Pallas's reed bunting (''Emberiza pallasi''), also known as Pallas's bunting, is 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 t ...

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 lightweigh ...

in the

bunting Bunting may refer to: Animals Birds * Bunting (bird) or Emberizidae, a family of Eurasian and African passerine birds * New World buntings or ''Passerina'', a genus of American passerine birds in the family Cardinalidae * Blue bunting, a species ...

family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

Taxonomy

The bird family Emberizidae contains around 300 seed-eating species, the majority of which are found in the Americas, although the genus '' Emberiza'', with more than 40 members, is confined to the Old World. Within its genus, the reed bunting is most closely related to the

Japanese reed bunting The Japanese reed bunting or ochre-rumped bunting (''Emberiza yessoensis'') is a bird in the family Emberizidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. It is found in Manchuria, Korea and Japan. Its natural habitats are tem ...

and the

reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a ...

, which are sometimes classified as being in the genus Schoeniclus. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a bunting. The English name and the specific ''pallasii'' commemorate German naturalist and explorer

Peter Simon Pallas Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810. Life and work Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son ...

. It breeds across northern and central Asia across to Mongolia. It is a migrant, which winters in south east Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, but has occurred as far west as

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognised- ''E. p. polaris'', which occurs in most of northeast

European Russia European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the cou ...

, north Kamchatka and winters in eastern China, ''E. p. pallasi'' which is found in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

Transbaikalia Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykalye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal in Far Eastern Russia. The steppe and ...

and winters in west and north China and ''E. p. lydiae'', which occurs in south Siberia, northern Mongolia and winters in north China.

Habitat

It is common in

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

scrub by water, and also breeds in drier open areas such as open larch forest.

Description

The Pallas's reed bunting is a small passerine bird, similar to a small

. It has a small seed-eater's bill. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked grey back (reed bunting has a browner back). The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head. It is less streaked below than female reed bunting. The song of the male is a repetitive ''sherp''.

Behaviour

Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds.

Breeding

Breeding occurs between June and August, being earlier in the north of its range. The nest is in a bush, typically made from grasses and sedges, lined with finer materials such as smaller grasses and hair. 3-5 cream-coloured eggs are laid, which show the hair-like markings characteristic of those of buntings. The incubation period is 11 days.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1314178

Pallas's reed bunting Pallas's reed bunting (''Emberiza pallasi''), also known as Pallas's bunting, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. Taxonomy The bird family Emberizi ...

Birds of North Asia Birds of Mongolia