Crested Bunting

Emberiza lathami Gray, JE, 1831

≈16 cmLength22 gWeight

It is a crested bunting the size of Eurasian Tree Sparrow, the male with a black body and rufous wings and tail.

Busiest months: April · Most records: India, China, Nepal

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Both sexes have a prominent crest
Male has a black body and rufous wings and tail feathers
Female earthy brown with streaks and darker wings

Male, female and young

Female has a shorter crest and is dark olive-rufous overall with dark brown stripes, cinnamon feather edges on the wings and tail, and a gray bill; male is buff-tinged gray in the non-breeding season.

Voice

Uses short, thin, piping whistles to keep in contact while foraging in flocks.

Where and when it's recorded

Crested Bunting has been recorded at 198 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 10 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Khem Villas Jungle CampIndia200 records
Ranthambore NPIndia192 records
Doi Pha Hom Pok NP – Doi Lang (W), AKA Doi San JuThailand169 records

More places

Mangar BaniIndia164 records
Corbett NP – DhikalaIndia122 records
Beihu MarshlandChina111 records
LonghengChina89 records
Kosi Bird ObservatoryNepal76 records
Long ValleyHong Kong (China)72 records
Chitwan National ParkNepal68 records

Countries and regions with the most records

India China Nepal Thailand Bhutan Pakistan Myanmar (Burma)Bangladesh

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The crested bunting (Melophus lathami) is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. Both males and females have the distinctive crest. The species was formerly placed in an monotypic genus Melophus on account of its crest, unique among the buntings.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Crested Bunting?

The Crested Bunting is about ≈16 cm long and weighs around 22 g.

Where does the Crested Bunting live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: montane grass and scrub of South Asia to eastern China: northeastern Pakistan and far western, central India to central, east-central China and south through northern Southeast Asia. It is most often recorded in India, China and Nepal.

When is the best time to see the Crested Bunting?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Crested Bunting endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Crested Bunting as Least Concern.

What does the Crested Bunting eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Crested Bunting in?

It belongs to the family Buntings (Emberizidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length: ≈16 cm
Weight: 22 g
Habitat: Grassland
Diet: Seeds
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Partial migrant
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 80 mm
Tail: 69 mm
Bill: 15 mm
Tarsus: 20 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: montane grass and scrub of South Asia to eastern China: northeastern Pakistan and far western, central India to central, east-central China and south through northern Southeast Asia

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2