The chestnut-eared bunting (''Emberiza fucata''), also called grey-headed bunting or grey-hooded bunting, with the latter name also used for

grey-necked bunting The grey-necked bunting (''Emberiza buchanani''), sometimes referred to as grey-hooded bunting (a name also in use for chestnut-eared bunting) is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. It breeds along a wide distribution range from the Cas ...

, 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 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 ...

. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from

Old German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

''Embritz'', a bunting. The specific ''fucata'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "painted" from ''fucare'', "to paint red".

Description

It is 15 to 16 cm in length. The plumage is mostly brown with dark streaks. The male has a grey crown and nape with dark streaks, chestnut ear-coverts and bands of black and chestnut across the breast. There is a

rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...

patch on the shoulders and the rump is also rufous. Females are similar to the males but duller with a less distinct head and breast pattern. First-winter birds are plainer but show warm brown ear-coverts and have an obvious ring around the eye. Its voice is similar to the

rustic bunting The rustic bunting (''Emberiza rustica'') 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 bunting. ...

but quieter. The song is a rapid twittering which begins with staccato notes and then accelerates before ending with a distinctive two or three note phrase. The call is an explosive '.

Distribution and habitat

The breeding range extends from the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

locally across China to south-eastern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, Korea and northern Japan. Northern birds migrate south to winter in southern Japan, southern China, Taiwan, north-eastern India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia. The species is a

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

to Kazakhstan and in October 2004 the first European record occurred at

Fair Isle Fair Isle (; sco, Fair Isle; non, Friðarey; gd, Fara) is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. It is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. Th ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Preferred habitats include scrub, fields and grassland.

Reproduction

The cup-shaped nest is built at ground level or low in a bush. Three to six eggs are laid with four being most common. These are whitish with reddish-brown speckling and are incubated for 12 days. The breeding season is variable, lasting from May to August in India, May to July in

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

and June to August in

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Subspecies

There are three subspecies. The

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

''E. f. fucata'' occupies the northern part of the range. ''E.f. arcuata'' is found in the Himalayas and south-west and central parts of China; it is darker with broader breastbands. The third subspecies ''E. f. kuatunensis'' lives in south-east China and is darker and more rufous above with narrower breastbands.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1586230 chestnut-eared bunting Birds of China Birds of North India Birds of Japan Birds of Korea Birds of Manchuria Birds of Pakistan Birds of Yunnan chestnut-eared bunting Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas