Bird Guide

Cirl Bunting vs Golden-breasted Bunting

Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)

Cirl Bunting

Emberiza cirlus

Small26 gShrubland

The cirl bunting is like a small yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella), and is around 15.5 cm (6.1 in) in length with a wing-span 22–25.5 cm (8.7–10.0 in). It has a thick seed-eater's bill. The male has a bright yellow head, with a black crown, eyestripe and throat, and a greenish breast band across its otherwise yellow underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much more like the yellowhammer, but has a streaked grey-brown rump and chestnut shoulders. The monotonous song of the male is a rattling trill, like the Arctic warbler or the terminal rattle of the lesser whitethroat.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Cirl Bunting
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Alarm call · Cabane Vauban (Carolles), Manche, Normandie, France · CC0
Photo: Hugo Caillon · CC BY 4.0
Golden-breasted Bunting (Emberiza flaviventris)

Golden-breasted Bunting

Emberiza flaviventris

Small18 gShrubland

The golden-breasted bunting is 15–16 cm long. The adult male has striking head pattern with a white crown, black lateral crown stripes, white supercilium and black-bordered white ear coverts. The underparts are orange-yellow becoming yellow on the throat and whitish on the lower belly. The upperparts are chestnut with a grey rump. The browner wings have two conspicuous white wing bars. The sexes are very similar, but females may have a buff tone to the white head markings and browner head stripes, and the back may have dark streaks. Young birds are duller and paler than the females.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Golden-breasted Bunting
Recorded by paulo kivuyo · Call · kikatiti, Meru, Arusha Region, Tanzania · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Cirl Bunting and Golden-breasted Bunting.