Lark-like Bunting

Common, near-endemic resident. A small, pale, cinnamon-washed bunting, mostly lacking in diagnostic features. Sexes are alike. Immature is closely similar to adult. Call, uttered at take-off, is a nasal ‘chut’; the song is a rapidly delivered ‘trrrooo-cheeoo-cheepp-trree’ repeated frequently with variations. Usually in small flocks in grassland, Karoo and semi-arid woodland, often in rocky regions with sparse bushes and in exotic plantations. Nomadic, in very cold periods sometimes erupting into new areas in large numbers.