The Clod Bird

Spent most of the day in the garden planting trees etc.  Could not help noting a small flock of Corn Buntings feeding in surrounding scrub.  They are a very common bird in this part of France and their jingling song is heard daily in Spring and early Summer.

How does it do so well here when it is declining so fast in the UK?  Simply the agriculture in the south of France is so low key and large areas of fallow,weedy land and garrigue are available.  The insect population in summer is enormous and that ensures good size broods.

When I was a kid in Suffolk my Grandmother and my father always called Corn Buntings "Clod Birds".  I guess they can look like a dull brown clod on a ploughed field.