Updated at: 03-10-2023 - By: petstutorial

Buntings are a diverse group of passerine birds that belong to the family Emberizidae and the genus Emberiza. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills and are related to American sparrows.

You might be interested

The family contains about 45 species, with some American species belonging to two other genera, Passerina and Plectrophenax. Buntings are found in the Old World, which includes Europe, Asia, and Africa, and some species are brightly colored.

You are reading: Discover All Types Of Bunting Birds

The most brightly colored buntings belong to the New World genus Passerina in the family Cardinalidae. In this article, we will discover all types of bunting birds, including the Blue Bunting, Indigo Bunting, Corn Bunting, Lark Bunting, Lazuli Bunting, Yellowhammer, Little Bunting, Gray Bunting, Pallas’s Bunting, Pine Bunting, Reed Bunting, Yellow-breasted Bunting, and Varied Bunting.

14 Types Of Bunting Birds

Blue Bunting

The Blue Bunting (Cyanocompsa parellina) is a species of passerine bird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. The male Blue Bunting is various shades of blue, sky blue on the forehead and cheek, blackish blue on the upperparts, ultramarine on the rump, and the underparts from chin to belly deep blue.

The adult and immature females are overall dull brownish, with a reddish tinge to the belly. The Blue Bunting inhabits dense vegetation such as scrubby areas, thickets, and the undergrowth and edges of tall forest.

In elevation, it ranges up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in Mexico and to 900 m (3,000 ft) in Guatemala. The Blue Bunting forages singly or in pairs through low vegetation, and its diet has not been described.

Little information has been published about the Blue Bunting’s breeding phenology, but nests have been described as cups made of rootlets and other fine plant material and placed in bushes. Clutches were of two.

Indigo Bunting

The Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter.

The Indigo Bunting is a smallish songbird, around the size of a small sparrow, measuring 11.5–15 cm. The male Indigo Bunting is vibrant blue in the summer, with brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. It is brown during the winter months, while the female is brown year-round.

The Indigo Bunting is a stocky bird with short tails and short, thick, conical bills. Its habitat is farmland, brush areas, and open woodland. Nest-building and incubation are done solely by the female.

The diet of the Indigo Bunting consists primarily of insects during the summer months and seeds during the winter months. Indigo Buntings are often seen along rural roads, where they often sing from telephone lines or wooded edges for hours on end.

Corn Bunting

The Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. Here are some facts about the Corn Bunting:

– The Corn Bunting is a large bunting with heavily streaked buff-brown plumage.
– The sexes are similar, but the male is slightly larger than the female.
– Its range extends from Western Europe and North Africa across to northwestern China.
– The Corn Bunting is a bird of open country with trees, such as farmland and weedy wasteland.
– It has declined greatly in north-west Europe due to intensive agricultural practices depriving it of its food supply of weed seeds and insects, the latter especially vital when feeding the young.
– It has recently become extinct in Wales and Ireland, where it was previously common.
– The Corn Bunting is a sparrow-sized, streaky brown bird of hedgerows and farmland that feeds on seeds and invertebrates.
– In the winter, it will join mixed flocks of buntings and finches.
– The Corn Bunting is the largest of the buntings and is most usually seen perched on a wire or post.
– It is a stout, dumpy bird brown in color with a distinctive white collar.
– The Corn Bunting is a grassland species, found in open farmland, steppes, and heathlands.
– Mostly inconspicuous, but the male sings from a low perch on a bush or fence, giving a unique if monotonous song.

Overall, the Corn Bunting is a bird of open country with trees, such as farmland and weedy wasteland, and it has declined greatly in north-west Europe due to intensive agricultural practices depriving it of its food supply of weed seeds and insects.

Lark Bunting

The Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) is a medium-sized American sparrow native to central and western North America. Here are some facts about the Lark Bunting:

– The Lark Bunting was designated the state bird of Colorado in 1931.
– It is a heavyset sparrow with a very large, conical bill, and a compact, robust body.
– The bill and overall shape are reminiscent of a grosbeak or bunting.
– Lark Buntings breed in beautiful, windswept habitats such as the grasslands and shrubsteppe of the Great Plains, where they are most numerous in large expanses.
– The Lark Bunting is a chunky, thick-billed sparrow that prefers wide-open habitats.
– Breeding males are unmistakable, mostly jet black with a bold white wing patch.
– Females are gray-brown with a streaked breast and a white belly.
– The Lark Bunting was first described by J. K. Townsend in 1837, from a specimen collected on a trip he took with Thomas Nuttall, under the name Fringilla bicolor.
– This is a preoccupied name, so Leonhard Hess Stejneger renamed the species in 1885 Calamospiza melanocorys.
– The Lark Bunting is monotypic, the only member of the genus Calamospiza, and is not closely related to any other genera.
– The Lark Bunting was once extremely common but has lost ground with the conversion of prairies to farmland.

Overall, the Lark Bunting is a medium-sized American sparrow native to central and western North America. It is a heavyset sparrow with a very large, conical bill, and a compact, robust body.

The Lark Bunting breeds in beautiful, windswept habitats such as the grasslands and shrubsteppe of the Great Plains, where they are most numerous in large expanses. The Lark Bunting was once extremely common but has lost ground with the conversion of prairies to farmland.

Lazuli Bunting

The Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena) is a North American songbird named for the gemstone lapis lazuli. Here are some facts about the Lazuli Bunting:

– The Lazuli Bunting is a small, stocky bird with a short tail and a thick, conical bill.
– Breeding males are unmistakable, with bright cerulean blue plumage above, bold white wingbars, a white belly, and an orange breast.
– Females are plain buffy brown with paler underparts and a slightly curved bill.
– The Lazuli Bunting breeds in brushy habitats from sea level to more than 3,000 meters throughout the western United States and southwestern Canada.
– The main form of locomotion on the ground of Lazuli Buntings is a hopping movement, and for longer distances, the birds use rapid wing beats for flights and take a series of short flights.
– The Lazuli Bunting feeds primarily on insects and seeds.
– The Lazuli Bunting is a common bird with a stable population, and it is not considered threatened.
– The beauty of the Lazuli Bunting did not escape the early naturalist who named it Passerina amoena, meaning beautiful sparrow.

Overall, the Lazuli Bunting is a small, stocky bird with a short tail and a thick, conical bill. Breeding males are unmistakable, with bright cerulean blue plumage above, bold white wingbars, a white belly, and an orange breast.

The Lazuli Bunting breeds in brushy habitats from sea level to more than 3,000 meters throughout the western United States and southwestern Canada. The Lazuli Bunting feeds primarily on insects and seeds, and it is a common bird with a stable population, not considered threatened.

Yellowhammer

The Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Here are some facts about the Yellowhammer:

– The male Yellowhammer has a bright yellow head, streaked brown back, chestnut rump, and yellow underparts, while other plumages are duller versions of the same pattern.
– The Yellowhammer is a species of heathland, forest clearings, and farmland with hedges.
– The male Yellowhammer sings from a prominent perch, giving a dry and uninspired “dzidzidzidzidzi” .
– The Yellowhammer was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae under its current scientific name.
– Emberiza is derived from the Old German Embritz, a bunting, and citrinella is the Italian for a small yellow bird.
– The English name is thought to have come from Ammer, another German word for a bunting, and was first recorded in 1553 as yelambre.
– The Yellowhammer is a bright-colored passerine, and the breeding male is unmistakable with a bright yellow head and underparts, brown back streaked with black, and chestnut rump.
– In flight, the Yellowhammer shows white outer tail feathers and a chestnut rump.
– The Yellowhammer has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion.
– The Yellowhammer is a 16-centimeter (6-inch) long streaked brown bird with a yellow-tinged head and breast, and its rapid song is heard in fields from Britain to Central Asia.

Overall, the Yellowhammer is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. The male Yellowhammer has a bright yellow head, streaked brown back, chestnut rump, and yellow underparts, while other plumages are duller versions of the same pattern.

The Yellowhammer is a species of heathland, forest clearings, and farmland with hedges, and the male Yellowhammer sings from a prominent perch, giving a dry and uninspired “dzidzidzidzidzi”.

Little Bunting

The Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla) is a small passerine bird belonging to the bunting family (Emberizidae) . Here are some facts about the Little Bunting:

– The Little Bunting is a monotypic species, with no geographical variation across its extensive Palearctic range.
– It was first described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776.
– The Little Bunting is a small bunting, measuring only 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) in length.
– It has white underparts with dark streaking on the breast and sides.
– With its chestnut face and white malar stripe, it resembles a small female reed bunting, but has black crown stripes, a white eye-ring, and a fine dark border to the rear of its chestnut cheeks.
– The sexes are similar.
– The Little Bunting breeds across the taiga of the far north-east of Europe and northern Asia.
– It winters mostly in southern China, Korea, and Japan.
– The Little Bunting is a rare vagrant to western Europe.
– The Little Bunting is a small bunting with an attractive contrasting head pattern: black crown with red-brown central stripe and pale eyering.
– It is widespread across northern Scandinavia and Siberia in summer.
– The Little Bunting feeds on seeds and insects.
– The Little Bunting is a small bird that is difficult to see, and it is usually found in dense vegetation.

Overall, the Little Bunting is a small passerine bird belonging to the bunting family. It has white underparts with dark streaking on the breast and sides, and with its chestnut face and white malar stripe, it resembles a small female reed bunting, but has black crown stripes, a white eye-ring, and a fine dark border to the rear of its chestnut cheeks.

The Little Bunting breeds across the taiga of the far north-east of Europe and northern Asia and winters mostly in southern China, Korea, and Japan. It feeds on seeds and insects and is usually found in dense vegetation.

Gray Bunting

The Gray Bunting (Emberiza variabilis) is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. Here are some facts about the Gray Bunting:

– The Gray Bunting breeds in southern Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, and northern Japan, and it migrates to southern Japan and the Nansei archipelago.
– Its natural habitats are boreal forests and temperate forests.
– The Gray Bunting is a small songbird of shady undergrowth, especially dwarf bamboo thickets, found in mid-elevation coniferous or deciduous forests during summer and in shady habitats during migration and winter.
– The Gray Bunting is normally found in the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia and in Japan.
– In North America, they are only known from a handful of sightings in Alaska.
– The Gray Bunting is a small, very secretive passerine native to Asia, but it may occasionally reach the western Aleutian Islands.
– The male Gray Bunting has a gray head, back, and wings, with a black face and throat, and a white belly.
– The female Gray Bunting is brownish-gray with a streaked breast and a white belly.
– The Gray Bunting has a long pink bill and is grayish above.
– The Gray Bunting is found mainly in dry and open habitats, often stony, scrubby hillsides covered with low thorn scrub.

Overall, the Gray Bunting is a small bird that breeds in southern Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, and northern Japan, and it migrates to southern Japan and the Nansei archipelago.

Its natural habitats are boreal forests and temperate forests. The Gray Bunting is a small songbird of shady undergrowth, especially dwarf bamboo thickets, found in mid-elevation coniferous or deciduous forests during summer and in shady habitats during migration and winter.

The male Gray Bunting has a gray head, back, and wings, with a black face and throat, and a white belly, while the female is brownish-gray with a streaked breast and a white belly.

Pallas’s Bunting

Pallas’s Bunting (Emberiza pallasi), also known as Pallas’s Reed Bunting, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. Here are some facts about the Pallas’s Bunting:

– The Pallas’s Bunting breeds across northern and central Asia across to Mongolia.
– It is a migrant, which winters in southeast Asia.
– It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, but has occurred as far west as Great Britain.
– The Pallas’s Bunting is a small passerine bird, similar to a small Reed Bunting.
– The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked grey back (Reed Bunting has a browner back).
– The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head.
– The Pallas’s Bunting is smaller and more slender than the Reed Bunting, with a finer bill, colder pale buffy-brown (instead of rufous) wing coverts, and less extensive.
– The Pallas’s Bunting is a small bunting, with a comparatively short and narrow bill with a straight culmen.
– The Pallas’s Bunting is found across Central Asia to Mongolia, and it winters in Southeast Asia where the species is described as widespread.
– It frequents heathland, meadows, and marshes.
– The Pallas’s Bunting feeds on seeds and insects.

Overall, the Pallas’s Bunting is a small passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It breeds across northern and central Asia across to Mongolia and is a migrant, which winters in southeast Asia.

The Pallas’s Bunting is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, but has occurred as far west as Great Britain. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked grey back, while the female is much duller, with a streaked brown head.

The Pallas’s Bunting is smaller and more slender than the Reed Bunting, with a finer bill, colder pale buffy-brown (instead of rufous) wing coverts, and less extensive.

The Pallas’s Bunting is found across Central Asia to Mongolia, and it winters in Southeast Asia where the species is described as widespread. It frequents heathland, meadows, and marshes and feeds on seeds and insects.

Pine Bunting

The Pine Bunting (Emberiza leucocephalos) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. Here are some facts about the Pine Bunting:

– The Pine Bunting is a robust 16–17.5-centimeter bird, with a thick seed-eater’s bill.
– The male has a white crown and cheeks, and a chestnut forehead and throat, and a heavily streaked brown back.
– The female is much duller and is more streaked on its undersides.
– Non-breeding plumage is like that of a Yellowhammer, but with all the yellow replaced by white.
– Its song and calls are like those of the Yellowhammer.
– The Pine Bunting breeds across much of temperate Asia, migrating south to central Asia, north India, and southern China in winter.
– It is common in all sorts of open land with some scrub or trees, including cultivation, but has a greater preference for open forest (usually pines) than the closely related Yellowhammer.
– In its breeding range, it is found in open boreal forest, preferring evergreen forest and avoiding pure deciduous areas.
– The Pine Bunting feeds heavily on seeds.
– The Pine Bunting is a rare vagrant to western Europe, but often winters in northeast Italy and Tuscany.
– Pine Buntings are likely to be buried away in Yellowhammer flocks under conditions whereby the flocks are often not easy to scrutinize.
– The female Pine Bunting is difficult to identify, but new pieces of information have been discovered to help with identification.
– The Pine Bunting is a large brown bunting of open environments, from forest edges and clearings to hillsides and agricultural land.

Overall, the Pine Bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. The male has a white crown and cheeks, and a chestnut forehead and throat, and a heavily streaked brown back, while the female is much duller and is more streaked on its undersides.

The Pine Bunting breeds across much of temperate Asia, migrating south to central Asia, north India, and southern China in winter. It is common in all sorts of open land with some scrub or trees, including cultivation, but has a greater preference for open forest (usually pines) than the closely related Yellowhammer.

The Pine Bunting feeds heavily on seeds and is a rare vagrant to western Europe, but often winters in northeast Italy and Tuscany. The female Pine Bunting is difficult to identify, but new pieces of information have been discovered to help with identification.

Reed Bunting

The Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. Here are some facts about the Reed Bunting:

– The Reed Bunting is a medium-sized bird, 13.5–15.5 cm (5.3–6.1 in) long, with a small but sturdy seed-eater’s bill.
– The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back.
– The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head and a streaked breast.
– The Reed Bunting is a chunky bunting, found in wetlands with reed beds and scattered bushes, as well as in farmland and other open areas with bushes and hedges.
– Reed buntings are predominantly a farmland and wetland bird, typically found in wet vegetation but have recently spread into farmland and, in winter, into other open areas.
– Despite their name, Reed Buntings will breed in a wide variety of habitats, including dry environments such as grassy sand dune systems and farm hedgerows.
– The Reed Bunting feeds on seeds and invertebrates.
– In the winter, Reed Buntings join mixed flocks of buntings and finches.
– Reed Buntings are resident birds found throughout much of the UK, breeding at wetlands, nesting in waterside vegetation, but sightings during the rest of the year are more widespread.

Overall, the Reed Bunting is a medium-sized bird with a small but sturdy seed-eater’s bill. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back, while the female is much duller, with a streaked brown head and a streaked breast.

The Reed Bunting is a chunky bunting, found in wetlands with reed beds and scattered bushes, as well as in farmland and other open areas with bushes and hedges.

Reed Buntings are predominantly a farmland and wetland bird, typically found in wet vegetation but have recently spread into farmland and, in winter, into other open areas.

Despite their name, Reed Buntings will breed in a wide variety of habitats, including dry environments such as grassy sand dune systems and farm hedgerows.

The Reed Bunting feeds on seeds and invertebrates and joins mixed flocks of buntings and finches in the winter. Reed Buntings are resident birds found throughout much of the UK, breeding at wetlands, nesting in waterside vegetation, but sightings during the rest of the year are more widespread.

Yellow-breasted Bunting

The Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae that is found across the Boreal and East Palearctic. Here are some facts about the Yellow-breasted Bunting:

– The Yellow-breasted Bunting is a small passerine, ranging from 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 in) in length, and weighing 17 to 26 g (0.6 to 0.9 oz).
– The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back, while the female is much duller, with a streaked brown head and a streaked breast.
– The Yellow-breasted Bunting’s call is a distinctive zick, and the song is a clear tru-tru, tri-tri.
– Until 2004, the International Union for Conservation of Nature considered the Yellow-breasted Bunting to be a species of least concern.
– Since 2004, it has been gradually upgraded to a status of Critically Endangered due to rapid drops in population sizes.
– The Yellow-breasted Bunting is subject to heavy hunting pressure in China, through which most specimens pass during migration.
– The population of the Yellow-breasted Bunting has plunged by 90% since 1980, all but disappearing from eastern Europe, Japan, and large parts of Russia.
– Following initial population declines, China in 1997 banned the hunting of the species, known in the country as the “rice bird”.
– However, millions of these birds, along with other songbirds, were still being killed for food and sold on the black market as late as 2013.
– The Yellow-breasted Bunting is normally found in eastern Europe and Asia, but it has been found on very rare occasions in islands off the west coast of.
– The Yellow-breasted Bunting is a large bunting of agricultural fields, meadows, and wetlands, and it formerly gathered in immense congregations in winter but is now rare due to trapping.
– This bright-yellow bird may look like another colorful songbird, but in parts of China and Southeast Asia, it is eaten as a delicacy.
– The Yellow-breasted Bunting breeds in a large northern part of Eurasia and winters in South and Southeast Asia.

Overall, the Yellow-breasted Bunting is a small passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae that is found across the Boreal and East Palearctic. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back, while the female is much duller, with a streaked brown head and a streaked breast.

The Yellow-breasted Bunting’s call is a distinctive zick, and the song is a clear tru-tru, tri-tri. The Yellow-breasted Bunting is subject to heavy hunting pressure in China, through which most specimens pass during migration, and its population has plunged by 90% since 1980.

The Yellow-breasted Bunting is normally found in eastern Europe and Asia, but it has been found on very rare occasions in islands off the west coast.

The Yellow-breasted Bunting is a large bunting of agricultural fields, meadows, and wetlands, and it formerly gathered in immense congregations in winter but is now rare due to trapping.

Yellow-throated Bunting

The Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans), also known as the Elegant Bunting, is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. Here are some facts about the Yellow-throated Bunting:

– The Yellow-throated Bunting is found in China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Russia, and Taiwan.
– Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical dry forests.
– The Yellow-throated Bunting is a medium-sized bird, ranging from 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 in) in length, and weighing 17 to 26 g (0.6 to 0.9 oz).
– The adult male has a black chest patch, yellow throat, and yellow eyebrow, while the female is much duller, with a streaked brown head and a streaked breast.
– The Yellow-throated Bunting is an attractive songbird of parks, forests, and meadows.
– The Yellow-throated Bunting frequents dry, deciduous forests and mixed forests, thickets and bushes, and also agricultural areas.
– The Yellow-throated Bunting feeds on seeds and insects.
– The Yellow-throated Bunting is not considered threatened and has an extremely large range.
– The Yellow-throated Bunting is a species of bird that is not commonly seen in North America or Europe.

Overall, the Yellow-throated Bunting is a medium-sized bird found in China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Russia, and Taiwan. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical dry forests. The adult male has a black chest patch, yellow throat, and yellow eyebrow, while the female is much duller, with a streaked brown head and a streaked breast.

The Yellow-throated Bunting is an attractive songbird of parks, forests, and meadows, and it frequents dry, deciduous forests and mixed forests, thickets and bushes, and also agricultural areas.

The Yellow-throated Bunting feeds on seeds and insects and is not considered threatened, having an extremely large range.

Varied Bunting

The Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor) is a species of songbird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. Here are some facts about the Varied Bunting:

– The range of the Varied Bunting stretches from the southern parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States south throughout Mexico as far as Oaxaca.
– The Varied Bunting is a small bird, with males measuring about 12 cm (4.7 in) in length and females measuring about 11 cm (4.3 in).
– The male Varied Bunting has a bright blue head, back, and rump, with a purple breast and belly, and a red eye.
– The female Varied Bunting is a warm, medium-brown with very few markings, distinguished from other female buntings by her plainness.
– The Varied Bunting is a bird of arid habitats, including deserts, canyons, and dry shrublands, often in thorn thickets.
– The Varied Bunting feeds on seeds, insects, and fruits.
– The Varied Bunting is still locally common in southwestern United States, although some habitat has been lost.
– The Varied Bunting is not considered threatened and has a stable population of around 2 million.

Overall, the Varied Bunting is a small bird found in the southwestern United States and throughout Mexico. The male Varied Bunting has a bright blue head, back, and rump, with a purple breast and belly, and a red eye, while the female is a warm, medium-brown with very few markings.

The Varied Bunting is a bird of arid habitats, including deserts, canyons, and dry shrublands, often in thorn thickets, and feeds on seeds, insects, and fruits.

The Varied Bunting is still locally common in southwestern United States, although some habitat has been lost, and it is not considered threatened, with a stable population of around 2 million.

FAQS

1. What is a bunting bird?

A bunting bird is a passerine bird in the family Emberizidae, which includes about 50 species of seed-eating birds.

2. Where are buntings found?

Buntings are found all over the world, but they are most diverse in the Old World, particularly in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

3. What do buntings eat?

Buntings are primarily seed-eaters, but they also eat insects and fruits.

4. What are some common species of buntings?

Some common species of buntings include the yellowhammer, reed bunting, cirl bunting, snow bunting, and painted bunting.

5. What is the habitat of buntings?

Buntings can be found in a variety of habitats, including farmland, wetlands, forests, and scrublands.

6. Are buntings endangered?

Some species of buntings, such as the yellow-breasted bunting, are critically endangered due to habitat loss and hunting. However, many species of buntings are not considered threatened and have stable populations.