Little Bunting
A species of Old World Buntings Scientific name : Emberiza pusilla Genus : Old World Buntings
Little Bunting, A species of Old World Buntings
Botanical name: Emberiza pusilla
Genus: Old World Buntings
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Charles Lam, Flickr User , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Description
This is a small bunting, measuring only 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) in length. It has a heavily streaked brown back and white underparts with fine dark streaking. 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.
Size
13-14 cm (5-5.5 in)
Feeding Habits
Little Bunting primarily consumes seeds and invertebrates, foraging on the ground with agility. Adapting to various habitats, little Bunting has a preference for grass seeds, displaying seasonal dietary shifts. Its specialized bill effectively handles diverse food items.
Habitat
Little Bunting typically inhabits moist open taiga and partly flooded forests dotted with dwarf birch, willow, and alder. Broadly, their range extends across northern Eurasian regions where they favor shrubby river valleys in the tundra. During breeding, little Bunting selects less wooded areas compared to E. rustica and more humid environments than those of Calcarius lapponicus. In winter, they adapt to a variety of open and semi-open habitats, including forest edges, agricultural fields, and even gardens or orchards.
Dite type
Granivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird Feeder Type
Platform
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Photo By Charles Lam, Flickr User , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
New world sparrows Genus
Old World Buntings Species
Little Bunting