Emberiza bruniceps J.F.Brandt, 1841

Taxonomy

The red-headed bunting, scientifically named Emberiza bruniceps, is a passerine bird belonging to the bunting family Emberizidae.

Breeding Distribution

This species breeds across central Asia, with breeding populations found in Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation (including European Russia and Central Asian Russia), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and China.

Migratory Pattern

It is a fully migratory bird that spends the winter in India and Bangladesh.

Vagrant Status in Western Europe

In western Europe, this species occurs only as a vagrant, and its wild status there has been confused by records of escaped captive birds.

Taxonomic Comparison with Black-headed Bunting

This confusion persists even though red-headed bunting is more commonly recorded in the region than the closely related black-headed bunting, which actually has a more westerly breeding range.

Population Trend in Britain

Reports of this species in Britain have dropped dramatically in recent years.

Threat to Populations

This decline matches widespread reductions in some Emberizidae species caused by the impact of illegal wildlife trade.

Wild Origin Confirmation

One individual found on Shetland in 2010 was confirmed to be of wild origin.

Breeding Habitat

Red-headed buntings breed in open scrubby landscapes, which includes agricultural land.

Nesting and Clutch Size

They build their nests in trees or bushes, and lay clutches of three to five eggs.

Diet

Their natural diet consists mainly of seeds, but they feed insects to their young.

Size and Morphology

This species reaches 17 cm in total length, making it larger than the reed bunting, and has a long tail.

Breeding Male Plumage

Breeding males have bright yellow underparts, green upperparts, and a brownish-red face and breast.

Female Plumage

Females are a paler, less distinct version of breeding males, with paler underparts, a grey-brown back, and a greyish head.

Juvenile Plumage

Juveniles have a similar plumage to females.

Plumage Identification Challenge

Both females and juvenile red-headed buntings can be very difficult to distinguish from the matching age and sex plumages of black-headed buntings.

Male Vocalization

Males sing from high perches, producing a jerky song transcribed as sweet-sweet-churri-churri-churri.