Wildlife

Corn Bunting: Casualty of Intensive Cereal Farming

The corn bunting has undergone one of the steepest declines of any UK farmland bird, losing over 90 percent of its population.

Key Facts

Corn bunting populations fell by 90 percent between 1970 and 2019
They are the largest bunting and males sing a distinctive jangling key-like song
Corn buntings nest late into summer making them vulnerable to early silage cuts
They require tall cereal crops or grassland with tussocky structure for nesting
In winter they flock and feed on spilt grain and weed seeds

Welfare Considerations

Corn buntings have been devastated by intensification of cereal and grass farming. Early silage cuts destroy nests and kill incubating females and chicks. Loss of winter stubble eliminates critical food resources. Herbicides and pesticides have removed the insects and weed seeds on which birds depend. The species is now extinct over large areas of its former range.

What You Can Do

Support campaigns for mandatory late cutting rules on grassland during nesting season
Promote retention of winter stubble as a legal requirement on supported farms
Encourage local landowners to join targeted corn bunting recovery schemes
Report nest destruction during cutting operations to the police wildlife officer
Donate to BTO and RSPB research into corn bunting population recovery