Grey Bunting

Emberiza variabilis Temminck, 1836

16–18 cmLength24 gWeight

The male in summer plumage is gray-black and the female is brownish, and both tend to hide in bamboo in the understory.

Busiest months: February, April and November · Most records: Japan, China, South Korea

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Adult male: head to upper back slate-gray
Adult male: center of belly grayish-white
Adult female in spring plumage: back with black streaks
Bill short, pointed and conical

Male, female and young

The male in summer plumage is gray-black overall; the female is brown overall, with blackish-brown streaks on the back.

Voice

The song consists of a simple short phrase followed by a soft, drawn-out note; the call is a rather high-pitched “zhii”.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: February, April and November · Most records: Japan, China, South Korea

Grey Bunting has been recorded at 52 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 3 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Wajima – Hegurajima (island)Japan131 records
Shibuya Ward – Meiji Jingu ShrineJapan88 records
Niigata – Nishikaigan ParkJapan74 records

More places

Yeliu IBATaiwan (China)53 records
Izumi – Kogawa DamJapan46 records
Niigata – Lake ToyanogataJapan43 records
Takaharu – Lake Miike – Lake Miike CampgroundJapan39 records
Hachioji – Mount TakaoJapan30 records
Sakata – Tobishima (island)Japan27 records
Jeju City – Halla ArboretumSouth Korea24 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Japan China South Korea

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 grey bunting (Schoeniclus variabilis) is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. It breeds in southern Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Kuril Islands and northern Japan, it migrates to southern Japan and the Ryukyu Islands. Its natural habitats are boreal and temperate forest.

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

Questions

How big is the Grey Bunting?

The Grey Bunting is about 16–18 cm long and weighs around 24 g.

Where does the Grey Bunting live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: temperate far northeastern Palearctic forest: southern Kamchatka, Kuril Islands and Sakhalin (eastern Russia) to Japan. It is most often recorded in Japan, China and South Korea.