Godlewski's Bunting
Emberiza godlewskii
This large bunting is a common sight in dry open areas such as fields and rocky slopes. The male is brown with a gray-and-brown head pattern that is unique within this species’ range. The female has a pale head with a ghost of the male’s pattern. Often found perched boldly on boulders, exposed branches, and telephone wires, from which the male sings a long jumbled song started off by a short, sharp introductory note.
Identification
The adult's head, neck, and breast are grey over-all with a brown or black eye stripe, "mustache", and crown. Its underparts and rump are an orange/buff wash and its back is mottled orange and black. The tail is black and orange above and white beneath, with a definite notch at the end. It has a sparrow-like beak which is black above and pale below. The legs and feet are light pink.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Emberiza godlewskii
- Authority
- Taczanowski, 1874
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Emberizidae
- Genus
- Emberiza
Range and habitat
It is found in China, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Russia. Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland.
- Breeding range
- PAL : temperate to subtropical montane c, e Palearctic rocky slopes: e Kyrgyzstan, w Xinjiang (w China), sc Russia to Transbaikalia, Mongolia to c Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Hebei (ne China); in s to w, s, e Tibet, ne Arunachal Pradesh (ne India) to n Yunnan (sc China)
- Non-breeding range
- to cultivation at lower elevations
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Buff-necked Ibis
Theristicus caudatus
Stocky ibis. Very similar to Black-faced Ibis but no range overlap. Back and wings mostly gray with black belly and contrasting buffy neck and head. Long decurved bill and pink legs. Usually found in pairs or small groups, in open habitats like pastures and savannas. Often far from water, unlike most other ibis.
Bryan's Shearwater
Puffinus bryani
Smallest known shearwater. Tiny, black and white shearwater with rapidly fluttering wingbeats and an entirely white face. Little is known about this species, though it differs from the very similar Rapa Shearwater by having a black undertail, shorter tail and being paler grayish black.
Finch-billed Myna
Scissirostrum dubium
A distinctive ashy-gray starling with a conspicuous, bulbous pale bill and fine red flecks on the rump. Juvenile browner, with orange coloring to rump and paler bill. Highly gregarious and vocal, often observed in flocks of dozens, frequenting the canopy. A species of lowlands and hills, preferring open woodlands and forest edge, particularly favoring tall dead trees, where they nest communally in cavities. Restricted to Sulawesi and nearby islands. Vociferous, regularly uttering “chirup” calls, typically as a large, noisy group.
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