Corn bunting
Emberiza calandra Linnaeus, 1758
The corn bunting (Emberiza calandra) is a small bird in the family Emberizidae, part of the songbirds and other perching birds in the order Passeriformes. Adults weigh 48.5 g, with reported values from 44.2 g to 53 g, and the wingspan is 29 cm.
Quick facts about the corn bunting
It is a terrestrial, partially migratory omnivore of grassland, with a geographic range of 7,484,000 km². Clutches hold 4.5 eggs, with 2 clutches per year and an incubation period of 12.5 days; the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 44.2 g – 53 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 29 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 10.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 12.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.1 – 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src 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 corn bunting?
Photos of the corn bunting
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the corn bunting live?
Not recorded
What is the corn bunting?
The corn bunting (Emberiza calandra) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. This is a large bunting with heavily streaked buff-brown plumage. The sexes are similar but the male is slightly larger than the female. Its range extends from Western Europe and North Africa across to northwestern China.
From the Wikipedia article “Corn bunting” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corn_bunting&oldid=1364466776), 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.
What does the corn bunting sound like?
Is the corn bunting endangered?
The corn bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the corn bunting classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyEmberizidae
- genusEmberiza
- SpeciesEmberiza calandra Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Citrinella miliaria, Critophaga miliaria, Cynchramus miliaria, Emberiza calandra, Emberiza calandra algeriensis, Emberiza calandra clanceyi, Emberiza calandra graeca, Emberiza calandra insularis, Emberiza calandra kleinschmidti, Emberiza calandra obscura, Emberiza calandra parroti, Emberiza calandra sarmatia, Emberiza calandra thanneri, Emberiza calandra volhynica, Emberiza calandra wolhynica, Emberiza calandria, Emberiza miliaria, Fringilla pojer, Milaria canescens, Miliaria calandra, Miliaria calandra caucarica, Miliaria calandra ignobilis, Miliaria calandra sarmatica, Miliaria europaea, Miliaria germana, Miliaria meridionalis, Miliaria miliaria, Miliaria minor, Miliaria peregrina, Miliaria proier, Miliaria septentrionalis, Miliaria valida, Spinus miliaria
Other names and names in other languages (54)
- درسة الذرةArabic
- درسة قمحيةArabic
- gurrión montésAsturian
- escribana trigueraAsturian
- Гуменная стрынаткаBelarusian
- Сива овесаркаBulgarian
- Brean brasBreton
- cruixidellCatalan
- strnad lučníCzech
- Bras yr YdWelsh
- Bras yr ŶdWelsh
- Breision yr YdWelsh
- BomlærkeDanish
- KornværlingDanish
- GrauammerGerman
- Grauammer-AmmerGerman
- ΤσιφτάςGreek
- grena emberizoEsperanto
- Escribano trigueroSpanish
- halltsiitsitajaEstonian
- زردپره مزرعهPersian
- harmaasirkkuFinnish
- KornspurvurFaroese
- Bruant proyerFrench
- Gealóg bhuachairIrish
- Gealag bhuachairScottish Gaelic
- gealag-bhuachairScottish Gaelic
- gealagan-buachairScottish Gaelic
- Pompee ny hoarnManx
- גיבתון עפרוניHebrew
- sordélyHungarian
- KorntittlingurIcelandic
- StrillozzoItalian
- ハタホオジロJapanese
- Awhesyth marghCornish
- pilkoji startaLithuanian
- lielā stērsteLatvian
- голема стрнаркаMacedonian
- Grauwe GorsDutch
- kornsporvNorwegian Nynorsk
- kornspurvNorwegian
- potrzeszczPolish
- trigueirãoPortuguese
- Presură surăRomanian
- ПросянкаRussian
- GordnecihciNorthern Sami
- gordnecizášNorthern Sami
- strnádka lúčnaSlovak
- veliki strnadSlovenian
- Velika strnadicaSerbian
- kornsparvSwedish
- Tarla ÇintesiTurkish
- 黍鵐Chinese
- 黍鹀Chinese
Relatives of the corn bunting
Other species in the same genus Emberiza.
Yellowhammer
Emberiza citrinella
Common reed bunting
Emberiza schoeniclus
Ortolan bunting
Emberiza hortulana
Black-headed bunting
Emberiza melanocephala
Yellow-breasted bunting
Emberiza aureola
Rock bunting
Emberiza cia
CompareCorn bunting vs YellowhammerCorn bunting vs Common reed buntingCorn bunting vs Ortolan buntingCorn bunting vs Black-headed bunting
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the corn bunting?
The corn bunting is a small bird in the family Emberizidae, grouped with the songbirds and other perching birds.
How heavy is a corn bunting?
An adult corn bunting weighs 48.5 g, with reported values from 44.2 g to 53 g. Its wingspan is 29 cm.
What does the corn bunting eat?
The corn bunting is an omnivore.
Is the corn bunting endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List classifies the corn bunting as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
How long does a corn bunting live?
The corn bunting has a lifespan of 10.5 years, with values up to 10.58 years reported.
How many eggs does a corn bunting lay?
A corn bunting clutch holds 4.5 eggs, with 2 clutches per year. Eggs are incubated for 12.5 days.
Who named the corn bunting?
The corn bunting, Emberiza calandra, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Corn bunting (Emberiza calandra). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/corn-bunting
“Corn bunting (Emberiza calandra).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/corn-bunting.
@misc{corn_bunting_2026,
title = {Corn bunting (Emberiza calandra)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/corn-bunting},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}