The striolated bunting (''Emberiza striolata'') 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 family Emberizidae, a group 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.

Distribution and habitat

It is a resident breeder of dry country from Chad, east through south-west Asia to north-western India Byers, C., Olsson, U., & Curson, J. (1995). ''Buntings and Sparrows''. Pica Press . and in Africa. It is also known as “The Marrakesh Bird” for its strong presence in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. It breeds in remote

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

s (not around human habitation like the related house bunting), usually close to streams, laying two to four eggs in a nest on the ground or in a hole in the ground. Its natural food consists of seeds, or when feeding young, insects.

Description

It is 14 cm long, similar in size to the house bunting and smaller than the similarly plumaged

rock bunting The rock bunting (''Emberiza cia'') 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. T ...

. The breeding male has a chestnut body, and grey head with darker streaking and a white supercilium and moustachial streak. The female's head has a brown tint to the grey, and more diffused streaking. The striolated bunting has stronger facial striping and a paler belly than the north African house bunting, which used to be considered conspecific as the subspecies ''E. striolata sahari''. Birds in eastern Chad (''E. striolata jebelmarrae'') show some evidence of intergradation with the house bunting. The song, given from a perch, is similar to but weaker than that of the

common chaffinch The common chaffinch or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in ...

Subspecies

*''Emberiza striolata striolata'' Northeast Africa to Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and central India *''Emberiza striolata saturatior'' Highlands of central Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya *''Emberiza striolata jebelmarrae'' Highlands of Sudan (Jebel Marra) *'' Emberiza striolata sahari'' Morocco east to Libya, south to Senegal, Mali, Niger and Chad

Behaviour

Breeding

The breeding range of the bird in India has been noted in recent times to include more southerly locations such as near

Saswad Saswad is a municipal council located on South-Eastern corridor of Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Saswad is situated on the banks of the Karha River. Saswad is about 31 km from Pune-Central Station. History Saswad is a ...

near

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. The incubation period of the clutch of three eggs is 14 days.Pande, S. Pawashe, A. & Joshi, V. 2006. Notes on the breeding of Striolated Bunting ''Emberiza striolata'' near Pune, Maharashtra. ''Indian Birds'' 2 (6): 153-156.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1193031 striolated bunting Birds of East Africa Birds of the Middle East Birds of Pakistan striolated bunting