The yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia.

Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern subspecies is partially migratory, with much of the population wintering further south.

Breeding commences mainly in April and May, with the female building a lined cup nest in a concealed location on or near the ground.

Changes to agricultural practices have led to population declines in western Europe, but its large numbers and huge range mean that the yellowhammer is classed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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.

[6] Within its genus, the yellowhammer is most closely related to the pine bunting, with which it forms a superspecies; they have at times been considered as one species.

On average, the male of E. c. caliginosa is slightly smaller and darker than the same sex of the nominate subspecies, and also has more streaking on its back, a greenish tint to the yellow of the head and more chestnut on the flanks.

[11] Females and juveniles, especially of the pale eastern subspecies, E. c. erythrogenys, may be confused with pine buntings, but they always have a yellow tint to their plumage, a paler rufous rump, and more uniform upperparts than that species.

[10] Male hybrids with pine buntings are typically white-faced and have some yellow on the head, under parts or flight feathers, but females are usually indistinguishable from yellowhammers.

[9] Asian birds are more strongly migratory, deserting much of the north to winter in Iraq, Iran, and southern Central Asia.

[9] Yellowhammers of the British and Irish race, E. c. caliginosa, were introduced to New Zealand by local acclimatisation societies in 1862,[8][19] and soon spread over the main islands.

[21] The yellowhammer is a bird of dry, open country, preferably with a range of vegetation types and some trees from which to sing.

Probably originally found at forest edges and large clearing, it has benefited from traditional agriculture, which created extensive open areas with hedges and clumps of trees.

The males establish territories along hedges or woodland fringes and sing from a tree or bush, often continuing well into July or August.

Grasses are also important, particularly cereals, and grain makes up a significant part of the food consumed in autumn and winter, wheat and oats being preferred to barley.

A wide range of species is taken, including springtails, grasshoppers, flies, beetles, caterpillars, earthworms, spiders, and snails.

[27][28] It is not a significant host of the common cuckoo, a brood parasite,[29] although as a ground-nesting bird, its eggs and chicks are vulnerable to predation from small mammals such as mice and other rodents.

[7][30] Thirteen species of fleas in the genera Ceratophyllus and Dasypsyllus have been found on this bunting,[31] and internal parasites include Ascaridia galli.

Males with high parasite levels produced fewer offspring (there is no such effect for females), and tend to be less brightly coloured.

[1] Populations have declined in recent decades in western Europe, including the British Isles, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Italy.

Enid Blyton helped to popularize the bird's song as "little bit of bread and no cheese" in books such as The Ship of Adventure and Five Go Off in a Caravan, and wrote a poem called "The Yellow-hammer".

[22][42] Beethoven's student, Carl Czerny, and biographer Anton Schindler, both suggested that the composer got the idea for the first four notes of his 5th symphony from the yellowhammer's call, although more likely the opening of the 4th Piano Concerto was actually the work in question.

Its tongue was supposed to bear a drop of his blood, and the intricate pattern on the eggs was said to carry a concealed, possibly evil, message; these satanic associations sometimes led to the persecution of the bird.