Common Reed Bunting

The common reed bunting is a medium-sized bunting, 13.5–15.5 cm long and 10–28 g, with a small but powerful seed-eating bill. The male has a black head and throat, a white neck collar and underparts and a heavily barred brown back, while the female is much duller, with a streaked brown head and more barring underneath. It breeds throughout Europe and much of the Palearctic (Wikipedia, general species account).

While most individuals migrate south in winter, those in the milder south and west of the range are resident. It is a common sight in reedbeds but also breeds in drier open areas such as moorland and arable land, and breeding usually begins in early April and ends in late August depending on location and altitude. Four or five olive-grey eggs are laid with the distinctive hair-like markings of buntings, and both parents feed the chicks during the incubation period of 12–15 days. The male's song is a repetitive srip. The cached account does not describe its Indian range. SoIB 2023 lists it as a winter migrant of non-specialised habitat that eats plants and seeds, without a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).