Pallas's Reed Bunting

Emberiza pallasi (Cabanis, 1851)

≈14 cmLength14 gWeight

The male has a black head and throat, a white collar and belly, and a heavily marked gray back.

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

Looks like Common Reed Bunting

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Male has a black head and throat
Male has a white collar and white belly
Male has a gray back with heavy markings
Bill small, typical of a seed-eating bird

Male, female and young

Female duller, with a marked brown head and fewer belly markings than female Common Reed Bunting.

Voice

Male song consists of repeated “sherp” notes.

Similar species

Common Reed Bunting

Male Pallas's Reed Bunting has a heavily marked gray back, whereas Common Reed Bunting has a more rufous back; female Pallas's Reed Bunting also has fewer belly markings.

Where and when it's recorded

Pallas's Reed Bunting has been recorded at 409 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 9 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Nanhui DongtanChina811 records
Shahe ReservoirChina560 records
Ma ChangChina410 records

More places

Wild Duck LakeChina383 records
Taipei – Tianliaoyang WetlandTaiwan (China)350 records
Khurkh Bird Ringing Station, Khentii, MNMongolia249 records
Muravyevka ParkRussia225 records
Sang YuanChina209 records
Ugii Lake, Ugiinuur, Arkhangai, MNMongolia175 records
Nanpu MudflatChina162 records

Countries and regions with the most records

China South Korea Mongolia Russia United States Japan Italy Norway

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

Pallas's reed bunting (Schoeniclus pallasi), also known as Pallas's bunting, is a passerine bird in the Old World bunting family, Emberizidae.

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

Questions

How big is the Pallas's Reed Bunting?

The Pallas's Reed Bunting is about ≈14 cm long and weighs around 14 g.

Where does the Pallas's Reed Bunting live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: low Arctic to northern temperate central, eastern Palearctic tundra to tussock grass: northern Yamalia (northeastern European Russia) to southern Chukotka (northeastern Russia), south to Sea of Okhotsk and northern Kamchatka; disjunctly in far northeastern Kazakhstan, Altay (south-central Russia) east to western Amurland, in south through northern, central Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. It is most often recorded in China, South Korea and Mongolia.

When is the best time to see the Pallas's Reed Bunting?

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

Is the Pallas's Reed Bunting endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Pallas's Reed Bunting as Least Concern.

What does the Pallas's Reed Bunting eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Pallas's Reed Bunting in?

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

At a glance

Length: ≈14 cm
Weight: 14 g
Habitat: Shrubland
Diet: Omnivore
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 71 mm
Tail: 62 mm
Bill: 13 mm
Tarsus: 18 mm

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

Range

Palearctic: low Arctic to northern temperate central, eastern Palearctic tundra to tussock grass: northern Yamalia (northeastern European Russia) to southern Chukotka (northeastern Russia), south to Sea of Okhotsk and northern Kamchatka; disjunctly in far northeastern Kazakhstan, Altay (south-central Russia) east to western Amurland, in south through northern, central Mongolia and Inner Mongolia

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1