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PLATE 116: BUNTINGS III
Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica V
L: 14.5. Fairly robust bunting, streaked rufous below and with longish bill with straight culmen.
Male unmistakable with black head broken by bold white supercilium and nape spot, bright rusty
nape merging on sides of neck with rusty-red breast-band; flanks with extensive rusty streaks;
rump rusty-red. Female has less blackish head with paler median crown-streak and ear-coverts.
First-autumn birds confusable with Common Reed Bunting but note rufous streaks on breast and
flanks, rufous rump, bill colour and shape, bolder supercilium behind eye, whiter wing-bars and call.
Voice Call a short, distinct zib or zik, less sharp than Little Bunting. Habitat On passage, generally in
damp, bushy or wooded areas. Note Vagrant to most countries of the Middle East.Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola pm, wv
L: 15. Medium-sized with pale, stout, conical bill and white in tail-sides. Non-breeding male, female
and first-autumn birds told by prominent creamy supercilium, faint pale central forecrown-stripe
with dark brown lateral crown-stripes (less well-defined in first-autumn), pale cheeks strongly
dark-bordered, cream mantle braces and fairly distinct white wing-bars. Rump grey-brown and
heavily streaked. Underparts yellowish-white or at least sullied buffy (mainly first-autumn) with
whitish undertail-coverts; flanks and sometimes breast faintly streaked. Voice Two main calls
heard on passage, a short tik, not unlike that of Little Bunting, and a softer, metallic tsiu or tsip.
Habitat Open country with trees or bushes; grassland, cultivation. Note Rare and declining passage
migrant Oman; vagrant Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE.Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala PM
L: 16.5. Heavy-bodied, stout-billed bunting without white in tail. Male has black head, yellow
underparts and unstreaked chestnut upperparts; black of head subdued by pale fringes in autumn.
Female and first-autumn birds lack black, bright chestnut and yellow, then appearing almost identical
to Red-headed Bunting, although upperparts usually warmer-toned (less olive grey-brown) and
underparts generally tinged more yellow, especially undertail-coverts. Often in groups on passage,
particularly in spring. Voice Song typically bunting-like, starting with short harsh notes, ending with
more ringing tsi-tia-tia-tia-terlu-terlu-terlu. Call a sparrow-like or Tawny Pipit-like tjilp; also a metallic
tlev. Habitat Bushy and grassy country, open farmland. Note Passage hatched.Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps V
L: 16.5. Size of Black-headed Bunting, also lacking white in outer tail feathers. Male with red-
brown head and breast (subdued by yellow and white in autumn), with rest of underparts and
rump yellow. Female and first-autumn birds very like Black-headed and some not identifiable, but
note Red-headed has grey-brown, often olive-tinged upperparts including rump and scapulars
(tinged rufous in many Black-headed Buntings). Head of Red-headed Bunting slightly more uniform
with less streaked forecrown and paler ear-coverts than Black-headed Bunting; underparts,
particularly undertail-coverts, tend to be tinged less yellowish than Black-headed, some being
uniform buffish-grey below. Voice Song like Black-headed Bunting. Call bzisf. Habitat Farmland
and open country on passage. Note Vagrant Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE. Frequent escape.Common Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus V
L: 15.5. Breeding male told by black hood and bib, white half-collar and white moustache. Female
has broad black malar streak and whitish supercilium on otherwise brown head. First-autumn
birds resemble female but cheeks more mottled, breast and flanks more streaked. Separated from
Little Bunting by brownish (not chestnut) ear-coverts, bill with convex culmen, inconspicuous
eye-ring, chestnut lesser coverts, and by call. When perched, jerks and spreads tail nervously. In
flight, undulations short and irregular, compared with the more steady flight of most other buntings.
Voice Calls include a fine, drawn-out tsii-u and a metallic, slightly voiced bzü; in flight a low nasal
bäh. Habitat Reedbeds, swampy thickets. Note Passage and winter hatched; vagrant Bahrain,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE.