[4][5] The ortolan bunting was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae and retains its original binomial name of Emberiza hortulana.

A native of most European countries and West Asia, it reaches as far north as Scandinavia and beyond the Arctic Circle, frequenting cornfields and their neighbourhoods.

These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God.

The traditional way French gourmands eat ortolans is to cover their heads and face with a large napkin or towel while consuming the bird.

Some claim it is to retain the maximum aroma with the flavour as they consume the entire bird at once, while according to The Daily Telegraph, "Tradition dictates that [the towel] is to shield – from God's eyes – the shame of such a decadent and disgraceful act",[14] and others have suggested the towel simply hides the consumers spitting out bones.

[17] At one time, the island of Cyprus formed a chief depot for the export of ortolans, which were pickled in spices and vinegar and packed in casks containing from 300 to 400 each.

[22] In 2007, the French government vowed to strictly enforce some existing rules about banning the practice, with the maximum fine set at €6,000 (£4,800 or $6,728).

After several years of active citizen watch revealing little if any change in the field situation,[23][24][25] the local representative of the government repeated this statement in 2016.

[26] European Union member states prohibit:[27] As of 2018, the overall ortolan bunting's population is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern (LC).