Dictionary:

yellowhammer

  (yĕl'ō-hăm'ər)

1. A small bunting (Emberiza citrinella) of Europe and western Asia having bright yellow plumage on the head, neck, and breast.
2. See yellow-shafted flicker.

[By folk etymology from earlier yelambre, perhaps from Middle English *yelwambre : yelow, yellow; see yellow + Old English amore, a kind of bird.]

Emberiza citrinella

TAXONOMY

Emberiza citrinella Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden. Three subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Bruant jaune; German: Goldammer; Spanish: Escribano Cerillo.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

6.3–6.5 in (16–16.5 cm); 0.88–1.1 oz (25–31 g). Sexes differ in color. Males have a streaked yellow head, a cinnamon-washed black and breast, and a chestnut rump. Females and juveniles have much less yellow and are more heavily streaked.

DISTRIBUTION

E. c. citrinella breeds from southeast England, northern and western Europe east to Russia and south to northern Portugal and Spain, central Italy, northern Greece, Bulgaria, Rumania, Poland, and south in Russia to Moscow. In eastern and southeastern Europe they intergrade with E. c. erythrogenys, which is found west to central Siberia. They winter from central Europe south to northern Africa, Iraq, and northern Mongolia. E. c. caliginosa is resident in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and northern and western England.

HABITAT

Open country in hedgerows, the edge of woods, or in bushes. In winter they are found in cultivated fields or woodland edge.

BEHAVIOR

During the breeding season they are territorial, and males defend the territory by singing from an exposed perch, such as a wire. In fall and winter they form loose flocks, sometimes of up to 1,000 individuals.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feed almost entirely on the ground, in pastures, cultivated ground, stubble, or waste ground. In summer they eat seeds, insects, and other invertebrates, but in winter they chiefly eat seeds.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Socially Monogamous. Eggs are laid from April through early September. The nest is nearly always placed on the ground and is well hidden among the vegetation; two to six (usually four to five) eggs are laid. Incubation lasts 12–14 days, and the young fledge at 11–13 days.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. Their numbers have declined in many European countries but have increased in Finland, all apparently as a consequence of changing farming practices.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.

For more information on yellowhammer, visit Britannica.com.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: large flicker of eastern North America with a red neck and yellow undersurface to wings and tail
  Synonyms: yellow-shafted flicker, Colaptes auratus

Meaning #2: European bunting the male being bright yellow
  Synonyms: yellow bunting, Emberiza citrinella

Yellowhammer
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Emberizidae Genus: Emberiza Species: E. citrinella
Binomial name
Emberiza citrinella Linnaeus, 1758

This article describes the Old World yellowhammer, a member of the finch family. For the unrelated yellow-shafted flicker in North America, commonly called a yellowhammer in the southern United States, see flicker (bird).

The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

It breeds across Europe and much of Asia. The Yellowhammer was also introduced to New Zealand in 1862 and is now common and widespread there. It is probably more abundant in New Zealand now than in Europe where it has been in serious decline. In Europe and Asia most birds are resident, but some far northern birds migrate south in winter. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees.

In the winter they gather together to form small flocks of birds.

The Yellowhammer is a robust 15.5-17cm long bird, with a thick seed-eater's bill. The male has a bright yellow head, yellow underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much duller, and more streaked below.

The familiar, if somewhat monotonous, song of the cock is A little bit of bread and no cheese.

Its natural diet consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. The nest is on the ground. 3-6 eggs are laid, which show the hair-like markings characteristic of those of buntings.

It has been claimed by Karl Czerny, that the Yellowhammer's song was the inspiration for the "fate" motif of the Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The unrelated Yellow-shafted Flicker, Colaptes auratus, is also known as the yellowhammer in the Southern United States, especially Alabama, where it is the state bird.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Emberiza citrinella. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External link

• ARKive - images and movies of the yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)

See also

For the use of Yellowhammer to refer to troops from Alabama, United States, see Northern Flicker

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Emberiza citrinella

Gallery

Yellowhammer

Yellowhammer

Yellowhammer

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