Chestnut bunting

The chestnut bunting (Emberiza rutila) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae found in the East Palearctic.

It is a fairly small bunting, 14 to 15 cm in length. The tail is fairly short with little or no white on the outer feathers. Breeding males have bright chestnut-brown upperparts and head. The breast and belly are yellow with streaks on the sides. Non-breeding males are similar but duller with the chestnut partly hidden by pale fringes to the feathers. The female is mostly dull brown with dark streaks above while the underparts are mainly pale yellow. The rump is dull chestnut and the throat is buff.

The variable, high-pitched song is given from a perch low in a tree. The call is a short zick, similar to the call of the little bunting.