Emberizidae
Encyclopedia
The Emberizidae are a large family
of passerine
bird
s. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.
In Europe, most species are called buntings
. In North America
, most of the species in this family are known as (American) sparrows
, but these birds are not closely related to the (Old World) sparrow
s, the family Passeridae. The family also includes the North American birds known as junco
s and towhee
s.
The Emberizidae family probably originated in South America
and spread first into North America
before crossing into eastern Asia
and continuing to move west. This explains the comparative paucity of emberizid species in Europe
and Africa
when compared to the Americas
.
As with several other passerine
families the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux. Many genera
in South and Central America are in fact more closely related to several different tanager
clades, and at least one tanager genus (Chlorospingus
) may belong here in the Emberizidae.
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.
The habits of emberizids are similar to those of finch
es, 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
.
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.
may be related to various members of Emberiza
and perhaps should be subsumed within that genus.
seems to belong here too.
The following are a group of apparently closely related neotropical sparrows known as the brush-finches
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.
In Europe, most species are called buntings
Bunting (bird)
Buntings are a group of Eurasian and African passerine birds of the family Emberizidae.They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, and are the Old World equivalents of the species known in North America as sparrows...
. In North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, most of the species in this family are known as (American) sparrows
American sparrow
American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
, but these birds are not closely related to the (Old World) sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...
s, the family Passeridae. The family also includes the North American birds known as junco
Junco
A Junco , genus Junco, is a small North American bird. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species...
s and towhee
Towhee
A towhee is any one of a number of species of birds in the genus Pipilo or Melozone within the family Emberizidae ....
s.
The Emberizidae family probably originated in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and spread first into North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
before crossing into eastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and continuing to move west. This explains the comparative paucity of emberizid species in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
when compared to the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
As with several other passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
families the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux. Many genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
in South and Central America are in fact more closely related to several different tanager
Tanager
The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has an American distribution.There were traditionally about 240 species of tanagers, but the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux...
clades, and at least one tanager genus (Chlorospingus
Chlorospingus
Chlorospingus, the bush-tanagers, are a genus of perching birds traditionally placed in the tanager family . This seems in error according to more recent studies, which suggest that they are closely related to the genus Arremonops in the Emberizidae...
) may belong here in the Emberizidae.
Characteristics
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 SporophilaSporophila
Sporophila is a genus of Neotropical birds in the Thraupidae family. The seed finches are sometimes also included in this genus.They are relatively small with stubby, conical bills adapted for feeding on seeds and alike...
seedeaters, the smaller species of which are about 10 cm and weigh 9–10 grams, to the Abert's Towhee
Abert's Towhee
The Abert's Towhee is a bird of the family Emberizidae, native to a small range in southwestern North America, generally the lower Colorado River and Gila River watersheds, nearly endemic to Arizona, but also present in small parts of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Sonora in Mexico.This...
, at 24 cm (9.5 in), and the shorter-tailed, but chunkier Canyon Towhee
Canyon Towhee
The Canyon Towhee or Brown Towhee, Melozone fusca , is a bird of the family Emberizidae. It is native to lower-lying areas from Arizona, southern Colorado, and western Texas south to northwestern Oaxaca, Mexico, mostly avoiding the coasts.The taxonomy of the group of towhees to which this species...
, 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
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
, 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.
The habits of emberizids are similar to those of finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
es, 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
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
.
Systematics
The relationships of these birds with other groups within the huge nine-primaried oscineNine-primaried oscine
The nine-primaried oscines are a group of songbird families from the superfamily Passeroidea. It is composed of the Fringillidae , Emberizidae , Parulidae , Thraupidae , Cardinalidae , Icteridae and the monotypic Peucedramidae...
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 buntings
The results of a recent biochemical study suggest that Melophus, Latoucheornis, and MiliariaCorn Bunting
The Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae...
may be related to various members of Emberiza
Emberiza
Emberiza is a genus of passerine birds of the bunting family Emberizidae.-List of species:* Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella* Pine Bunting, Emberiza leucocephalos* Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus* Tibetan Bunting, Emberiza koslowi...
and perhaps should be subsumed within that genus.
- Genus Melophus – Crested Bunting
- Genus Latoucheornis – Slaty Bunting
- Genus EmberizaEmberizaEmberiza is a genus of passerine birds of the bunting family Emberizidae.-List of species:* Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella* Pine Bunting, Emberiza leucocephalos* Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus* Tibetan Bunting, Emberiza koslowi...
– typical buntings (nearly 40 species) - Genus MiliariaCorn BuntingThe Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae...
– Corn Bunting
The american sparrows and brush-finches, including juncos and towhees
ChlorospingusChlorospingus
Chlorospingus, the bush-tanagers, are a genus of perching birds traditionally placed in the tanager family . This seems in error according to more recent studies, which suggest that they are closely related to the genus Arremonops in the Emberizidae...
seems to belong here too.
- Genus ArremonArremonArremon is a genus of neotropical birds in the Emberizidae family. With the exception of the Green-striped Brush Finch, which is endemic to Mexico, all species are found in South America, a few reaching Central America.-Species:...
(13 species) - Genus ArremonopsArremonopsArremonops is a genus of neotropical birds in the Emberizidae family. All species are found in Central America, Mexico, and/or northern South America...
(4 species) - Genus MelozoneMelozoneMelozone is a genus of mostly neotropical birds in the Emberizidae family, found mainly in Mexico. Three species reach as far north as the southwestern United States, two species reach as far south as Costa Rica, and two are endemic to Mexico...
(7 species) - Genus Pipilo – towhees (9 species)
- Genus AimophilaAimophilaAimophila is a genus of American sparrows. The derivation of the genus name is from aimos/αιμος 'thicket' and phila/φιλα 'loving'.- Species in taxonomic order:* Stripe-capped Sparrow, Aimophila strigiceps...
(6 species) - Genus PeucaeaPeucaeaPeucaea is a genus of American sparrows.- Species in taxonomic order:* Bridled Sparrow, Peucaea mystacalis* Black-chested Sparrow, Peucaea humeralis* Stripe-headed Sparrow, Peucaea ruficauda...
(8 species) - Genus Oriturus – Striped Sparrow
- Genus Torreornis – Zapata Sparrow
- Genus SpizellaSpizellaThe genus Spizella is a group of American sparrows in the family Emberizidae....
(7 species) - Genus Pooecetes – Vesper Sparrow
- Genus Chondestes – Lark Sparrow
- Genus AmphispizaAmphispizaAmphispiza is a genus of birds in the bunting and American sparrow family. It contains three species:* Five-striped Sparrow Amphispiza quinquestriata* Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata* Sage Sparrow, Amphispiza belli...
(3 species) - Genus Calamospiza – Lark Bunting
- Genus Passerculus (1–2 species) – savannah sparrows, Ipswich Sparrow, large-billed sparrows
- Genus AmmodramusAmmodramusThe genus Ammodramus is a group of American sparrows in the family Emberizidae. Ammodramus is Latin for "Sand Runner." Typical of these thick grass and ground loving sparrows....
(9 species) - Genus Passerella – fox sparrows (probably 4 species)
- Genus Xenospiza – Sierra Madre Sparrow or Bailey's Sparrow
- Genus MelospizaMelospizaMelospiza is a genus of passerine birds in family Emberizidae. The genus, commonly referred to as "song sparrows," contains currently three species, all of which are native to North America....
(3 species) - Genus ZonotrichiaZonotrichiaZonotrichia is a genus of five American sparrows of the family Emberizidae. Four of the species are North American, but the Rufous-collared Sparrow breeds in highlands from the extreme southeast of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and on Hispaniola....
(5 species) - Genus JuncoJuncoA Junco , genus Junco, is a small North American bird. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species...
– juncos (4 species)
The following are a group of apparently closely related neotropical sparrows known as the brush-finches
- Genus AtlapetesAtlapetesAtlapetes is a genus of bird in the Emberizidae family. Along with the genus Buarremon they comprise the brush-finches.It contains the following species:* White-naped Brush Finch, Atlapetes albinucha...
(around 28 species) - Genus BuarremonBuarremonBuarremon is a genus of perching birds in the family Emberizidae. Recent evidence indicates this genus should be merged into Arremon, but if recognized as a valid genus, it contains the following species:...
(4 species) - Genus LysurusLysurusLysurus is a genus of bird in the Emberizidae family. Recent evidence indicates this genus should be merged into Arremon, but if recognized as a valid genus, it contains the following species:* Olive Finch...
(2 species) - Genus PselliophorusPselliophorusPselliophorus is a genus of bird in the Emberizidae family.It contains the following species:* Yellow-green Finch * Yellow-thighed Finch...
(2 species) - Genus Pezopetes – Large-footed Finch
The longspurs and arctic buntings
- Genus Calcarius (3 species)
- Genus Rhyncophanes (1 species)
- Genus PlectrophenaxPlectrophenaxPlectrophenax is a small genus of passerine birds of the longspur family Calcariidae.It has two members, which may be conspecific.* Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis* McKay's Bunting, Plectrophenax hyperboreus...
– Arctic buntings (2 species)
Genera belonging elsewhere
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 AmaurospizaAmaurospizaAmaurospiza is a genus of birds. These "seedeaters" were formerly associated with the American sparrows and placed in the Emberizidae or the Fringillidae. The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek amauros + spiza .Actually, they are part of the tanager-cardinal lineage...
– blue seedeaters (4 species) - may belong with certain grosbeakGrosbeakGrosbeak is a form taxon containing several species of seed-eating passerine birds with large beaks. Although they all belong to the superfamily Passeroidea, they are not a natural group but rather a polyphyletic assemblage of distantly related songbirds....
s (CyanocompsaCyanocompsaCyanocompsa is a genus of cardinal in the Cardinalidae family.It contains the following species:* Ultramarine Grosbeak * Blue Bunting * Blue-black Grosbeak...
) in the family Cardinalidae. - Genus Acanthidops – Peg-billed Finch
- Genus CamarhynchusCamarhynchusCamarhynchus is a genus of bird in the Thraupidae family; all species of Camarhynchus are endemic to the Galápagos Islands, and together with related genera they are collectively known as Darwin's finches...
– tree-finches (5–6 species) - Genus CatameniaCatamenia (genus)Catamenia is a genus of atypical seedeaters. Formerly placed in the Emberizidae, they are now considered tanagers.-Species List:* Band-tailed Seedeater, Catamenia analis* Plain-colored Seedeater, Catamenia inornata...
– atypical seedeaters (3 species) - Genus Certhidea – Warbler Finch
- Genus Charitospiza – Coal-crested Finch
- Genus Coereba – Bananaquit
- Genus Coryphaspiza – Black-masked Finch
- Genus CoryphospingusCoryphospingusA small genus of finch-like tanagers found in South America, Coryphospingus was formerly classified in the family Emberizidae along with the buntings and American sparrows.-Species list:* Pileated Finch, Coryphospingus pileatus...
(2 species) - Genus DiglossaDiglossa (bird)Diglossa is a genus of flowerpiercers in the family Thraupidae. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the Thraupidae...
– typical flowerpiercers (14 species) - Genus DiglossopisDiglossopisDiglossopis is a genus of blue flowerpiercers in the family Thraupidae. They are closely related to the genus Diglossa, and some retain all flowerpiercers in that genus. They were formerly classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong...
– blue flowerpiercers (4 species) - Genus DiucaDiucaDiuca is a small genus of Andean seed-eating tanagers.-Species list:* White-winged Diuca-finch, Diuca speculifera* Common Diuca-finch, Diuca diuca...
– diuca-finches (2 species) - Genus Dolospingus – White-naped Seedeater
- Genus Donacospiza – Long-tailed Reed-finch
- Genus EmberizoidesEmberizoidesEmberizoides is a small genus of finch-like tanagers found in grassy areas in Central and South America.-Species list:* Wedge-tailed Grass-finch, Emberizoides herbicola* Duida Grass-finch, Emberizoides duidae...
– grass-finches (3 species) - Genus EmbernagraEmbernagraEmbernagra is a genus of finch-like tanagers.-Species list:* Pale-throated Serra-finch, Embernagra longicauda* Great Pampa-finch, Embernagra platensis...
(2 species) - Genus Euneornis – Orangequit
- Genus GeospizaGeospizaGeospiza is a genus of bird in the Thraupidae family; all species of Geospiza are endemic to the Galápagos Islands; together with related genera they are collectively known as Darwin's finches...
– ground finches (6 species) - Genus Gubernatrix – Yellow Cardinal
- Genus HaplospizaHaplospizaHaplospiza is a small genus of birds in the Thraupidae family. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the Thraupidae. Its two members breed in subtropical or tropical moist forest in Central and South America...
(2 species) - Genus Idiopsar – Short-tailed Finch
- Genus IncaspizaIncaspizaThe Inca-finches are a genus of finch-like tanagers. They were formerly placed in the Emberizidae. Both their scientific and common name refer to the Incan civilization. They are endemic to arid scrub in central and northern Peru. Buff-bridled, Gray-winged and Little Inca-finch are restricted to...
(5 species) - Genus LophospingusLophospingusLophospingus is a genus of bird in the Thraupidae family. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the tanager family.It contains the following species:...
(2 species) - Genus LoxigillaLoxigillaLoxigilla is the genus of Antillean bullfinches, birds in the Thraupidae family. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the tanager family....
– Antillean bullfinches (4 species) - Genus Loxipasser – Yellow-shouldered Grassquit
- Genus MelanoderaMelanoderaMelanodera is a genus of Patagonian seed-eating tanagers.-Species list:* White-bridled Finch or Canary-winged Finch, Melanodera melanodera* Yellow-bridled Finch, Melanodera xanthogramma...
(2 species) - Genus Melanospiza – St. Lucia Black Finch
- Genus Melopyrrha – Cuban Bullfinch
- Genus NesospizaNesospizaNesospiza is a genus of seed-eating tanagers found on the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean.-Species list:* Inaccessible Island Finch, Nesospiza acunhae* Nightingale Island Finch, Nesospiza questi...
– Tristan da Cunha finches (3 species) - Genus OryzoborusOryzoborusOryzoborus is a genus of bird in the Thraupidae family. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the Thraupidae, and some have argued for merging it into Sporophila....
– seed-finches (6 species) - Genus ParoariaParoariaParoaria, the red-headed cardinals or cardinal-tanagers , are a genus of tanagers. They were until recently placed in the family Emberizidae.Five or six species are placed here...
– cardinal-tanagers (5 species) - Genus PhrygilusPhrygilusPhrygilus is a genus of mainly Andean seed-eating tanagers commonly known as sierra-finches. Phrygilos means finch in Ancient Greek. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown them to belong in the Thraupidae...
– sierra-finches (11 species) - Genus Piezorhina – Cinereous Finch
- Genus Pinaroloxias – Cocos Island Finch
- Genus PoospizaPoospizaPoospiza is a genus of finch-like tanagers found in both the South American lowlands and the Andes mountains. Generally they are arboreal feeders in light woodland and scrub...
– warbling-finches (17 species) - Genus Rhodospingus – Crimson-breasted Finch
- Genus Rowettia – Gough Finch
- Genus Saltatricula – Many-colored Chaco-finch
- Genus SicalisSicalisSicalis is a genus of bird in the Thraupidae family. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the Thraupidae.It contains the following species:...
– yellow-finches (12 species) - Genus SporophilaSporophilaSporophila is a genus of Neotropical birds in the Thraupidae family. The seed finches are sometimes also included in this genus.They are relatively small with stubby, conical bills adapted for feeding on seeds and alike...
– typical seedeaters (some 55 species) - Genus TiarisTiarisTiaris is a genus of songbirds in the tanager family , containing the bulk of the grassquits. In late 20th century sources in particular, it was very often allied to the American sparrows and placed in the Emberizidae family....
– typical grassquits (5 species) - Genus Volatinia – Blue-black Grassquit
- Genus Xenospingus – Slender-billed Finch
External links
- Emberizidae videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- Emberizidae sounds on xeno-canto.org