Rare songbird spotted in Israel for the second time

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The black-faced bunting, an extremely small songbird weighing approximately 17 grams, was sighted in Israel for the second time last week as part of a research project conducted on Carmel Beach by Chen Favish, Senior Ornithologist at the Nili and David Jerusalem Bird Research Station.

Favish identified the bird in the field, a bird's voice recording confirmed the identification.

“In banding, we attach marking rings to the legs of birds for research purposes. After the oatmeal was caught, it was marked with an identification ring, measured, weighed, photographed and released back”,– explained Dr. Yosef Hayat, director of the Society for the Conservation of Nature's Banding Center.

Black-faced Bunting – a small songbird that commonly breeds in eastern Siberia, northern Mongolia, and northeastern China. During the winter months, she leaves Siberia and usually spends the cold season in Southeast Asia, mainly in South China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar, where conditions are more favorable for her at this time of the year.

&ldquo ;This species, like other Siberian species, has a known history of unusual occurrences in the usual migratory field, in areas where their presence is not expected. Just last month, a second specimen was recorded in Spain and an eighth in England. These unusual details may be the first clue to the development of new patterns of bird migration. It is especially interesting to meet a bird that has flown thousands of kilometers from where it should be, – adds Favish.

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