BIRDS of THE WORLD - An Online Bird Book
CARDINALIDAE
Buntings
Order Passeriformes Family Cardinalidae
CARDINALIDAE
The Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The family is comprised of buntings, cardinals, and grosbeaks. However, each of these categories
of birds have similary named birds in other families. The birds of this family are robust, seed-eating birds with strong bills. The family ranges in size from 12-25 cm. They are typically associated with
open woodland. The sexes are dimorphic - they usuaully have distinctive appearances.
Buntings
Order Passeriformes Family Cardinalidae
Other Buntings are in the Emberizidae family.
Genus Passerina
The "Buntings" are a loosely defined group of colorful sparrow-like birds. According to Holloway (Dictionary of Birds) the derivation of the word "bunting" is obscure. Anyway, of the seven species in the Passerina genus, 6 are Buntings and 1 is a Grosbeak. [Len Blumin]
Bunting,_Indigo Passerina cyanea Found: The Americas
The breeding male Indigo Bunting has blue body; silver-gray bill. Female and nonbreeding male are brown. Its habitat is farmland, brush areas, and open woodland.
Similar to: Blue Bunting. Indigo Bunting has bicolored bill; Blue Bunting does not.
Similar to: Blue Grosbeak. Blue Grosbeak has double wing bars; Indigo Bunting does not.
Similar to: Lazuli Bunting. Female Indigo Bunting has lighter throat than female Lazuli Bunting. Similarly for nonbreeding males.
Similar to: Blue Bunting. Indigo Bunting has bicolored bill; Blue Bunting does not.
Similar to: Blue Grosbeak. Blue Grosbeak has double wing bars; Indigo Bunting does not.
Similar to: Lazuli Bunting. Female Indigo Bunting has lighter throat than female Lazuli Bunting. Similarly for nonbreeding males.
1, 2) Female 3, 4, 5, 6) Male
Bunting,_Lazuli Passerina amoena Found: North America
The breeding male Lazuli Bunting has bright blue head, back; red breast; white belly; 2 white wing bars; black smudge in front of eye. Nonbreeding male duller. Female has grayish-brown upperparts; light brown underparts; 2 light wing-bars. It eats mostly seeds and insects. It may feed conspicuously on the ground or in bushes, but singing males are often very elusive in treetops.
Similar to: Indigo Bunting. Female Indigo Bunting has lighter throat than female Lazuli Bunting. Similarly for nonbreeding males.
Similar to: Varied Bunting. Lazuli Bunting has wing bars; Varied Bunting does not.
Image by: 1) Maggie Smith 2) Ken_Schneider - California Sean McCann - British Columbia 3) Jerry Oldenettel - New MexicoSimilar to: Indigo Bunting. Female Indigo Bunting has lighter throat than female Lazuli Bunting. Similarly for nonbreeding males.
Similar to: Varied Bunting. Lazuli Bunting has wing bars; Varied Bunting does not.
4) Bill Bouton - California 65) Alan Wilson - Deschutes National Forest, Near Fort Rock, Oregon 6) Eugene Beckes
1, 2) Female 3) nonbreeding Male 4, 5, 6) breeding Male
Bunting,_Orange-breasted Passerina leclancherii Found: Mexico
The adult male Orange-breasted Bunting has turquoise blue upperparts, nape; green crown; yellow lores, underparts. Female has grayish-green upperparts; yellow2 underparts.
Image by: 1) Jerry Oldenettel 2) mememorice 3) aeDrake09 4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Andrew_Spencer 
1) Female 2) nonbreeding male 3 , 4) breeding male
Bunting,_Painted Passerina ciris Found: North America
The male Painted Bunting has dark blue head; green back; red rump, underparts. The female has green upperparts; yellowish-green underparts. It is found in thickets, woodland edges, shrubbery and brushy areas.
Similar to: Varied Bunting. Male Painted Bunting much more colorful than male Varied Bunting. Female Painted Bunting is green; female Varied Bunting is brown.
Image by: 1) Dan_Pancamo 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - John_van_Dort Similar to: Varied Bunting. Male Painted Bunting much more colorful than male Varied Bunting. Female Painted Bunting is green; female Varied Bunting is brown.
4) USFWS - Texas 5) Andy_Morffew - Florida 6) Doug Janson 7) Dick Daniels - Brunswick Town, North Carolina
1, 2) Female or juvenile male 3 - 6) Male
Bunting,_Rose-bellied Passerina rositae Found: Mexico
The Rose-bellied Bunting is endemic to the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, where it occurs in arid to semiarid thorn-forest and gallery woodlands. The male has turquoise and pink plumage.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Luke Seitz 2, 3, 4) Nick Athanas 5, 6) Dominic Sherony - Oaxaca, MX 7) Francesco_Veronesi .jpg){kind=link}
1, 2) Female 3) Juvenile male 4, 5, 6) Male
Bunting,_Varied Passerina versicolor Found: southwest USA, Mexico, Central America
The male Varied Bunting has a dark purple body; red nape; blue forehead. Females are plain brown. They forage on the ground for insects, fruit, and seeds.
Similar to: Crimson-collared Grosbeak. Male Crimson-collared Grosbeak as a black head; male Varied Bunting have a blue forehead.
Similar to: Painted Bunting. Male Painted Bunting much more colorful than male Varied Bunting. Female Painted Bunting is green; female Varied Bunting is brown.
Similar to: Lazuli Bunting. Lazuli Bunting has wing bars; Varied Bunting does not.
Image by: 1, 5) Len Blumin - Mexico 2) mememorice 3) Jerry Oldenettel - Guadalupe Canyon, Hidalgo Co., NM Similar to: Crimson-collared Grosbeak. Male Crimson-collared Grosbeak as a black head; male Varied Bunting have a blue forehead.
Similar to: Painted Bunting. Male Painted Bunting much more colorful than male Varied Bunting. Female Painted Bunting is green; female Varied Bunting is brown.
Similar to: Lazuli Bunting. Lazuli Bunting has wing bars; Varied Bunting does not.
4) Louis Agassiz Fuertes 6) Dominic Sherony - Guatemala
1, 2, 3) Female 4, 5, 6) Male
Grosbeak, Blue Passerina caerulea formerly Guiraca caerulea Found: southern USA, Central America
The male Blue Grosbeak has mainly blue body; 2 chestnut wingbars; black between eye and bill; large silver bill. Female has gray-brown upperparts; light brown underparts; 2 tan wingbars; rump tinged with blue.
Similar to: Blue Bunting. Blue Grosbeak has double wing bars; Blue Bunting does not.
Similar to: Indigo Bunting. Blue Grosbeak has double wing bars; Indigo Bunting does not.
Image by: 1) Bill Lynch - New Jersey 2, 3, 4) Dick Daniels -
North CarolinaSimilar to: Blue Bunting. Blue Grosbeak has double wing bars; Blue Bunting does not.
Similar to: Indigo Bunting. Blue Grosbeak has double wing bars; Indigo Bunting does not.
5) Maggie Smith - California 6)Jerry Oldenettel - New Mexico
1, 2, 3) Female 4, 5, 6) Male
The following species are in family Cardinalidae , but quite distinct from the buntings.
Genus Amaurospiza
Seedeater,_Blue Amaurospiza concolor Found: Mexico, Central Ameria, northern South America
The male Blue Seedeater has blackish plumage with a blue gloss; females have warm cinnamon-brown plumage.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - John_Cahill in Guatemala 2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador1) Female 2, 3) Male
Genus Granatellus
These chats were previously placed in family Parulidae.
Chat,_Gray-throated Granatellus sallaei Found: Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico
The male Gray-throated Chat has dark gray upperparts, head, throat; white post-eye supercilium; mainly red underparts; white flanks. Female similar, but duller; buffy supercilium; pink breast; whitish belly.
Image by:
1) Jorge Montejo - Mexico 2, 4) Amy McAndrews - Mexico 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Luke_Seitz
Chat,_Red-breasted Granatellus venustus Found: Mexico
The male Red-breasted Chat has white throat, flanks, bold stripe above and behind the eye; black face, chest-band; red breast, upper-belly. Female buffy with hints of male plumage.
Image by: 1) Jerry Oldenettel 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Suzanne_Labbe 3) Francesco_Veronesi 4) Nick Athanas 5) Ron Knight .jpg){kind=link}
1, 2) Female 3 - 5) Male
Chat,_Rose-breasted Granatellus pelzelni Found: South America
Image by: 1) Claudio Timm 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Eduardo Patrial.
1, 2) Male
Genus Spiza - 1 species
Dickcissel Spiza americana Found: North America to north South America
The breeding male Dickcissel has brown back with black lines; gray cheeks, crown; yellow breast; white lower belly; black throat patch with white above the patch; yellow eye-line. Female has brown back with some black lines; white throat with faint line on either side; yellowish breast; light belly; yellow eye-line.
Similar to: Eastern Meadowlark. Meadowlark long pointed bill; Dickcissel has short wedge shaped bill. Meadowlark larger.
Image by: 1) Tiwago - Illinois 2) Maggie Smith - California 3) T Lindenbaum - Illinois 4) Ramendan 5) Tony_Castro - Illinois 6) Nick_Varvel - Kansas 7) RebelAt - Missouri 8) Patti McNeal Similar to: Eastern Meadowlark. Meadowlark long pointed bill; Dickcissel has short wedge shaped bill. Meadowlark larger.
1, 2) Female or 1st year male 3 - 5) nonbreeding Male 7, 8) Breeding male
