CreatureData

Cirl bunting

Emberiza cirlus Linnaeus, 1767

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus) is a species in the family Emberizidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 24.3 g to 25.6 g and live up to 6.09 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus)
Photo: Paco Gómez from Castellón, Spain · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the cirl bunting

Weight
24.3 g – 25.6 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
24 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
6.09 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
6.1 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
11.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.2 – 3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
2.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the cirl bunting?

CIRL BUNTING · WINGSPAN 24 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 24 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the cirl bunting is about 14% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the cirl bunting live?

Not recorded

What is the cirl bunting?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The cirl bunting ( SURL) (Emberiza cirlus) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

It breeds across southern Europe, on the Mediterranean islands and in north Africa. It is a resident of these warmer areas, and does not migrate in winter. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees, but has a preference for sunny slopes. In the 19th century it was introduced to New Zealand and the persistent population remains in the South Island.

Changes in agricultural practice have affected this species very adversely at the northern fringes of its range, and in England, where it once occurred over much of the south of the country, it is now restricted to south Devon. The cirl bunting is the mascot on the signs for the village of Stokeinteignhead in Devon.

From the Wikipedia article “Cirl bunting” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cirl_bunting&oldid=1334592378), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the cirl bunting endangered?

The cirl bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the cirl bunting classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyEmberizidae
  6. genusEmberiza
  7. SpeciesEmberiza cirlus Linnaeus, 1767

Synonyms Emberiza cirla, Emberiza cirlus cirlus, Emberiza cirlus nigrostriata, Emberiza elaeathorax

Other names and names in other languages (50)
  • CisberdeAragonese
  • Зеленогуша овесаркаBulgarian
  • gratapallesCatalan
  • Hortolà de Coll NegreCatalan
  • strnad cvrčivýCzech
  • Bras FfraincWelsh
  • Breision FfraincWelsh
  • GærdeværlingDanish
  • ZaunammerGerman
  • ΣιρλοτσίχλονοGreek
  • heĝa emberizoEsperanto
  • Esribano soteñoSpanish
  • Escribano soteñoSpanish
  • viinamäe-tsiitsitajaEstonian
  • Hesi-berdantzaBasque
  • pensassirkkuFinnish
  • PensasirkkuFinnish
  • Bruant ziziFrench
  • CirlghealógIrish
  • Escribenta comúnGalician
  • גיבתון משוכותHebrew
  • Crnovrata strnadicaCroatian
  • sövénysármányHungarian
  • ÁlmtittlingurIcelandic
  • Zigolo neroItalian
  • ノドグロアオジJapanese
  • ZonkmëschLuxembourgish
  • daržinė startaLithuanian
  • žogu stērsteLatvian
  • црногрла стрнаркаMacedonian
  • CirlgorsDutch
  • hekkspurvNorwegian
  • cierlikPolish
  • escrevedeiraPortuguese
  • Escrevedeira-de-garganta-amarelaPortuguese
  • escrevedeira-de-garganta-pretaPortuguese
  • Presură bărboasăRomanian
  • Огородная овсянкаRussian
  • GárdecihciNorthern Sami
  • strnádka svrčiváSlovak
  • plotni strnadSlovenian
  • Cerla gushëgjelbërAlbanian
  • Crnogrla strnadicaSerbian
  • Црногрла стрнадицаSerbian
  • häcksparvSwedish
  • Bahçe ÇintesiTurkish
  • Bahçe KirazkuşuTurkish
  • вівсянка городняUkrainian
  • 黃道眉鵐Chinese
  • 黄道眉鹀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the cirl bunting

Other species in the same genus Emberiza.

CompareCirl bunting vs YellowhammerCirl bunting vs Common reed buntingCirl bunting vs Corn buntingCirl bunting vs Ortolan bunting

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the cirl bunting?

An adult cirl bunting weighs 24.3 g – 25.6 g and has a wingspan of 24 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the cirl bunting endangered?

The cirl bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the cirl bunting live?

The cirl bunting has a recorded lifespan of 6.09 years.

What kind of animal is the cirl bunting?

The cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus) belongs to the family Emberizidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cirl-bunting

MLA

“Cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cirl-bunting.

BibTeX
@misc{cirl_bunting_2026,
  title = {Cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cirl-bunting},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}