Belongs within: Emberizoidea.
Contains: Habia, Piranga, Cardinalis, Cyanocompsa.
The Cardinalidae are a group of finch-like birds with more or less heavy, conical bills found in North and South America, the males of which are often brightly coloured (Orenstein & Brewer 2011). The dickcissel Spiza americana is a smaller, brownish member of the family with a yellowish stripe above the eyes.
Cardinalidae [Cardinalinae, Cardinalini, Richmondeninae]
| i. s.: Pitylus Cuvier 1829 [Pitylinae]B94
|--+--GranatellusBKB15
| | |--G. pelzelniBKB15
| | `--+--G. sallaeiBKB15
| | `--G. venustusBKB15
| `--Pheucticus Reichenbach 1850BKB15, OB11 [Pheucticinae]
| | i. s.: P. chrysogaster (Lesson 1832) [=Pitylus chrysogaster]OB11
| | |--P. c. chrysogasterOB11
| | `--P. c. laubmanni Hellmayr & Seilern 1915OB11
| | P. chrysopeplus (Vigors 1832) [=Coccothraustes chrysopeplus]OB11
| | |--P. c. chrysopeplus [incl. P. chrysopeplus rarissimus]OB11
| | |--P. c. aurantiacus Salvin & Godman 1891OB11
| | `--P. c. dilutus van Rossem 1934OB11
| | P. tibialis Lawrence 1867OB11
| |--P. ludovicianus (Linnaeus 1766)BKB15, OB11 [=Loxia ludovicianaOB11, Hedymeles ludovicianusOB11, Vidua ludovicianaJ23]
| `--+--P. aureoventris (d’Orbigny & Lafresnaye 1837)BKB15, OB11 [=Pitylus aureoventrisOB11]
| | |--P. a. aureoventrisOB11
| | |--P. a. crissalis Sclater & Salvin 1877OB11
| | |--P. a. meridensis Riley 1905OB11
| | |--P. a. terminalis Chapman 1919OB11
| | `--P. a. uropygialis Sclater & Salvin 1871OB11
| `--P. melanocephalus (Swainson 1827)BKB15, OB11 [=Guiraca melanocephalusOB11, Hedymeles melanocephalusOB11]
| |--P. m. melanocephalus [incl. P. melanocephalus rostratus]OB11
| `--P. m. maculatus (Audubon 1837)OB11
`--+--+--HabiaBKB15
| `--+--PirangaBKB15
| `--+--CardinalisBKB15
| `--+--+--Rhodothraupis Ridgway 1898BKB15, OB11
| | | `--R. celaeno (Deppe 1830) [=Tanagra celaeno]OB11
| | `--Periporphyrus Reichenbach 1850BKB15, OB11
| | `--P. erythromelas (Gmelin 1789) [=Loxia erythromelas]OB11
| `--Caryothraustes Reichenbach 1850BKB15, OB11
| |--C. canadensis (Linnaeus 1766) [=Loxia canadensis]OB11
| | |--C. c. canadensisOB11
| | |--C. c. brasiliensis Cabanis 1851OB11
| | |--C. c. frontalis (Hellmayr 1905)OB11
| | `--C. c. simulans Nelson 1912 [=C. poliogaster simulans]OB11
| `--C. poliogaster (du Bus de Gisignies 1847) [=Pitylus poliogaster]OB11
| |--C. p. poliogasterOB11
| `--C. p. scapularis (Ridgway 1888)OB11
`--+--Spiza Bonaparte 1824BKB15, OB11 [Spizinae]
| `--S. americana (Gmelin 1789)OB11 [=Emberiza americanaOB11; incl. E. townsendiOB11, Spiza townsendiF02]
`--+--CyanocompsaBKB15
`--Passerina Vieillot 1816BKB15, OB11 (see below for synonymy)
| i. s.: ‘Guiraca’ cyanoidesSS66
|--P. cyanea (Linnaeus 1766)BKB15, OB11 [=Tanagra cyaneaOB11]
`--+--+--P. amoena (Say 1822)BKB15, OB11 [=Emberiza amoenaOB11]
| `--P. caerulea (Linnaeus 1758)BKB15, OB11 [=Loxia caeruleaOB11, Guiraca caeruleaOB11]
| |--P. c. caerulea [incl. P. caerulea mesophila]OB11
| |--P. c. chiapensis (Nelson 1898)OB11
| |--P. c. deltarhyncha (van Rossem 1938)OB11
| |--P. c. eurhyncha (Coues 1874)OB11
| |--P. c. interfusa (Dwight & Griscom 1927)OB11
| |--P. c. lazula (Lesson 1842)OB11 [=Guiraca caerulea lazulaFS55]
| `--P. s. salicaria (Grinnell 1911)OB11
`--+--P. rositae (Lawrence 1874)BKB15, OB11 [=Cyanospiza rositaeOB11]
`--+--P. leclancherii Lafresnaye 1840BKB15, OB11
| |--P. l. leclancheriiOB11
| `--P. l. grandior Griscom 1934OB11
`--+--P. ciris (Linnaeus 1758)BKB15, OB11 [=Emberiza cirisOB11]
| |--P. c. cirisOB11
| `--P. c. pallidior Mearns 1911OB11
`--P. versicolor (Bonaparte 1838)BKB15, OB11 [=Spiza versicolorOB11]
|--P. v. versicolorOB11
|--P. v. dickeyae van Rossem 1934OB11
|--P. v. pulchra Ridgway 1887OB11
`--P. v. purpurascens Griscom 1930OB11
Passerina Vieillot 1816BKB15, OB11 [incl. Coccoborus Swainson 1837B94, Cyanospiza Baird 1858B94, Guiraca Swainson 1827B94; Coccoborinae, Cyanospizinae, Guiracinae]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.
[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.
[FS55] Felten, H., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Zur Vogelfauna von El Salvador. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (1–2): 9–19.
[F02] Fuller, E. 2002. Foreword. Extinct birds. In: Hoyo, J. del, A. Elliott & J. Sargatal (eds) Handbook of the Birds of the World vol. 7. Jacamars to Woodpeckers pp. 11–68. Lynx Edicions: Barcelona.
[J23] James, E. 1823. Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, sec’y of war: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long. From the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party vol. 1. H. C. Carey & I. Lea: Philadelphia.
[OB11] Orenstein, R. I., & D. Brewer. 2011. Family Cardinalidae (cardinals). In: Hoyo, J. del, A. Elliott & D. A. Christie (eds) Handbook of the Birds of the World vol. 16. Tanagers to New World Blackbirds pp. 330–427. Lynx Edicions: Barcelona.
[SS66] Sclater, P. L., & O. Salvin. 1866. On some additions to the catalogue of birds collected by Mr. E. Bartlett on the River Ucayali. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 566–567.