Wild Corn Bunting Conservation | Animal Welfare Hub

Corn bunting conservation requires sustained agri-environment scheme participation and targeted management to prevent further decline in this severely threatened farmland bird.

Key Facts

UK corn bunting population has declined by over 90% since the 1960s from widespread to rare
Males sing from prominent perches defending territories in cereal and mixed farmland
Chick rearing requires abundant invertebrates in uncut grass and crop margins
Winter survival depends on seed-rich stubbles and seed mixes on farmland
Targeted agri-environment scheme management has achieved local recovery at some sites

Welfare Considerations

Corn bunting welfare is farmland habitat welfare - individual birds cannot compensate for habitat inadequacy through behavioural flexibility. As cereal farming intensified and removed the invertebrate-rich margins and winter stubbles that corn buntings depend on, individual birds faced successive breeding failures and winter food shortages. Conservation that addresses these habitat-level welfare drivers is the only viable approach to preventing extinction as a UK breeding species.

What You Can Do

Support RSPB and GWCT corn bunting conservation and monitoring programmes
Advocate for corn bunting-specific agri-environment scheme options in agricultural policy
Choose produce from farms participating in higher-tier agreements with bird-specific requirements