China (mainland), India, Japan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia (Asian), South Korea, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Vietnam.
Breeds in central and eastern Siberia from Krasnoyarsk (northern possibly to Podkamennaya Tunguska) east to southern coast of Sea of Okhotsk, and south to L Baikal and Chita regions and north-eastern China (Khingan Mts, in northern Heilongjiang); probably also regularly in north-eastern Mongolia (Khentii) and in Russian Far East (Sikhote Alin Range, in Ussuriland). Winters in Myanmar, southern China, western Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Chestnut Bunting (Emberiza) [XC737486]
by Ray Tsu \u8bf8\u4ec1 from , China (call)
Chestnut Bunting (Emberiza rutila) [XC485204]
by Stanislas Wroza from , Russian Federation (song, complex song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Sometimes placed in a separate genus, Ocyris. Recent phylogenetic study suggests that this species is closely related to Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata) and Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), forming a subclade with them. It has been suggested that they form a polytomous group of species, probably the result of a rapid, "simultaneous" radiation.
Proposed subspecies pamirensis (described from Trans-Alai Range, in Pamir Mts) considered invalid, as based probably on vagrant birds.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet