Template:Species-2021-05

Species of the month

Yellow-breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola Pallas 1773, ReiseVersch. Provin. Russ. Reichs p. 711.

Some facts about this bird:

Distribution: Boreal forests of Finland to Bering Sea and eastwards to Indochina, Manchuria, Kamchatka, and North Korea.
Protection status: Critically endangered.

Previously considered to be of least concern, this once-common, mainly Asian species has experienced a catastrophic 80 percent population decline over the past 13 years and is now listed as critically endangered. These declines, which apparently began in the west of the breeding range in northeastern Europe, have since spread eastwards to affect the vast majority or even the entire population.