Crested Bunting

Latin Name: 
Melophus lathami
Category: 
Size: 
15cm
Description: 

Male: striking glossy black plumage, with long, pointed crest and chestnut wings and tail. Female: crested; olive-brown above, streaked darker; rufous in wings distinctive; buffy-yellow below, streaked dark on breast; darkish moustachial stripe. Small flocks, often spread wide over an area; feeds on ground, on paths, meadows and tar roads, especially along mountainsides; perches on ruins, walls, stones and low bushes; on ground.

Habitat: 
Open, bush and rock-covered mountainsides, open country; sometimes also cultivation.
Distribution: 
Resident over wide part of India, from outer Himalaya to about 1,800m; south to SW Maharashtra and N Andhra Pradesh; appears to move considerably after the rains.
Call: 
Call Description: 
Faint chip… call; pleasant, though somewhat monotonous song of breeding male (May– August).
National Status: