Endangered Species - Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)
The Corn bunting (Emberiza calandra ) is a heavily built bird and somehow resembles a Skylark. It’s also larger than other buntings. Male and female have similar brownish plumage but the male is larger.
The song of the male is very special, kind of metallic sound as if someone would shake a bunch of keys. He usually sings from low bushes, vineyard poles and telephone wires.
The Corn bunting is a bird of open country with trees, here in Slovenia you can find it in vineyards. Due to intensive agricultural practices its population has declined greatly in many parts of Europe and as well in Slovenia. In Slovenia it breeds only in western and southwestern parts.
It usually forages on seeds and when it comes to feeding young, it adds spiders, caterpillars, snails, slugs and earthworms to its diet.
When in breeding time, males defend their territories
and can be polygynus which means more than one female per breeding male.
Consequently, some of the males remain unmated during the season.
The Corn buntings built nests on the ground. The nesting material is normally grass, lined with hair or finer grass. Female bunting lays three to five eggs.
Images you can see below were captured recently and show the male Corn bunting singing full-throated to attract females.
Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) singing full-throated
Corn bunting (Emberiza calandra) perching on an old wooden pole and singing
All images © 2017-2018 Sreco Tzar. All rights reserved.