Emberiza caesia Cretzschmar, 1827

Species Identification and Size Comparison

This bird species, Cretzschmar's bunting (Emberiza caesia Cretzschmar, 1827), is smaller than the ortolan bunting.

Breeding Male Plumage and Morphology

Breeding males have a grey head with orange moustaches, brown heavily streaked upperparts (unstreaked on the rump), rusty orange underparts, and a stout pink bill.

Female and Juvenile Plumage

Females and young birds have a less distinct head pattern and look much more similar to ortolans.

Distinguishing Features from Ortolan Buntings

They can be told apart from ortolans by their warm brown rump and white eye-ring.

Breeding Habitat Requirements

Cretzschmar's bunting breeds on sunny open hillsides with scattered bushes.

Range and Elevational Distribution

It is found mainly in coastal or island areas, and where it occurs alongside the closely related ortolan bunting, it often breeds at lower elevations.

Nesting and Reproduction

It builds a ground nest and lays four to six eggs.

Core Diet Composition

Its natural diet includes seeds, and it feeds insects to its young.

Breeding Geographic Range

This species breeds in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the Levant.

Migratory Pattern and Winter Range

It is migratory, wintering in Sudan and northern Eritrea, and is a very rare wanderer to western Europe.

Foraging Behavior and Detailed Diet

It forages almost entirely on the ground, eating small seeds (especially grass seeds) and supplementing its diet with small invertebrates, particularly ants.