Ochre-rumped Bunting

Emberiza yessoensis (Swinhoe, 1874)

≈13 cmLength14 gWeight

This is usually the most richly colored reed bunting, with the pinkest bill, legs and feet in winter.

Busiest months: May · Most records: China, Russia, Japan

Near Threatened

How to identify

Field marks

Male: back dark, upperparts chestnut
Male: breast and sides with alternating black and buff stripes
Male: nape brown, side of neck whitish
Bill, legs and feet pinkish in winter

Male, female and young

The female has a buff cheek stripe and throat, with a black malar stripe; the juvenile has a pale gray-brown median crown-stripe and a yellowish-brown rump.

Voice

Calls are transcribed as “sur-swee-ik” and “tik”.

Where and when it's recorded

Ochre-rumped Bunting has been recorded at 156 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 5 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Muravyevka ParkRussia336 records
Inashiki – Kasumigaura – Ukishima Marsh and Myoginohana Bird BlindJapan104 records
Beidaihe [General Area]China81 records

More places

Beihu MarshlandChina78 records
Nanhui DongtanChina71 records
Lanyang River Estuary IBA – Eastern RiverbedTaiwan (China)69 records
Shahe ReservoirChina61 records
Happy IslandChina56 records
Dashi RiverChina52 records
Tashgai Lake, Dornod, MNMongolia48 records

Countries and regions with the most records

China Russia Japan South Korea Mongolia

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 ochre-rumped bunting (Schoeniclus yessoensis), also known as the Japanese reed bunting, is a bird in the family Emberizidae. It is found in Manchuria, Korea and Japan. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and swamps.

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

Questions

How big is the Ochre-rumped Bunting?

The Ochre-rumped Bunting is about ≈13 cm long and weighs around 14 g.

Where does the Ochre-rumped Bunting live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: far east-central Palearctic marshes: patchily in far eastern Mongolia, Heilongjiang (northeastern China), far southeastern Ussuriland (southeastern Russia) and Honshu to Kyushu (central to southern Japan). It is most often recorded in China, Russia and Japan.

When is the best time to see the Ochre-rumped Bunting?

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

Is the Ochre-rumped Bunting endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Ochre-rumped Bunting as Near Threatened.

What does the Ochre-rumped Bunting eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Ochre-rumped Bunting in?

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

At a glance

Length: ≈13 cm
Weight: 14 g
Habitat: Wetland
Diet: Seeds
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Near Threatened

More measurements

Wing: 67 mm
Tail: 60 mm
Bill: 11 mm
Tarsus: 19 mm

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

Range

Palearctic: far east-central Palearctic marshes: patchily in far eastern Mongolia, Heilongjiang (northeastern China), far southeastern Ussuriland (southeastern Russia) and Honshu to Kyushu (central to southern Japan)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1