WILDLIFE – CORN BUNTING

The Corn Bunting – Emberiza calandra

The corn bunting is a sparrow-sized, streaky brown bird of hedgerows and farmland that feeds on seeds and invertebrates. In the winter, it will join mixed flocks of buntings, finches and sparrows to feed on seeds on farmland. Male corn buntings are often seen perched on top of bushes singing loudly – a song that sounds just like a jangling set of keys.

The Corn Bunting is nicknamed the ‘fat bird of the barley’.

Male and female Corn bunting looks the same, with the only difference being that the males are around 20% larger. Both sexes have buff-brown streaked bodies, and are closely streaked all over, except for a white patch towards the bottom of the breast. The bill is thick, with a slight pinkish hue. Juveniles can be identified by a slightly more yellowish hue to their feathers.

The Corn Bunting’s diet consists mainly of seeds and grains, especially cereal crops like barley, but they also eat various insects , caterpillars, beetles and spiders to feed their protein-rich nestlings, relying on farmland and grasslands for these food sources, with chicks needing invertebrates for growth

The average lifespan of the Corn bunting in the wild is 3 years

Corn Bunting begin breeding from early spring until the end of May. During this time the male may mate with up to 20 females during the breeding season. The female alone builds the nest on the ground among dense vegetation, in which she will lay 4-6 eggs and incubate them by herself for 12 days. Once hatched the female feeds the chicks, with the male hanging around to defend the territory. After around 10-13 days the chicks will leave the nest before they can fly, and so require further care from their parents. Corn bunting can have up to 3 broods in a single breeding season.

Conservation status

Corn Bunting numbers have declined by 83% between 1967 and 2022. Listed in the UK as Red under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021). Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework. Like most wildlife here in the UK the Corn Bunting is protected in law by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981