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Rock Bunting

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                  iRock Bunting

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Passeriformes
   Family:  Emberizidae
   Genus:   Emberiza
   Species: E. cia

                                Binomial name

   Emberiza cia
   (Linnaeus, 1766)

   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.

   Rock Bunting breeds in open dry rocky mountainous areas. 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.

   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.

   The call is a sharp tseee, and the song is a twittering
   churrrr-chirrriiii-itt.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Bunting"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
