Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) lives in open countryside across Europe, North Africa, Western Asia. It feeds on seeds and insects. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
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The corn bunting was first named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and still bears that original scientific name, Emberiza calandra. The genus name Emberiza comes from the Old German word Embritz meaning "bunting", while the specific epithet calandra derives from the Ancient Greek kalandros, the calandra lark.
Male corn buntings look almost identical to females, yet they are about 20% larger. Both sexes share a streaked grey-brown plumage with whitish underparts, a dark eye and yellowish mandibles, giving them a lark-like appearance. Adults measure 16-19 cm in length, making them a large, bulky bunting. The male's slight size advantage is the only visible sexual difference, as colouration and pattern are the same in both sexes.
A male's song is a repetitive metallic sound, usually likened to jangling keys, given from low bushes, fence posts or telephone wires. He sings from these exposed perches to broadcast his territory across the open countryside. The metallic quality of the call helps it cut through the ambient noise of farmland and weedy wasteland where the species lives. This vocal display is a key part of the male's breeding behaviour.
During the breeding season a male corn bunting establishes a territory that he may defend while courting up to three females, making his mating system polygynous. Because the overall population maintains a roughly equal number of males and females, this arrangement inevitably leaves a proportion of males without a mate each year.
The corn bunting has disappeared from Wales and Ireland, where it was once a common sight, reflecting a severe decline across north-west Europe. Intensive farming has stripped the countryside of the weed seeds and insects that form its essential diet, especially the insects needed to raise chicks. This loss of food resources has driven the species to red-list status in the United Kingdom and contributed to its regional extinction in those two countries.
Sources
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As the sun rises over the rolling hills, the Corn Bunting emerges, its earthy tones blending seamlessly with the landscape as it flits between the tall stalks of cereal crops. With a gentle, bobbing gait, it moves through the fields, its short, notched tail flicking back and forth like a metronome, guiding its search for seeds and insects to fuel its melodious song. In the stillness of the morning, the Corn Bunting's rich, jingling trill echoes across the countryside, a joyful serenade that heralds the start of a new day.
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