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YELLOWHAMMER
Emberiza citrinella
Yellowhammer © Tommy Holden
 

• Population
  changes

• Productivity
  trends

• Additional
  information
Conservation listings
Europe: no SPEC category (concentrated in Europe, conservation status favourable)
UK: red (>50% population decline)
UK Biodiversity Action Plan: priority species
Long-term trend
UK, England: rapid decline
UK population size
792,000 territories in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC/BBS trend: BiE04, APEP06)
Status summary
Yellowhammer abundance began to decline on farmland in the mid 1980s and, except in Scotland, the decline has continued ever since. The species, listed as green in 1996, is now red listed. While there is some evidence that survival rates have decreased during the period of decline, Yellowhammer breeding performance has tended to improve (Siriwardena et al. 1998b, 2000b). However, recent declines in clutch size, brood size and nest success are of NRS concern (Leech & Barimore 2008). Overall nest failure rates are relatively high, probably because later nests, which tend to be more successful (Kyrkos 1997), are under-represented in the NRS data set, but this is unlikely to affect overall trends. Reductions in winter seed food availability as a result of agricultural intensification (for example, the loss of winter stubbles and a reduction in weed densities) are widely believed to have contributed to the population decline. Gillings et al. (2005) have identified better population performance in areas with extensive winter stubble, presumably because overwinter survival is relatively high. The local availability of winter setaside is a good predictor of sites chosen for breeding territories the next year (Whittingham et al. 2005). Numbers have fallen widely in Europe since 1980 (PECBMS 2007).
 

Population changes
CBC/BBS UK graph
 
Table of population changes for Yellowhammer

Source Period
(yrs)		 Years Plots
(n)		 Change
(%)		 Lower
limit		 Upper
limit		 Alert Comment
CBC/BBS UK 39 1967-2006 440 -55 -65 -47 >50  
  25 1981-2006 605 -53 -59 -48 >50  
  10 1996-2006 1148 -11 -15 -5    
  5 2001-2006 1123 -4 -8 1    
CBC/BBS England 39 1967-2006 385 -57 -66 -46 >50  
  25 1981-2006 529 -57 -62 -50 >50  
  10 1996-2006 1003 -15 -18 -11    
  5 2001-2006 986 -9 -12 -5    
CES adults 22 1984-2006 18 -74 -91 -28 >50 Small sample
  10 1996-2006 13 -55 -83 1   Small sample
  5 2001-2006 10 -32 -69 44   Small sample
BBS UK 11 1995-2006 1084 -14 -18 -9    
  10 1996-2006 1102 -11 -16 -7    
  5 2001-2006 1123 -4 -7 1    
BBS England 11 1995-2006 946 -18 -22 -14    
  10 1996-2006 961 -15 -19 -12    
  5 2001-2006 986 -8 -11 -5    
BBS Scotland 11 1995-2006 93 4 -16 24    
  10 1996-2006 95 5 -14 23    
  5 2001-2006 93 11 -2 26    
BBS Wales 11 1995-2006 38 -36 -53 -16 >25  
  10 1996-2006 38 -32 -48 -12 >25  
  5 2001-2006 37 -10 -27 11    

BBS acknowledgement
 
CBC/BBS England graph
CES adult abundance graph
CES juvenile abundance graph
BBS UK graph
BBS England graph
BBS Scotland graph
BBS Wales graph
 

Productivity trends
Table of productivity changes for Yellowhammer

Variable Period
(yrs)		 Years Mean
annual
sample		 Trend Modelled
in first year		 Modelled
in 2006		 Change Comment
Clutch size 38 1968-2006 44 Curvilinear 3.35 eggs 3.39 eggs 1.2%  
Brood size 38 1968-2006 67 Curvilinear 2.96 chicks 3.03 chicks 2.3%  
Daily failure rate (eggs) 38 1968-2006 66 Curvilinear 5% nests/day 3.8% nests/day -24%  
Daily failure rate (chicks) 38 1968-2006 52 Curvilinear 4.62% nests/day 4.23% nests/day -8.4%  
Laying date 38 1968-2006 27 Linear increase May 30 Jun 7 8 days Small sample
Juvenile to Adult ratio (CES) 22 1984-2006 20 Smoothed trend 87 Index value 100 Index value 15%  
Juvenile to Adult ratio (CES) 10 1996-2006 15 Smoothed trend 158 Index value 100 Index value -37% Small sample
Juvenile to Adult ratio (CES) 5 2001-2006 12 Smoothed trend 73 Index value 100 Index value 38% Small sample

 
Clutch size graph
Brood size graph
Egg nest failure graph
Chick nest failure graph
Laying date graph
CES productivity graph
 

Additional information
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This report should be cited as:
Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Leech, D.I., Joys, A.C., Noble, D.G.,
Barimore, C., Grantham, M.J., Risely, K. & Robinson, R.A. (2009).
Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2008.
BTO Research Report No. 516. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

Pages maintained by Iain Downie, Mandy T Andrews and Laura Smith: Last updated 18.02.2009