Pallas's reed bunting

Pallas's reed bunting
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Emberizidae
Genus:	Emberiza
Species:	E. pallasi
Binomial name
Emberiza pallasi (Cabanis, 1851)

Emberiza pallas MHNT

The Pallas's reed bunting (Emberiza pallasi) (also known as Pallas's bunting) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

It breeds across northern and central Asia across to Mongolia. It is a migrant, which winters in south east Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, but has occurred as far west as Great Britain.

English comedian Bill Oddie identified the first bird in Britain.

It is common in tundra scrub by water, and also breeds in drier open areas such as open larch forest.

The Pallas's reed bunting is a small passerine bird, similar to a small reed bunting. It has a small seed-eater's bill. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked grey back (reed bunting has a browner back). The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head. It is less streaked below than female reed bunting.

The song of the cock is a repetitive sherp.

Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. The nest is in a bush. 2-5 eggs are laid, which show the hair-like markings characteristic of those of buntings.

This bird is named after the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas.

References

• One Flew into the Cuckoo's Egg by Bill Oddie