Saturday 26 June 2010

Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)

OTHER NAMES: Common Bunting
Latin Etymology: Emberiza ("bunting") calandra (Calandra lark)
Adult Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) at Trevose Head, Cornwall - April 2014

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 32-67g  /  Length: 18cm  /  Wingspan: 29cm
UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Corn Bunting is a red status species within the UK, although classed as "least concern" globally. As such the trick with seeing this is to go to an area where they are known to live, as in general their distribution is patchy. Personally, I've seen them around the Padstow area in north Cornwall, but am not familiar enough with the species to offer any other locations. For photographic purposes they are a relatively convenient bird in that, although flighty, they seem to perch high on plants in easy view to sing.  While a seriously depleted bird in the UK, in Spain they remain abundant and can even end up being one of those species that you end up dismissing while looking for other things.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae
Genus: Emberiza
Subspecies: none - monotypic

 - Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - Uncommon and local resident (11,000 territories) - formerly far commoner prior to modern farming
 - Seen regularly around Trevose Head in Cornwall.
SPAIN - SpanishTriguero ("Wheat-trader")
A common resident
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Seen frequently throughout at various countryside locations.

Further Information: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPBWikipedia, Xeno-canto

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