Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Breeding) [NT(br)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | Emberiza calandra subsp. calandra |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Emberiza calandra |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | in s41 as Emberiza calandra subsp. calandra. TVK is for the species but note E. c. calandra is the European subsp. |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Long term non-significant decline Eng BBS (25 yr -13%) recent trend is positive 10 yr +35% and 5yr +30% |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | targeted management required to reverse species decline. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Creation of grassland-scrub mosaics in open, lowland arable/mixed farming landscapes could be beneficial to Corn Bunting. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | Requires targeted management |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Advise managers and owners of suitable farmland areas across England on the conservation needs of Corn Bunting, including safe nesting habitat, chick food foraging habitats and winter seed food.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Compile current research knowledge base for Corn Bunting to refine optimum habitat management interventions.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Promote measures in both arable and silage agricultural systems that allow Corn Buntings to fledge multiple broods (e.g. delayed mowing, dense in-field vegetation and under-sown spring cereal).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.