A tale of yellow peril

The yellowhammer is one of our most striking birds, but their numbers are in sharp decline

- LINDSAY WADDELL

I have known the yellowhammer a long time because it was my companion when, as a very small boy, I walked the few hundred yards to my primary school in rural Angus.

The bright yellow colour and the distinctive song endeared it to me and I have retained my love of it ever since. Rural Angus was a very different place from today. The farming year was one of crop rotation, stubbles that stayed all winter, and I still recall the threshing machine doing the rounds of the farms. Harvest mice were common and the yellowhammer and its bunting cousins were plentiful.

The male is a striking bird with a bright yellow head and chestnut barred back and wing coverts, with some lighter brown streaking on the breast. The female, as in many birds, is a rather drab buff colour with some brown streaks. It’s a good size for a bunting, much larger than most, with males more than 6½in long and a wingspan of over 11in.

The dark ink-like lines on the yellowhammer’s eggs led to its nickname of the scribble or writing lark