Birds · Passeriformes · Emberizidae

Yellowhammer

Emberiza citrinella

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

A robust bunting with a thick bill adapted to seeds. The male has an unmistakable bright yellow head, yellow underparts, a densely streaked brown back and a chestnut rump. The female repeats the same pattern in much duller tones and with more streaking.

Weight

30 g on average

Size

15.5 cm – 17 cm

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

The European population is estimated at between 39 and 54 million individuals, most of them in Russia. In Spain, at between 488,000 and 796,000 according to Carrascal and Palomino (2018), or between 276,000 and 389,000 according to the SACRE programme

Herbivore Diurnal In pairs Bird

45countries 170parks5same family

Fun facts

The pattern of fine, tangled lines on its eggs earned it the old English names of "scribble lark" and "writing lark", and is the origin of the Spanish name for the whole genus.
Its song has a rhythm that the English remember as "a little bit of bread and no cheese".
It hybridises with the pine bunting (Emberiza leucocephalos), its closest relative, where the two overlap.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Atlantic countryside where hedgerows, meadows, copses and scrub alternate. In Spain it is confined to a northern belt of Eurosiberian climate, from Galicia to Catalonia, from 500 m up to 2,000 m in the Pyrenees
Size at birth: The chicks hatch altricial and covered in down
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 12-14 days, by the female. The chicks fledge 11 to 13 days later
Litter / clutch size: 3-5 eggs with a very distinctive fine network of dark lines, in a cup-shaped nest hidden on or near the ground. Two or three clutches a year from April on

Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España); IUCN Red List; Asturnatura; Martínez-Padilla 2022, III Atlas; Antón-Tello 2022, Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles (MNCN-CSIC); Lista Roja Europea de Aves 2021; Libro Rojo de las Aves de España 2021; Gainzarain 2012