Black-faced Bunting

Male
Photo by Akiko Hidaka
Kanto, Japan, February 2007

Emberiza spodocephala

Identification

13·5–16 cm (5¼-6¼ in)
Breeding male

• Head dark olive-grey
• Yellow green and black markings between bill and eye
• Upperparts brown, heavily streaked with black

Photo by anonymous guy
Lamma Island, Hong Kong, March 2005

• Brown rump
• Dark brown tail
• Yellow-white underparts
• Fine dark brown flank streaks
• Pink stout bill
  

Female and young birds

• Weaker head pattern
• Olive-grey cheeks
• Weak creamy-white supercilium
• Underparts creamy yellow heavily streaked with dark brown.

Distribution

Eastern Europe and Asia
Eastern Europe: Finland
Asia: Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Tibet, Nepal, India, eastern and western Himalayas, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand

Taxonomy

Female
Photo by appendiculata191
Nam Kham Nature Reserve, Thailand, February 2011

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• E. s. spodocephala:

• Central and eastern Asia; winters to eastern China and Taiwan

• E. s. personata:

• Sakhalin and southern Kuril Island to Honshu; winters to Ryukyu Island

• E. s. sordida:

• Western China; winters to eastern India, northern Myanmar and northern Indochina

Habitat

Reedbeds and wetland scrub. Dense undergrowth beside streams and rivers in taiga areas. Also on farmland, close to water.

Behaviour

1st Winter Male coming into summer plumage
Photo by fthsm
Sakhalin Island, Russia

Breeding

They build a nest in a tree or on the ground. The clutch consists of 4-5 eggs. There is generally a second brood.

Diet

The diet consists mostly of seeds; the young are fed insects.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Black faced Bunting Jiuzhagou june 011 .mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by china guy, Jiuzaighou, Sichuan, China June 2011

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Birdforum thread with discussion and pictures of younger Black-faced Bunting
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2016)
5. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-faced Bunting. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-faced_Bunting

External Links

Search for photos of Black-faced Bunting in the gallery

Search for videos of Black-faced Bunting on BirdForum TV