Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Painted Bunting

Passerina ciris

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Painted Bunting

G5Secure Found in 11 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). © Suzie McCann; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Suzie McCann; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). © Beau Cotter; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Beau Cotter; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). © Brian Genge; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Brian Genge; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). © Laura Keene; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Laura Keene; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). © Ian Davies; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Ian Davies; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). © Brandon Nidiffer; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Brandon Nidiffer; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Public Domain (U.S. Government Work), via ECOS.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100705
Element CodeABPBX64060
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyCardinalidae
GenusPasserina
Other Common Names
Colorín Sietecolores (ES) Passerin nonpareil (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
An examination of morphological variation by Thompson (1991b) indicated that recognition of the two nominal subspecies, pallidior and ciris, as currently defined, is not warranted. However, Thompson (1991b) suggested that the eastern population (breeds from North Carolina south to Florida) and the western population (breeds from Arizona, Kansas, and Missouri south to northern Mexico, southern Texas, southern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and extreme western Florida) may be two distinct species. A phylogenetic, mitochondrial cytochrome-b study by Klicka et al. (2001) did not examine this relationship, but placed P. ciris and P. versicolor as sister species. Linaria is an invalid generic name for North America buntings (Banks and Browning 1995).
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-12-04
Change Date1996-12-04
Range Extent Comments
BREEDING: southeastern New Mexico, northern Texas, central Oklahoma, west-central Kansas, southern Missouri, and southwestern Tennessee south to southern Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, southern Texas, southern Louisiana, and along Gulf Coast to southern Alabama, locally to western Florida, and, disjunctly, North Carolina to central Florida (AOU 1998, Lowther et al. 1999).

NON-BREEDING: northwestern Bahamas, Florida, southern Tamaulipas, and Sinaloa south to West Indies and Panama (AOU 1998); also locally in the U.S. along the Gulf Coast (Thompson 1991). Eastern population winters mainly in southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Haiti; western population winters mainly in southern Texas, Mexico, and Central America (Thompson 1991).
Threat Impact Comments
HABITAT: Breeding habitat loss is generally considered to be the greatest threat (Muehter 1998, Lowther et al. 1999); this is especially well documented along the Atlantic coast (Meyers, pers. comm.).

PET TRADE: Capture of individual birds for sale in the pet trade is apparently a significant concern on the wintering grounds in Central America (Muehter 1998).

PARASITISM: Brown-headed cowbird (MOLOTHRUS ATER) parasitism is known from both western and eastern populations. Thirteen 13 of 45 nests parasitized in Oklahoma (Parmalee 1959), 4 of 60 nests parasitized in Texas in an area where extensive cowbird removal had been carried out (Barber and Martin 1997), and 8 percent of an unspecified number of nests on barrier islands in Georgia (Meyers et al. 1999). Whether or not brood parasitism is a significant factor in population declines is not known.

PREDATION: Predators are likely similar to those of other small passerines and do not seem to be an unusual threat (Lowther et al. 1999).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

See Thompson (1992) for a key for determining age and sex.

Habitat

In general, few data exist on habitat requirements and they are not well quantified (Lowther et al. 1999). Partly open situations with scattered brush and trees, riparian thickets and brush, weedy and shrubby areas, woodland edges, yards and gardens in the southern U.S. Nests in bush or vine tangle, usually 1-2 meters up; sometimes in tree in thick Spanish moss at greater height (Harrison 1978). Western breeding populations use semi-open country with scattered trees and shrubs, riparian areas, abandoned farmland and other early successional stages (Parmalee 1959, AOU 1998).

In the Ouachitas of southwestern Arkansas, common in areas with a patchy mixture of open pasture and well-developed fencerows where farms are still small and family-run (J. Neal, pers. comm.). In southwest Missouri, 18 of 19 measured territories included predominantly old field vegetation (82 percent), with the remainder woodland (18 percent). Vegetative characteristics, however, varied widely between territories suggesting that a broad range of conditions are tolerated (Norris 1982, Norris and Elder 1982).

The southeastern coastal population uses a variety of habitats for breeding (Lanyon and Thompson 1986, Cox 1996, Meyers et al. 1999). While Meyers et al. (1999) found nesting success to be similar in beach shrub-scrub, managed pine-oak forest, and old growth oak forest, some forest-nesting individuals traveled up to 800 meters to feed in grassy or marshy openings, while shrub-scrub birds remained in core areas. Lanyon and Thompson (1986) determined that salt marsh/forest edge territories were preferred over interior forest, and concluded they were of higher quality.

Territory sizes measured include 1.13 hectares for one in Oklahoma (Parmalee 1959) and an average of 3.15 hectares on the edge of the range in Missouri (range 0.64-6.66 hectares, n = 19; Norris 1982, Norris and Elder 1982). Territories tend to be larger when there are no other territories adjoining (Norris 1982, Norris and Elder 1982), and smaller in high-quality habitat where territories are contiguous (Finke 1979, Lanyon and Thompson 1986). Males tend to return to nesting sites used in previous year (Lanyon and Thompson 1986).

Ecology

In winter in Mexico, occurs singly or in small groups; individuals may return to the same wintering site in successive years (Rappole and Warner 1980). Mean territory size 3.15 hectares (range 0.64-6.66, n=19) in Missouri (Norris 1982, Norris and Elder 1982).

Reproduction

Eggs are laid March-July (mostly May-June). Usually produces two broods per year, sometimes up to four. Clutch size usually is three to four. Incubation, by female, lasts 11-12 days. Young are probably tended by female alone; leave nest at 8-14 days.
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodShrubland/chaparralSavannaOld fieldSuburban/orchard
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5B
ProvinceRankNative
South CarolinaS3BYes
OklahomaSNRBYes
AlabamaS2BYes
New MexicoS4B,S4NYes
MississippiS3BYes
TennesseeS2Yes
LouisianaS5BYes
KansasS4BYes
ArkansasS4BYes
GeorgiaS3Yes
ArizonaS2MYes
FloridaS2Yes
TexasS4BYes
MissouriS3Yes
North CarolinaS2BYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentPervasive - largeModerate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasPervasive - largeModerate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
4 - Transportation & service corridorsSmall (1-10%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
4.1 - Roads & railroadsSmall (1-10%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5 - Biological resource usePervasive - largeModerate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5.1 - Hunting & collecting terrestrial animalsPervasive - largeModerate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesPervasive - largeSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8.2 - Problematic native species/diseasesPervasive - largeSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

—

Roadless Areas (11)
Arizona (3)
AreaForestAcres
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
New Mexico (2)
AreaForestAcres
Last Chance CanyonLincoln National Forest8,934
South Guadalupe MountainsLincoln National Forest20,930
North Carolina (2)
AreaForestAcres
Pocosin AdditionCroatan National Forest286
Pocosin AdditionCroatan National Forest286
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
TenmileSiuslaw National Forest10,818
South Carolina (2)
AreaForestAcres
Wambaw ExtFrancis Marion National Forest527
Wambaw ExtFrancis Marion National Forest527
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
Boulder Mtn. / Boulder Top / Deer LakeDixie National Forest110,690
References (54)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Audubon, J. J. 1841. The birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories, vol 3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  4. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  5. Banks, R. C., and M. R. Browning. 1995. Comments on the status of revived old names for some North American birds. Auk 112:633-648.
  6. Barber, D.R., and T.E. Martin. 1997. Influence of alternate host densities on Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism rates in Black-capped Vireos. Condor 99:595-604.
  7. Bent, A.C., et al. 1968. Life histories of North American cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings, towhees, finches, sparrows, and allies. Part Two. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237. (reprinted by Dover Publications, Inc., New York, NY).
  8. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  9. Carter, M., C. Hunter, D. Pashley, and D. Petit. 1998. The Watch List. Bird Conservation, Summer 1998:10.
  10. Carter, M., G. Fenwick, C. Hunter, D. Pashley, D. Petit, J. Price, and J. Trapp. 1996. Watchlist 1996: For the future. Field Notes 50(3):238-240.
  11. Cox, J. 1996. Painted Bunting. Pp. 644-651 in Rare and endangered biota of Florida (R. E. Ashton, ed.), revised edition. Univ. Press of Florida, Gainesville.
  12. Droege, S., and J.R. Sauer. 1990. North American Breeding Bird Survey, annual summary, 1989. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report 90(8). 22 pp.
  13. Fisk, E.J. 1974. Wintering populations of Painted Buntings in southern Florida. Bird-Banding 45:353-359.
  14. Greene, E. R. 1946. Birds of the lower Florida Keys. Quart J. Florida Acad. Sci. 8:199-265.
  15. Hagan, J. M., III, and D. W. Johnston, editors. 1992. Ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. xiii + 609 pp.
  16. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  17. Harrison, H. H. 1979. A field guide to western birds' nests. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 279 pp.
  18. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  19. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  20. Keast, A., and E.S. Morton. 1980. Migrant birds in the neotropics: ecology, distribution, and conservation. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  21. Klicka, J., A. J. Fry, R. M. Zink, and C. W. Thompson. 2001. A cytochrome-b perspective on PASSERINA bunting relationships. Auk 118:611-623.
  22. Lanyon, S. M., and C. F. Thompson. 1986. Site fidelity andhabitat quality as determinants of settlement pattern in male painted buntings. Condor 88:206-210.
  23. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  24. Lowther, P.E., S.M. Lanyon, and C.W. Thompson. 1999. Painted Bunting (PASSERINA CIRIS). In A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The Birds of North America, No. 398. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 24 pp.
  25. Meyers, J.M. 1999. Effects of landscape changes on the Painted Bunting population in the southeastern United States from 1966-1996 (progress report). US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Reston, VA. http://www.pwrc.nbs.gov/research/sis98/meyers2s.htm. Available: December 1999.
  26. Meyers, J.M., D.H. White, and C.B. Kepler. 1999. Habitat selection, productivity and survival of shrub-scrub neotropical migratory birds in the southeastern United States (progress report). US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Reston, VA. http://www.pwrc.nbs.gov/research/sis98/meyers1s.htm. Available Online: December 1999.
  27. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  28. Muehter, V.R. 1998. WatchList Website, National Audubon Society, Version 97.12. Online. Available: http://www.audubon.org/bird/watch/.
  29. Norris, D. J. 1982. Habitat ecology of the Painted Bunting on the Ozark Plateau. M.S. thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia.
  30. Norris, D. J., and W. H. Elder. 1982. Distribution and habitat characteristics of the Painted Bunting in Missouri. Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science 16:77-83.
  31. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  32. Parmalee, D.F. 1959. The breeding behavior of the Painted Bunting in southern Oklahoma. Bird-Banding 30:1-18.
  33. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  34. Potter, E. F., J. F. Parnell, and R. P. Teulings. 1980. Birds of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 408 pp.
  35. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
  36. Rappole, J. H., and D. W. Warner. 1980. Ecological aspects of migrant bird behavior in Veracruz, Mexico. Pages 353-393 in A. Keast and E.S. Morton, editors. Migrant birds in the neotropics: ecology, distribution, and conservation. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  37. Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
  38. Sauer, J.R., and S. Droege. 1992. Geographical patterns in population trends of Neotropical migrants in North America. Pages 26-42 in J.M. Hagan, III, and D.W. Johnston, editors. Ecology and conservation of Neotropical migrant landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  39. Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, G. Gough, I. Thomas, and B.G. Peterjohn. 1997a. The North American Breeding Bird Survey Results and Analysis. Version 96.3. Online. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. Available: http://www.mbr.nbs.gov/bbs/bbs.html.
  40. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  41. Stevenson, H. M., and B. H. Anderson. 1994. The birdlife of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. 892 pp.
  42. Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
  43. Sykes, P.W., Jr., and J.M. Meyers. 1999. Annual survival in the southeastern coastal breeding population of the Painted Bunting (progress report). US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Reston, VA. URL = http://cristel.nal.usda.gov.
  44. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  45. Taylor, W.K., B.H. Anderson, and H.M. Stevenson. 1989. Breeding range extension of the Indigo Bunting, Painted Bunting, and Blue Grosbeak in Florida with new records for Seminole County. Florida Field Naturalist 17:1-10.
  46. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  47. Thompson, C.W. 1991a. Is the painted bunting actually two species? Problems determining species limits between allopatric populations. Condor 93:987-1000.
  48. Thompson, C.W. 1991d. The sequence of molts and plumages in painted buntings and implications for theories of delayed plumage maturation. Condor 93:209-235.
  49. Thompson, C.W. 1992. A key for aging and sexing Painted Buntings. Journal of Field Ornithology 63:445-454.
  50. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  51. Wayne, A. T. 1910. Birds of South Carolina. Cont. Charleston Mus., no. 1.
  52. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  53. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.
  54. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.