| Little bunting | |
|---|---|
 | |
| On the island of Heligoland in the North Sea | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Emberizidae |
| Genus: | Emberiza |
| Species: | E. pusilla |
| Binomial name | |
| Emberiza pusilla Pallas, 1776 | |
 | |
| Range of E. pusilla Breeding Non-breeding | |
The little bunting (Emberiza pusilla) is a passerine bird belonging to the bunting family (Emberizidae).
First described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776, the little bunting is a monotypic species, [2] with no geographical variation across its extensive Palearctic range. [3]
The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific pusilla is Latin for "very small". [4]
This is a small bunting, measuring only 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) in length. [2] It has white underparts with dark streaking on the breast and sides. With its chestnut face and white malar stripe, it resembles a small female reed bunting, but has black crown stripes, a white eye-ring, and a fine dark border to the rear of its chestnut cheeks. The sexes are similar.
The call is a distinctive zik, and the song is a rolling siroo-sir-sir-siroo.
The little bunting breeds across the taiga of the far north-east of Europe and northern Eurosiberia to the Russian Far East. It is migratory, wintering in the subtropics in northern India, southern China and the northern parts of south-east Asia. [3] The birds remain in their winter quarters for quite long; specimens were taken in Yunnan in late March. [5] It is a rare vagrant to western Europe. [3] This species is adaptable; in the mountains of Bhutan for example, where small numbers winter, it is typically found in an agricultural habitat, mostly between 1,000 and 2,000 metres (3,300 and 6,600 ft) ASL. [6]
It breeds in open coniferous woodland, often with some birch or willow. Four to six eggs are laid in a tree nest. Its natural food consists of seeds, or when feeding young, insects.
A common and widely-ranging species, it is not considered threatened on the IUCN Red List. [1]
The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus Emberiza, the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills.
The yellowhammer is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern subspecies is partially migratory, with much of the population wintering further south. The male yellowhammer has a bright yellow head, streaked brown back, chestnut rump, and yellow under parts. Other plumages are duller versions of the same pattern. The yellowhammer is common in open areas with some shrubs or trees, and forms small flocks in winter. Its song has a rhythm like "A little bit of bread and no cheese". The song is very similar to that of its closest relative, the pine bunting, with which it interbreeds.
The pine bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group most modern authors now separate from the finches, Fringillidae. It lives in Eurosiberia east of the Urals.
The rustic bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific rustica is Latin for "rustic, simple".
The yellow-breasted bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae that is found across the Boreal and East Palearctic. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific aureola is Latin for "golden". The bird's call is a distinctive zick, and the song is a clear tru-tru, tri-tri.
The yellow-browed bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern taxonomists from the finches (Fringillidae). The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific chrysophrys is from Ancient Greek khrusophrus, "golden-browed".
The black-headed bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It breeds in south-east Europe east to Iran and migrates in winter mainly to India, with some individuals moving further into south-east Asia. Like others in its family, it is found in open grassland habitats where they fly in flocks in search of grains and seed. Adult males are well marked with yellow underparts, chestnut back and a black head. Adult females in breeding plumage look like duller males. In other plumages, they can be hard to separate from the closely related red-headed bunting and natural hybridization occurs between the two species in the zone of overlap of their breeding ranges in northern Iran.
The rock bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
The red-headed bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
The house bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae.
The cinereous bunting is a bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a passerine family now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. This species was first described by Christian Ludwig Brehm.
The stripe-headed sparrow is an American sparrow which breeds from Pacific coastal south-western Mexico, including the transverse ranges, Cordillera Neovolcanica to Pacific coastal northern Costa Rica.
The black-striped sparrow is a passerine bird found from eastern Honduras to western Ecuador, northern Brazil, and Venezuela.
The Cape bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae.
The golden-breasted bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It occurs in dry open woodlands and moist savanna in Africa south of the Sahara, but is absent from the equatorial forest belt.
The striolated bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
Worthen's sparrow is a species of American sparrow that is endemic to northeastern Mexico. It was first described by Robert Ridgway in 1884 and named for the American naturalist Charles K. Worthen. This small bird has been listed as endangered by the IUCN since 1994.
The Tumbes sparrow is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae found in Ecuador and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The chestnut bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae found in the East Palearctic.
The cinnamon-breasted bunting or cinnamon-breasted rock-bunting, is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. It is widespread in Africa south of the Sahara.
