Description:

Distinctive bunting with comparatively small bill. Male has grey head, black supercilium and throat, and chestnut breast-band; pattern obscured in winter. Female has rather plain head with pale supercilium; crown, mantle and underparts are diffusely streaked, and has chestnut rump.

Distribution:

Common summer visitor and resident to lowers valleys all over Gilgit-Baltistan, except in east Baltistan. Found up to 3500m in rocky gulleys in dry, lightly wooded hills and mountains; grassy and rocky slopes with or without bushes and trees.

Behavior:

Forages in bushes, as well as on ground, hopping with flat-backed, hunched posture. In winter mixes freely with other buntings and finches. In heat of day takes shelter in bushes, sitting quietly with ruffled "crest" of raised crown feathers. Feeds chiefly on grass seeds, augmented by berries in autumn and winter. On a variety of invertebrates, mostly insects and spiders, during breeding.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

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

Seasonal Occurrence of White-capped 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.