Cape Bunting (Emberiza capensis)

Cover image of Cape Bunting by Marna Buys – West Coast National Park, Western Cape

Buntings belong to the Family: EMBERIZIDAE. The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus Emberiza, which is the only genus in the family. The family contains 44 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, comparatively long tails, and short legs. The feet are relatively large for scratching on the ground.

Identification

The Cape Bunting is a small, mostly grey, brown, and rufous species and the sexes differ slightly in plumage coloration.

Adult males have a grey forehead, nape, and crown with prominent blackish streaking. The supercilium is off-white and reaches from the bill to the nape. There is a strong blackish stripe through the eyes with an off-white stripe below, and another blackish-brown stripe below that, all extending from the bill to the base of the neck. The neck, mantle, and back are grey-brown with heavy blackish-brown streaks. The rump and upper tail coverts are rufous-brown and the tail is dark brown. The chin and throat are off-white and the rest of the undersides are mostly greyish brown fading to buff on the under tail coverts. The folded wings are rufous and are a key identification feature.

Adult females are similar to the males but have buffy (not off-white) head stripes. In both sexes the bill is dark greyish-black and the legs and feet are horn-coloured. The eyes are brown. Juveniles resemble the females but are duller and paler with brown streaks on the breast.

The Cape Bunting is most likely to be mistaken for the similarly sized Cinnamon-breasted Bunting (Emberiza tahapisi). However the latter has rich cinnamon (not grey) underparts and a white median crown stripe.

Status and Distribution

The Cape Bunting is a fairly common to common resident and local nomad. It is near-endemic to southern Africa. It is distributed from south-western Angola, western Zambia and Malawi down to South Africa. In southern Africa, the Cape Bunting occurs in western and central Namibia, eastern Botswana, central Zimbabwe and most of South Africa except for the lowveld, the east coast and the Kalahari Basin. The Cape Bunting is not known to occur in southern Mozambique.

There is no evidence of any recent changes to the Cape Bunting’s distribution and the species is not considered threatened.

Habitat

The Cape Bunting inhabits a wide variety of habitats across a broad altitudinal range. Chosen habitats range from coastal strandveld to sparse dwarf shrublands, and hilly fynbos, to open woodland and scrub along dry watercourses. The Cape Bunting will also make use of gardens in villages and on farms. It shows some preference for hilly and mountainous areas but is also common on flat plains. They are usually not found far from water.

Behaviour

The Cape Bunting is most often encountered singly or in pairs. They may occasionally also be found in family groups during the breeding season. It is less gregarious than other bunting species and does not form flocks.

The Cape Bunting often becomes tame around human settlements and may even enter buildings in their search for food. They are easily overlooked when not calling and are well camouflaged when foraging among rocks.

The Cape Bunting forages on the ground, usually on bare patches of soil and at the base of shrubs or among rocks. They move about mostly by hopping and feed mainly on the seeds of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Small fallen fruits are also consumed as are insects (particularly ants and termites) and spiders. They are also known to eat fresh grass shoots. Cape Buntings drink and bathe regularly.

The Cape Bunting is a monogamous, solitary nester and is not known to be territorial. The nest is a cup of grass, twigs and roots, neatly lined with fine dry grass, rootlets, fluffy seeds and hair. The nest is placed on or close to the ground (usually 30cm to 2.0 m above the ground) in a low, dense bush, or creeper, often next to a rock

The Cape Bunting has been recorded breeding from August to May. However, breeding peaks earlier in the south-west of its range (September to October) than in the north-east of its range (November to December). 2 to 3 eggs (sometimes up to 5) are laid per clutch. The eggs are either white, cream, or pale greenish blue with fairly heavy red-brown to chocolate-brown blotches and speckles. The incubation period lasts for 13 to 16 days. The newly hatched young are as yet undescribed. The nestlings are fed and cared for by both parents and the nestling period lasts for around 12 days or so.

Further Resources

Species text in the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Anthony Paton, Dave Rimmer, Desire Darling, Gerald Wingate, Gregg Darling, Johan Van Rooyen, John Tinkler, Jorrie Jordaan and Marna Buys is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Rooivlerkstreepkoppie (Afrikaans); umNdweza (Zulu); Maborokoane (South Sotho); Kapammer (German); Bruant du Cap (French); Kaapse Gors (Dutch); Escrevedeira do Cabo (Portuguese).

List of bird species in this format is available here.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2024. Cape Bunting Emberiza capensis. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2024/12/05/cape-bunting-emberiza-capensis/

Bird identification, birding