Figure 304. This small bird’s rich chestnut auricular, pale lore, and streaked breast are all keys to identifying it as a Little Bunting. This bird, the first one to be recorded in North America away from Alaska, was present from 21 to 24 October 1991 at Point Loma, San Diego County. This photograph was taken on 23 October (1991-145; Sue Yee).

LITTLE BUNTING Emberiza pusilla Pallas, 1776

This small emberizid breeds from northern Finland east across northern Eurasia to eastern Siberia. The species winters in southern Eurasia, from the Indian subcontinent through Southeast Asia, and occurs rarely but regularly in the British Isles, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Philippines. At the end of 2005 the total for western Alaska stood at 13 records (25 August–2 October, fide P. E. Lehman), and regular fall coverage of Gambell since the early 1990s has shown it to be of nearly annual occurrence there (Lehman 2005).

A first-fall Little Bunting photographed at Pt. Loma, San Diego County, 21–24 October 1991 (McCaskie 1993), and a bird photographed at Southeast Farallon Island 27–28 September 2002, furnished California’s two records of this handsome sprite. These are the only records in the New World south of Alaska. Bradshaw (1991) provided information on identifying the Little and Rustic Buntings in the field.