The Painted Bunting (
Passerina cirisgenus) belongs to the
Passerina group of
birds in the
Cardinal family Cardinalidae. Not directly related to
buntings in the family
Emberizidae, they are sometimes known as the North American buntings. They have short tails and short slim legs. They have smaller bills than other Cardinalidae; they mainly eat seeds in winter and insects in summer.
Photo credit: U.S. National Park Service