Құстардың Кардиналида тұқымдасы

Bird family

Cardinalidae (sometimes referred to as the "cardinal grosbeaks" or simply the "cardinals") is a family of New World endemic passerine birds that consists of cardinals, grosbeaks, and buntings. It also includes several other genera such as the tanager like Piranga and the warbler like Granatellus. Membership of this family is not easily defined by a single or even a set of physical characteristics, but instead by molecular work. Among songbirds, they range from average sized to relatively large, and have stout features, some species with large, heavy bills. Members of this group are beloved for their brilliant red, yellow, or blue plumages seen in many of the breeding males in this family. Most species are monogamous breeders that nest in open cup nests, with parents taking turns incubating the nest and taking care of their young. Most are arboreal species, although the dickcissel is a ground dwelling prairie bird. In terms of conservation, most members of this family are considered least concern by the IUCN Red List, though a few birds, such as the Carrizal seedeater, are considered to be endangered.

The grosbeaks, seedeaters, and cardinals have large bills, while Granatellus and buntings have small bills. The cardinalid tanagers have stout, near pointed bills, with some species of Piranga having serrations along the edge of their upper bills. In 2007, a mitochondrial DNA study by Klicka, Burns and Spellman sampling all of the aforementioned genera and 34 of the total 42 species, found that the genera Parkerthraustes, Saltator, and Porphyrospiza were not members of the cardinal lineage, but instead are found throughout in the tanager lineage (Thraupidae). Interestingly enough the genera classified as thraupids at the time, Piranga, Habia, Chlorothraupis, and Amaurospiza, are found to be part of cardinalid radiation. In addition the genus Granatellus, originally classified as a parulid warbler, are also found to be part of Cardinalidae. The study found that with this new relationship Cardinalidae can be classified into five subgroups, which have been supported by subsequent studies. The five subclades consists of the Habia lineage (Habia and Chlorothraupis), the “masked” lineage (Piranga, Caryothraustes, Periporphyrus, Rhodothraupis, and Cardinalis), the Granatellus lineage, the “blue” lineage (Cyanocompsa, Amaurospiza, Cyanoloxia, Passerina, and Spiza), and the Pheucticus lineage. A 2021 paper by Guallar et al. based on the preformative molting pattern of cardinalids suggested the ancestor of this group was a forest dwelling bird that dispersed into open habitats on numerous occasions. The cardinalids are part of a larger grouping of American endemic songbirds, Emberizoidea, which also includes the aforementioned thraupids and parulids, as well as icterids (New World blackbirds), passerellids (New World sparrows), and several families that contain one or a couple of genera. Several studies have placed cardinalids as either the sister group to Thraupidae, Mitrospingidae (a small family whose genera were formerly classified as thraupids), or the sister to a clade containing thraupids and mitrospingids.

The cardinalids can be found from Canada to northern Argentina and Uruguay, with Central America having the most concentrated amount of species. Species are found year around in the Central United States and the Eastern United States down to the neotropics. Cardinalids found in the West Indies are non breeding migrants and those in the Western United States and Canada are breeding migrants. northern cardinal, pyrrhuloxia, and black headed grosbeak, which sing as well. In temperate species the breeding season occurs annually while in tropical species it is year around. The breeding seasons is in sync with the abundance of insects. Most species build open cup nests made of grasses and twigs depending on the species. These nests would be in the trees, often high up in the crown. The nest building is done by both partners or by the female alone. The male and female take turns incubating the nest, often the male would feed the female. Cardinalids produce one to three broods per season. As with other passerines, the young are born altricial and fledged between one and two weeks. Despite the vast majority of species being classified as least concern, there has been a growing concern in how the ongoing climate crisis will affect the distribution and migration of many species across the globe. One study led by Dr. Brooke L. Bateman published in July 2020 focused on the risk North American birds will face from climate change and the measures needed to protect them. The first study assessed 604 species from the United States found that if the planet warmed by 3.0 degrees Celsius many species, especially arctic birds, waterbirds, and boreal and western forest birds, will be highly vulnerable to climate change and future conservation efforts will need to be in place. Among the species sampled, the North American species of Piranga and Pheucticus are found to be most climate vulnerable of the cardinalids. These species will either lose some substantial amount of their range or they will migrate up north to escape the sudden change in their habitat. A possible extinct species is the controversial Townsend's bunting, a supposed enigmatic species related to the dickcissel. The Townsend's bunting is only known from a single type specimen collected from Chester County, Pennsylvania by John Kirk Townsend and described by John James Audubon in 1834. The specimen is housed in the National Museum of Natural History. Genetic work has not been done on this bird, but observation of the plumage has been done. The controversy stems from the uncertainty from authors whether the bird is an extinct species, a rare color variant of the dickcissel, or a hybrid female dickcissel and male blue grosbeak. If the bird is indeed simply a dickcissel it lacks any of the known field characteristics seen in the species in all life stages and sexes.