Black-headed bunting
Emberiza melanocephala Scopoli, 1769
The black-headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala) is a bird in the family Emberizidae and order Passeriformes, part of the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 28.31 g, with values from 27 g to 29.7 g reported by our sources, and it has an omnivore diet.
Quick facts about the black-headed bunting
This migratory species lives in shrubland, has a geographic range of 2,122,000 km², and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category. Its clutches hold 3.9 eggs, with 1 clutch per year and an incubation period of 14 days, and its lifespan is 10.5 years, with up to 11 years reported.
- Weight
- 27 g – 29.7 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 10.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 11 years
- Main food
- seedssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 14 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the black-headed bunting
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the black-headed bunting live?
Not recorded
What is the black-headed bunting?
The black-headed bunting (Melophus melanocephalus) is a passerine bird in the Old World bunting family Emberizidae. It breeds in south-east Europe east to Iran and migrates in winter mainly to India, with some individuals moving further into south-east Asia. Like others in its family, it is found in open grassland habitats where they fly in flocks in search of grains and seed. Adult males are well marked with yellow underparts, chestnut back and a black head. Adult females in breeding plumage look like duller males. In other plumages, they can be hard to separate from the closely related red-headed bunting and natural hybridization occurs between the two species in the zone of overlap of their breeding ranges in northern Iran.
From the Wikipedia article “Black-headed bunting” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-headed_bunting&oldid=1381896647), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the black-headed bunting endangered?
The black-headed bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the black-headed bunting classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyEmberizidae
- genusEmberiza
- SpeciesEmberiza melanocephala Scopoli, 1769
Synonyms Euspiza melanocephala, Granativora melanocephala, Melophus melanocephalus
Other names and names in other languages (61)
- درسة سوداء الرأسArabic
- CisnegroAragonese
- Черноглава овесаркаBulgarian
- Brean penn duBreton
- sit capnegreCatalan
- Шим вуян алык оравиMari
- strnad černohlavýCzech
- Bras PendduWelsh
- Breision PendduWelsh
- HætteværlingDanish
- KappenammerGerman
- ΑμπελουργόςGreek
- nigrakapa emberizoEsperanto
- Escribano cabecinegroSpanish
- mustpea-tsiitsitajaEstonian
- Berdantza burubeltzBasque
- زردپره سرسیاهPersian
- mustapääsirkkuFinnish
- Knokksvartur spurvurFaroese
- Bruant mélanocéphaleFrench
- Gealóg cheanndubhIrish
- Escribenta cabecinegraGalician
- Pompee chione-dooManx
- גיבתון שחור-ראשHebrew
- kucsmás sármányHungarian
- Դրախտապան սևագլուխArmenian
- Սևագլուխ դրախտապանArmenian
- Emberisa Kepala-HitamIndonesian
- HettutittlingurIcelandic
- Zigolo capineroItalian
- ズグロチャキンチョウJapanese
- ズグロチャキンチョウ（頭黒茶金鳥）Japanese
- Қарабас сұлыкешKazakh
- 검은머리멧새Korean
- juodagalvė startaLithuanian
- melngalvas stērsteLatvian
- црноглава стрнаркаMacedonian
- കരിന്തലയൻ തിനക്കുരുവിMalayalam
- काळ्या डोक्याचा भारीटMarathi
- SvarhodespurvNorwegian Bokmål
- ZwartkopgorsDutch
- svarthovudsporvNorwegian Nynorsk
- svarthodespurvNorwegian
- trznadel czarnogłowyPolish
- escrevedeira-de-cabeça-pretaPortuguese
- Presură cu cap negruRomanian
- Черноголовая овсянкаRussian
- ČáhppesoaicihciNorthern Sami
- čáhppesoaicizášNorthern Sami
- strnádka čiernohlaváSlovak
- črnoglavi strnadSlovenian
- црноглава стрнадицаSerbian
- Црноглава стрнадица (Crnoglava strnadica)Serbian
- Crnoglava strnadicaSerbian
- svarthuvad sparvSwedish
- นกจาบปีกอ่อนหัวดำThai
- Kara Başlı ÇinteTurkish
- Kara başlı kiraz kuşuTurkish
- вівсянка чорноголоваUkrainian
- 黑头鹀Chinese
- 黑頭鵐Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black-headed bunting
Other species in the same genus Emberiza.
Yellowhammer
Emberiza citrinella
Common reed bunting
Emberiza schoeniclus
Corn bunting
Emberiza calandra
Ortolan bunting
Emberiza hortulana
Yellow-breasted bunting
Emberiza aureola
Rock bunting
Emberiza cia
CompareBlack-headed bunting vs YellowhammerBlack-headed bunting vs Common reed buntingBlack-headed bunting vs Corn buntingBlack-headed bunting vs Ortolan bunting
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the black-headed bunting?
The black-headed bunting is a bird in the family Emberizidae, order Passeriformes, within the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup.
How much does a black-headed bunting weigh?
An adult Black-headed bunting weighs 28.31 g, with values from 27 g to 29.7 g reported by our sources.
What does the black-headed bunting eat?
The black-headed bunting is an omnivore.
What habitat does the black-headed bunting live in?
The black-headed bunting lives in shrubland.
Is the black-headed bunting migratory?
Yes, the black-headed bunting is migratory.
Is the black-headed bunting endangered?
No, the black-headed bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How many eggs does the black-headed bunting lay?
The black-headed bunting lays 3.9 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year and an incubation period of 14 days.
Who named the black-headed bunting?
The black-headed bunting, Emberiza melanocephala, was named by Scopoli, 1769.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black-headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-bunting
“Black-headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-bunting.
@misc{black_headed_bunting_2026,
title = {Black-headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-bunting},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}