Crested Bunting

The crested bunting is a sparrow-sized bunting with a distinctive crest in both sexes, males having rufous wings and tail on a black body and females duller brown, less contrasting, with a shorter crest and dull olive-brown plumage with dark brown streaks. It was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Melophus on account of its crest, unique among the buntings, until DNA-based phylogenies showed it nested within other Emberiza species. It has a wide but scattered distribution in Asia, and is found along the Himalaya in India, where populations at higher elevations show seasonal altitudinal movements; it is considered monotypic, though peninsular Indian populations have been given the name subcristata without external morphological differences (Wikipedia, general species account).

Non-breeding males are buffish grey and subadults have black tips to the rufous primary coverts. It becomes more gregarious in winter, forming flocks sometimes foraging with other finches, buntings and larks, and in the breeding season males sing from atop tall plants. The clutch is three or four white eggs with greenish to reddish spots. SoIB 2023 rates it a Moderate conservation priority, a resident and local migrant with a Large range of about 278,000 km² and a decline of about 56% over the long term (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).