Rock Bunting

Emberiza cia Linnaeus, 1766

Emberizidae — Buntings

Rock Bunting, Emberiza cia, breeds across rocky, bushy slopes in the western and central Palearctic, from Iberia and southern France through central and eastern Europe into western and central Asia, with further populations in North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Himalayas and as far east as western Mongolia. In the non-breeding season, some birds move down to cultivated land at lower elevations. It is a passerine in the bunting family. The European, African and western Turkish form is the only one with white wing bars.

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae — Buntings
Breeding range: Palearctic: subtropical to temperate montane w, c Palearctic rocky, bushy slopes: Iberian Pen. and c France through s Germany, Slovakia, sw Russia through n Iran and s Turkmenistan to e Kazakhstan, nw, w Xinjiang (nw China) and e to far w Mongolia; in s from Morocco to Tunisia (nw, nc Africa), Mediterranean to Israel, s Iran, Afghanistan and w, c Himalayas
Nonbreeding range: some move to cultivation at lower elevations