Little Bunting (With Pictures)

A small, unassuming bird of the Palearctic, the little bunting, Emberiza pusilla, was first described in the 1700s. Its species name, meaning “very small” in Latin, tells of its diminutive size. At five inches, this little brown, sparrow-like bird could almost go unnoticed amid the willows and birches of the taiga.

A closer look at its plumage reveals a rather attractive bird. Contrasting striations of dark brown against chestnut with white highlights provide the perfect cover between the branches.

This is an Old World passerine bird of the Embeziridae family. It is one of forty-four species belonging to the genus Emberiza.

Field Identification

The little bunting wears a dark crown split into perfect halves by a central chestnut stripe. It has a black bill, white eye rings, pale malar stripes, and chestnut cheeks, framed by dark facial markings, giving it a helmeted appearance. Its underparts are cream-white and it has long, pointed wings and a short, notched tail. 

Little buntings are among the least dichromatic species among the Emberiza birds. This means that males and females are very similar in appearance, making them tricky to tell apart in the field.

Call and Song

Follow a boisterous, rollicking warble through the conifers to find this bird. The little bunting sings its undulating song with its sweet, melodic notes, and rising trills, while perched at the top of a bush or tree. Its call is a short, sweet whip. Other vocalisations include fluting, trilling, whistling notes, and a quick, chirpy flight call.

Did you know? Little buntings frequently mimic the songs of other birds. The stolen tunes pepper the pauses between their own songs.

Range and Migration

The little bunting’s breeding range encompasses much of the northern Palearctic from northeastern Scandinavia to the Russian Far East and the northernmost reaches of China. Little buntings are migratory;

They have long migration routes—possibly the longest among the buntings, moving south for the winter, taking to the warm subtropics of the Indian subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia—specifically Thailand and Myanmar—where they spend a fairly long time before returning to the breeding grounds. 

Beginning in March, they migrate singly or in small, loose flocks, with the last birds leaving their wintering grounds in early May. Vagrant birds often find themselves in Western Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and even as far west as Alaska, California, and Mexico in the Americas. From the end of July to mid-September, as the breeding season draws to a close, the Autumn migration begins.

Habitat

Little buntings breed in open tundra along riparian river valleys and in the snow forests of the taiga amid coniferous tracts of birch, willow, and alder. Their summer habitat is characterised by moist, fairly open areas.

During winter, they can be found in a range of habitats, such as forest edges, scrubby hillsides, agricultural fields, rice paddies, roadsides, gardens, parks, and orchards. 

Breeding Behaviour

Like most members of the Embeziridae family,  little buntings are monogamous and territorial. Little is known about the male’s courtship behaviour, except that he sings on the ground or from a low branch while dropping his wings, raising his tail, and displaying the contrasts and intricacies of his plumage.

Little buntings nest on the ground amid the tussocks or shrubs. A clutch of up to six blotchy eggs is laid in shades ranging from lavender, ash-blue, or pale green to buff pink or pale chestnut with dark reddish-brown spots and streaky patterning.  Nests are constructed solely by the female out of twigs, grasses, and stalks and lined with lichen, moss, and fine grasses.

The incubation period lasts around 12 days with both sexes taking turns to incubate the eggs. They also share in the caring duties once the nestlings hatch, The chicks are able to leave the nest a week after hatching and are fully fledged at around two weeks old.

Diet and Foraging

Little buntings forage on the ground, amid the shrubs, and in the lower reaches of trees. During the breeding season, they can be spotted solo, in pairs, or in small groups. In winter, they typically form small, foraging flocks of up to twelve birds, occasionally mixing with other seed-eating birds, like the common reed bunting with which they may also roost at night.

Buntings are seed-eaters, but as with many migratory species, this bird’s diet varies between seasons. During the breeding season, little buntings supplement their granivorous diet with insects from various orders, including mayflies, stoneflies, beetles, and bugs.

They also eat other invertebrates such as spiders and earthworms. Invertebrates are high up on the little bunting’s menu during the summer, especially the nestlings. While invertebrates are a preferred summer choice, seeds dominate the winter diet and are typically picked from berry shrubs, cereals, grasses, and sedges.

Status and Conservation

The little bunting is among the most numerous bird species of the extreme northern taiga, with an overall population of up to eight million breeding pairs. High densities of these birds—up to a hundred pairs per square kilometre—can be found in the favourable parts of their range. 

While there is little data for eastern populations, the species has an exceptionally vast range and a large global population that appears stable, with no evidence of any significant potential threats.

Little buntings and people

In China, little buntings often take the place of the critically endangered yellow-breasted bunting in restaurants where they are sold as “rice birds.” Large numbers of buntings and other migratory species are trapped each year along the East Asian flyway, resulting in population declines. With species such as the yellow-breasted bunting growing increasingly rare, poachers are turning their traps towards more abundant species, such as the little bunting.

Summary and Final Thoughts

The smallest of the buntings, this little brown bird is among the most successful and prolific of the Emberizidae family. It is a surprisingly robust little bird, adapted to survive long migration routes. Its granivorous diet is supplemented with invertebrates, especially during the breeding season. The species enjoys a wide range across Palearctic Europe and Asia where they thrive in the vast forests of the taiga and tundra.

Raeesah Habib

Raeesah Habib is a South African conservationist and freelance writer. She completed a diploma in nature conservation in 2016 through the University of South Africa (UNISA). During her internship, she spent a year working with wattled cranes on the Wattled Crane Recovery Programme (WCRP).

The program aims to prevent the local extinction of the wattled crane in Southern Africa through the release of captive-reared individuals into critically endangered wild populations across the country. During her time at the research facility, she was also responsible for the general monitoring and husbandry of other magnificent species, including blue cranes and secretary birds.

Following her internship, she was fortunate to have worked in some spectacular wilderness areas across the country, including the Cradle of Humankind, the Kruger National Park, and the northern Zululand. As a wildlife monitor, her responsibilities included conducting bird point counts. Birds surveys are a useful means to collect data on the avian populations in an area. The data helps researchers gain an understanding of population trends and ecosystem health.

When not in the field, Rae enjoys writing to share her passion, knowledge, and experiences with others.