HUSTING F, POST F & SCHEPERS F (1990) Are Corn Buntings Miliaria calandra disappearing as breeding birds in The Netherlands?. LIMOSA 63 (3): 102-111.

The vicissitudes of the Dutch Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra breeding population in the 1970s and 1980s were investigated. A sharp decline was recorded, first on clay soils in the northeastern part of the country. By 1985 - 1989, large parts of the former breeding range were evacuated. Elsewhere, local populations declined markedly. The total Dutch population decreased from about 1100-1250 pairs in 1975 to 125-175 pairs in 1989 (fig. 1, tab. I). There are several indications that this decrease was well under way in the 1970s (fig. 4). Drastic changes in farming practice are held responsible for the decline. In grassland, most Corn Buntings bred in haylands of river-forelands. In these areas, progressively earlier mowing, use of chemical fertilizers and the transformation of hayland into grazing and arable land was detrimental to breeding populations. In the seventies, however, the majority of Dutch Corn Buntings bred on arable land. In the NE and SW of the country they preferred coastal areas; the vicinity of ditches and dikes seemed to be important. Filling of ditches and application of herbicides may have resulted in a decline of Corn Bunting populations here. In the SE of the country, the area of cereals (mainly rye, barley and oats) decreased in favour of green maize (fig. 2, 3). Moreover, dumping of manure has become common practice, and the use of herbicides may have eliminated the main food source (weeds) of Corn Buntings. The decline of the Corn Bunting in The Netherlands corresponds with similar trends reported from Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Germany and parts of Belgium, suggesting a widespread decline over much of this species' breeding range. Prospects for both Corn- and Ortolan Buntings in The Netherlands and NW-Europe are gloomy, in view of current policy with respect to agriculture adopted by The Netherlands and the European Community. With no more then a few dozen breeding pairs, the status of the Ortolan Bunting in The Netherlands is critical already.

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