The common reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) is a passerinebird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name Emberiza is from Old GermanEmbritz, a bunting. The specific schoeniclus is from Ancient Greekskhoiniklos, a now unknown waterside bird.[3]
It breeds throughout Europe and much of the Palearctic. Most birds migrate south in winter, but those in the milder south and west of the range are resident. It is common in reedbeds and also breeds in drier open areas such as moorland and arable land. For example, it is a component of the purple moor grass and rush pastures, a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acid soils of the lowlands and upland fringe.
Taxonomy
The common reed bunting was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla schoeniclus.[2] This bunting is now placed in the genusEmberiza that Linnaeus had introduced in the same edition of his Systema Naturae.[4][5] The specific epithet schoeniclus is from the Ancient Greekskhoiniklos, a word that was used by Greek authors for an unidentified bird.[6] Linnaeus specified the type locality as Europe but this is now restricted to Sweden.[7] Nineteen subspecies are recognised.[5]
The bird family Emberizidae contains approximately 300 species of seed-eating birds, the majority of which are endemic to the Americas. However, the genus Emberiza, which comprises over 40 species, is exclusively found in the Old World.[8] Within its genus, the reed bunting is most closely related to the Japanese reed bunting and the Pallas's reed bunting, which are sometimes classified as being in the genus Schoeniclus.
Subspecies
Nineteen subspecies are recognised, including- E. s. schoeniclus, the nominate subspecies, which occurs in most of Europe, E. s. witherbyi which is found in south Portugal, western Spain, France and Sardinia, E. s. intermedia from Italy and the Adriatic coast to northwest Albania, E. s. reiseri from southeast Albania, northwest Greece, south North Macedonia and west and central Turkey, E. s. caspia from east Turkey and northwest Iran, E. s. korejewi from southwest and eastern Iran and south Turkmenistan, E. s. pyrrhuloides from north Caspian sea region to western Mongolia, southeast Kazakhstan and central Tien Shan, E. s. passerina from northwest Siberia, wintering in south Asia, E. s. parvirostris from central Siberia wintering in northern China, E. s. pyrrhulina from Kamchatka and northern Japan, wintering in central Japan, Korea and eastern China, E. s. pallidior from southwestern Siberia wintering in southwest Asia, E. s. minor from Russian Far East and northeast China, wintering in east China, E. s. ukrainae from Ukraine and adjacent areas of Russia, E. s. incognita from southeastern European Russia to north Kazakhstan and E. s. zaidamensis, endemic to northwest Qinghai, China.
Description
The common reed bunting is a medium-sized bird, 13.5–15.5cm (5.3–6.1in) long and weighing 10–28 g,[9] with a small but powerful seed-eating bill. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily barred brown back. The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head, and more barring underneath. The male's song is a repetitive srip.
Behaviour
Its natural diet consists of insects when feeding its young, and seeds otherwise.
Breeding
Breeding usually begins in early April and ends in late August, depending on location and altitude. The species is monogamous[citation needed]. The nest is made of twigs, grass and reeds lined with finer materials such as hair, moss and rootlets in a bush or reed tussock. 4–5 olive-grey eggs are laid, showing the distinctive hair-like markings characteristic of those of buntings. The incubation period is 12–15 days, during which the chicks are fed by both parents.[10]
Status
The reed bunting is not globally threatened and is listed as least concern by the IUCN.[1] The estimated European population is at least 4.8 million pairs, with particular strongholds in Sweden, Poland and Norway. However, the reed bunting is reported to be declining in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
↑ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol.13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p.13.
↑ Hoyo, Josep del; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David A, eds. (2020). "Emberizidae". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. doi:10.2173/bow.emberi2.01. S2CID216412784. Retrieved 13 April 2014.(subscription required)
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