Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola Scientific name definitions

14–15·5 cm; 14–33 g. Medium-sized bunting, slightly larger than E. rutila, with longish bill; distinctive in most plumages. Male nominate race breeding  has lower forehead, chin and upper throat back to ear-coverts black, upper forehead, crown, nape and upperparts  deep rufous-brown, a few traces of pale fringes on nape, mantle and rump; tail dark brown, outermost rectrices with white on outer web; lesser upperwing-coverts dark grey with white lower row of feathers, median coverts white  (white areas merging to form prominent white patch), greater coverts rufous-brown with white tips (less well-marked wingbar), tertials with deep rufous-brown outer webs, primaries and secondaries brown, narrowly edged pale; lower throat yellow, this extending as band across lower side of neck, contrasting narrow red-brown breastband  ; rest of underparts yellow  , flanks with heavy blackish streaks; iris dark chestnut-brown; upper mandible dark grey, cutting edges and lower mandible pink; legs pinkish to dull fleshy-brown. Male non-breeding  is very similar to breeding, but with pale fringes on head, buffish lores, supercilium and centre of ear-coverts, fringes on upperparts broader, and chin, throat and malar region yellow; breastband obscured by buffish fringes. Female breeding is rather similar to first-winter male, but with worn and bleached plumage; upper wingbar (on median coverts) narrower and lower wingbar (greater coverts ) whiter, and breastband usually absent; some females extremely similar to first-summer male; iris dark chestnut-brown. Female non-breeding has upperparts similar to first-winter male, but tones warmer brown. Juvenile is broadly similar to female breeding, but exhibiting very fresh plumage, breast prominently streaked, iris dark grey-brown; first-winter male like adult non-breeding plumage, but with less apparent rufous tones, lateral crownstripe and border around ear-coverts blacker and more prominent, nape rufescent greyish-brown with some streaks, mantle brown with blackish streaks (feathers lacking rufous-brown centres), back to uppertail-coverts greyish-brown with faintly dark streaks, breastband largely replaced by diffuse streaking, iris dark grey-brown; first-summer male similar to male breeding, but with some characters more like those of female; second-winter male intermediate between adult and first-winter, with head and breast patterns mostly like adult, but crown more greyish-brown; second-summer male very like adult, but more prominent streaks on mantle; first-winter female very similar to adult non-breeding, but paler below, iris dark grey-brown. Race <em>ornata</em> is very like nominate, but darker, and with yellow of underparts brighter and richer in tone, and tends to have more extensive black on forecrown.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Breeds in bushy areas, deciduous scrub and copses, very often along watercourses , edges of lakes and wetlands, low-lying wet meadows with tall herbage and scattered trees such as willow (Salix) or birch (Betula); also in areas with secondary scrub or sparse shrubs and trees, burnt areas, and peat bogs and alpine meadows with scattered solitary spruces (Picea); in Siberia also in high-elevation tundra where vegetation provides singing perches and nesting sites. In E part of range, in Amurland, present in both dry and damp meadows with rich or sparse shrub undergrowth with some scattered trees, as well as sedge (Carex) and grass. In non-breeding season found in cultivations, farmland with hedgerows, rice fields, stubble fields, reedbeds, grasslands and arable land with scrub, also gardens.

Migratory; winters from C & E Nepal, Bangladesh and NE India E to SE China (Guangdong) and Taiwan, S to N Malay Peninsula and SE Asia. Leaves breeding grounds early, and returns late. In W of range first departures end of Jul, with late records during late Aug to early Sept, and main direction seems to be E, as no evidence of passage in Kazakhstan except in NW, and many detected on migration in NE Altai and Mongolia during end Aug, when passage most intense, continuing to mid-Oct; in NE Russia (Yakutia and Kamchatka) most leave breeding areas in Aug, but those on Sakhalin I (race ornata) departs later (after moulting), vacating areas by middle and late Sept and, in S of island, some not until end of Oct, on average 6–9 weeks later than nominate; in NE China passage evident Aug–Oct, and in Japan present until late Sept, but many stop in Yangtze Valley (China) to moult, and in Hong Kong passage Oct–Nov. Arrival in wintering areas in Nepal, India and Myanmar from as early as Oct, but in S of non-breeding range not until Nov. Spring migration in Apr–Jun, many/most still in wintering areas during May. Vagrants recorded W to W Europe (N to Iceland, W to Ireland, Britain, Spain), Turkey and much of Middle East, Egypt, Pakistan, Andaman (1 Gokulakrishnan, G., Sivaperuman, C. and Dash, M. (2018). Greater Painted-snipe Rostratula benghalensis, and Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola in the Andaman Islands. Indian Birds. 14(5): 153–154. Close ) and Nicobar Is, Philippines, Borneo and Alaska.

During breeding season mostly invertebrates , at other times seeds and other plant material; vegetable items taken throughout year. Recorded invertebrates in diet are damselflies and dragonflies (Odonata), stoneflies (Plecoptera), grasshoppers and allies (Orthoptera), bugs (Hemiptera), adult and larval Lepidoptera, lacewings (Neuroptera), caddis flies (Trichoptera), adult and larval flies (Diptera), adult and larval Hymenoptera, beetles (Coleoptera), spiders (Araneae), snails (Pulmonata); vegetable material taken includes seeds and other parts of rose (Rosa), and grasses (Poaceae) including wheat (Triticum), rice (Oryza), Sorghum, bamboo (Bambusa) and Milium. Nestlings fed almost entirely with invertebrates. On arrival on breeding grounds in Russia, forages on low herbs and grass , taking insects and seeds, and frequently on bushes such as roses (Rosa), rarely on bare ground; also in larch trees (Larix). In Hokkaido (N Japan), in contrast, recorded as foraging mainly on ground in summer period. Outside breeding season forages in flocks, sometimes of hundreds of individuals; roosts communally, usually in bushes.

Song , usually from exposed perch on top of tree or bush, a series  of usually 5–9 units arranged in 3–4 segments each with 2–3 units, e.g. “djuu-djuu weee-weee ziii-zi”, or “dwee-di-dee wuuu cha-cha zreee”, or “tru-tru tra tro-tro triih” and variations; reminiscent of song of E. hortulana, but with slower tempo and higher pitch. Call a sharp clicking “tsick”.

Season normally starts from second half Jun to beginning Jul; one brood, rarely two. Nest built by female alone, taking 3–5 days, of dry grass and stalks, lined with soft pieces of grass, rootlets and sometimes hair, placed on ground in depression under tussock or roots, or slightly above ground in willow, shrub or other kind of well-covered vegetation, as a rule exposed from above; in sample of 37 nests studied in C Siberia, only three protected from above by small tree branch and six hidden by wisp of overhanging grass; territory usually 0·5–0·8 ha in C Siberia. Clutch 3–7 eggs, usually 4–5, greyish or greenish with olive or purplish-grey markings, and variable blotches and scrawls; incubation by both sexes, male doing less of the work (does not develop brood patch), period 13–14 days; nestling period 11–14 days; young leave nest before able to fly, gain independence after a further 7–14 days. Breeding success variable: in Amur region 50% of eggs in sample of 40 nests produced fledged young, whereas in Yakutia 71% of eggs hatched, 24% lost through predation and 5% infertile; in Volga–Kama only 15% of nests successful, as 85% were deserted or failed owing to predation or because of disturbance by dogs and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes).

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. Fairly common to locally abundant; declining rapidly (2 Kamp, J., Oppel, S., Ananin, A.A., Durnev, Y.A., Gashev, S.N., Holzel, N., Mishchenko, A.L., Pessa, J., Smirenski, S.M., Strelnikov, E.G., Timonen, S., Wolanska, K. and Chan, S. (2015). Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12537. Close ). Estimated global population 120,000–1,000,000 mature individuals. Population conjectured to have been in the order of 100 million birds in 1980s (2 Kamp, J., Oppel, S., Ananin, A.A., Durnev, Y.A., Gashev, S.N., Holzel, N., Mishchenko, A.L., Pessa, J., Smirenski, S.M., Strelnikov, E.G., Timonen, S., Wolanska, K. and Chan, S. (2015). Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12537. Close ). Can attain high densities locally, e.g. 500 birds/km² in C Siberia during 1970s–1990s. In W of range, first colonized Finland during 1910–1920s, with second sustained wave of immigration from 1940s to 1960s, producing more stable population; began to decline in 1980s. Formerly one of the most numerous breeding passerines in much of Siberia, and still common in some regions, but (although no systematic surveys) severe declines noted in most breeding areas, and has disappeared from parts of its former range since 1990. Has not bred in Finland since mid-2000s, and Kazakhstan range has contracted N by 300 km since 1990; rapid decline recorded in Russia (in Moscow and Baikal regions), and severe declines recently noted also in Japan (Hokkaido) and Mongolia. Steep decline in European population has led to it being considered Critically Endangered at the regional level (3 BirdLife International (2015). European Red List of Birds. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ). No longer occurs in big numbers at migration watchpoints such as Beidaihe (NE China), and numbers at wintering sites throughout range have apparently declined rapidly over last 20 years. Main reasons for this bunting’s decline thought to be hunting on wintering grounds, especially in China, and conversion of many areas of suitable habitat to agricultural use in same region. As numbers even on pristine breeding grounds have dropped very rapidly, primary cause probably excessive trapping at migration sites and, especially, wintering sites. Flocks roosting in reedbeds are flushed and then caught in mist-nets, cooked and sold as food (described as “sparrows” or “rice-birds”); this practice, previously restricted to small area of S China, has become more widespread, and hunters must now travel widely in order to find sufficient birds. More than 1,000,000 individuals killed annually and sold as “snacks”, although the practice illegal in some areas. In addition, each year, in China, thousands of males are killed, stuffed and sold as mascots, their presence in the home being believed to bring happiness to the human occupants. Still in wintering areas, agricultural intensification, including shift to irrigated rice production and consequent loss of winter stubble, has reduced the amount and quality of habitat, and destruction of reedbeds has led to loss of many roost-sites. On breeding grounds, habitat quality has suffered in some areas of range; in particular, changes in flow pattern of rivers resulting from dam construction has caused drying-out of damp meadows, an important breeding habitat. Long-term monitoring data from across the species’ range, coupled with a literature review, show that the population declined by 84·3–94·7% between 1980 and 2013, and the species’ range contracted by 5000 km; a population model simulating an initial harvest level of 2% of the population, and an annual increase of 0·2% during the monitoring period produced a population trajectory that matched the observed decline (2 Kamp, J., Oppel, S., Ananin, A.A., Durnev, Y.A., Gashev, S.N., Holzel, N., Mishchenko, A.L., Pessa, J., Smirenski, S.M., Strelnikov, E.G., Timonen, S., Wolanska, K. and Chan, S. (2015). Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12537. Close ). Formerly one of the most numerous songbirds of the Palaearctic, it was not considered of conservation concern prior to 2004; reflecting growing information on the ongoing population crash, this species' conservation status has progressively worsened, changing (in 2013) from Vulnerable to Endangered and then (in 2017) to Critically Endangered.