BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Reed Bunting

REED BUNTING
Emberiza schoeniclus

Conservation listings

Europe: no SPEC category (favourable conservation status in Europe, not concentrated in Europe)
UK: red (>50% population decline)

Long-term trend

UK, England: moderate decline

Distribution maps

Maps and statistics from British and Irish
atlases can be viewed here.

Status summary

Red-listing for this species is based on a 62% decline on CBC plots between 1974 and 1999. Both CBC/BBS and WBS indices declined rapidly during the 1970s, but Reed Bunting abundance has since remained remarkably stable. The early increase in the CBC index has been associated with a gradual spread into drier habitats, especially farmland, and it is likely that the subsequent decline was related to agricultural intensification. CES data indicate that the decline has continued and that it is associated with falling productivity. Detailed demographic analyses suggest that the decline was driven by decreasing survival rates and that a subsequent population recovery may have been prevented by increased nest losses (Peach et al. 1999). This is supported by a moderate decline in CES productivity and an increase in failure rates at the egg stage.

CBC/BBS UK graph

Table of population changes for Reed Bunting

Source Period
(yrs) Years Plots
(n) Change
(%) Lower
limit Upper
limit Alert Comment

CBC/BBS UK 35 1967-2002 156 -34 -49 -15 >25

25 1977-2002 179 -48 -57 -37 >25

10 1992-2002 316 -11 -19 3

5 1997-2002 389 10 2 19

CBC/BBS England 35 1967-2002 127 -38 -55 -13 >25

25 1977-2002 143 -52 -64 -42 >50

10 1992-2002 244 -17 -26 -4

5 1997-2002 293 8 -1 17

WBS waterways 27 1975-2002 52 -69 -78 -49 >50

25 1977-2002 52 -63 -73 -46 >50

10 1992-2002 59 -15 -33 15

5 1997-2002 56 -6 -21 17

CES adults 18 1984-2002 59 -51 . . [>50*]

10 1992-2002 70 -32 . . [>25]

5 1997-2002 71 -17 . .

CES juveniles 18 1984-2002 41 -71 . . [>50*]

10 1992-2002 48 -53 . . [>50*]

5 1997-2002 47 -30 . . [>25]

BBS UK 9 1994-2003 338 13 2 26

BBS England 9 1994-2003 253 -5 -15 8

BBS Scotland 9 1994-2003 40 36 -4 94

CBC/BBS England graph

WBS UK graph

CES Adult abundance graph

CES juvenile abundance graph

BBS UK graph

BBS England graph

BBS Scotland graph

Table of productivity information for Reed Bunting

Variable Period
(yrs) Years Mean
annual
sample Trend Predicted
in first year Predicted
in last year Change Comment

Clutch size 34 1968-2002 45 None

Brood size 34 1968-2002 62 Linear increase 4.05 chicks 4.21 chicks 0.16 chicks

Daily failure rate (eggs) 34 1968-2002 53 Linear increase 0.0069 nests/day 0.0271 nests/day 0.0202 nests/day

Daily failure rate (chicks) 34 1968-2002 53 None

Laying date 34 1968-2002 51 None

Percentage juveniles (CES) 18 1984-2002 62 Smoothed trend 157 productivity index 102 productivity index -36%[>25]

Percentage juveniles (CES) 10 1992-2002 73 Smoothed trend 156 productivity index 102 productivity index -36%[>25]

Percentage juveniles (CES) 5 1997-2002 74 Smoothed trend 120 productivity index 102 productivity index -16%

Clutch size graph

Brood size graph

Egg nest failure graph

Chick nest failure graph

Laying date graph

CES productivity graph


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2005) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2004. BTO Research Report No. 385. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 18 January, 2006