Corn Bunting

Corn Bunting
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Emberizidae Genus: Miliaria Species: calandrai
Binomial name
Miliaria calandra

The Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

It breeds across soutern and central Europe, north Africa and Asia. across to Mongolia. It is mainly resident, but some birds from colder regions of central Europe and Asia migrate southwards in winter.

It is a bird of open country with trees, such as farmland and weedy wasteland. It has declined greatly in northwest Europe due to intensive agricultural practices depriving it of its food supply of weed seeds and insects, the latter especially when feeding young.

This is an unusual bunting. This large bulky bunting has male and female plumages similar, and lacks the showy male colours, especially on the head, common in the genus Emberiza. Both sexes look something like larks, with streaked grey-brown above, and whitish underparts.

The song of the cock is a repetitive metallic sound, usually likened to jangling keys, which is given from a tree or telephone wires.

Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. The nest is in a bush or on the ground. Up to six eggs are laid.