Emberiza cirlus
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cirl Bunting sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 134 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 69th most-seen of the 153 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and October–December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cirl Bunting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and April, the lowest months.
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.
3rd of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Cirl Bunting sightings, Sierra Nevada National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Cévennes National Park (France, about 20%) and Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 10%).
Same genus: Emberiza
The closest relatives of the Cirl Bunting that you can see in Sierra Nevada National Park (genus Emberiza, Old World Buntings) are Rock Bunting (about 30%) and Corn Bunting (about 20%), 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 Sierra Nevada National Park (134 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.
