Ortolan Bunting

Of all the weird gastronomic traditions humans indulge in, eating this inoffensive little bird is one of the weirdest and, frankly, one of the cruelest. Yet it is a rite of passage for the well-heeled, as can be seen in TV shows such as Billions and Succession, or just the curious, as can be seen in Anthony Bourdain’s travelogues. Read on for more information about the ortolan bunting.

Five Amazing Facts About the Ortolan Bunting

• It has been eaten as a delicacy since the time of Ancient Rome.
• The way it’s prepared as a French delicacy is exceptionally gruesome. It is caught, force-fed, drowned in Armagnac, roasted, then eaten whole, feet first.
• The traditional way to eat ortolan is with a napkin over your head. This is because eating the bird is so shameful that you need to hide your face from God. Others say it’s to capture the rich aroma of your food and to prevent fellow diners from seeing you spitting out the tiny bones.
• Eating the ortolan was banned in France in 1999, many years after the practice was banned in the rest of Europe. Still, the ban was mostly ignored.
• The cost of one ortolan prepared for the table can be as much as $200.

Where To Find the Ortolan Bunting

The bird is found in most of Europe, with populations found as far west as Mongolia and as far north as the Arctic Circle. It is found on farms, towns, and scrubland.

Ortolan Bunting Nests

The nest is constructed on or near the ground with stems, dried leaves, and grass, with a lining of hair, tiny roots, and more grass. It is not reused from one breeding season to another.

Classification and Scientific Name

The scientific name of the ortolan, Emberiza hortulana, is unusual because it is not based on Greek or Latin. The genus name Emberiza comes from the German word for “bunting”, which is embritz. The species name comes from the Italian word hortulane, which means “ortolan bunting.” The bird is the only one in its genus and has no subspecies.

Appearance

For all its popularity and controversy, the ortolan is a rather plain bird. It is small, with a length of 6.3 to 6.7 inches and a wingspan of about 10 inches. When it is prepared for eating, it is about as long as a man’s thumb. The males have a greenish-gray head along with a yellow throat, a swooping mustache, and a ring around the eye. Its belly is brown, and its back and rump are brown and streaked. The females and juveniles are smaller, have spots on the belly, and are duller overall. Like most buntings, the ortolan has a conical beak that’s good for cracking seeds.

Behavior

Ortolans are mostly solitary, save for the breeding season when they are seen in small groups looking for food. They are diurnal and spend the daylight hours searching for seeds or invertebrates. Invertebrates are a mainstay during the breeding season, and the birds appear to be partial to beetles. Males have a song that is a softer and sweeter version of the song of their cousin, the yellowhammer.

Migration Pattern and Timing

Ortolans are unusual for Emberizids because they’re one of the few species that migrate. They migrate to Africa in the fall, and this is when they are caught in nets and prepared to become the notorious French delicacy. The people who still catch the birds claim that their populations are large and stable, but it has been seen that those birds that fly through France come from populations in the northern and western part of the birds’ range. These populations are in rapid decline, with some northern and western European populations facing the risk of local extinction.

The birds that are lucky enough to make it to Africa spend the winter in the woods and mountains of Guinea and Mali.

Diet

Ortolans are omnivores. During the breeding season, when they and their young benefit from animal protein, they eat insects, but the rest of the time, they eat seeds. During their migration, they can be seen gorging on seeds in cultivated fields. People who trap them throw them into cages or boxes, cover them up, and fatten them up with millet.

Predators and Threats

Besides humans, ortolans are preyed upon by birds of prey and carnivorous mammals, including pet cats. Other threats are climate change, habitat destruction, and the overuse of insecticides that kill the insects that the bird eats.

Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

The ortolan’s breeding season begins in mid-April and lasts until June, and they only reproduce once a year. Pairs are monogamous, and they usually keep a good distance from other pairs of mating birds. The female lays four to five eggs in a nest that’s often found on the ground and hidden with grasses or the shade of a bush, and she’ll sit on them for 11 to 12 days. She may be fed by her mate during the incubation period. The chicks are altricial, which means they are blind and helpless. Both parents feed and brood them. They leave the nest 10 to 13 days after they hatch and are ready to fledge a few days later. Their parents still take care of them for about another month. If it’s not eaten by humans or other beasts, the ortolan lives about six years.

Population

The population of the Ortolan bunting worldwide is estimated to be between 11 and 17 million mature individuals as of 2025. However, around 30,000 birds are captured to be turned into a French delicacy during their migration. Their conservation status remains of least concern.