Pallas's Bunting
Emberiza pallasi
Very similar to Reed Bunting, but smaller and more slender; also note finer bill, colder pale buffy-brown (instead of rufous) wing coverts, and less extensive streaking on the underparts. Breeding male has a black hood and bright white “moustache” stripe. Female and non-breeding birds are pale sandy brown with a pale but noticeable white “moustache.” Breeds in thickets and vegetation clusters in tundra and winters in reedbeds and tall grassy or brushy areas near water, where often associated with mixed-species flocks. Song is a series of wet buzzy “tsli” notes. “Chlip” calls distinctly sparrow-like.
Identification
The Pallas's reed bunting is a small passerine bird, similar to a small reed bunting. It has a small seed-eater's bill. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked grey back (reed bunting has a browner back). The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head. It is less streaked below than female reed bunting.<p>The song of the male is a repetitive sherp.
Taxonomy
The bird family Emberizidae contains around 300 seed-eating species, the majority of which are found in the Americas, although the genus Emberiza, with more than 40 members, is confined to the Old World. Within its genus, the reed bunting is most closely related to the Japanese reed bunting and the reed bunting, which are sometimes classified as being in the genus Schoeniclus. <p>The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The English name and the specific pallasii commemorate German naturalist and explorer Peter Simon Pallas.It breeds across northern and central Asia across to Mongolia. It is a migrant, which winters in south east Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, but has occurred as far west as Great Britain.<p>Three subspecies are recognised- E. p. polaris, which occurs in most of northeast European Russia, north Kamchatka and winters in eastern China, E. p. pallasi which is found in Mongolia and Transbaikalia and winters in west and north China and E. p. lydiae, which occurs in south Siberia, northern Mongolia and winters in north China.
- Scientific name
- Emberiza pallasi
- Authority
- (Cabanis, 1851)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Emberizidae
- Genus
- Emberiza
Range and habitat
It is common in tundra scrub by water, and also breeds in drier open areas such as open larch forest.
- Breeding range
- PAL : low Arctic to n temperate c, e Palearctic tundra to tussock grass: n Yamalia (ne European Russia) to s Chukotka (ne Russia), s to Sea of Okhotsk and n Kamchatka; disjunctly in far ne Kazakhstan, Altay (sc Russia) e to w Amurland, in s through n, c Mongolia and Inner Mongolia
- Non-breeding range
- temperate e Asian fields: to s Ussuriland, Korean Pen., c, e China
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. <p>Breeding occurs between June and August, being earlier in the north of its range. The nest is in a bush, typically made from grasses and sedges, lined with finer materials such as smaller grasses and hair. 3-5 cream-coloured eggs are laid, which show the hair-like markings characteristic of those of buntings. The incubation period is 11 days.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-sided Hillstar
Oreotrochilus leucopleurus
Small hummingbird of the Andes from southern Bolivia through Argentina into central Chile; found in rocky and shrubby valleys, villages, and any open or semiopen areas with flowers. Often builds nest under eaves of buildings or bridges: a bulky cup of plant material and wool to insulate against cold nights. Fairly common. Readily identified in most of range by extensively white tail. Male has an emerald green gorget and a broad blue-black stripe on belly. Female is rather drab, but note slightly decurved bill, spotted throat, and tail pattern.
Chestnut-backed Thrush
Geokichla dohertyi
A striking thrush with a black-and-white head pattern, a chestnut back, prominent white wing markings, a black chest, large black splotching down the flanks, and a white belly. Juveniles show chestnut spots above, black-spotted buffy underparts, and buff wingbars. Found in forests in the lowlands and foothills, foraging singly on the ground. Restricted to the Lesser Sundas. Separated from Chestnut-capped Thrush by chestnut back, black cap, and small white throat. Song consists of rich cadences, typical of thrushes. Call is a quiet, thin rasping note.
Isabelline Wheatear
Oenanthe isabellina
A large pale wheatear. Gray-brown above with warm orangish tones on white underparts and a pale white eyebrow. Tail is predominantly black with white edges and it contrasts sharply with its snow-white rump. Somewhat similar in coloration to a toned-down female Northern Wheatear, but visibly larger, shorter-tailed, and longer-billed (all of which are accentuated by the typically tall, erect posture). Inhabits flat, open areas, often at middle to high elevations. Remarkable song has a tumbling quality that includes long ringing whistles, chattering, and imitations of other sounds in the surrounding environment. Calls include shorter whistles and hard “chak’s,” like rocks being struck together.
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