Cirl bunting
| Cirl bunting | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
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| Female in Spain
Song recorded in Devon, England
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Emberizidae |
| Genus: | Emberiza |
| Species: | E. cirlus |
| Binomial name | |
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Emberiza cirlus Linnaeus, 1766 |
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The cirl bunting (/ˈsɜːrl/ 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.
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.
The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific cirlus is from a local Italian name cirlo, for a type of bunting, from zirlare, "to chirp". The English cirl is derived from cirlus.
The cirl bunting is like a small yellowhammer, 15-16.5 cm in length (wing-span 22-22.5 cm) with a thick seed-eater's bill. The male has a bright yellow head, with a black crown, eyestripe and throat, and a greenish breast band across its otherwise yellow underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much more like the yellowhammer, but has a streaked grey-brown rump and chestnut shoulders.
The monotonous song of the cock is rattling trill, like Arctic warbler or the terminal rattle of lesser whitethroat.
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Wikipedia