Yellow-breasted Bunting

Yellow-breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic

LCNTVUENCRCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kolkata

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

7 Verified sightings at Kolkata
69 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Yellow-breasted Bunting

The yellow-breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae that is found across the Boreal and East Palearctic. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific aureola is Latin for "golden". The bird's call is a distinctive zick, and the song is a clear tru-tru, tri-tri.

Until 2004, the International Union for Conservation of Nature considered the yellow-breasted bunting to be a species of least concern. Since 2004, it has been gradually upgraded to a status of Critically Endangered due to rapid drops in population sizes. It is subject to heavy hunting pressure in China, through which most specimens pass during migration.

The yellow-breasted bunting is a small passerine, ranging from 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 in) in length, and weighing 17 to 26 g (0.6 to 0.9 oz). For a bunting, it is large and rather stocky. The breeding male has bright white underparts with black flank streaks, brown upperparts, black face and throat bar, and a pink lower mandible. The female has a heavily streaked grey-brown back, and less intensely yellow underparts. She has a whitish face with dark crown, eye and cheek stripes... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording1:07

Russia · 2026

© naturalisttt · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:27

Russia · 2026

© nadezhda_boiko · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:08

Russia · 2025

© Сергей · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
~10%
2 Beijing 🇨🇳 China
~10%
3 Kathmandu 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
4 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
5 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%
6 Hong Kong 🇨🇳 China
<5%
7 Taipei 🇹🇼 Taiwan
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-breasted Bunting in Kolkata?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-breasted Bunting sighting in Kolkata on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 59th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Yellow-breasted Bunting in Kolkata?

December

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-breasted Bunting in Kolkata on a given day, against under 5% in February to October, the lowest months. That is one of Kolkata's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 330 mm in July.

What time of day is best to see a Yellow-breasted Bunting?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-breasted 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.

Is Kolkata the best place to see a Yellow-breasted Bunting?

Yes

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Yellow-breasted Bunting sightings, Kolkata has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Beijing (China, about 10%) and Kathmandu (Nepal, under 5%).

Where does the Yellow-breasted Bunting sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Yellow-breasted Bunting is recorded against all the birds logged in Kolkata (7 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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