Crested Bunting

Overview

The crested bunting (Emberiza lathami) is a sparrow-sized species in the family Emberizidae, notable for its distinctive crest that is unique among buntings. It was formerly classified in the monotypic genus Melophus but is now nested within Emberiza based on DNA evidence.

Identification

• Males have a prominent crest, a yellowish beak, and black body plumage contrasting with rufous flight feathers on the wing and tail.
• Females are shorter crested with an overall dull-olive brown colour and dark brown streaks, possessing a grey beak.
• Non-breeding males appear buffish grey, while subadults have black tips to the rufous primary coverts.
• Both sexes maintain the species' distinctive crest, with wing and tail feathers fringed in cinnamon.

Habitat

The species has a wide but scattered distribution across Asia, extending from the Himalayas in India and China to Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. It inhabits mostly open and dry environments, including thorny scrub, rocky dry hillsides, grassland, and savannah. Populations in higher elevations exhibit seasonal altitudinal movements, while plains populations range from Gujarat and Rajasthan to central and peninsular India.

Diet

These birds feed mainly on seeds of various plants but will also consume termite alates. Foraging groups maintain contact using short piping calls, and the birds often visit small waterbodies in the mornings and late afternoons.

Did you know?

In one recorded instance in China, an olive-backed sunbird nested close to a crested bunting and actually fed the young of the bunting. Males also perform a courtship display involving fanning and cocking their tail, raising one wing, and walking around the female.