NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common Reed Bunting
Emberiza schoeniclus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus), or simply reed bunting, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. This species breeds throughout Europe and much of the Palearctic region. While most individuals migrate south in winter, those in the milder south and west of the range are resident. It is a common sight in reedbeds, but also breeds in drier open areas such as moorland and arable land. For example, it inhabits purple moor grass and rush pastures, which are designated as a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acid soils of the lowlands and upland fringe.
Wikipedia contributors, Common reed bunting; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:17:26.842328+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Emberiza schoeniclus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Common Reed Bunting
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Emberizidae
- Genus
- Emberiza
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyEmberizidae
- genusEmberiza Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesEmberiza schoeniclus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Emberiza. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Brown-rumped BuntingEmberiza affinis Heuglin, 1867 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-breasted BuntingEmberiza aureola Pallas, 1773 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Meadow BuntingEmberiza cioides J. F. Brandt, 1843 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-throated BuntingEmberiza elegans Temminck, 1836 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut-eared BuntingEmberiza fucata Pallas, 1776 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Godlewski's BuntingEmberiza godlewskii Taczanowski, 1874 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gosling's BuntingEmberiza goslingi (Alexander, 1906) | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ortolan BuntingEmberiza hortulana Linnaeus, 1758 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crested BuntingEmberiza lathami J. E. Gray, 1831 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pine BuntingEmberiza leucocephalos S. G. Gmelin, 1771 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pallas' Reed-BuntingEmberiza pallasi (Cabanis, 1851) | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Somali BuntingEmberiza poliopleura (Salvadori, 1888) | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Schoeniclus schoeniclus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)
North America
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179543 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:39FTN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.