Wildlife
Reed buntings are some of the most 'adulterous' birds on record. As a result, over half the chicks in a nest may not have been fathered by the female's mate. Feigning injury to lure potential predators away from their nests, which are built dangerously close to the ground albeit amongst dense vegetation, is one of the ways that parent birds protect their young. Reed buntings are wetland birds and widespread throughout central and northern Europe. They are particularly fond of reedbeds, though in recent years they've taken to coming into gardens in the winter in search of food.
In order to see this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.
Intruder in the nest
A slug takes a short cut over a nestful of reed bunting chicks.
A slug takes a short cut over a nestful of reed bunting chicks.
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Reed bunting can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, China, Europe, Indian subcontinent, Mediterranean, United Kingdom, Wales. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Reed bunting distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Year assessed: 2009
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The Common Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. It breeds across Europe and much of temperate and northern Asia. Most birds migrate south in winter, but those in the milder south and west of the range are resident. It is common in reedbeds and also breeds in drier open areas such as moorland and cultivation. The familiar, if somewhat monotonous, song of the cock is a repetitive zrip.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.
Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.
Garden birds
Nestcam close-ups, expert identification guides and specialist wildlife cameras give a privileged view of a very British obsession: garden birds.
BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
Migration
Predation defence
Adapted to flying
Acoustic communication
Monogamous
Moulting
Egg layer
Parental investment
Territorial