{"id":29977,"date":"2023-08-14T13:35:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T11:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=149858"},"modified":"2023-08-14T14:39:36","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T12:39:36","slug":"cirl-bunting-guide-how-to-identify-call-and-amazing-facts","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/cirl-bunting-guide-how-to-identify-call-and-amazing-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Cirl bunting guide: how to identify, call and amazing facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cirl bunting has a dry trill on a single note, a bit like an insect. Learn all about this rare songbird, including what it looks like, its call, favoured UK habitat and distribution with your expert birder’s guide <\/p>

By Dominic Couzens\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 14 August 2023 at 11:35 AM<\/p>

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The cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus<\/em>) at heart is the Mediterranean version of the yellowhammer<\/a>, and over the years has acted as something of a continental flirt as far as this country is concerned.<\/p>\n

First recorded only in 1800 \u2013 and presumably very rare until then \u2013 it spent the next 120 years colonising southern England as far as the Midlands, only to crash to 100 pairs or so by the end of the 1980s. Since then, mainly through intensive conservation work, it has held on, mainly in Devon, and is now increasing again, but still remains very rare.<\/p>\n

In this guide we take a closer look at the cirl bunting, revealing what it looks like, where you can see it, its call, nesting habits and UK populations.<\/p>\n

Interested in learning more about Britain\u2019s songbirds<\/a>? Check out our guides to tits<\/a>, warblers<\/a> and blackbirds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Buntings guide<\/h4>\n

Buntings are a group of seed-eating birds that bear many of the same characteristics as finches. Learn all about these special songbirds, including six species to look out for in Britain, with your expert guide to buntings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Yellowhammer<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>

Cirl bunting identification<\/h2>\n

Quite apart from its unfamiliarity, the cirl bunting is a difficult bird to tell from the yellowhammer<\/a>. The breeding male has a smart three-striped head \u2013 black throat, black crown and black eye-stripe \u2013 and the female has a pale streaky head \u2013 but otherwise it just looks like a slightly smaller yellowhammer with a smaller, more sunken head.<\/p>\n

Sharp-eyed birdwatchers might notice that both sexes have an olive-grey, not chestnut rump, and that the streaks on the breast are neat and narrow, as if written with an HB pencil.<\/p>\n

\"Cirl<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The cirl bunting is similar in appearance to the yellowhammer\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Cirl bunting song<\/h2>\n

The peculiar name \u201ccirl\u201d derives from Italian \u201czirlare\u201d, which means to chirp or sing, but the French name, Bruant zizi, gives a better clue to the cirl bunting\u2019s insect-like song. It is a dry trill on a single note, similar to a yellowhammer without the \u201ccheese\u201d. The thought of a common French bird not expressing \u201ccheese\u201d seems wrong somehow.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the difference between cirl buntings, yellowhammers and corn buntings:<\/p>\n