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Passerina versicolor

(Bonaparte, 1838)

Varied Bunting

G5Secure Found in 35 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor). © Dorian Anderson; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Dorian Anderson; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor). © Michael Sadat; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Michael Sadat; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor). © Bryan Calk; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Bryan Calk; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor). © Marky Mutchler; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Marky Mutchler; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor). © Matt Felperin; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Matt Felperin; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor). © Michael Stremciuc; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Michael Stremciuc; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor). 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.2.101713
Element CodeABPBX64040
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 Morado (ES) Passerin varié (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
A mitochondrial cytochrome-b study confirms that P. versicolor and P. ciris are sister species (Klicka et al. 2001); the two are known to have hybridized (Storer 1961). 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
BREEDS: southern Baja California, northern Sonora, southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and western and southern Texas south through most of Mexico to central Guatemala. WINTERS: southern Baja California, southern Sonora, southern Chihuahua, central Nuevo Leon, southern Texas south through rest of breeding range (AOU 1983).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Arid thorn brush and thickets, dry washes and arid scrub (Tropical and Subtropical zones) (AOU 1983). Often near water. Often stays close to ground cover (Oberholser 1974). Nests usually low in tree, bush or vine, 0.5-1.5 m above ground (Terres 1980).

Reproduction

Clutch size is 3-4. Incubation probably lasts 12 days (Terres 1980).
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralDesert
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4B
ProvinceRankNative
TexasS4BYes
New MexicoS1B,S1NYes
ArizonaS3Yes
Roadless Areas (35)
Arizona (28)
AreaForestAcres
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
Lower RinconCoronado National Forest3,278
Lower RinconCoronado National Forest3,278
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Middle Romero WSRCoronado National Forest60
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
Santa RitaCoronado National Forest6,078
Santa RitaCoronado National Forest6,078
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Rincon RoadlessCoronado National Forest2,991
Upper Rincon RoadlessCoronado National Forest2,991
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
New Mexico (7)
AreaForestAcres
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
Last Chance CanyonLincoln National Forest8,934
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
West Face Sacramento MountainsLincoln National Forest41,176
References (20)
  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. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  4. 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.
  5. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  6. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  7. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  8. 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.
  9. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  10. 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.
  11. Oberholser, H.C. 1974. The bird life of Texas. 2 vols. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin.
  12. 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.
  13. Phillips, A., J. Marshall, and G. Monson. 1964. The birds of Arizona. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
  14. 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.
  15. Storer, R. W. 1961. A hybrid between the Painted and Varied buntings. Wilson Bulletin 73:209.
  16. 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.
  17. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  18. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  19. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  20. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.