The family Emberizidae was formerly much larger and included the species now placed in the
Passerellidae (New World sparrows) and
Calcariidae (longspurs and snow buntings). Molecular phylogenetic studies found that the large family consisted of distinct clades that were better treated as separate families. The
genus Emberiza is now the only genus placed in the family Emberizidae. The
type species was subsequently designated as the
yellowhammer (
Emberiza citrinella). The genus name
Emberiza is from
Old German , a bunting. The origin of the English "bunting" is unknown. A 2008 genetic study found that three emberizid species that were placed in their own
monotypic genera clustered within the
Emberiza. These were the
crested bunting (
Melophus lathami), the
slaty bunting (
Latouchiornis siemsseni), and the
corn bunting (
Miliaria calandra). All three species are now included in the genus
Emberiza. Ornithologists
Edward Dickinson and
Leslie Christidis in the fourth edition of the
Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World chose to split up
Emberiza and recognise the genera
Fringillaria,
Melophus,
Granativora,
Emberiza, and
Schoeniclus. Their example has not been followed by the online version of the
Handbook of the Birds of the World nor by
Frank Gill and David Donsker in the list of world birds that they maintain on behalf of the
International Ornithologists' Union. Species in the
New World genus
Passerina include the word "bunting" in their common names, but are now classed in the family
Cardinalidae. The family is divided into four major clades. The species in Clade I are mainly African while those in Clades II to IV are Palearctic: The
cladogram below is based on a study published in 2021. The phylogenetic relationships of two African species, the
brown-rumped bunting (
Emberiza affinis) and
Vincent's bunting (
Emberiza vincenti), were not determined. }} ==List of species==