Emberiza schoeniclus
The Common Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a small to medium-sized Old World bunting, renowned for its association with wetland habitats across the Palearctic. Males in breeding plumage are striking, featuring a glossy black head and throat, set against a crisp white moustachial stripe and collar, with streaked brown upperparts and dull white underparts; they measure about 15 cm in length, with a wingspan of 21-28 cm and weighing 13-20 grams. Females and non-breeding males are more sub...
Primarily found in freshwater and brackish wetlands, including reed beds, marshes, fens, damp meadows, and riparian zones. They typically inhabit low-lying areas, rarely occurring at high elevations.
Mainly insectivorous during the breeding season, consuming a variety of small invertebrates; shifts to a predominantly granivorous diet of seeds, especially from grasses and reeds, in autumn and winter.
Common Reed Buntings are diurnal, spending their days foraging and often roosting communally in dense vegetation during the non-breeding season. Foraging primarily involves gleaning insects from vegetation and probing damp ground, especially during the breeding season, shifting to seeds in autumn...
The Common Reed Bunting boasts an extensive Palearctic distribution, breeding across most of Europe and temperate Asia, from Ireland and Portugal eastward through Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and northern China, reaching as far as Japan. Its breeding range typically extends north into Scandinavi...
Least Concern
- The Common Reed Bunting is one of the most widespread passerines in Eurasia, with a massive breeding range spanning from Western Europe to Eastern Asia. - Over 20 subspecies have been recognized across its vast Palearctic range, exhibiting subtle variations in size, plumage, and migratory patte...