Pallas's Reed Bunting
Encyclopedia
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 finch
es, 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
.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the bunting
Bunting (bird)
Buntings are a group of Eurasian and African passerine birds of the family Emberizidae.They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, and are the Old World equivalents of the species known in North America as sparrows...
family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
es, Fringillidae.
It breeds across northern and central Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
across to Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. It is a migrant
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, which winters in south east Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, but has occurred as far west as Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
English comedian Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
identified the first bird in Britain.
It is common in tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
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
Reed Bunting
The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
. 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
Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas was a German zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia.- Life and work :Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of Professor of Surgery Simon Pallas. He studied with private tutors and took an interest in natural history, later attending the University of Halle and the University...
.