#yellowhammer

My first Chalkhill Blue of the year, Yellowhammer and a view over chalk grassland at Magdalen Hill Down 4th July 2026

Next time, I wont run. I'll never run away again.

Emberiza citrinella is Yellowhammer! Their song is really nice. It reminds me of tiny tiny bells. Also, fun fact. Yellowhammer in Russian is овсянка (ovsyanka), which means oatmeal!

While we're talking about food. Common rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) in Russian is чечевица (chechevitsa). It's lentil! :'3 I like their song a lot! It has lentil vibes. I won't explain, my logic works in weird ways. I noticed that local rosefinches don't sing the final syllable, which I saw in many mnemonic techniques for remembering their song.

Ficedula hypoleuca or European pied flycatcher. They had a nest in a tree hollow right in front of my window. I could see the male regularly tending to the nest. Besides bringing food to the chicks he chased off thrushes, tits and squirrels. I haven't noticed the female though. But I wasn't watching them 24/7 so eh. These birds actually have really complicated relationships. I've read about occasions, in which single males fed the chicks of an unrelated couple of birds. Also, males can have up to 7 morphs! From the grey brownish female like one to the almost black!