Yellow-browed Bunting

Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys) is a medium bunting with a black-and-white striped crown, black eye-line and a vivid yellow eyebrow. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in eastern Siberian taiga, eats seeds and insects and nests in trees, then migrates to central and southern China; occasional birds wander well beyond the normal range. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).