NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Varied Bunting
Passerina versicolor (Bonaparte, 1838)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The varied bunting (Passerina versicolor) is a species of songbird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. The range of the varied bunting stretches from the southern parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States south throughout Mexico as far as Oaxaca. Small disjunct populations occur in the state of Chiapas in Mexico and southeastern Guatemala. This stocky bird has a short tail and rounded bill. It is 11–14 centimetres (4.3–5.5 in) long, has a wingspan of 21 centimetres (8.3 in), and weighs 11–13 grams (0.39–0.46 oz). Breeding males are purple-red with a bright red patch on the nape, which becomes browner in the fall. Females are plain light brown, resembling the female indigo bunting but lacking streaking on the breast. Varied buntings inhabit deserts and xeric shrublands, preferring thorny brush thickets, thorn forests, scrubby woodlands, and overgrown clearings. They forage on the ground for insects, fruit, and seeds. Varied buntings weave open-cup nests of grass and spider webs in the outer branches of thorny shrubs, usually near water.
Wikipedia contributors, Varied bunting; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:08:18.024632+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Passerina versicolor (Bonaparte, 1838)
- Name authority
- (Bonaparte, 1838)
- Common name
- Varied Bunting
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cardinalidae
- Genus
- Passerina
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCardinalidae
- genusPasserina Vieillot, 1816
- speciesPasserina versicolor (Bonaparte, 1838)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Passerina. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lazuli BuntingPasserina amoena (Say, 1822) | CardinalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758) | CardinalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Painted BuntingPasserina ciris (Linnaeus, 1758) | CardinalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea (Linnaeus, 1766) | CardinalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orange-breasted BuntingPasserina leclancherii Lafresnaye, 1840 | CardinalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rose-bellied BuntingPasserina rositae (Lawrence, 1874) | CardinalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179152 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4DY4T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.