Rock bunting
Emberiza cia Linnaeus, 1767
The rock bunting (Emberiza cia), also called the European rock bunting, is a bird in the order Passeriformes and the family Emberizidae, part of the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 23.43 g, and our sources report values from 22.7 to 24.2 g.
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Quick facts about the rock bunting
It lays 4.1 eggs per clutch with 2 clutches per year, incubates its eggs for 13.5 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 22.7 g – 24.2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- rockysrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.9 – 4.1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the rock bunting
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the rock bunting live?
Not recorded
What is the rock bunting?
The rock bunting (Emberiza cia) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific cia is from a local Italian name for this bird, from zirlare, "to chirp".
From the Wikipedia article “Rock bunting” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_bunting&oldid=1315252942), 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.
What does the rock bunting sound like?
Is the rock bunting endangered?
The rock 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.
How is the rock bunting classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyEmberizidae
- genusEmberiza
- SpeciesEmberiza cia Linnaeus, 1767
Synonyms Emberiza godlewskii gangsi, Emberiza godlewskii gobica, Emberiza godlewskii manshanica
Other names and names in other languages (55)
- European rock buntingEnglish
- درسة الصخرArabic
- درسة الصخورArabic
- Cistra pardaAragonese
- Сивоглава овесаркаBulgarian
- sit negreCatalan
- Кырык алык оравиMari
- strnad viničnýCzech
- Bras y GraigWelsh
- Breision y GraigWelsh
- KlippeværlingDanish
- ZippammerGerman
- ΒουνοτσίχλονοGreek
- roka emberizoEsperanto
- Escribano montesinoSpanish
- mägitsiitsitajaEstonian
- Mendi-berdantzaBasque
- زردپره کوهیPersian
- vuorisirkkuFinnish
- Bruant fouFrench
- Escribenta riscadaGalician
- גיבתון סלעיםHebrew
- strnadica cikavicaCroatian
- bajszos sármányHungarian
- Դրախտապան լեռնայինArmenian
- SteintittlingurIcelandic
- Zigolo muciattoItalian
- ヒゲホオジロJapanese
- Тау сұлыкешіKazakh
- ZippmëschLuxembourgish
- kalninė startaLithuanian
- klinšu stērsteLatvian
- планинска стрнаркаMacedonian
- BergspurvNorwegian Bokmål
- Grijze GorsDutch
- klippespurvNorwegian
- głuszekPolish
- ciaPortuguese
- Cia-comumPortuguese
- cia-ocidentalPortuguese
- Presură de munteRomanian
- Горная овсянкаRussian
- VárrecihciNorthern Sami
- strnádka ciaSlovak
- skalni strnadSlovenian
- Cerla e malitAlbanian
- Strnadica kamenjarkaSerbian
- Стрнадица камењаркаSerbian
- klippsparvSwedish
- Kaya ÇintesiTurkish
- Kaya KirazkuşuTurkish
- вівсянка гірськаUkrainian
- 灰眉岩鵐Chinese
- 淡灰眉岩鵐Chinese
- 淡灰眉岩鹀Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the rock bunting
Other species in the same genus Emberiza.
Yellowhammer
Emberiza citrinella
Common reed bunting
Emberiza schoeniclus
Corn bunting
Emberiza calandra
Ortolan bunting
Emberiza hortulana
Black-headed bunting
Emberiza melanocephala
Yellow-breasted bunting
Emberiza aureola
CompareRock bunting vs YellowhammerRock bunting vs Common reed buntingRock bunting vs Corn buntingRock 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 rock bunting?
The rock bunting is a bird of the family Emberizidae in the order Passeriformes. It belongs to the songbirds and other perching birds.
How much does a rock bunting weigh?
An adult rock bunting weighs 23.43 g, with values from 22.7 to 24.2 g reported by our sources.
What does the rock bunting eat?
The rock bunting is an omnivore.
What habitat does the rock bunting live in?
The rock bunting lives in rocky habitats and is a terrestrial forager.
Is the rock bunting endangered?
No. The rock bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How many eggs does the rock bunting lay?
The rock bunting lays 4.1 eggs per clutch and has 2 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 13.5 days.
Does the rock bunting migrate?
Yes, the rock bunting is partially migratory.
Who named the rock bunting?
The rock bunting was named Emberiza cia by Linnaeus, 1767.
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). Rock bunting (Emberiza cia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-bunting
“Rock bunting (Emberiza cia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-bunting.
@misc{rock_bunting_2026,
title = {Rock bunting (Emberiza cia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-bunting},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}