Pallas's Bunting Emberiza pallasi Scientific name definitions

12–13·5 cm; 10–20 g. Small bunting, bill comparatively short and narrow with straight culmen. Male nominate breeding has black head and throat, conspicuous white submoustachial stripe and hindneck-collar joining on side of neck; feathers of mantle and scapulars blackish, with some chestnut, especially towards tip, all fringed pale buff (bleaching to whitish), back pale buffish-grey with blackish streaks, rump and uppertail-coverts pale buffish (wearing to greyish-white), coverts with faint black streaks; tail brown, central feather pair darker and broadly edged pale on inner webs outermost pair with much white on both webs, adjacent pair with less white (variable); lesser upperwing-coverts grey, median and greater coverts black with white or whitish tips (forming two clear wingbars), greaters also with pale edges, flight-feathers blackish, tertials with well-defined narrow pale yellowish edges, primaries and secondaries with narrow pale edges, these more light rufous-buff on secondaries (creating buffish pale panel on closed wing); underparts pale buffish-white, side of breast washed grey, few streaks on flanks; iris dark chestnut; bill blackish; legs pale pinkish. Distinguished from similar E. schoeniclus mainly by smaller size, smaller bill with straight culmen, proportionately longer tail, generally colder plumage tones, more prominently streaked upperparts, grey (not rufous) lesser coverts, distinct pale wingbars (lacking reddish tones). Male non-breeding has black areas of plumage partly concealed by pale feather fringes, crown, ear-coverts and lores mostly sandy brown (instead of black) with dark streaks, superciliary area buffish, thin dark moustachial stripe, throat mottled black; upperparts brighter and more sandy-coloured, mantle with hint of rufous, wing feathers more broadly edged and tipped buffish (lesser coverts still grey), underparts strongly tinged yellowish-buff; lower mandible pinkish. First-winter male is like male non-breeding, but lesser coverts grey-brown (not ash-greyish), iris dark grey-brown. Female breeding is very similar to first-winter male, including grey-brown lesser upperwing-coverts and pinkish on lower mandible, but differs in having indistinct reddish-brown streaks on rump; iris dark chestnut, as on male breeding. Female non-breeding is very like male non-breeding, but with lesser upperwing-coverts grey-brown. First-winter female is almost identical to female non-breeding, differing only in more pointed rectrices and dark grey-brown iris. Juvenile is reminiscent of female breeding, but has dark-streaked olive-brown crown, paler supercilium, rufescent ear-coverts, blackish scapulars with buffish edges, pale sandy-brown rump with prominent brown streaks, grey-brown lesser coverts, usually prominent dark malar stripe, yellowish breast with bold, dense dark streaks, and dark grey-brown iris. Subspecies differ mainly in darkness of plumage: polaris is on average slightly smaller and more heavily streaked than nominate, and in non-breeding plumage is somewhat darker on back, especially in E of range; <em>lydiae</em> is paler above than nominate during breeding, with upperwing-coverts and centres of back feathers brownish (instead of black) and edges pale buff.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Closely related to E. yessoensis, and sometimes placed in genus Schoeniclus. Subspecies minor sometimes included in E. schoeniclus. Significance of geographical variation not fully understood, and possibly linked to variation in habitat preferences; further study required. Race lydiae, although weakly marked in plumage, differs in ecology, but whether it differs in voice (as stated in HBW) unclear; research needed. Subspecies polaris exhibits partially clinal variation, with gradation towards darker plumage and more heavily streaked rump in E of range. Proposed subspecies montana and its synonym suschkiniana (described from SE Russian Altai) considered synonymous with nominate, and latolineata (from Kolyma Peninsula) with polaris.

Three subspecies recognized.

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SUBSPECIES

Emberiza pallasi polaris Scientific name definitions

Distribution

NE European Russia E in Siberia (S to basins of R Angara, R Lena and R Aldan) to Chukotskiy Peninsula, Sea of Okhotsk coast and N Kamchatka; winters in NE and E China, extreme SE Russia (S Ussuriland) and Korea.

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SUBSPECIES

Emberiza pallasi minor Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Transbaikalia E to Russian Far East and NE China (Heilongjiang); winters in E China.

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SUBSPECIES

Emberiza pallasi pallasi Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Altai and Sayan Mts E to Transbaikalia and W Amurland (S of Tukuringra Mts) and S to N Mongolia and possibly NE China (Inner Mongolia, N Heilongjiang), perhaps also disjunctly in E Tien Shan; winters in W and N China (Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia).

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SUBSPECIES

Emberiza pallasi lydiae Scientific name definitions

Distribution

S Siberia (Tuva and S Transbaikalia) through N, C and E Mongolia, probably to adjacent NE China (NE Inner Mongolia); non-breeding probably in N China.

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 at high latitudes in tundra and forest-tundra with tall herbage, and shrubs (for songposts), and in river valleys in lowland tundra, with thickets of vegetation such as dwarf willow (Salix) or alder (Alnus); also in subalpine tundra in high mountains, e.g., in grasslands with dense Rhododendron and Dasiphora c. 1 m high at around 2000 m in Sayan Mts, S Siberia, and in patches of dwarf birch (Betula nana). Normally in drier and cooler areas than those favoured by E. schoeniclus. Subspecies lydiae in drier habitats, mainly confined to stands of the tussock grass Achnatherum splendens at interface between wetlands and steppe/desert steppe. Outside breeding season found in lowlands and plains, selecting irrigated areas with scattered shrubs and presence of reeds near rivers and lakes; also in grassy fields, rice fields and other cultivation.

Migratory. Subspecies polaris winters mainly E China (C Heilongjiang S to Yangtze Valley), extreme SE Russia (S Ussuriland) and Korea, and is very rare winter visitor in S Japan; nominate migrates mainly to W & N China; winter quarters of lydiae uncertain, probably N China. Post-breeding dispersal begins during late Jul, and departure from breeding grounds normally starts during Aug and continues through Sept. In C Siberia recorded mostly from early Aug to end Sept, passing in loose flocks of 5–10 individuals, with sometimes high concentrations and densities of several hundred birds/km² during Sept peak; main passage in S Siberia mid-Sept to end Oct, and main passage in NE China through Oct. Wintering areas occupied between Oct and Mar, with some individuals still present in these areas sometimes until May. Main spring passage through NE China and S Siberia during second half of Apr; in C Siberia passes mostly during May to early Jun, exceptionally to end Jun; arrival in N parts of breeding range during Jun. Recorded as vagrant in Alaska, Hong Kong and Taiwan; also in W & S Europe (Britain, Portugal, Italy).

Mostly invertebrates during breeding, and seeds and other plant material throughout year. Insects taken also during winter. Invertebrates reported in diet include adult Lepidoptera, adult and larval flies (Diptera), larval sawflies (Symphyta) and beetles (Coleoptera); among plant material are seeds of alder, crowberry (Empetrum) and Stipa grasses. Forages on ground , also at tip of low vegetation such as Stipa grasses, where it collects seeds; mostly in wet meadows, but also in willows and other small trees and shrubs, lydiae in dry tussock. Generally alone or in pairs when breeding. Outside breeding season feeds in large flocks, often mixed with other buntings as well as with Redpolls (Acanthis flammea).

Song, normally from bushtop, also from top of tall grasses or herbs, a simple monotonous phrase containing series of same notes, e.g. “chi chi chi chi chi chi” or “srri srri srri srri srri srri srri”; song of lydiae similar in structure, but differing slightly in motif, “tsisi tsisi tsisi tsisi”; song of nominate apparently a little different, said to be not unlike a clear song phrase of Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) or E. aureola. Normal call a fine “chlip” or “tsilip”, reminiscent of that of Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus); also, a soft “dziuu” recorded from S birds breeding in the steppe.

Season Jun–Jul in N of range, to Aug in S. Nest made from grasses and sedges (Carex), lined with fine grasses and hair, sometimes also with dried leaves of tree such as larch (Larix), placed on ground or low in bush, lydiae in tussock. Clutch 3–5 eggs, creamy to reddish-brown with dark spots and some fine irregular streaks (similar to those of E. schoeniclus); incubation mainly by female, period 11 days; chicks fed by both parents, nestling period 10 days.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Locally common to very common. Has extensive breeding range across N parts of Eurasia; also a probable isolated population in Ordos Plateau region of NC China, which would represent S limit of distribution, but confirmation of breeding still required. Densities in some tundra and forest-tundra areas high, e.g. 32 birds/km² in R Bolshiye Ury basin in C Siberia and 69–76 birds/km² in Yenisey forest-tundra; less numerous in patches of willow thickets on Yenisey floodplains, with densities of only 2–7 birds/km², and in similar willow-thicket habitat in E Taymyr slightly higher densities of 10·5–20 birds/km². Although global population not quantified, believed to be stable, and no clear evidence of any decline or substantial threats in vast area occupied during breeding. Only problem of some concern is the extensive killing of buntings for food in Chinese wintering range, where this species could suffer from indiscriminate hunting of bunting flocks, with which it associates at that season. Possible effects of global warming should perhaps be considered; melting of glaciers could cause deterioration of mountain habitats, and in S of breeding range raised temperatures could result in desertification of desert-steppe/steppe areas.