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Birds by name

Corn bunting

Conservation status: Red

This nondescript lowland farmland bird is the largest of the buntings and is most usually seen perched on a wire or post. It is a stout, dumpy bird brown which flies off with a fluttering flight and with its legs characteristically 'dangling'. Its dramatic population decline in the UK makes it a Red List species.

Overview

Latin name

Emberiza calandra

Family

Buntings (Emberizidae)

Where to see them

Often seen perched prominently on a hedge, post or wire, singing its jangling song. In the summer corn buntings prefer open farmland and in winter they may be found in stubbles, root crops, weedy fields and cattle yards or stockyards.

When to see them

All year round - forms flocks in the winter.

What they eat

Seeds and insects.

Population

EuropeUK breeding*UK wintering*UK passage*
-8,500-12,200 territories--

* UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.

Distribution

Key

In the UK
Patchy- absent from Wales, N Ireland and parts of England and Scotland.

Please note that the map is only intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.

Illustrations

Audio

Stuart Fisher, Xeno-canto

Characteristics

Corn bunting

Corn bunting
  • Size: between robin-blackbird
  • Feather colours: brown, cream/buff
  • Beak colours: black/dark grey, brown/buff
  • Beak length: short
  • Beak thickness: short
  • Beak shape: short
  • Leg colour: brown, pink/flesh
  • Behaviour: part of flock, on ground, wagging or flicking tail, bird hops on the ground

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