Emberiza melanocephala Scopoli, 1769

Species and Size

Black-headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala Scopoli, 1769) measures 15 cm (5.9 in) in length, larger than a reed bunting, and has a long tail.

Breeding Male Plumage

Breeding males have bright yellow underparts, chestnut upperparts, and a black hood.

Female Plumage

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

Juvenile Plumage

Juveniles resemble females, but have a yellow vent.

Plumage Identification vs Red-headed Bunting

Both adult females and juveniles can be hard to distinguish from the matching plumages of the closely related red-headed bunting; however, black-headed buntings typically have darker cheeks than throat.

First-year Male Plumage

First-year males have a grey crown, and their backs hold patches of chestnut and grey.

First-year Female Plumage

First-year females can also be difficult to separate from female red-headed buntings, though they have more streaking on the crown than on the lower back, and their vent is yellow.

Taxonomy

Black-headed bunting and red-headed bunting are sister species that form a clade together with crested bunting.

Breeding Habitat and Range

This species breeds in open scrubby areas, including agricultural land, with its main breeding range stretching from southeastern Europe to central Asia.

Migration Flock Behavior

During migration, males form single-species flocks and arrive at winter grounds well before females.

Migration Distance Records

The longest recorded migration from a ringed individual is approximately 7,000 km, and one ringed bird was recorded flying 1,000 km in seven days.

Winter Habitat Range

In winter, the species migrates to Asia, where large flocks gather in agricultural fields and grasslands.

Winter Range in India

Within India, its winter range is concentrated in western and northern India, extending south to northern Karnataka.

Winter Roosting Behavior

Black-headed buntings form large communal winter roosts in thorny acacia trees, often joining other bird species such as the yellow-throated sparrow.

Vagrant Records

Vagrants have been recorded wintering as far east as Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, South Korea, and Malaysia, while summer vagrants have been found as far north in Europe as Norway.

Adult Diet

Black-headed buntings forage in flocks on grasslands, feeding mostly on seeds.

Chick Provisioning Diet

When feeding chicks, they primarily eat insects.

Nesting

They breed in summer, building a cup-shaped nest from dry grass lined with hair, placed in a low bush or on the ground.

Clutch Size

The clutch contains four to six eggs.

Chick Development

Eggs hatch after around 13 days, and chicks fledge approximately 10 days after hatching.

Ecological Trap in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, collapse of drying stems of the cotton thistle (Onopordum acanthium) that the birds use for nesting has caused high chick and adult mortality; this effect is considered an example of an ecological trap.

Hybridization with Red-headed Bunting

In northern Iran, black-headed bunting’s range overlaps with red-headed bunting, and natural hybrids are common, despite molecular data showing considerable genetic divergence between the two species.

Moult Frequency

Unlike many other Emberiza buntings, but similar to the red-headed bunting, the black-headed bunting has two moults per year.

Adult Moult Timing

It completes one moult in its winter quarters before migrating back to the breeding range, and a second moult after breeding finishes.

Juvenile Moult Sequence

Young birds fledge with soft plumage, then moult into a juvenile plumage before migrating, and gain full adult plumage after moulting while in their winter quarters.

Winter Call

In winter, the species' call is a single-note tweet or soft zrit.

Song Characteristics

Its song is a loud series of distinct sections, each made up of high harsh notes that accelerate into a jangling mixture with a few clear slurred notes interspersed, before ending abruptly.