Emberiza rustica Pallas, 1776

Taxonomic Classification

The rustic bunting (Emberiza rustica) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group most modern authors now separate from the finch family Fringillidae.

Etymology of Genus Name

The genus name Emberiza comes from the Old German word Embritz, meaning a bunting.

Etymology of Specific Epithet

The specific epithet rustica is Latin for "rustic, simple".

Formal Description History

This species was first formally described in 1776 by Prussian naturalist and explorer Peter Simon Pallas, who gave Dauria as its type locality.

Phylogenetic Placement

It is classified in the genus Emberiza (the typical buntings) within the family Emberizidae, and within the genus Emberiza, the rustic bunting is the sister species to the little bunting (E. pusilla).

Subspecies Count

There are two recognized subspecies of rustic bunting.

Nominate Subspecies Range

Emberiza rustica rustica breeds in the taiga across most of Eurasia, from Scandinavia to Siberia.

Eastern Subspecies Range

Emberiza rustica latifascia breeds in far eastern Siberia, from Yakutsk to Kamchatka.

Overall Breeding Range

Overall, the species breeds across the northern Palearctic.

Migratory Patterns

It is a migratory species, wintering in southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, and eastern China.

Vagrant Occurrences

It is a rare wanderer to western Europe.

Breeding Habitat

Rustic buntings breed in wet coniferous woodland.

Reproduction Details

Females lay four to six eggs in a nest built in a bush or on the ground.

Diet

Their natural diet consists of seeds; when feeding their young, they also eat insects.

Size Comparison

This bird is similar in size to the reed bunting.

General Plumage and Morphology

It has white underparts with reddish flanks, pink legs, and a pink lower mandible.

Breeding Male Plumage

In summer, breeding males have a black head with a white throat and supercilium, and a reddish breast band.

Female Plumage

Females have a heavily streaked brown back, a brown face, and a whitish supercilium.

Female Identification Distinctions

Females resemble female reed buntings, but can be distinguished by their reddish flank streaks, chestnut nape, and pink rather than grey lower mandible.

Vocalizations

The rustic bunting's call is a zit, similar to the call of the song thrush (Turdus philomelos), and its song is a melancholic delee-deloo-delee.