Emberiza cia
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The rock bunting (Emberiza cia) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific cia is from a local Italian name for this bird, from zirlare, "to chirp".
It breeds in northwest Africa, southern Europe east to central Asia, and the Himalayas. It also breeds locally in central Europe. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mainly within the breeding range of the resident southern populations. It is a rare wanderer to western Europe.
The rock bunting breeds in open dry rocky mountainous areas. This bird is 16 cm in length. The breeding male has chestnut upperparts, unmarked deep buff underparts, and a pale grey head marked with black striping. The female rock bunting is a washed-out version of the male, with paler underparts, a grey-brown back and a less contrasted head. The juvenile is similar to the female, but with a streaked head.
There are four races differing mainly in the plumage shades, although the subspecies which breeds in Europe, Africa... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Hemis National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Bunting sighting in Islamabad on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 86th most-seen of the 123 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Bunting in Islamabad on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Islamabad's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 220 mm in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rock Bunting sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 12
Of the 12 cities where we can rate Rock Bunting sightings, Islamabad ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Almaty (Kazakhstan, about 10%), Srinagar (India, under 5%) and Mashhad (Iran, under 5%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Rock Bunting that you can see in Islamabad (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are House Crow (over 90%), House Sparrow (about 70%) and Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rock Bunting is recorded against all the birds logged in Islamabad (17 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.
