Corn bunting

Emberiza calandra

The Corn bunting (Emberiza calandra) is a bird found in Spain, France, Portugal, Denmark and United Kingdom. Open farmland across Europe and western Asia. It eats seeds and nuts, insects and other small invertebrates and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Emberiza calandra
Region	Europe
Found in	Spain, France, Portugal, Denmark and United Kingdom

🏡 Where the Corn bunting lives

Open farmland across Europe and western Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

🌰 Seeds & nuts50%
🐛 Insects & bugs30%
🌿 Leaves & plants20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It sings from a high perch, like keys jingling.

Hear the Corn bunting

Recorded by Théo Treels (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1145676. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Corn bunting

Where does the Corn bunting live?

The Corn bunting lives in Spain, France, Portugal, Denmark and United Kingdom. Open farmland across Europe and western Asia.

What does the Corn bunting eat?

seeds and nuts (about 50%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Corn bunting endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.