Pine Bunting

Emberiza leucocephalos Gmelin, SG, 1771

16–18 cmLength28 gWeight

The male has a white crown and cheeks, a chestnut forehead and throat, and heavy rufous stripes on the back.

Busiest months: October · Most records: China, Mongolia, Japan

Looks like Yellowhammer

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Crown and cheeks white in the male
Forehead and throat chestnut in the male
Back heavily striped rufous
Bill thick and suited to eating grain

Male, female and young

Female duller, with more stripes on the belly.

Voice

Vocalizations resemble those of Yellowhammer.

Similar species

Yellowhammer

In non-breeding plumage, closely resembles Yellowhammer, with all yellow areas replaced by white; vocalizations are also similar.

Where and when it's recorded

Pine Bunting has been recorded at 225 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 27 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Khurkh Bird Ringing Station, Khentii, MNMongolia163 records
Ming Tombs ReservoirChina100 records
Ma ChangChina94 records

More places

Gorkhi Terelj National Park, MNMongolia82 records
Wajima – Hegurajima (island)Japan72 records
Wild Duck LakeChina65 records
Muravyevka ParkRussia54 records
Lingshan Scenic AreaChina54 records
BulaotunChina45 records
Sang YuanChina41 records

Countries and regions with the most records

China Mongolia Japan Kazakhstan Russia Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan United Kingdom

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 pine bunting (Emberiza leucocephalos) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group most modern authors now separate from the finches, Fringillidae. It lives in Eurosiberia east of the Urals.

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

Questions

How big is the Pine Bunting?

The Pine Bunting is about 16–18 cm long and weighs around 28 g.

Where does the Pine Bunting live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: temperate central, eastern Palearctic forest edge, openings: west-central Russia from Ural Mountains east to Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin and Kuril Islands (southeastern Russia), south through north-central, northeastern Kazakhstan, eastern Kyrgyzstan and northwestern Xinjiang (northwestern China), northern, central Mongolia and northeastern China; disjunctly in northeastern Qinghai and southern Gansu (north-central China). It is most often recorded in China, Mongolia and Japan.

When is the best time to see the Pine Bunting?

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

Is the Pine Bunting endangered?

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

What does the Pine Bunting eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Pine Bunting in?

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

At a glance

Length: 16–18 cm
Weight: 28 g
Habitat: Forest
Diet: Omnivore
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 92 mm
Tail: 78 mm
Bill: 15 mm
Tarsus: 19 mm

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

Range

Palearctic: temperate central, eastern Palearctic forest edge, openings: west-central Russia from Ural Mountains east to Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin and Kuril Islands (southeastern Russia), south through north-central, northeastern Kazakhstan, eastern Kyrgyzstan and northwestern Xinjiang (northwestern China), northern, central Mongolia and northeastern China; disjunctly in northeastern Qinghai and southern Gansu (north-central China)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2

Emberiza leucocephalos leucocephalos wc Russia from Ural Mts. e to Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin and Kuril Is. (se Russia), s through nc, ne Kazakhstan, e Kyrgyzstan and nw Xinjiang (nw China), n, c Mongolia and ne China
Emberiza leucocephalos fronto c, ne Qinghai and w Gansu (nc China)