| Yellowhammer | |
|---|---|
 Male | |
 Female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Emberizidae |
| Genus: | Emberiza |
| Species: | Emberiza citrinella |
The Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is a Eurasian passerine bird in the family Emberizidae.
Subspecies[]
Currently, the 3 recognized subspecies, with their visible plumage differences in male birds, of the Yellowhammer are as follows:
- E. c. citrinella (Linnaeus, 1758), the nominate subspecies, occurring in southeast England and most of Europe east to the northwestern corner of Russia and western Ukraine.
- E. c. caliginosa (Clancey, 1940), found in the British Isles (except southeast England). Males of this subspecies are smaller and darker than the same sex of the nominate race, with more intensive streaking on the back, a greenish tint to the yellow of the head and more chestnut on the flanks.
- E. c. erythrogenys (Brehm, 1855), breeding from Russia, central Ukraine and the eastern Balkans eastwards to Siberia and northwest Mongolia, with isolated populations to the east of the Black Sea and in the Caucasus. Male is paler and less streaked than male E. c. citrinella, with usually whiter flanks, undertail and wing bars, and brighter yellow crown and throat.
Male Emberiza citrinella caliginosa
Description[]
A large bunting, the Yellowhammer is 16-16.5 cm long along with a 23–29.5 cm wingspan and a mass of 20–36.5 g. The male of the nominate subspecies has a bright yellow head, heavily streaked brown upperparts, reddish chestnut rump, yellow underparts, and white outer tail feathers. The female, duller with her brownish, mottled plumage, resembles a female House Sparrow in appearance. Her head is rather more streaked than the male's. The juvenile is similar to the adult female, but is often with a paler rump.
After breeding, adult birds have a complete moult. The plumage of male birds become yellower after each single post-breeding moult. Juveniles have a partial moult not long after fledging, replacing the head, body, and some covert feathers.
Females and juvenile Yellowhammers, especially of the eastern subspecies E. c. erythrogenys, may be confused with Pine Buntings in spite of the yellow tint to the plumage, paler rufous rump, and more uniform upperparts than the latter. The grey-brown rump of Cirl Buntings distinguishes them from female and juvenile Yellowhammers. Male hybrids with Pine Buntings are typically white-faced and have some yellow on the head, under parts or flight feathers, but females are usually indistinguishable from Yellowhammers.
Behavior[]
This bunting feeds mainly on the ground and has a rather stout beak which it uses to crack open the seeds that constitute its primary source of food. It also eats berries and insects such as grasshoppers and caterpillars. The breeding season starts in between April and May. The couple chooses a territory in hedges or forest borders and builds a nest out of feathers, leaves, animal hair, dry grass and small twigs in a tree or bush. The female lays five or six white eggs with brown speckles. The female incubates the eggs for 12–14 days to hatching and both adults feed the downy chicks until they fledge 11–13 days later. Two to three broods are raised each year.
Distribution and Habitat[]
A native Palearctic species, the Yellowhammer has also been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It is generally sedentary but may migrate during particularly harsh winters. It lives in the countryside, in open areas (prairies, orchards etc) with bushes or hedges, often at the edges of forests or in clearings.
Similar species[]
Gallery[]
