Little bunting
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
The little bunting (Emberiza pusilla) is a passerine bird belonging to the bunting family (Emberizidae).
Taxonomy
First described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776, the little bunting is a monotypic species,[1] with no geographical variation across its extensive Palearctic range.[2]
The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific pusilla is Latin for "very small".[3]
Description
This is a small bunting, measuring only Script error: No such module "convert". in length.[1] 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.
Ecology
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.[2] The birds remain in their winter quarters for quite long; specimens were taken in Yunnan in late March.[4] It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.[2] 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 Script error: No such module "convert". ASL.[5]
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.[6]
References
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- ↑ a b Byers, Olsson & Curson (1995), p. 154.
- ↑ a b c Byers, Olsson & Curson (1995), p. 156.
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Cited works
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External links
- OBCTemplate:Category handler[<span title="Script error: No such module "string".">usurped]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 29 photographs (see pulldown menu at page bottom)