CreatureData

Crested bunting

Emberiza lathami J. E. Gray, 1831

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The crested bunting (Emberiza lathami) is a species in the family Emberizidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 20.7 g to 22.7 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Crested bunting (Emberiza lathami)
Photo: Tisha Mukherjee · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the crested bunting

Weight
20.7 g – 22.7 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3 – 3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the crested bunting live?

Not recorded

What is the crested bunting?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The crested bunting (Melophus lathami) is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. It is sparrow sized with males having rufous wings and tail on a black body and females being less contrastingly coloured in dull brown. Both males and females have the distinctive crest. The species was formerly placed in an monotypic genus Melophus on account of its crest, unique among the buntings. It was subsequently moved to the genus Emberiza and then in 2026 returned to the genus Melophus together with two other species. The species has a wide but scattered distribution in Asia. They are found in mostly open and dry habitats over a range of altitudes. Populations in the higher elevations of the Himalayas show seasonal altitudinal movements. They are more gregarious in winter.

From the Wikipedia article “Crested bunting” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crested_bunting&oldid=1381895230), 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 crested bunting endangered?

The crested bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the crested bunting classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyEmberizidae
  6. genusEmberiza
  7. SpeciesEmberiza lathami J. E. Gray, 1831

Synonyms Emberiza erythropterus, Emberiza subcristata, Melophus lathami, Melophus lathami lathami, Melophus melanicterus

Other names and names in other languages (38)
  • Качулата овесаркаBulgarian
  • ঝুঁটিয়াল চটকBangla
  • sit crestatCatalan
  • strnad chocholatýCzech
  • TopværlingDanish
  • HaubenammerGerman
  • kresta emberizoEsperanto
  • Escribano crestadoSpanish
  • tutt-tsiitsitajaEstonian
  • Emberiza lathamiBasque
  • sulttaanisirkkuFinnish
  • Bruant huppéFrench
  • krunata strnadicaCroatian
  • Sisakos sármányHungarian
  • Zigolo crestatoItalian
  • レンジャクノジコJapanese
  • melofasLithuanian
  • cekulainā stērsteLatvian
  • കൊമ്പൻ തിനക്കുരുവിMalayalam
  • युवराजMarathi
  • जुरे बगेडीNepali
  • KuifgorsDutch
  • toppspurvNorwegian
  • trznadel rudoskrzydłyPolish
  • escrevedeira-de-poupaPortuguese
  • escrevedeira-de-cristaPortuguese
  • escrevedeira-de-topetePortuguese
  • Хохлатая овсянкаRussian
  • Хохлатый мелофусRussian
  • strnádka chochlatáSlovak
  • Ćubasta strnadicaSerbian
  • tofssparvSwedish
  • นกจาบปีกอ่อนหงอนThai
  • Tepeli ÇinteTurkish
  • вівсянка чубатаUkrainian
  • 凤头鹀Chinese
  • 冠鵐Chinese
  • 冠鵐〔鳳頭鵐〕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the crested bunting

Other species in the same genus Emberiza.

CompareCrested bunting vs YellowhammerCrested bunting vs Common reed buntingCrested bunting vs Corn buntingCrested bunting vs Ortolan bunting

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the crested bunting?

An adult crested bunting weighs 20.7 g – 22.7 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the crested bunting endangered?

The crested bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the crested bunting?

The crested bunting (Emberiza lathami) belongs to the family Emberizidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Crested bunting (Emberiza lathami). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-bunting

MLA

“Crested bunting (Emberiza lathami).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-bunting.

BibTeX
@misc{crested_bunting_2026,
  title = {Crested bunting (Emberiza lathami)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-bunting},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}