Black-headed Bunting
Emberiza melanocephala
Large, stocky bunting. On breeding males, the combination of a black head, a bright yellow collar, yellow underparts, and rusty-brown back is unmistakable. The black on the face of nonbreeding males is restricted to the patch around the eyes forming a “bandit’s mask.” Female is plain brown overall with a pale yellowish wash on the vent and traces of yellow on the rump. Extremely similar to female Red-headed Bunting; best to use a combination of various details to separate the two, with the Red-headed Bunting having a yellower rump and belly, a more noticeably streaked crown, and a bulkier bill than Black-headed Bunting. Breeds in open forests, edges, and patchily planted areas like orchards and gardens. Winters in farmland. Song is a rather lacklustre series of buzzy notes. Calls are varied and include sparrowlike chirps and high thin “tseep’s.”
Identification
This bird is 15 cm (5.9 in) long, larger than a reed bunting, and with a long-tail. The breeding male has bright yellow underparts, chestnut upperparts and a black hood. The female is a washed-out version of the male, with paler underparts, a grey-brown back and a greyish head. The juvenile is similar but the vent is yellow, and both can be difficult to separate from the corresponding plumages of the closely related red-headed bunting although the black-headed tends to have the cheeks darker than the throat. First year males have a grey crown and the back has patches of chestnut and grey. First year females can be difficult to separate from female red-headed buntings although having more streaking on the crown than on the lower back. The vent is yellow.<p>The black- and red-headed buntings represent sister species which forms a clade along with the crested bunting.
Taxonomy
The black-headed bunting was formally described in 1769 by the Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli under the binomial name Emberiza melanocephala. The type locality is Carniola in Slovenia. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting, and the specific melanocephala combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black", and kephale meaning "head".
- Scientific name
- Emberiza melanocephala
- Authority
- Scopoli, 1769
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Emberizidae
- Genus
- Emberiza
Range and habitat
The black-headed bunting breeds in open scrubby areas including agricultural land. In winter they move to Asia and large flocks are found in agricultural fields and grasslands. The longest migration noted from a ringed individual is about 7,000 km. Another ringed bird was determined to have flown 1,000 km in seven days. Males form pure flocks during migration and arrive in the winter quarters well before the females. The winter range within India is mainly in western and northern India extending south to northern Karnataka. In winter they form large communal roosts in thorny acacia trees, often joining other species such as the yellow-throated sparrow.<p>The main breeding zone extends from south-eastern Europe to central Asia. The wintering grounds are mainly in India although vagrants have been found wintering as far east as Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, South Korea and Malaysia. Summer vagrants may occur as far north in Europe as Norway.
- Breeding range
- PAL : sc Europe to sw Asian open woods, scrub: sw France, Italy, Balkans ne to se Ukraine and sw Russia and Caucasus; in s to Greece, Crete, Turkey, Cyprus to n Israel and n Jordan, e through nw Syria and n Iraq to nc, se Iran
- Non-breeding range
- w Indian fields, thickets: far w to nc plains and s to sc Indian Pen.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosa
Gregarious medium-sized wader with a long, slightly uptilted bill. Note the very long, pink-based bill. Breeding plumage has bright rusty head and breast, dark barring on belly; nonbreeding plumage has rather plain grayish head, breast, and upperparts, unlike streaked breast and back of Bar-tailed Godwit. In flight shows bold white wing stripe, white rump, and black tail. Fairly common but often local; breeds in grassy wetlands, and found year-round in fresh and brackish marshes, and on adjacent tidal flats. Feeds mainly by wading in deep water, probing with its long bill.
Russet-crowned Crake
Rufirallus viridis
Fairly small, plump bird with large but disjunct range across much of South America. Dull brown above and rufous below with gray face, rufous crown, red eye, and red legs. Sexes similar. Tends to be quite shy, creeping on the ground in thickets, scrub, wet pastures, and savanna. Found in drier habitats than other rail species. Listen for the trilled song with a clicking or tinkling quality, often stuttering a bit.
Tepui Antpitta
Myrmothera simplex
Rotund, terrestrial bird of tepui highland forests. Rich brown above and pale gray-brown below, with a white spot behind the eye, long legs, and virtually no tail. Found at middle and high elevations; most common above 800 m. Always observed on or close to ground. Forages in leaf litter and among mossy rocks for insects. Does not usually follow mixed-species flocks. Far more often heard than seen, but seems much less shy than many other antpittas; may run along ground to within a few meters of observers in response to playback or imitation of song. Song is 6–12 hollow whistles, the series rising slightly in pitch, similar to song of Thrush-like Antpitta but higher-pitched and often longer in duration. Alarm call is a melodious, hollow chuckle, virtually identical to same call of Thrush-like Antpitta; the two species do not overlap in elevational range.
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