Bird GuideOld World BuntingsRustic Bunting

Rustic Bunting

Rustic Bunting
Emberiza rustica
At a Glance Range & Identification Back to Top

At a Glance

Several related species of buntings from Asia have strayed into Alaska. The most frequent of these, the Rustic Bunting, is a rare but almost regular migrant on the western Aleutians, mostly in spring, and shows up occasionally elsewhere in western Alaska. Fall and winter strays have also appeared at several points along the Pacific Coast south to California.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Perching Birds
Conservation
Low Concern
Habitat
Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Tundra and Boreal Habitats
Behavior
Flitter, Rapid Wingbeats

Range & Identification

Description

6" (15 cm). Chunky and reddish brown. Male has black head with white eyebrow and throat; female's head pattern paler and duller. Underparts white, with reddish brown band across chest and streaks on sides.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Wing Shape
Broad, Long, Pointed
Tail Shape
Notched, Rounded, Square-tipped

Songs and Calls

Song a sweet, fluting warble recalling a longspur but more pure-toned. Call a very sharp, short, high tsic or tic.
Call Pattern
Complex, Rising, Undulating
Call Type
Chirp/Chip, Flute, Trill, Whistle