Ortolan Bunting
(Emberiza hortulana)
Category of conservation concern (IUCN, 2020) – Least Concern
Population size: 25 000 – 75 000 pairs
Distribution pattern
Distributed in most of the country, more consistently in Dobrudzha, Ludogorie, Black Sea coast, Strandzha, Sakar and the Eastern Rhodopes, more patchy and dispersed in the Danubian Plain, the peripheral parts of the Thracian Plain, in Western Bulgaria, etc. Does not occur in the middle and high parts of the mountains.
Comparative distribution of the species compared to the first breeding birds atlas (Iankov, 2007): Breeding locality until 2007 | Breeding locality until 2007, confirmed after 2015 – | New breeding locality after 2015. – The breeding localities after 2015 are identified on a base of raw data from smartbirds.org.
Habitats
Breeds in warmer regions; in scrub and grasslands, especially Sclerophyllous scrub; on the edges of deciduous forests (most often in forests of Quercus sp.), or in more sparse forest areas; in agricultural areas and artificial landscapes, showing a certain predilection for mosaics of small arable land divided by shrub vegetation; small orchards; tree and shrub plantations; strips of trees, shrubs and mosaics of them, etc. Does not avoid crops and other (annual) grass crops.
Trends in population changes for the period 2013-2020
Not analysed
Threats
Not analysed