| Rock bunting | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Emberizidae |
| Genus: | Emberiza |
| Species: | E. cia |
| Binomial name | |
| Emberiza cia Linnaeus, 1766 | |
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| Range ofE. cia Breeding Resident Non-breeding | |
The rock bunting (Emberiza cia) is apasserinebird in thebunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from thefinches, Fringillidae.
The genus nameEmberiza is fromOld GermanEmbritz, a bunting. The specificcia is from a local Italian name for this bird, fromzirlare, "to chirp".[2]
It breeds in northwest Africa, southern Europe east tocentral Asia, and theHimalayas. It also breeds locally in central Europe. It is partiallymigratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mainly within the breeding range of the resident southern populations. It is a rare wanderer to western Europe.
The rock bunting breeds in open dry rocky mountainous areas.
This bird is 16 cm 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 westernTurkey is the only one to show white wing bars.
It lays three to five 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.
The call is a sharptseee, and the song is a twittering churrrr-chirrriiii-itt.
