Emberiza cirlus
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~80%
The cirl bunting ( SURL) (Emberiza cirlus) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. It breeds across southern Europe, on the Mediterranean islands and in north Africa. It is a resident of these warmer areas, and does not migrate in winter. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees, but has a preference for sunny slopes. In the 19th century it was introduced to New Zealand and the persistent population remains in the South Island.
Changes in agricultural practice have affected this species very adversely at the northern fringes of its range, and in England, where it once occurred over much of the south of the country, it is now restricted to south Devon. The cirl bunting is the mascot on the signs for the village of Stokeinteignhead in Devon.
The cirl bunting was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Emberiza cirlus. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific cirlus is from a local Italian name cirlo, for a type of bunting... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 10 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cirl Bunting sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 99 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 126 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Cirl Bunting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February, October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Cévennes National Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 260 mm in October.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cirl Bunting sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Yes
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Cirl Bunting sightings, Cévennes National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 10%) and Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 10%).
Same genus: Emberiza
The closest relatives of the Cirl Bunting that you can see in Cévennes National Park (genus Emberiza, Old World Buntings) are Corn Bunting (about 20%), Yellowhammer (about 10%) and Ortolan Bunting (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cirl Bunting is recorded against all the birds logged in Cévennes National Park (99 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
