Buntings and New World Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Cretzschmar's Bunting (Emberiza caesia) - HBW 16, p. 517

French: Bruant cendrillard German: Grauortolan Spanish: Escribano Ceniciento

Taxonomy: Emberiza caesia Cretzschmar, 1827, Kurgos Island, c. 17° N, River Nile, Sudan.
Forms a species group with E. buchanani, E. cineracea and E. hortulana. Monotypic.

Distribution: Breeds SW Albania, most of Greece, Crete, much of coastal W & S Turkey, Cyprus, W Syria, Lebanon, W Jordan, N Israel and Palestine; possibly also NW Iraq. Winters in Sudan both on coast and along Nile Valley; some reported S Egypt, NW & SW Saudi Arabia and Eritrea.