Species:

Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana)

Lesser Whitethroat (Curruca curruca)

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Main Images:
Length (cm):
16-17
12-13
Wingspan (cm):
23-29
16-20
Weight (gram):
81-96
10-14
Size group:
Sparrow-size
Sparrow-size
Main Texts:
Appearance:

Medium sized bunting, resembling a compact Yellowhammer in shape. Head green with yellow markings and underparts orange-brown. Distinct and characteristic, yellow eye-ring and earth-brown (not rufous) rump in all plumages. Female like male, but duller coloured, with streaked head and chest.

Sound:

Distinct bunting-like timbre with very prominent harmonics. Song simple, but varies from region to region. Sometimes structurally similar to yellowhammer, but slower, more melancholic, and with more clearly audible harmonics f.ex. "tze-ti tze-ti tze-ti tweeeee". Beginning with repeated alternating notes (tze-ti) and ending on a lower note fading out with a rising pitch. Sometimes without the ending note (like yellowhammer). Calls: a vaguely House Sparrow-like "chepp", with a ringing quality, and a sharper cut-off "zeep".

Song:

Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-photo:Mick Sway, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Similar to Common Whitethroat but, with greyish fringes on secondaries and shorter tail and wings. Forehead less steep than in Common WT. Upperparts evenly dark brown with no contrast between shoulders and back. Head grey with slightly darker ear-coverts. Throat and belly white. Legs dark. Tail dark with white edges.

Sound:

Song typically consists of two parts. An indistinct chattering and warbling, subsong-like part similar to Whitethroat, which is usually followed by a dry, fast and rattling trill. The trill carries much further than the chattering part. May be difficult to identify if trill is omitted. Warning call a hard "check" similar to Blackcap but slightly softer

Song:

Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Similar species (image):
Similar species (sound):
Silhouette Group:
Sparrow-like
Silhouette
Warbler-like
Silhouette
Several different images of the species
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ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImage
Several different sounds of the species
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file