Class Aves
Order Passeriformes
Family Cardinalidae
Cardinalis—Cardinals // Passerina—Varied Buntings // Pheucticus melanocephalus—Black-headed Grosbeak // Piranga ludoviciana—Western Tanager // Spiza—Dickcissels
This group includes the Northern Cardinal and the congeneric Pyrrhuloxia, grosbeaks, and the Dickcissel.
The Northern Cardinal currently occurs in the southern half of Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and occasionally in southeastern New Mexico, thence south into the Big Bend. The Pyrrhuloxia occurs throughout the Lower Sonoran Life Zone in our region.
Sites.
Late Wisconsin: Harris' Pocket (Harris 1993c).
Literature. Harris 1993c.
Sites.
Late Wisconsin: Maricopa (Jefferson 1991a).
Literature. Jefferson 1991a.
The Lazuli and Painted Buntings currently occur in our region. The former is widespread, the latter primarily in the southern portions of our region.
Sites.
Mid/Late Wisconsin: Dark Canyon Cave (Harris 1993c: ?).
Late Wisconsin/Holocene: Stanton's Cave (Rea and Hargrave 1984).
Literature. Harris 1993c; Rea and Hargrave 1984.
Sites.
Late Pleistocene: Rancho del Oro (Jefferson 2014).
Wisconsin: Carpinteria (Guthrie 2009).
Literature. Guthrie 2009; Jefferson 2014.
A single species of Dickcissel (Spiza americana) is recognized. Dickcissels are primarily Midwestern in the breeding season, but occur along the eastern portions of New Mexico. Ligon (1961) found them especially common in the Pecos Valley during migration.
Sites.
Mid/Late Wisconsin: Dark Canyon Cave (Harris 1993c: ?).
Literature. Harris 1993c; Ligon 1961.
Sites.
Rancholabrean: Cool Water Coal Gasification Solid Waste Site (Jefferson 1991a: aff.).
Literature. Jefferson 1991a.
Sites.
Mid/Late Wisconsin: Rancho La Brea (Stock and Harris 1992).
Late Wisconsin: Maricopa (Jefferson 1991a).
Literature. Jefferson 1991a; Stock and Harris 1992.
Last Update: 28 May 2015