Yellow-breasted Bunting

The Yellow-breasted Bunting, Emberiza aureola, is a small passerine of the bunting family Emberizidae. It is a bird of considerable charm, with the breeding male adorned in bright white underparts contrasted by black flank streaks, a brown back, and a striking black face and throat bar. The lower mandible is a delicate pink. Females are more subdued in coloration, with a heavily streaked grey-brown back and less vibrant yellow underparts. Their faces are whitish with dark crown, eye, and cheek stripes. Juveniles share a resemblance to females but have a buff background to the underparts and face.

Identification Tips

To identify this species, look for the male's distinctive black and white patterning during the breeding season. Outside of this period, both sexes can be recognized by their stout build for a bunting, and the female's streaked appearance. The bird measures between 14 to 16 cm in length and weighs between 17 to 26 g.

Habitat

The Yellow-breasted Bunting favors open scrubby areas for breeding, often near water. It is found in boreal forests and migrates to winter in cultivated areas, rice fields, and grasslands, showing a preference for roosting in rice fields.

Distribution

This species has a broad range, breeding from Finland across to the Bering Sea and wintering in Southeast Asia, India, and North Korea. It is a migratory bird, with some populations breeding as far as the Amur River to Manchuria, North Korea, Kamchatka, and the Kuril Islands. Rare but regular wanderings have been recorded in Western Europe, the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and as far as Labrador, Canada.

Behaviour

The Yellow-breasted Bunting is a sociable bird, often seen in large flocks during the winter. It breeds in open areas, laying four to six eggs in a ground nest. The diet shifts from insects when feeding young to seeds at other times.

Song & Calls

The call of this bunting is a distinctive 'zick', while its song is a melodious 'tru-tru, tri-tri', a sound that graces the air of its breeding territories.

Breeding

Breeding habitats are open, scrubby areas with dry water rice fields for foraging and reedbeds for roosting. The nest is placed on the ground, where the female lays a clutch of four to six eggs.

Conservation Status

The Yellow-breasted Bunting is currently listed as Critically Endangered. Since the early 2000s, populations have experienced a dramatic decline, primarily due to heavy trapping during migration and at wintering sites. The birds are caught in mist-nets and sold for consumption, a practice that has spread with increasing wealth and demand for "sparrows" or "rice birds".

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the Yellow-breasted Bunting consists of insects when feeding young, and seeds during other times. They forage in the fields and grasslands, adapting to the available food sources throughout the year.

Similar Species

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