1 / 10
Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana) — photo 1 of 10
© egorbirder cc-by

Buntings · Perching birds

Ortolan Bunting

Emberiza hortulana

Summer visitor

Voice

Song

Thomas SIGNEAU

1:03

Call

Sonothèque ADVL

0:15

Call

Sonothèque ADVL

0:09

How to recognize it

  • Small bunting, about 16–17 cm; plain, less bright than a yellowhammer

  • Greenish-grey head; adults with a clear yellow eye-ring

  • Song monotone, made of a few whistles

  • Usually in cereal fields and field edges

About the species

The Ortolan Bunting looks understated rather than bright, with a calm, plain overall impression. The most memorable detail in an adult is the pale eye-ring, set off by a greenish-grey head.

Its voice is steady, and the song is made up of a few whistles and sounds simpler than that of the Yellowhammer. It nests on the ground or very close to it, which fits its quiet, low-to-the-ground habits.

It lives across most of Europe and West Asia, reaching far north into Scandinavia and beyond the Arctic Circle. It feeds on seeds, and when raising young it takes beetles and other insects; in autumn it migrates to tropical Africa and returns in late April or early May.

You might also see

Sources