Ortolan bunting

{{Speciesbox

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{Cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2017 |title=Emberiza hortulana |volume=2017 |page=e.T22720916A111136121 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22720916A111136121.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}

| image = Ortolan bunting in Sierra de Guara, Aragon, Spain.jpg

| taxon = Emberiza hortulana

| authority = Linnaeus, 1758

| range_map = EmberizaHortulanaIUCN2019-3.png

| range_map_caption = Range of E. hortulana{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}}

}}

The ortolan (Emberiza hortulana), also called ortolan bunting, is a Eurasian bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a passerine family now separated by most modern scholars from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name Emberiza is from Alemannic German {{lang|goh|Embritz}}, a bunting. The specific name hortulana is from the Italian name for this bird, {{lang|it|ortolana}}.{{cite book|last=Jobling|first=James A.|year=2010|title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names|url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling|publisher=Christopher Helm|location=London|isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n145 145], 195}} The English ortolan is derived from Middle French {{lang|frm|hortolan}}, "gardener".{{cite OED|Ortolan}}

The ortolan is served in French cuisine, typically cooked and eaten whole. Traditionally, diners cover their heads with their napkin or a towel while eating the delicacy. The bird is so widely eaten that its French populations dropped dangerously low, leading to laws restricting its use in 1999. In September 2007, the French government announced its intent to enforce long-ignored laws protecting the bird.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20868380|title=Roasted songbird? French dish now a no-no|work=NBC News|agency=Associated Press|date=19 September 2007|access-date=30 March 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1562561/Franceandrsquos-songbird-delicacy-is-outlawed.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630072405/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1562561/Franceandrsquos-songbird-delicacy-is-outlawed.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 June 2008|title=France's songbird delicacy is outlawed|first=Susan|last=Bell|newspaper=The Sunday Telegraph|date=9 September 2007|access-date=21 February 2008}}

Taxonomy

File:Emberiza hortulana nhm.jpg

The ortolan bunting was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae and retains its original binomial name of Emberiza hortulana.{{cite book|last=Linnaeus|first=Carl|author-link=Carl Linnaeus|year=1758|title=Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis|volume=1|edition=10th|page=177| publisher=Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii|language=la|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727084}} The species is monotypic.{{cite web|editor1-last=Gill|editor1-first=Frank|editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist)|editor2-last=Donsker|editor2-first=David|year=2018|title=Buntings|work=World Bird List Version 9.1|url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/buntings/|publisher=International Ornithologists' Union|access-date=6 June 2019}} A molecular phylogenetic study of the buntings published in 2008 found that the ortolan bunting is most closely related to Cretzschmar's bunting (Emberiza caesia).{{cite journal|last1=Alström|first1=P.|last2=Olsson|first2=U.|last3=Lei|first3=F.|last4=Wang|first4=H.|last5=Gao|first5=W.|last6=Sundberg|first6=P.|year=2008|url=https://www.nrm.se/download/18.61d98c3a11a91af311a80001022/Alstr%C3%B6m%20et%20al%20Emberizini%20MPEV%202008.pdf|title=Phylogeny and classification of the Old World Emberizini (Aves, Passeriformes)|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=47|issue=3|pages=960–973|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2007.12.007|pmid=18411062| bibcode=2008MolPE..47..960A}}

Description

{{Multiple image

| direction = horizontal

| align = top

| caption_align = center

| header = Ortolan bunting

| total_width = 450

| image1 = Emberiza hortulana 1.jpg

| caption1 = Female

| image2 = Emberiza hortulana 2.jpg

| caption2 = Male

}}

The ortolan bunting is {{convert|16|-|17|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=off}} in length and has a wing-span of {{convert|23|-|29|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}}.{{Sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|p=209}} In appearance and habits it much resembles its relative the yellowhammer, but lacks the bright colouring of that species; the ortolan's head, for instance, is greenish-grey, instead of a bright yellow. The song of the male ortolan resembles that of the yellowhammer.

Distribution and habitat

File:Emberiza hortulana MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.217 Neschers.jpg

A native of most European countries and West Asia, it reaches as far north as Scandinavia and beyond the Arctic Circle, frequenting cornfields and their neighbourhoods. It is an uncommon vagrant in spring, and particularly autumn, to the British Isles. Sightings in the UK are less common than they were, owing to the species' population decline due to overexploitation in France.{{cite web|publisher=British Trust for Ornithology|date=2015-04-07|title=Ortolan Bunting|url=https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/ortolan-bunting|access-date=2024-03-24|website=BTO - British Trust for Ornithology|language=en}}

It was spotted at Kenjar Coastal Karnataka, India, in November 2018 and photographed by birdwatchers. Some birders commented that it is the first photographic record of an ortolan bunting in India.{{cite news|title='First photo' of Ortolan Bunting in India is out|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/ortolan-bunting-spotted-in-mangaluru/article25561022.ece|access-date=22 November 2018|work=The Hindu|date=22 November 2018}}

Behaviour

Ortolan nests are placed on or near the ground.

The maximum age recorded is six years and ten months for a bird found dead in Switzerland.{{cite web|title=European Longevity Records|url=https://euring.org/data-and-codes/longevity-list?page=6|publisher=Euring|access-date=8 June 2019}}

Seeds are the natural diet, but beetles and other insects are taken when feeding their young.

Culinary use

{{quote box|quote=For centuries, a rite of passage for French gourmets was the eating of the Ortolan. These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God.|source=The Wine Spectator{{cite web|url=http://www.winespectator.com/magazine/show/id/8222|title=France Bans an Old Culinary Tradition|date=30 June 1999|access-date=2011-04-11}}|align=right|width=33em|border=2px|bgcolor=#CCDDFF}}

The birds are caught with nets set during their autumn migratory flight to Africa. They are then kept in covered cages or boxes. They react to the dark by gorging themselves on grain, usually millet seed, until they double their bulk. They are then suspended upside down over a container of Armagnac, and by dipping, made to drown, and then marinated in the brandy.{{cite news|last=Wallop|first=Harry|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11102100/Why-French-chefs-want-us-to-eat-this-bird-head-bones-beak-and-all.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=18 September 2014|title=Why French chefs want us to eat this bird – head, bones, beak and all|access-date=16 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303221803/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11102100/Why-French-chefs-want-us-to-eat-this-bird-head-bones-beak-and-all.html|archive-date=3 March 2021|publisher=Telegraph Media Group Limited (Press Holdings)|publication-place=London|issn=0307-1235}}{{cite news|last=Im|first=Jim|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/04/real-story-about-the-illegal-ortolan-delicacy-eaten-on-billions.html|date=6 May 2018|title=The illegal delicacy Axe ate on 'Billions' is a real thing — here's the story behind it|access-date=24 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318071049/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/04/real-story-about-the-illegal-ortolan-delicacy-eaten-on-billions.html|archive-date=18 March 2021|work=CNBC|publisher=National Broadcasting Company (NBCUniversal)}}

The birds are then plucked, salted and peppered and cooked in their own fat for seven minutes. Many consumers of this dish then place the bird feet first into their mouth while holding onto the bird's head. They eat the ortolan whole, with or without the head, and some may spit out the larger bones, while others eat the whole bird head, bones and all. The traditional way French gourmands eat ortolans is to cover their heads and face with a large napkin or towel while consuming the bird. The purpose of the towel is debated. Some claim it is to retain the maximum aroma with the flavour as they consume the entire bird at once, while according to The Daily Telegraph, "Tradition dictates that [the towel] is to shield – from God's eyes – the shame of such a decadent and disgraceful act", and others have suggested the towel simply hides the consumers spitting out bones.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-17/french-chefs-seek-to-put-banned-songbird-back-on-menu/5750956|publisher=ABC|title=French chefs seek to put banned songbird called ortolan back on menu|year=2014|access-date=16 March 2015}} This use of the towel was begun by a priest, a friend of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.{{cite news|work=The Stranger|title=The Urban Hunt: A Summer Spent Killing—and Eating—Seattle's Small Game|date=28 September 2006|first=Brendan|last=Kiley|access-date=24 May 2021|url=https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=81126|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109023207/http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=81126|archive-date=9 November 2020|publisher=Index Newspapers LLC}}

At one time, the island of Cyprus formed a chief depot for the export of ortolans, which were pickled in spices and vinegar and packed in casks containing from 300 to 400 each. In the early 20th century, between 400 and 500 casks were annually exported from Cyprus.{{cite Americana|wstitle=Ortolan}}

=Noted meals=

The Three Emperors Dinner in 1867 included ortolans on toast among its 16 courses.
The favourite dish of medicine Nobel laureate and inventor of the lobotomy procedure, António Egas Moniz, was ortolans as prepared at the restaurant Le Chapon Fin in Bordeaux.{{cite book|last=Lobo Antunes|first=João|author-link=João Lobo Antunes|date=2011|title=Egas Moniz: Uma Biografia|trans-title=Egas Moniz: A Biography|url=|language=pt|location=Lisbon|publisher=Gradiva|isbn=978-989-616-398-3|edition=4th|page=19}}
In the 1958 film Gigi, which begins in the year 1900, Gigi's aunt instructs her in gourmet dining, including one particular scene of the consumption of ortolans.
In 1975, food critic Craig Claiborne made a winning $300 bid in an auction for a dinner for two, courtesy of American Express, at any restaurant in the world that takes its credit card. Claiborne selected Chez Denis in Paris for a $4,000 meal{{cite news|title=Just a Quiet Dinner for Two in Paris: 31 Dishes, Nine Wines, a $4,000 Check|date=14 November 1975|first=Craig|last=Clairborne|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602083350/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/14/archives/just-a-quiet-dinner-for-two-in-paris-31-dishes-nine-wines-a-4000.html|archive-date=2 June 2020|access-date=24 May 2021|issue=124|volume=214|page=A1|issn=1553-8095|publication-place=New York City|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/14/archives/just-a-quiet-dinner-for-two-in-paris-31-dishes-nine-wines-a-4000.html|author-link=Craig Claiborne}} ($20,665 in 2022) that included a course of ortolans.
In 1995, former French President François Mitterrand's last New Year's Eve meal included this specially prepared bird.
Bill Cosby describes eating ortolan in an Italian restaurant on his 1973 album Fat Albert.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2LntsPxUEU|title=Bill Cosby - Fernet Branca| website=YouTube|date=15 January 2013}}

Legal status

Ortolan hunting was banned in France in 1999, but the law was poorly enforced and it is thought that up to 50,000 ortolans were illegally killed each year during the autumn migration: mostly birds from breeding grounds in Finland and the Baltic area. According to France's League for the Protection of Birds, France's ortolan population fell 30% between 1997 and 2007.{{cite web |last1=Wallop |first1=Harry |title=Ortolans: could France's cruellest food be back on the menu? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11101187/Ortolans-could-Frances-cruellest-food-be-back-on-the-menu.html |website=The Telegraph |date=2014-09-17 |publisher=Telegraph Media Group. Ltd. |access-date=2015-07-12}} In 2007, the French government vowed to strictly enforce some existing rules about banning the practice, with the maximum fine set at €6,000. Killing and cooking ortolans is banned across the European Union. In 2007, the pressure from France's League for Protection of Birds and from the EU resulted in the French government promising to enforce the EU directive protecting the ortolan. After several years of active citizen watch revealing little if any change in the field situation,{{cite web |url=https://www.lpo.fr/actualites/operation-bruants-ortolans-tolerance-zero |title=Opération Bruants ortolans – 2013 |website=lpo.fr |language=fr-FR |access-date=25 September 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://www.lpo.fr/actualites/operation-bruants-ortolans-tolerance-zero-2014 |title=Opération Bruants ortolans – 2014 |website=lpo.fr |language=fr-FR |access-date=2017-09-25}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.lpo.fr/actualites/operation-bruant-ortolan-2015 |title=Opération Bruant ortolan – 2015 |website=lpo.fr |language=fr-FR |access-date=2017-09-25}} the local representative of the government repeated this statement in 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.lpo.fr/actualites/braconnage-des-ortolans-le-nouveau-prefet-des-landes-confirme-a-la-lpo-que-l-etat-de-droit-s-applique-aussi-dans-son-departement |title=Braconnage des ortolans le nouveau Préfet des Landes confirme à la LPO que l'Etat de droit s'applique aussi dans son département – Actualités – LPO |website=lpo.fr |language=fr-FR |access-date=2017-09-25}}

EU member states prohibit:{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/docs/Emberiza%20hortulana%20factsheet%20-%20SWIFI.pdf |title=Ortalan Bunting, Emberiza hortulana factsheet |work=EU Wildlife and Sustainable Farming project |year=2009 |publisher=European Commission}}

deliberate killing or capture of these birds by any method;
deliberate destruction of, or damage to, their nests and eggs or removal of their nests;
taking their eggs in the wild and keeping these eggs;
deliberate disturbance of these birds particularly during the period of breeding and rearing, insofar as this would have a significant negative effect on the birds;
keeping birds, the hunting and capture of which is prohibited;
sale, transport for sale, keeping for sale and the offering for sale of live or dead birds and of any readily recognizable parts or derivatives of these birds.

As of 2018, the overall ortolan bunting's population is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern (LC). However, a 2019 study using stable isotopes, archival light geologgers, and population genetics suggests the species is in decline.{{cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau2642 |title=Unravelling migration connectivity reveals unsustainable hunting of the declining ortolan bunting |year=2019 |journal=Science Advances |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aau2642 |last1=Jiguet |first1=Frédéric |last2=Robert |first2=Alexandre |last3=Lorrillière |first3=Romain |last4=Hobson |first4=Keith A. |last5=Kardynal |first5=Kevin J. |last6=Arlettaz |first6=Raphaël |last7=Bairlein |first7=Franz |last8=Belik |first8=Viktor |last9=Bernardy |first9=Petra |last10=Copete |first10=José Luis |last11=Czajkowski |first11=Michel Alexandre

|last16=Elts |first16=Jaanus |last17=Ferrand |first17=Yves |last18=Marja |first18=Riho |last19=Minkevicius |first19=Simonas |last20=Olsson |first20=Peter |last21=Pérez |first21=Marc |last22=Pihab |first22=Markus |last23=Raković |first23=Marko |last24=Schmaljohann |first24=Heiko |last25=Seimola |first25=Tuomas |last26=Selstam |first26=Gunnar |last27=Siblet |first27=Jean-Philippe |last28=Skierczyǹski |first28=Michał |last29=Sokolov |first29=Alexandr |last30=Sondell |first30=Jan |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=eaau2642 |pmid=31131318 |bibcode=2019SciA....5.2642J |display-authors=1 |pmc=6530999}}

References

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

{{cite book|editor1-last=Cramp|editor1-first=Stanley|editor1-link=Stanley Cramp|editor2-last=Perrins|editor2-first=C. M.|year=1994|chapter=Emberiza hortulana Ortolan Bunting|title=Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume IX: Buntings and New World Warblers|place=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/annalesdesscienc04cram/page/209 209–223]|isbn=978-0-19-854843-0|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/annalesdesscienc04cram/page/209}}

External links

{{cite EB1911|last=Newton|first=Alfred|author-link=Alfred Newton|wstitle=Ortolan|short=x}}
{{cite NIE|wstitle=Ortolan|year=1905|short=x}}
[http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/threatened/e/emberiza_hortulana_en.htm Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana)] from the website of the European Commission
[https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Emberiza-hortulana Xeno-canto: sound recordings of the ortolan bunting]
[http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/343/poultry-slam-2007 343: Poultry Slam 2007], a November 2007 episode of This American Life with a segment about eating ortolan
[http://www.oiseaux.net/birds/photos/ortolan.bunting.html Oiseaux] Photographs, text, map; {{In lang|fr}}
[http://blascozumeta.com/wp-content/uploads/aragon-birds/passeriformes/447.ortolanbunting-ehortulana.pdf Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.6 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta and Gerd-Michael Heinze]