Chestnut-eared bunting

Emberiza fucata

Photo by Josep del Hoyo (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
chestnut-eared bunting (en); escrevedeira-de-faces-castanhas (pt); bruant à oreillons (fr); escribano de capucha gris (es); graukopfammer (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Emberizidae


Range:
This Asian species is found breeding from the Himalayas, in northern Pakistan and India, through China and Mongolia, and into Korea and northern Japan. They migrate south to winter in southern Japan, southern China, Taiwan, north-eastern India and South-east Asia.


Size:
These birds are 15-16 cm long and weigh 18-20 g.


Habitat:
The chestnut-eared bunting is found in grasslands, scrublands, riparian vegetation and in agricultural areas.


Diet:
They mostly eat seeds of various grasses and other plants, but can also take insects and other invertebrates.


Breeding:
Chestnut-eared buntings breed in May-August. They build a cup-shaped nest on the ground, or in a low bush, where the female lays 3-6 pale greenish-grey or white eggs with brown speckles. The eggs are incubated for 12 days and the chicks fledge 12-14 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be common to locally common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.