Description:

Small bunting, smaller than otherwise somewhat similar Reed Bunting; small bill with straight culmen. Chestnut ear-coverts and often supercilium and crown-stripe. Has more pointed bill than Reed, and has uniform grey-brown mantle, lightly streaked dark brown, more finely streaked breast and flanks, and more prominent pale covert wing-bars.

Distribution:

Vagrant or possible passage migrant, with only records in Hunza district in Gilgit-Baltistan. Occupies variety of open and semi-open habitats, from edges of forest to scrubby hillsides, crop fields and areas of bushes near marshes.

Behavior:

Forages on ground and at low levels in bushes and trees, a few meters above ground in birches and other kinds of low vegetation. Solitary and in pairs and small groups. Diet during breeding includes seeds and invertebrates. Diet during winter mostly seeds, such as those of sedges, grasses and cereals, but invertebrates still form a significant percentage of items.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Little Bunting in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Little Bunting

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.