European birds    Bird names   News   Family groups 1-26    Glossary    Plumage    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Credits    Photos for sale   
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14 15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   V   W   Y  

24

Corn Bunting

(Emberiza calandra)
German name(s): "Grauammer"
Size: 16-19 cm; wing span 26-32 cm
Weight: 35-65 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Corn Bunting at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2014]

Frontal view of a Corn Bunting; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 22 June 2019
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, June 2019]

Frontal view of a Corn Bunting looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Near-frontal view of a Corn Bunting looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Azinheira Velha-Santo Andre, Barreiro, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Near-lateral view of a Corn Bunting; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 22 June 2019
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, June 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2018]

Near-lateral view of a singing Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2017]

Close-up lateral view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Close-up lateral view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2014]

Lateral view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil Dam, Ponte de Sor, Evora, Portugal, April 2019]

Lateral view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2017]

Lateral view of a singing Corn Bunting; note the characteristic notched bill (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a Corn Bunting looking away from the observer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Santa Justa, Couco, Coruche, Portugal, February 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2018]

Dorsal view of a Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Minutos Dam, near Montemor o Novo, Evora, Portugal, December 2019]

Dorsal view of a Corn Bunting with its wings fanned (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, May 2014]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a Corn Bunting looking towards the observer; given this bird's crisp plumage and stubby bill, at a time when adults have worn plumage, this may be a juvenile (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2014]

Lateral view of a juvenile Corn Bunting looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia river, Santa Justa, Coruche, Portugal, June 2022]

Lateral view of a juvenile Corn Bunting (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia river, Santa Justa, Coruche, Portugal, June 2022]

Food, Diet

Like all buntings known to us, Corn Buntings are seed-eaters.

Note that cardueline finches (i.e. European Goldfinch, European Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin and their close relatives) feed their young primarily regurgitated seeds, while fringilline finches (all others) feed their young primarily invertebrates.

Frontal view of a Corn Bunting with its prey, a caterpillar; adults are seedeaters, suggesting that this bird was bringing food for its brood (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2013]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

cornbnt_dw_20190622.m4a (Poland) Territorial call © DW
cornbnt_jp_20200507.m4a (Portugal) Territorial call © JP
cornbnt_jp_20200410.m4a (Portugal) Territorial calls © JP
cornbnt_jp_20200412.m4a (Portugal) Territorial calls © JP
cornbnt_jp_20200302.m4a (Portugal) Territorial calls
(quick series)
© JP

More Corn Bunting sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.