Zigolo capinero

Identificazione

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.

Tassonomia

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".

Nome scientifico

Emberiza melanocephala

Autorità

Scopoli, 1769

Ordine

Passeriformi

Famiglia

Emberizidae

Genere

Emberiza

Areale e 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.

Areale riproduttivo

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

Areale non riproduttivo

w Indian fields, thickets: far w to nc plains and s to sc Indian Pen.

Migrazione

Migratori completi

Comportamento

Comportamento migratorio: Migratori completi.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione

unknown