Cirl bunting  (Emberiza cirlus)

The rapid decline of the cirl bunting was almost certainly due to changes in farming practices in lowland Britain. The RSPB carried out research in the late 1980s and concluded that key factors included the change from spring to autumn-sown barley which led to the loss of winter weed and stubble fields, important feeding sites for the birds. Agricultural improvement of grassland has lead to a reduction in the insect food needed by the chicks, and removal of hedgerows and scrub from field edges has also resulted in a loss of food sources as well as reducing favoured nesting habitats.

The cirl bunting is listed as a priority species on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP), and included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme. The RSPB and English Nature launched the Cirl Bunting Species Recovery Project in 1995, which has two main objectives. The first aim was for a continued increase in the breeding population; the second was to increase the range of the population beyond its current limits. This is being implemented by encouraging sympathetic management within the cirl bunting's current range through liasing with farmers, and implementing appropriate land management measures such as DEFRA's Countryside Stewardship Scheme. These measures are now being extended to other suitable areas in the south-west.

The recovery project's success has relied on co-operation and goodwill between the conservation bodies and the local landowners. Cirl bunting numbers have continued to rise but the bird's status in the UK will remain precarious while the population is restricted to one small area.