Masked bunting

The masked bunting (Emberiza personata) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It is found in Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and Japan.

Masked bunting
Male in Sakai, Osaka
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Emberizidae
Genus:	Emberiza
Species:	E. personata
Binomial name
Emberiza personata Temminck, 1836

The masked bunting was formerly considered as a subspecies of the black-faced bunting (Emberiza spodocephala) but is now treated as a separate species based on morphological and genetic differences.^[2][3] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[3]