Crested Bunting
Emberiza lathami
The Crested Bunting (Emberiza lathami) is a rare old world bunting found in 12 countries, weighing about 22 g. The crested bunting is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae.
About the Crested Bunting
The crested bunting is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. It is sparrow sized with males having rufous wings and tail on a black body and females being less contrastingly coloured in dull brown. Both males and females have the distinctive crest. The species was formerly placed in an monotypic genus Melophus on account of its crest, unique among the buntings. The species has a wide but scattered distribution in Asia. They are found in mostly open and dry habitats over a range of altitudes. Populations in the higher elevations of the Himalayas show seasonal altitudinal movements. They are more gregarious in winter.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Males have a prominent crest, yellowish beak, black body plumage contrasting with the rufous flight feathers of the wing and tail. Females are shorter crested and have an overall dull-olive brown colour with dark brown streaks. The wing and tail feathers are fringed in cinnamon. Females have a grey beak. Non-breeding males are buffish grey and subadults have black tips to the rufous primary coverts. The species was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Melophus but DNA sequence based phylogenies showed it to be nested within other Emberiza species.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Crested Bunting can be seen all year round, with peak activity in April. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Crested Bunting?
- Males have a prominent crest, yellowish beak, black body plumage contrasting with the rufous flight feathers of the wing and tail. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Crested Bunting?
- The Crested Bunting is a small sized bird weighing about 22 g.
- Where can you see a Crested Bunting?
- The Crested Bunting occurs in 12 countries, including India, Nepal, China, Bhutan and Thailand.
- What birds look similar to a Crested Bunting?
- The Crested Bunting is most easily confused with the Cretzschmar's Bunting, the House Bunting and the Pallas's Reed Bunting.
- Is the Crested Bunting endangered?
- The Crested Bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Crested Bunting for real
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