Scientific name: Emberiza calandra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Buntings
Field characters. 18 cm. The only bunting in the region in which male and female are similar in plumage. Large, earth brown on upperparts with dark streaks, white on underparts with heavily streaked breast and flanks. Indistinct head pattern, with narrow moustachial stripe. No white in tail or wings. Often seen sitting on post, fences, and electrical wires. Regularly flies with dangling feet. In summer in pairs, but outside breeding season sometimes in large flocks, often with other species.
Voice. Call soft 'tip'. Song short and monotonous, accelerating towards the end and ending in trill.
Distribution. Rare, local and declining in north, common in south. Resident, but some migration takes place in autumn.
Habitat. Open fields with hedges, arable fields, meadows, dry plains with scattered bushes, etc.
Food. Mainly seeds, taken on the ground, but also insects.