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Emberiza cia (*) Cladus: Eukaryota Name Emberiza cia Linnaeus, 1766 Reference * Syst. Nat. ed.12 p.310 Vernacular names
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.
It breeds in northwest Africa, southern Europe east to central Asia, and the Himalayas. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mainly within the breeding range of the resident southern populations. It is a rare wanderer to western Europe. Habitat Rock Bunting breeds in open dry rocky mountainous areas. Description This bird is 16cm in length. The breeding male has chestnut upperparts, unmarked deep buff underparts, and a pale grey head marked with black striping. The female Rock Bunting is a washed-out version of the male, with paler underparts, a grey-brown back and a less contrasted head. The juvenile is similar to the female, but with a streaked head. There are four races differing mainly in the plumage shades, although the subspecies which breeds in Europe, Africa and western Turkey is the only one to show white wing bars. Foraging and Breeding It lays 3-5 greyish eggs in a lined nest on the ground or occasionally in a low bush. Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. Song The call is a sharp tseee, and the song is a twittering churrrr-chirrriiii-itt. References * BirdLife International (2004). Emberiza cia. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern * Buntings and Sparrows by Byers, Olsson and Curson, ISBN 1-873403-19-4 Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
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