The ochre-rumped bunting (''Emberiza yessoensis''), also known as the Japanese reed bunting, is a bird in the family Emberizidae. The species was first described by

Robert Swinhoe Robert Swinhoe FRS (1 September 1836 – 28 October 1877) was an English diplomat and naturalist who worked as a Consul in Formosa. He catalogued many Southeast Asian birds, and several, such as Swinhoe's pheasant, are named after him. Bio ...

in 1863. It is found in Manchuria, Korea and Japan. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s. It is threatened by habitat loss.

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

common 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 ...

and the

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 ...

, which are sometimes classified as being in the genus ''Schoeniclus''.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognised- ''E. y. continentalis'', which breeds in eastern Mongolia, northeast

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Ussuriland Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...

and winters in east China and ''E. y. yessoensis'' which breeds and winters in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and also winters in Korea.

Description

It is 15 cm in length. Typically, it is the richest-coloured of the reed buntings, with the pinkest legs and bill in winter. Male: Dark back. Upperparts chestnut, striped black and buff on breast and sides. Nape brown but sides of neck whitish. Female: Buffy submoustachial and throat, and black malar stripes, crown dark brown streaked pale. Juvenile: Pale greyish-brown central crown stripe. Rump yellowish brown. Voice: Call 'sur-swee-ik' or 'tik'. Habitat: Open fields near water.

References

Ochre-rumped Birds of Manchuria Birds of Korea Birds of Japan Ochre-rumped Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Robert Swinhoe {{Emberizidae-stub