The yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is a passerine bird native to Eurasia. This conspicuous yellow bird has inspired poems by Robert Burns and John Clare, and its characteristic song has influenced musical works by Beethoven and Messiaen. Children's writer Enid Blyton helped to popularise the standard English representation of the song.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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GranivoreSeed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of pla...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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SocialFl
FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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Partial MigrantPartial migration is when within a migratory species or even within a single population, some individuals migrate while others do not.
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starts withThe male yellowhammer has a bright yellow head, heavily streaked brown back, rufous rump, yellow under parts, and white outer tail feathers. The female is less brightly coloured and more streaked on the crown, breast, and flanks. Both sexes are less strongly marked outside the breeding season when the dark fringes on new feathers obscure the yellow plumage. The juvenile is much duller and less yellow than the adults and often has a paler rump. After breeding, adults have a complete moult, which takes at least eight weeks; males acquire more yellow in the plumage each time they moult. Juveniles have a partial moult not long after fledging, replacing the head, body, and some covert feathers.
Yellowhammers breed across the Palearctic, although they are absent from high mountains, Arctic regions, the western Netherlands, most of Iberia and Greece, and low-lying regions of other countries adjoining the Mediterranean Sea. They breed in Russia east to Irkutsk and in most of Ukraine. The Asian range extends into northwest Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Kazakhstan. Most populations remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern birds are partially migratory and winter further south. Yellowhammers are birds of dry, open country, preferably with a range of vegetation types and some trees from which to sing. They frequent forest and woodland clearings, shrublands, grasslands, farmland, and plantations.
Yellowhammers are active during the day and are often seen perched on top of bushes singing their rhythm like 'a little bit of bread and no cheese' song. They feed on the ground, usually in flocks outside the breeding season. When not breeding, yellowhammers forage in flocks that can occasionally number hundreds of birds and often contain other buntings and finches. To communicate with each other yellowhammers use various calls. Their main vocalizations include a 'zit' contact call, a 'see' alarm, and a trilled 'tirrr' given in flight. The males of this species are famous for their beautiful songs. They learn their songs from their fathers, and each male has an individual repertoire of song variants within its regional dialect; females tend to mate with males that share their dialect and prefer those with the largest repertoires.
Yellowhammers are herbivores (granivores) and their diet consists mainly of seeds. Grasses are also important, particularly cereals, and grain makes up a significant part of the food consumed in autumn and winter. In the breeding season, yellowhammers add invertebrates to their diet, particularly as food for their growing chicks. They take springtails, grasshoppers, flies, beetles, caterpillars, earthworms, spiders, and snails.
Yellowhammers are monogamous and form pairs. Breeding normally starts in early May, but often in April in the south of the range. The males establish territories along hedges or woodland fringes and sing from a tree or bush, often continuing well into July or August. The male also displays to the female by raising his wings and running towards her. After the pair was formed the female starts building the nest. The nest is usually located on or near the ground, and is typically well hidden in tussocks, against a bank, or low in a bush. It is constructed from nearby plant material, such as leaves, dry grass, and stalks, and is lined with fine grasses and sometimes animal hair. The female then lays a clutch of 3 to 5 whitish eggs, typically patterned with a network of fine, dark lines. She incubates the eggs for 12-14 days to hatching and broods the altricial (helpless), downy chicks until they fledge 11-13 days later. Both adults feed their young in the nest and two or three broods are raised each year. Young birds start to breed when aged one year.
Yellowhammers are not considered endangered at present, however, changes to agricultural practices have led to population declines in Western Europe. These birds also suffer indirectly from the use of insecticides and herbicides, which reduce the abundance of insects and spiders they prey on.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the yellowhammer is 40,000,000-69,999,999 mature individuals. In Europe, the breeding population consists of 12,800,000-19,900,000 pairs, which equates to 25,500,000-39,700,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are decreasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...