Little Bunting

Emberiza pusilla (Pallas, 1776)

2012-09-13 Southern Kazakhstan, Zhuantobe.	© Andrey Kovalenko

Distribution

Occasionally occurs on migration in Irtysh valley, in Western Altai and its foothills, at Semipalatinsk (16 October 1922), near Ust-Kamenogorsk (16 and 26 November 1966), in spur of Ulbisky ridge (10 October 1965), very rarely in Kurgaldzhino Reserve (12 December 1969), in lower reaches of Sarysu river (10 September 1982), on western shore of Sasykkol lake (17 March 1981), in Ile valley (Aydarlykum sand and near Dzarkent 16 November 1899), in Zailiyskiy Alatau ridge in Shubar natural boundary, near Almaty (19 March 1896), near Tashkent and in Western Betpakdala (13 September 2012).

Biology

Rare passage migrant, or rare winter visitor. Occurs in river forests and in steppe bush thickets. In spring one was shot in March, but in autumn and winter singles and small groups observed from mid-October until mid-December.

References

Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Урала, Приуралья и Западной Сибири". Екатеринбург. Изд-во Уральского университета, 2000.