Chestnut-eared Bunting

The chestnut-eared bunting is 15–16 centimetres long, with mostly brown plumage and dark streaks. The male has a grey crown and nape with dark streaks, chestnut ear-coverts and bands of black and chestnut across the breast, with a rufous patch on the shoulders and a rufous rump. Females are similar but duller with a less distinct head and breast pattern. First-winter birds are plainer but show warm brown ear-coverts and an obvious ring around the eye. The voice is similar to the rustic bunting's but quieter. (Wikipedia, general species account)

The breeding range extends from the Himalayas locally across China to southeastern Siberia, Korea and northern Japan. Northern birds migrate south to winter in southern Japan, southern China, Taiwan, northeastern India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia. Preferred habitats include scrub, fields and grassland. It is a vagrant to Kazakhstan, and the first European record was at Fair Isle in Scotland in October 2004. It is also called the grey-headed or grey-hooded bunting. (Wikipedia, general species account)