On the outskirts of Udaipur city, Rajasthan, is a small hill called Neemach Mata, which is surrounded by flat land having open scrub. We were trekking in this area on 9 April 1987 and at about 1300 hrs we noticed a bird, the size of a House Sparrow, silently feeding on the ground under the shade of an babul tree.

A few paces away from the bird a male Crested Bunting was feeding on the ground. The distinct style of movements of the bird caught our attention from a distance of about 50m. On focussing our binoculars we were surprised to find grey colour on the head and flanks of the neck and a very distinct white ring around the eyes.

Moustachial streaks were also very prominent. The rest of the body on ventral side was light brownish in colour. The dorsal side was very much like that of a sparrow, but with darker streaks on the folded wings meeting over the rump. The tail was forked and during the flight white coloration of the outer retrices could be observed.

Colour of the beak was brownish yellow and legs were almost brown. On 10 April 1987 it was again seen at the same place feeding from 1200 to 1600 hrs. On intrusion it took refuge on the Babul tree. We kept a watch over the bird’s activities and found it feeding at the same place from 9^th to 19^th April 1987. Thereafter it left the place. We consulted the ‘Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan’, Compact Edition, Ali and Ripley, and concluded that the bird was a Greynecked Bunting.

Published in Journal of Bombay Natural History Society:

Tehsin, R., Kulshreshtha, M. & Singh, R. (1989) Greynecked Bunting Emberiza buchanani, Blyth. Sighted Near Udaipur, Rajasthan. J. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. 86: 456 – 458