Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge? (Job 37:16 KJV)
This latest I.O.C. list of World Bird Names is quite an undertaking. As these ornithologists from around the world gain information from the DNA studies, their thinking of Bird Families change. When the Lord created the world and the birds, He placed the DNA in living creatures and man, knowing that one day it would be discovered. With that said, they keep arranging birds different families.
The New World Sparrows and the Buntings were placed in one family called Emberizidae. Now the 44 Buntings own that family – Emberizidae – Buntings and the 136 New World Sparrows have been pulled out and are now in the new Passerellidae – New World Sparrows Family.
Sudan Golden Sparrow (Passer luteus) by Dan
I realize many casual birdwatchers do well to put a name on a bird, let alone know what family to which they belong. Yet, when you look in a Bird Guide to find the name of the bird, it helps to know that they are divided into families.
This is just one of the new pages that have been adding to this site with the newest IOC update. Stay tuned, I’m still building pages. I have 8 or 9 more I am in the process of completing.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:10 KJV)
We finally come to the last birds in the Emberizidae – Buntings, New World Sparrows & Allies Family. This is the first family that we split up into four articles. With 181 species in this very common family, this gave you a chance to see more of them.
So, today, we will finish up the family by showing you last group of the “allies.” There is a Large-footed Finch in the Peropetes genus, the only one in the genus actually. Then the Atlapetes genus will be the bulk of the birds (31) and they are all Brushfinches, two finches from the Pselliophorus genus, a Yellow Cardinal from the Gubernatrix, and finish it off with 9 Bush Tanagers in the Chlorospingus genus. Forty-four amazing avian wonders from their Creator for us to enjoy.
The Large-footed Finch is found in the undergrowth of mountain forests, second growth, bamboo clumps, and scrubby pastures from 2150 m altitude to the scrubby páramo at 3350 m. It has a slender bill, a modestly sized tail and very large and powerful feet and legs.
White-naped Brushfinch (Atlapetes albinucha) by Kent Nickell
The next genus, the Atlapetes with their Brushfinches are rather interesting and colorful. Most are found in forest in subtropical or tropical areas. The range from Mexico, Central America and throughout South America.
The Yellow Cardinal is another neat avian creation, Looks just like our Northern Cardinal, but is yellow and in a different family altogether.
Sooty-capped Bush Tanager (Chlorospingus pileatus) by Ian
The last genus in this family, is the Chlorospingus and contains 9 Bush Tanagers. With this last group, we finish up the Emberizidae Family. Trust you enjoyed seeing most of the 181 members over the last few weeks.
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Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11 KJV)
“Worthy The Lamb” ~ Choir and Orchestra at Faith Baptist Church (May 15, 1916)
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Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. (Psalms 84:3 KJV)
Sunday is here again, and it’s time to continue with the Emberizidae Family of Buntings, New World Sparrows and their allies. First, aren’t we thankful that the Lord has created the world and set up a seven day week. He set the pattern for us to rest after six days of work. He was tired, nor has he stopped working, He was just setting an example, because the human body needs rest. He ought to know, He created us.
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 2:1-3 KJV) (emphasis mine)
I for one look forward to Sundays. We rest and attend church, eat and fellowship with our friends, and attend the evening service and rest some more. These Sunday Inspirations, which have been going on for some time now, take several hours to put together, and then are scheduled for 1 or 2 minutes after midnight Sunday morning. When WordPress puts them up, I will already be resting in bed and enjoying the start of my Day of Rest. Enough of the personal information, let’s see what these birds are up to this week.
The first Sunday, we showed the Buntings in this family, last week, we showed most of the New World Sparrows in this Emberizidae family, so, let’s see who these “allies” are.
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) by Ray
Towhees typically have longer tails than other emberizids. Most species tend to avoid humans, so they are not well known, though the eastern towhee P. erythrophthalmus is bolder. This species, and some others, may be seen in urban parks and gardens. Also, in with the Melozone genus are four Ground Sparrows.
Arremon 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, with a few reaching Central America.
“Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.” (Psalms 84:3 KJV)
This week, as we continue in the Emberizidae – Buntings, New World Sparrows and allies Family, the next 50 or so will be highlighted. That will leave us with the last of the Emberizidae Family III and/or IV to finish up this family. Last week’s Sunday Inspiration had most of the Buntings from this Family.
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.
Although they share the name sparrow, American sparrows are more closely related to Old World buntings (which are also in the family Emberizidae) than they are to the Old World sparrows (family Passeridae). American sparrows are also similar in both appearance and habit to finches, with which they sometimes used to be classified. (Wikipedia)
Many of the sparrows are just called “Little Brown Jobs” or LBJs. They are very numerous and common, yet they are special to the Lord. Matthew 10 quotes the Lord with these verses:
Crested Bunting (Emberiza lathami) by Nikhil Devasar
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (Song of Solomon 2:12 KJV)
Our new family we start today is the Emberizidae – Buntings, New World Sparrows and allies. Since there are 181 species in the family, today we will introduce you to the Emberiza genus. It contains 42 Buntings and one Yellowhammer. These are small sparrow-sized birds with conical bills that gives the power to crack open many kinds of seeds. Seeds being their favorite food.
There is one more bunting, the Lark Bunting, that follows next after the Emberiza genus. “Lark buntings are small songbirds, with a short, thick, bluish bill. There is a large patch of white on the wings and they have a relatively short tail with white tips at the end of the feathers. Breeding males have an all black body with a large white patch on the upper part of the wing. Non-breeding males and females look similar and are grayish brown with white stripes.” (Wikipedia)
There are many of these “Emberizidae buntings are boldly patterned on the face and head, or have colorful underparts.” (National Geographic Birds of the World,, p. 356) You will meet the other members of this family later. The Sparrows and others will be very familiar, many referred to as “little brown jobs”
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“That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:27 KJV)
“Triumphantly The Church Will Rise” ~ Faith Baptist Men’s Quintet
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” (Ephesians 1:17-23 KJV)
Ian’s Bird of the Week – Yellowhammer ~ by Ian Montgomery
Newsletter ~ 2-17-14
Continuing the theme of finches and finch-like birds here’s a photo of a male Yellowhammer along the same lane in Co. Louth as the Eurasian Bullfinch. The Yellowhammer is a bunting and belongs to the family Emberizidae, which includes the New World Sparrows.
When the first photo was taken, the Hawthorn was in full bloom. The second photo was taken 12 days later – on the same day as last week’s Bullfinches – and the Hawthorn is almost finished. Yellowhammers have a characteristic rapid slightly nasal song often rendered as ‘little bit of bread and NO cheese’ with the ‘NO’ higher and the ‘cheese’ lower and longer than the other notes. Sadly, European populations of Yellowhammers have suffered from intensive farming and the removal of hedges.
Like many other European, or more strictly ‘British’ songbirds, Yellowhammers have been introduced into New Zealand where they have done well. Vagrants from the New Zealand population have been recorded on rare occasions on Lord Howe Island, so the Yellowhammer is the only member of the family on the Australian List. The third photo was taken in New Zealand when I was searching at a known site for the extremely rare Black Stilt on the Ahuriri River in the Waitaki Valley on the South Island. I had just parked nearby but stopped to take the Yellowhammer photo on the principle of a bird in the hand . .
In fact, less than ten minutes later I took this photo, which featured as bird of the week three days after I’d taken the photos (I couldn’t wait to show it off!).
The sharp-eyed among you would have noticed that the sequence number of the Black Stilt is 44 greater than that of the Yellowhammer so it was a busy ten minutes and you might wonder what featured in the intervening photos. Well, they were of a smart New Zealand tern called the Black-fronted as there was a small colony of them nesting in the pebbles beside the river. That hasn’t featured as bird of the week, so I’ll hold it over till next time.
also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. (Genesis 7:3 NKJV)
The Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees and form small flocks in winter.
The Yellowhammer is a robust 15.5–17 cm long bird, with a thick seed-eater’s bill. The male has a bright yellow head, yellow underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much duller, and more streaked below. The familiar, if somewhat monotonous, song of the cock is often described as A little bit of bread and no cheese, although the song varies greatly in space. Its name is thought to be from the German word ammer meaning bunting.
Its natural diet consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. The nest is on the ground. 3-6 eggs are laid, which show the hair-like markings characteristic of those of buntings.
Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? (Isaiah 63:2 NKJV)
The Cardinalis genus of the Cardinalidae – Grosbeaks, Saltators & Allies Family includes three species. Oswaldtanager of YouTube caught a great video of the Vermilion Cardinal (Cardinalis phoeniceus) and I wanted to share it. These are only found in Colombia and Venezuela.
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Here in the United States, we get to see the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) by Aestheticphotos
and the Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis sinuatus). These are the other two genus members.
These are robust, seed-eating birds with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinctive appearances; the family is named for the red plumage (colored cardinal like the color of a Catholic cardinal’s vestments) of males of the type species, the Northern Cardinal.
The Cardinals or Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Emberizidae.
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