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Bunting (bird)

Buntings

Snow Bunting
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Emberizidae
Genus
Melophus
Latoucheornis
Emberiza
Plectrophenax

Buntings are a group of mainly European passerine birds of the family Emberizidae .

They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill, and are the Old World equivalents of the species known in North America as Sparrows (However, these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae).

Their habits are similar to those of finches, with which they sometimes used to be grouped. Some emberizids are still named as finches. Many species have distinctive head patterns.

There are a few species named as "buntings" which are now classed in the cardinal family. These are mainly those that have blue in the plumage, like the Painted Bunting and Indigo Bunting.

Bunting species are:

The Lark Bunting, Calamospiza melanocorys is an American sparrow

The Lapland Bunting, Calcarius lapponicus, is also known as Lapland Longspur, and is considered under longspurs.