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Photo: Mark S Jobling / CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Near Threatened

Cinereous Bunting

Emberiza cineracea

Cinereous Bunting (Emberiza cineracea) — Songbirds & Perching Birds of Europe & Northern Asia.

The Cinereous Bunting (Emberiza cineracea) is a member of the Emberizidae family found in Europe & Northern Asia. Adults weigh 24.3 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened.

NT Near Threatened

Close to qualifying for a threatened category in the near future.

Where it fits

  1. Class Aves
  2. Order Passeriformes
  3. Family Emberizidae Buntings
  4. Genus Emberiza
  5. Species cineracea

Where it lives

South-central W Palearctic dry rocky hills: Lesbos and Chios (eastern Greece), southwestern, central, southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq and far northwestern Iran

Quick facts

Weight
24.3 g
Diet
Omnivores
Family
Emberizidae
Habitat
Woodland

How to identify

Similar birds

Biology & behaviour

Diet

The Cinereous Bunting is a omnivore — it takes a broad, omnivorous diet of both plant and animal foods.

Behaviour

A bird of open scrub and shrubland, it forages mainly on the ground.

Migration

The Cinereous Bunting is migratory, making regular seasonal journeys between its breeding and non-breeding ranges.

The Cinereous Bunting (Emberiza cineracea) belongs to the Emberizidae family of the order Passeriformes. Its range spans Europe & Northern Asia. Its distribution covers PAL sc W Palearctic dry rocky hills: Lesbos and Chios (e Greece), sw, c, se Turkey, n Iraq and far nw Iran.

It is a small bird. Adults weighs around 24.3 g, with a wing length of about 9.1 cm and a tail of around 6.8 cm.

The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened. That means it is close to qualifying as threatened and is worth keeping a careful eye on.

Its mapped global range covers an estimated 105,000 km².

Songs & calls

Cinereous Bunting — Call, flight call

Recorded by Stanislas Wroza Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How big is the Cinereous Bunting?

The Cinereous Bunting is a small bird that weighs around 24.3 g.

Where does the Cinereous Bunting live?

The Cinereous Bunting is found across Europe & Northern Asia with a range covering PAL sc W Palearctic dry rocky hills: Lesbos and Chios (e Greece), sw, c, se Turkey, n Iraq and far nw Iran, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.

What family does the Cinereous Bunting belong to?

The Cinereous Bunting (Emberiza cineracea) belongs to the Emberizidae family, in the order Passeriformes.

What does the Cinereous Bunting eat?

The Cinereous Bunting is a omnivore — it takes a broad, omnivorous diet of both plant and animal foods.

Does the Cinereous Bunting migrate?

The Cinereous Bunting is migratory, making regular seasonal journeys between its breeding and non-breeding ranges.

Is the Cinereous Bunting endangered?

The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened That means it is close to qualifying as threatened and is worth keeping a careful eye on.

What sound does the Cinereous Bunting make?

1 real field recording of the Cinereous Bunting — including its call — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.

How large is the Cinereous Bunting's range?

The Cinereous Bunting has a mapped global range of about 105,000 km².

Conservation

Near Threatened

Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.

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