, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each bird family, including made-up families. |
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This article is part of Project Bird Taxonomy, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every order, family and other taxonomic rank related to birds. |