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24

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

Europe: Family Group 24 Family Group 24 Table White Wagtail Western Yellow Wagtail Grey Wagtail Tawny Pipit Red-throated Pipit Tree Pipit Meadow Pipit Water Pipit Eurasian Rock Pipit Greater Short-toed Lark Calandra Lark Woodlark Eurasian Skylark Bearded Reedling House Sparrow Tree Sparrow Spanish Sparrow Rock Sparrow Trumpeter Finch European Serin Atlantic Canary Red-fronted Serin Eurasian Siskin Common Redpoll Arctic Redpoll Common Linnet Brambling Common Chaffinch European Goldfinch Eurasian Bullfinch Hawfinch Common Crossbill Common Rosefinch Yellowhammer Cirl Bunting Common Reed Bunting Ortolan Bunting Black-headed Bunting Corn Bunting Rock Bunting House Bunting Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Corn Buntings are large, heavily-built buntings. Their plumage is highly cryptic. They are one of a few species of buntings where both sexes look alike. The front is light-grey, with copious fine dark-grey streaking. The sides of the head are mid-grey, with fine dark-grey streaks, while the crown and mantle are olive-grey with dark-grey streaks. The rump and tail are olive-grey. The wings are mostly dark-grey, with lighter olive-grey and light-grey edge lining. Corn Buntings are the only buntings without any white on their wings. Corn Buntings have a peculiar, strong bill, with a grey upper mandible and a horn-coloured lower mandible. The upper mandible has small hooks mid-way to the tip. The irises are dark-brown, the legs and feet are pinkish-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Corn Bunting at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Corn Bunting is available HERE . Corn Buntings populate an area spanning from western Europe and north-western and northern Africa, via parts of central Europe, the Mediterranean, south-eastern Europe, Asia Minor and parts of the Middle East to south-western and central Asia. Within that range, they are partly sedentary, but part of the population also migrates, spending the winters along the northern African coastal fringe, while breeding in parts of central and eastern to south-eastern Europe. In Europe Corn Buntings are found as permanent residents in the Mediterranean countries, including the Mediterranean islands, in western France, northern Germany, Denmark and in England and Scotland. They are also found throuout the Balkans and south-eastern Europe. Within that range they avoid high mountain ranges. During the summer they extend their breeding range into the rest of central Europe (except the Alps), eastern Europe and the far South-east, to the North of the Black Sea. Corn Buntings have a preference for rather open country with scattered (especially thorny) shrubs for nesting, such as e.g. the edges of woodland or of fields or pasture.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports finding Corn Buntings regularly in the area of Mora, Evora, Portugal. D. Wilczynska reports spotting a Corn Bunting at Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in September 2016 and others near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, in June 2019.

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-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

Near-lateral view of a Corn Bunting; 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]

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.

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