Red-headed Bunting
Emberiza bruniceps (JF Brandt, 1841)
REHBU 
18800
Family: Passeriformes > Emberizidae
Red-headed Bunting is a very rare vagrant to the UK, with the main breeding range being in central Asia and birds wintering mostly in India and Bangladesh. It has had a chequered history of occurrence in the UK. The first accepted record was a male in Orkney in June 1931 but following a review in the early 1970s this and other records were deemed to be escaped cagebirds. This theory is supported by the significant reduction in records following bans on the importation of birds into Europe. Now the first accepted record relates to a first-year bird on Shetland in 2010. This bird too proved tricky as it was originally identified as a Black-headed Bunting, its true identity only coming to light in 2023.
Identification
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Population size and trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO surveys and atlases with data collected by BTO volunteers.
CONSERVATION STATUS
This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.
| IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global) |
Least Concern 
|
| Schedule 1 license required (to disturb) | No |
| Birds Directive Annex 1 | No |
POPULATION SIZE
We have no population estimates for this scarce species.
|
First Record
|
Shetland, 2010 |
Movement
Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.
RINGING RECOVERIES
View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.
Biology
Lifecycle and body size information about Red-headed Bunting, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.
PRODUCTIVITY & NESTING
Sample sizes are too small to report Productivity and Nesting statistics for this species.
CODES & CLASSIFICATION
|
Field Codes
|
5-letter code: REHBU | Euring: 18800 |
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Links to more information from ConservationEvidence.com
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