Cinereous Bunting

Turks Bunting ( Emberiza cineracea )

The Turks Bunting ( Emberiza cineracea ) is a bird in the bunting family ( Emberizidae ). A distinction is made within the species between two subspecies.

Description

The male can be easily distinguished from other species by the green- yellow head and yellowish to yellow throat. The rump is gray, the wings are brownish. The underside is ungestreift. In females, only the throat is yellow, the underside is slightly striped. The females of the Turks bunting can therefore be confused with the female of the Black-headed Bunting. The young birds have a striped bottom. The underside of the Turks Ammer, depending on the subspecies, gray or yellowish. The Turks bunting has a length of 16.5 cm.

Dissemination

The Western Turks Bunting subspecies is also found in Europe, but only as a summer guest on a few islands in the Aegean Sea. Small populations breed on Lesvos and Chios, Skyros, Samos, Ikaria and perhaps Corfu. On these islands there is a population of 50-100 pairs. Other populations of the western subspecies breeding in western Turkey. However, the majority of Turks buntings breed in southeastern Turkey and southern Iran. The Turks bunting winters in southern Turkey and around the Red Sea. The preferred habitat of the Turks Bunting stony, slightly covered slopes.

Way of life

Like most sparrows, the Turks Ammer feeds mainly on seeds. Insects found feeding the boys use. The reputation of this Ammernart is a short " kip ". The song sounds like a rough " zru - zru - zru - zru ".

The female lays 3-6 whitish gray blue to dark brown, about 21 mm long eggs.

Others

The Turks Ammer was first discovered by Hugh Edwin Strickland and described by Christian Ludwig Brehm in 1855.

Swell

• Christopher Perrins, "Birds, Biology Determine Ecology", Paul Parey Verlag, ISBN 3-490-22618-6