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24

Common Reed Bunting

(Emberiza schoeniclus)
German name(s): "Rohrammer"
Size: 15-16.5 cm; wing span 21-28 cm
Weight: 16-25 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Common Reed Bunting at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "schoeniclus"

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Frontal view of a male Common Reed Bunting in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Near-frontal view of a male Common Reed Bunting in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Saint Omer, between Lille and Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hauts-de-France, France, June 2020]

Lateral view of a male Common Reed Bunting in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Common Reed Bunting in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Between Bensersiel and Ostbense, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Reed Bunting in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Reed Bunting in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Reed Bunting in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of a male Common Reed Bunting in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2019]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Common Reed Bunting that has caught a flying insect (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a female Common Reed Bunting with a full load of juicy caterpillars for its brood
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Lateral view of a female Common Reed Bunting (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a female Common Reed Bunting with a full load of juicy caterpillars
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a first-winter Common Reed Bunting; note the sandy markings under the ear coverts, rather than white
(photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Temerin, Serbia, January 2017]

Frontal view of a fledgling Common Reed Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2014]

Frontal view of a fledgling Common Reed Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2014]

Near-frontal view of a fledgling Common Reed Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2014]

Food, Diet

Like all buntings known to us, Common Reed Buntings are seed-eaters. The fact that the birds observed by us caught large numbers of insects (in May in Poland) very probably indicates that they were feeding nestlings at the time.

Note that cardueline finches (i.e. European Goldfinch, European Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin and their close relatives) feed their young primarily regurgitated seeds, while fringilline finches (all others) feed their young primarily invertebrates.

Near-dorsal view of a female Common Reed Bunting with a full load of juicy caterpillars (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, river Bug, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

reedbnt_dw_20160529.m4a schoeniclus
(Poland)
Territorial calls (male) © DW
reedbnt_dw_20160613.m4a schoeniclus
(Poland)
Territorial calls (male)? © DW

More Common Reed Bunting sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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