NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ortolan Bunting
Emberiza hortulana Linnaeus, 1758
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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 Embritz, a bunting. The specific name hortulana is from the Italian name for this bird, ortolana. The English ortolan is derived from Middle French hortolan, "gardener".
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 ortolan was so widely eaten that its French populations had dropped dangerously low by the 1990s. French laws protecting the bird, and an EU-wide prohibition against killing or capturing it, have had little effect on the ortolan's numbers.
Wikipedia contributors, Ortolan bunting; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:45:56.501795+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Emberiza hortulana Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- Ortolan Bunting
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Emberizidae
- Genus
- Emberiza
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyEmberizidae
- genusEmberiza Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesEmberiza hortulana Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Emberiza. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Brown-rumped BuntingEmberiza affinis Heuglin, 1867 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-breasted BuntingEmberiza aureola Pallas, 1773 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Meadow BuntingEmberiza cioides J. F. Brandt, 1843 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-throated BuntingEmberiza elegans Temminck, 1836 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut-eared BuntingEmberiza fucata Pallas, 1776 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Godlewski's BuntingEmberiza godlewskii Taczanowski, 1874 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gosling's BuntingEmberiza goslingi (Alexander, 1906) | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crested BuntingEmberiza lathami J. E. Gray, 1831 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pine BuntingEmberiza leucocephalos S. G. Gmelin, 1771 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pallas' Reed-BuntingEmberiza pallasi (Cabanis, 1851) | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Somali BuntingEmberiza poliopleura (Salvadori, 1888) | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little BuntingEmberiza pusilla Pallas, 1776 | EmberizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Linnaeus, & Carolus. (1758). Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis, 10th Edition, Vol. 1. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:39FT7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.