The cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus) is named after an Italian dialect word cirlar, meaning to chirp. The cirl bunting is like a small yellowhammer, with a thick, seeder’s bill. The male has a bright yellow head, with a black crown, eyestripe and throat, and a greenish breast band across its otherwise yellow underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much more like the yellowhammer, but has a streaked grey-brown rump and chestnut shoulders. It breeds across southern Europe, on the Mediterranean islands and in north Africa.
