| .רבדמ ןותבג (491 | ||||||||||
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םירוחש-םימוח םיספב םיספסופמ ונורגו ושאר ,םוח יללכה ועבצ ,ןטק :רבדמ ןותבג | ||||||||||
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Subspecies and Distribution.
E. s. sahari North Africa E to W Egypt, south to N Niger and N Chad. E. s. striolata from Sinai, extreme S-E Egypt, E Sudan, and Eritrea E through S Levant and Arabia to N-W India. E. s. jebelmarrae W-C Sudan. E. s. saturatior C and S Ethiopia to Somalia and N Kenya, also Yemen. E. s. sanghae S Mali and Senegal. | ||||||||||
Descriptive notes.13-14 cm, 12 g, wingspan 22-26 cm. Rather small, delicate, cryptically plumaged bunting, with dark rufous-edged tail shared only by Cinnamon-breasted Rock Bunting. Western race sahari tame and rather dull, with little marked grey and rufous-buff plumage. larger eastern race nominate, shyer and more puzzling, with blackish stripes on head of typical male suggesting E. cia and even more so E. tahapsi.Calls distinctive. Sexes rather similar, little seasonal variation. HabitatSituation confused by existence of ecologically distinct races, one of which has long been largely adapted to commensalism with man in inhabited settlements, while nominate in Asia has remained attached to natural rocky habitat apart from having colonized some ruins of forts and other buildings. Sometimes found in wild desolate places, at some altitude, but never in open desert.Food and FeedingSeeds, mostly of grasses, invertebrates in breeding season.Breeding.Early Mar to beginning of Aug in Morocco, Mar-Jun in Israel, Mar-Apr in Arabia.Nest site, in or on buildings but also in rocky country away from settlements. In east of range, generally avoids human habitation. Nest, small and cup-shaped, foundation of twigs, roots, grass stems, straw, etc., lined with hair, wool, plant down, and man-made material. 2-4 eggs, sub-elliptical, smooth and faintly glossy. Whitish, sometimes tinged faintly blue or green, speckled or spotted purplish or dark brown, markings increasing in intensity towards broad end. Incubation 13-14 days, by female only. Movements.Essentially sedentary, but with short distance movements in some populations. Nominate resident in Egypt. In Israel, resident in some places but mostly makes local movements. E. s. saturatior described as resident and wanderer in northern Kenya. In Morocco sahari, some wandering after breeding season.Status and ConservationNot globally threatened. Has undoubtedly increased with northward expansion of range.Israel.In Israel subspecies E. s. striolata quite common local resident in most mountainous and hily desert regions of eastern and central Negev, Eilat mountains and Judean and Shomron Deserts. |
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