The cinereous bunting (''Emberiza cineracea'') is a
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the
bunting family
Emberizidae
The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus ''Emberiza'', the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills.
Taxonomy
The family Emberizid ...
, a ''
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
'' family now separated by most modern authors from the
finch
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
es,
Fringillidae
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
. This species was first described by
Christian Ludwig Brehm
Christian Ludwig Brehm (24 January 1787 – 23 June 1864) was a German pastor and ornithologist. He was the father of the zoologist Alfred Brehm.
Life
Brehm was born in Schönau near Gotha on 24 January 1787. He was educated at Universit ...
.
Range
It breeds in southern Turkey and southern Iran, and
winters around the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
in north-eastern Africa and Yemen. A few isolated populations just about maintain a foothold within European borders, on islands in the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
.
Habitat
The cinereous bunting breeds on dry stony mountain slopes.
Description
The cinereous bunting is a large (16–17 cm), slim bunting with a long, white-cornered tail. The term ''
cinereous
Cinereous is a colour, meaning ashy grey in appearance, either consisting of or resembling ashes, or a grey colour tinged with coppery brown. It is derived from the Latin ''cinereus'', from ''cinis'' (ashes).
The first recorded use of ''cinere ...
'' describes its colouration. It is less streaked than many buntings and has a thick pale bill. It has a greyish back with only subdued dark markings, and a browner tint to the wings.
The adult male's head is dull yellow, with a brighter moustachial line and throat. In the nominate race of south-west Turkey, the rest of the underparts are grey, but the eastern form ''E. c. semenowi'' has yellow underparts.
Females are brownish grey above with a whitish throat and yellow only in the moustachial stripe. Young birds have a plain pale belly and streaking on the breast.
Foraging and breeding
Like other buntings, the cinereous bunting feeds principally on seeds. It takes insects especially when feeding its young. Its normal clutch is three eggs.
Song
The call is a harsh ''tschrip'', and the song is a hoarse ''zru- zru-zru-zru''.
References
* ''Buntings and Sparrows'' by Byers, Olsson and Curson,
cinereous bunting
Birds of Western Asia
Birds of East Africa
cinereous bunting
cinereous bunting
{{emberizidae-stub