Chestnut Bunting

Chestnut Bunting

Emberiza rutila

Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Hong Kong

In 3 days <5%

13 Verified sightings at Hong Kong
11 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the 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 (5.5 to 5.9 in) 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. It breeds in Siberia, northern Mongolia and north-eastern China. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering in southern China, south-east Asia and north-east India. There are a number of records from Europe but some of these are considered to be escapes from captivity rather than genuine vagrants.

During the breeding season it inhabits open forest with plenty... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:18

Russia · 2013

© Sergey_Cher · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
<5%
2 Beijing 🇨🇳 China
<5%
3 Suzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%
4 Shanghai 🇨🇳 China
<5%
5 Hangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%
6 Hong Kong 🇨🇳 China
<5%
7 Seoul 🇰🇷 South Korea
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Chestnut Bunting in Hong Kong?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut Bunting sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 163rd most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Chestnut Bunting in Hong Kong?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut Bunting in Hong Kong on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Chestnut Bunting?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut Bunting sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Hong Kong the best place to see a Chestnut Bunting?

Among the best

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Chestnut Bunting sightings, Hong Kong ranks 6th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kaohsiung (Taiwan, under 5%), Beijing (China, under 5%) and Suzhou (China, under 5%).

Where does the Chestnut Bunting sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Chestnut Bunting is recorded against all the birds logged in Hong Kong (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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