Common reed bunting
| Common reed bunting Temporal range:
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| Male at Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland | |
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| Female at Otmoor, Oxfordshire | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Emberizidae |
| Genus: | Emberiza |
| Species: | E. schoeniclus
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| Binomial name | |
| Emberiza schoeniclus | |
| Subspecies | |
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| Range of E. schoeniclus Breeding Resident Passage Non-breeding
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| Synonyms | |
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The common reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific schoeniclus is from Ancient Greek skhoiniklos, a now unknown waterside bird.[4]
This species breeds throughout Europe and much of the Palearctic region. While most individuals migrate south in winter, those in the milder south and west of the range are resident. It is a common sight in reedbeds, but also breeds in drier open areas such as moorland and arable land. For example, it inhabits purple moor grass and rush pastures, which are designated as a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acid soils of the lowlands and upland fringe.
Taxonomy
[edit]The common reed bunting was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla schoeniclus.[3] This bunting is now placed in the genus Emberiza that Linnaeus had introduced in the same edition of his Systema Naturae.[5][6] The specific epithet schoeniclus is from the Ancient Greek skhoiniklos, a word that was used by Greek authors for an unidentified bird.[7] Linnaeus specified the type locality as Europe but this is now restricted to Sweden.[8] Nineteen subspecies are recognised.[6]
The bird family Emberizidae contains about 300 species of seed-eating birds, most of which are endemic to the Americas. However, the genus Emberiza, which comprises over 40 species, is exclusively found in the Old World.[9] Within its genus, the reed bunting is most closely related to the Japanese reed bunting and the Pallas's reed bunting, which are sometimes classified as being in the genus Schoeniclus.
Subspecies
[edit]Nineteen subspecies are recognised, including- E. s. schoeniclus, the nominate subspecies, which occurs in most of Europe, E. s. witherbyi which is found in south Portugal, western Spain, France and Sardinia, E. s. intermedia from Italy and the Adriatic coast to northwest Albania, E. s. reiseri from southeast Albania, northwest Greece, south North Macedonia and west and central Turkey, E. s. caspia from east Turkey and northwest Iran, E. s. korejewi from southwest and eastern Iran and south Turkmenistan, E. s. pyrrhuloides from north Caspian sea region to western Mongolia, southeast Kazakhstan and central Tien Shan, E. s. passerina from northwest Siberia, wintering in south Asia, E. s. parvirostris from central Siberia wintering in northern China, E. s. pyrrhulina from Kamchatka and northern Japan, wintering in central Japan, Korea and eastern China, E. s. pallidior from southwestern Siberia wintering in southwest Asia, E. s. minor from Russian Far East and northeast China, wintering in east China, E. s. ukrainae from Ukraine and adjacent areas of Russia, E. s. incognita from southeastern European Russia to north Kazakhstan and E. s. zaidamensis, endemic to northwest Qinghai, China.
Description
[edit]The common reed bunting is a medium-sized bird, 13.5–15.5 cm (5.3–6.1 in) long and weighing 10–28 g,[10] with a small but powerful seed-eating bill. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily barred brown back. The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head, and more barring underneath. The male's song is a repetitive srip.
Behaviour
[edit]Its natural diet consists of insects when feeding its young, and seeds at other times.
Breeding
[edit]Breeding usually begins in early April and ends in late August, depending on the location and altitude. The species is monogamous[citation needed]. The nest, which is made of twigs, grass and reeds, is lined with finer materials such as hair, moss and rootlets, and is located in a bush or reed tussock. Four to five olive-grey eggs are laid, displaying the distinctive hair-like markings characteristic of those of buntings. The incubation period is 12–15 days, during which both parents feed the chicks.[11]
Status
[edit]The reed bunting is not globally threatened and is listed as least concern by the IUCN.[2] The estimated European population is at least 4.8 million pairs, with particular strongholds in Sweden, Poland and Norway. However, the reed bunting is reported to be declining in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
Gallery
[edit]-
Emberiza schoeniclus
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A male in winter in England -
In natural shore habitat -
Female -
ID composite -
Eggs -
Leucistic reed bunting
Media related to Emberiza schoeniclus at Wikimedia Commons
Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Emberiza schoeniclus". www.mindat.org. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ a b BirdLife International (2019) [amended version of 2018 assessment]. "Emberiza schoeniclus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22721012A155430396. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22721012A155430396.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ a b Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 182.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. pp. 145, 350. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 176.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2023). "Buntings". IOC World Bird List. v13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 350. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 13.
- ^ Hoyo, Josep del; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David A, eds. (2020). "Emberizidae". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. doi:10.2173/bow.emberi2.01. S2CID 216412784. Retrieved 13 April 2014. (subscription required)
- ^ Copete, José Luis; Christie, David (2021). "Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus), version 1.1". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.reebun.01.1. ISSN 2771-3105.
- ^ Copete, J.L; Christie, D.A (2021). "Reed Bunting". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.reebun.01.1. Retrieved 8 May 2020.