Corn bunting thrives with mixed agriculture but is rare on arable farmland

Corn buntings Miliaria calandra were abundant throughout arable agricultural landscapes in Europe, but have catastrophically declined since the mid 1970s with changes in farming practice and now give serious conservation cause for concern. Corn buntings declined in Denmark during 1976-1993, but (almost unique in Europe) have since increased (by up to 11% per annum) in some areas without specific conservation recovery actions. Based on breeding bird surveys in the mid 1990s, highest corn bunting densities occurred on mixed agriculture in west Denmark (Jylland); the species was rarer or absent in regions of highest arable land cover.

Corn bunting density and extent of rotational and permanent grassland were correlated, but not with spring sown barley (all known to constitute important corn bunting winter habitat). The extent of spring barley rapidly declined in Denmark during the 1980s, but since 1990, most counties have since shown 2-3% annual increases in this crop, except in Nordjylland, where high densities of corn buntings have remained stable. Elsewhere in Jylland, corn buntings have increased in counties supporting highest densities during the mid 1990s, contrasting stable or declining trends in south and east Denmark where densities were originally lower. After dramatic decreases everywhere in Denmark, corn buntings retain highest breeding densities associated with mixed agriculture, especially where grassland and spring sown barley remained in greatest extent. Although purely based on land use correlation and bird surveillance, these results show an association between mixed farming and favourable conservation status of a species now red-listed throughout much of Europe. Further investigations of habitat use at small spatial scales and throughout the annual cycle are urgently required to better enlighten specific recommendations for wider applicability of guidelines for corn bunting recovery actions elsewhere.

Authors: FOX T & HELDBJERG H. (2008) Which regional features of Danish agriculture favour the corn bunting in the contemporary farming landscape? Agriculture, ecosystems & environment , vol. 126, pp. 261-269
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