Black-faced Bunting
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| Black-faced Bunting | ||||||||||||||
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| Emberiza spodocephala Pallas,, 1776 |
The Black-faced Bunting , Emberiza spodocephala , is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
It breeds in southern Siberia across to northern China and northern Japan. It is migratory, wintering northeast India, southern China and northern southeast Asia. It is a very rare wanderer to western Europe.
Black-faced Bunting breeds in dense undergrowth along streams and rivers in the taiga zone, and lays four or five eggs in a ground or tree nest. Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. It winters close to water in agricultural or other open bushy habitats.
This bird is similar in size to a Reed Bunting. The breeding male has a grey head with black between the bill and eye. The upperparts are brown and heavily streaked, except on the rump, and the underparts are yellowish white with some fine dark flank streaks. The stout bill is pink.
Females and young birds have a weaker head pattern, with olive-grey cheeks and a weak whitish supercilium. This bird's general appearance and terrestrial feeding habits give the impression of a Dunnock with a bunting's bill.
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Classification
English name: Black-faced Bunting Japanese name: Aoji Species: Emberiza spodocephala Order: Passeriformes Family: Emberiza
Recognition
The black-faced bunting is about 16 cm long. WING SPAN!!!!! The appearance of the male and female black-faced buntings differs. The male has a dark gray head with a mix of yellow green. His back is a dark brown streaked with black. His rump is brown and his tail is also a dark brown. Underneath it looks greenish yellow streaked with brown. The female has a dark brown head with a creamy yellow eyebrow. Underneath her it is a creamy yellow heavily streaked with dark brown.
Range and Habitat
Geographic Range The black-faced bunting is a common breeder in the open-hill forests which from Honshu and northward. In the winter it is commonly in low-land woods, it is also in parks and gardens with dense cover. It always keeps within vegetation.
Habitats
This bird has one interesting habit. It likes breeding in dense undergrowth along streams and rivers. It is not very unusual but it is quite interesting. The birds call is like a tzii or tzee. It sound very “metallic” and it is a very short and not exactly a song at all. It nests on trees or on the ground and it lays about 4 to 5 eggs.
Adaptation
I think that the bird is well adapted because of its diet. It eats mainly vegetation and there is always plenty of that on the island. It also seems to have almost no enemies that especially like the taste of the black-eyed bunting. It also in a good location because the area where it lives, which is Japan and China it is easy to adjust temperature and it is not a very long flight. It is a good thing it is not a long flight because its body is small and it would be hard to complete a long distance journey.
Bibliography
Massey, Joseph A., et al. (1982) A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan. Tokyo: wild Bird society of Japan. pg. 274