House bunting

Last updated

House bunting
House bunting (Emberiza sahari) male Gabes.jpg
in Tunisia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae
Genus: Emberiza
Species:
E. sahari
Binomial name
Emberiza sahari
Synonyms [1]
  • Emberiza striolata sahari

The house bunting (Emberiza sahari) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae.

Juvenile, Marrakech, Morocco House Bunting, juvenile, Marrakech.jpg
Juvenile, Marrakech, Morocco

It is a resident breeder of dry country from northwestern Africa from Morocco south to Mali and east to Chad. [2] In Morocco, the species has expanded from the Atlas Mountains northwards since the 1960s, and has recently reached Tangier [3] and Tétouan [4] on the southern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. The house bunting breeds around human habitation, laying two to four eggs in a nest in a hole in a wall or building. Its natural food consists seeds, or when feeding young, insects.

It is 14 cm long, similar in size to the striolated bunting and smaller than the rock bunting. The breeding male has a sandy orange-brown body and a grey head slightly dark-streaked but without the white supercilium that the striolated bunting has. The female's head has a brown tint to the grey, and more diffused streaking.

The house bunting has recently been split from the closely related striolated bunting, [5] [6] of which it used to be treated as a subspecies, Emberiza striolata sahari. The striolated bunting has stronger facial striping and a paler belly than the house bunting. [2]

The incubation period of the clutch of three eggs is 12–14 days. [2]

Eggs of Emberiza sahari MHNT Emberiza sahari MHNT 224 Marrakech HdB.jpg
Eggs of Emberiza sahari MHNT

The song, given from a perch, is similar to but weaker than that of the common chaffinch.

In Morocco, the species is traditionally regarded as sacred, and has become very tame, freely entering and feeding inside houses, shops and mosques. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellowhammer</span> Passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common reed bunting</span> Species of bird

The common reed 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 schoeniclus is from Ancient Greek skhoiniklos, a now unknown waterside bird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pallas's reed bunting</span> Species of bird

Pallas's reed bunting, also known as Pallas's bunting, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corn bunting</span> Species of bird

The corn bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. This is a large bunting with heavily streaked buff-brown plumage. The sexes are similar but the male is slightly larger than the female. Its range extends from Western Europe and North Africa across to northwestern China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cirl bunting</span> Species of bird

The cirl bunting, , is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine bunting</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little bunting</span> Species of bird

The little bunting is a passerine bird belonging to the bunting family (Emberizidae).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rustic bunting</span> Species of bird

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-breasted bunting</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-faced bunting</span> Species of bird

The black-faced bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cretzschmar's bunting</span> Species of bird

Cretzschmar's bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed bunting</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock bunting</span> Species of bird

The rock bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinereous bunting</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape bunting</span> Species of bird

The Cape bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-breasted bunting</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striolated bunting</span> Species of bird

The striolated bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadow bunting</span> Species of bird

The meadow bunting or Siberian meadow bunting is a passerine bird of eastern Asia which belongs to the genus Emberiza in the bunting family Emberizidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut bunting</span> Species of bird

The chestnut bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae found in the East Palearctic.

References

  1. "Emberiza sahari". Avibase.
  2. 1 2 3 Byers, C., Olsson, U., & Curson, J. (1995). Buntings and Sparrows. Pica Press ISBN   1-873403-19-4.
  3. Amezian M., Bensusan K., Perez C. & Thompson I. 2006. Is House Bunting about to colonise Europe? Birding World 19: 263.
  4. El Khamlichi, R. & Amezian, M. 2012. House Bunting finally colonised Tétouan, northern Morocco. MaghrebOrnitho. Online at: https://www.magornitho.org/2012/06/house-bunting-tetouan/; Posted on 8 June 2012; Consulted 15 August 2014.
  5. Collinson, M. (2006). Splitting headaches? Recent taxonomic changes affecting the British and Western Palearctic lists. British Birds 99 (6): 306-323.
  6. Kirwan, Guy M. and Hadoram Shirihai (2007) Species limits in the House Bunting complex Dutch Birding 29(1): 1-19
  7. Snow, D. W. & Perrins, C. M. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic Concise Edition. OUP ISBN   0-19-854099-X.