EMBERIZIDAE

The 'Emberizidae' are a large family of passerine birds.
They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings.
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.
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 sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. The family also includes the North American birds known as juncos and towhees.
Their habits 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. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.
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^{[1] [2] [3]}, and at least one tanager genus (''Chlorospingus'') may belong here in the Emberizidae.^[4]

Contents

Systematics

Genera belonging elsewhere

References

External links

Systematics

===The buntings===

★ Genus ''Melophus'' - Crested Bunting

★ Genus ''Latoucheornis'' - Slaty Bunting

★ Genus ''Emberiza'' - typical buntings (nearly 40 species)

★ Genus ''Milaria'' - Corn Bunting
===The American sparrows, including juncos and towhees===

★ Genus ''Arremon'' (7 species)

★ Genus ''Arremonops'' (4 species)

★ Genus ''Melozone'' (3 species)

★ Genus ''Pipilo'' - towhees (9 species)

★ Genus ''Aimophila'' (14 species)

★ Genus ''Oriturus'' (Striped Sparrow)

★ Genus ''Torreornis'' (Zapata Sparrow)

★ Genus ''Spizella'' (7 species)

★ Genus ''Pooecetes'' (Vesper Sparrow)

★ Genus ''Chondestes'' (Lark Sparrow)

★ Genus ''Amphispiza'' (2 species)

★ Genus ''Calamospiza'' (Lark Bunting)

★ Genus ''Passerculus'' (1-2 species)

★ Genus ''Ammodramus'' (9 species)

★ Genus ''Passerella'' (Fox Sparrow - probably 4 species)

★ Genus ''Xenospiza'' (Sierra Madre Sparrow)

★ Genus ''Melospiza'' (3 species)

★ Genus ''Zonotrichia'' (5 species)

★ Genus ''Junco'' - juncos (4 species)
===The brush-finches===

★ Genus ''Atlapetes''

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★ White-naped Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes albinucha''

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★ Pale-naped Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes pallidinucha''

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★ Rufous-naped Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes rufinucha''

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★ Yellow-breasted Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes latinuchus''

★
★
★ Yariguies Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes latinuchus yariguierum''

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★ White-rimmed Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes leucopis''

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★ Rufous-capped Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes pileatus''

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★ Santa Marta Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes melanocephalus''

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★ Olive-headed Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes flaviceps''

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★ Dusky-headed Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes fuscoolivaceus''

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★ Tricolored Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes tricolor''

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★ Moustached Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes albofrenatus''

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★ Slaty Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes schistaceus''

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★ Bay-crowned Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes seebohmi''

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★ Rusty-bellied Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes nationi''

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★ White-winged Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes leucopterus''

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★ White-headed Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes albiceps''

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★ Pale-headed Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes pallidiceps''

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★ Rufous-eared Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes rufigenis''

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★ Black-spectacled Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes melanops''

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★ Ochre-breasted Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes semirufus''

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★ Fulvous-headed Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes fulviceps''

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★ Tepui Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes personatus''

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★ Yellow-striped Brush-finch, ''Atlapetes citrinellus''

★ Genus ''Buarremon''

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★ Chestnut-capped Brush-finch, ''Buarremon brunneinucha''

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★ Green-striped Brush-finch, ''Buarremon virenticeps''

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★ Stripe-headed Brush-finch, ''Buarremon torquatus''

★ Genus ''Lysurus''

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★ Sooty-faced Finch, ''Lysurus crassirostris''

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★ Olive Finch, ''Lysurus castaneiceps''

★ Genus ''Pselliophorus''

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★ Yellow-thighed Finch, ''Pselliophorus tibialis''

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★ Yellow-green Finch, ''Pselliophorus luteoviridis''

★ Genus ''Pezopetes'' - Large-footed Finch
===The longspurs and arctic buntings===

★ Genus ''Calcarius'' (4 species)^[5]

★ Genus ''Plectrophenax'' - arctic buntings (2 species)

Genera belonging elsewhere

'The rest of the traditional emberizidae listed below are closer to various tanagers and are often known collectively as ''tanager-finches''.'

★ Genus ''Phrygilus'' (11 species)

★ Genus ''Melanodera''

★ Genus ''Lophospingus''

★ Genus ''Donacospiza

★ Genus ''Rowettia

★ Genus ''Nesospiza

★ Genus ''Diuca

★ Genus ''Idiopsar

★ Genus ''Piezorhina

★ Genus ''Xenospingus

★ Genus ''Incaspiza'' (5 species)

★ Genus ''Poospiza'' (17 species)

★ Genus ''Sporophila'' (some 55 species)

★ Genus ''Catamenia''

★ Genus ''Amaurospiza''

★ Genus ''Oryzoborus'' (6 species)

★ Genus ''Volatinia'' - Blue-black Grassquit

★ Genus ''Dolospingus'' - White-naped Seedeater

★ Genus ''Diglossa'' (14 species)

★ Genus ''Diglossopis''

★ Genus ''Haplospiza''

★ Genus ''Acanthidops'' - Peg-billed Finch

★ Genus ''Sicalis'' (12 species)

★ Genus ''Emberizoides''

★ Genus ''Embernagra''

★ Genus ''Gubernatrix''

★ Genus ''Paroaria'' (5 species)

★ Genus ''Charitospiza''

★ Genus ''Coryphaspiza''

★ Genus ''Saltatricula''

★ Genus ''Coryphospingus''

★ Genus ''Rhodospingus''

★ Genus ''Geospiza'' - ground finches (6 species)

★ Genus ''Camarhynchus'' - tree finches (6 species)

★ Genus ''Certhidea'' - Warbler Finch

★ Genus ''Pinaroloxias'' - Cocos Island Finch

★ Genus ''Melopyrrha'' - Cuban Bullfinch

★ Genus ''Tiaris'' - grassquits (5 species)

★ Genus ''Loxipasser'' - Yellow-shouldered Grassquit

★ Genus ''Euneornis'' - Orangequit

★ Genus ''Melanospiza'' - St. Lucia Black Finch

★ Genus ''Loxigilla'' - Antillean bullfinches

★ Genus ''Coereba''

References

1. Burns, K. J., S. J. Hackett, and N. K. Klein, 2002. Phylogenetic relationships and morphological diversity in Darwin's finches and their relatives. Evolution 56 (6). 1240-1252.
2. Lougheed, S.C., J.R. Freeland, P. Handford & P.T. Boag. 2000. A molecular phylogeny of warbling-finches (Poospiza): paraphyly in a Neotropical emberizid genus. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 17: 367-378.
3. Burns, K. J., S. J. Hackett, and N. K. Klein. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships of Neotropical honeycreepers and the evolution of feeding morphology. J. Avian Biology 34: 360-370.

4. Yuri, T., and D. P. Mindell. 2002. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Fringillidae, "New World nine-primaried oscines" (Aves: Passeriformes). Mol. Phylogen. Evol. 23:229-243.
5. 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

★ Emberizidae videos on the Internet Bird Collection