Black-headed bunting

Black-headed bunting
Adult male (Lesbos, Greece)
Female (Maharashtra, India)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae
Genus: Emberiza
Species:
E. melanocephala
Binomial name
Emberiza melanocephala
Scopoli, 1769
Breeding and winter distribution ranges of Black-headed and Red-headed Bunting
Synonyms
  • Granativora melanocephala

The black-headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It breeds in south-east Europe east to Iran and migrates in winter mainly to India, with some individuals moving further into south-east Asia. Like others in its family, it is found in open grassland habitats where they fly in flocks in search of grains and seed. Adult males are well marked with yellow underparts, chestnut back and a black head. Adult females in breeding plumage look like duller males. In other plumages, they can be hard to separate from the closely related red-headed bunting and natural hybridization occurs between the two species in the zone of overlap of their breeding ranges in northern Iran.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Emberiza melanocephala". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22720990A89314245. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22720990A89314245.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.