ortolan

Songbird belonging to the bunting family, common in Europe and West Asia, migrating to Africa in the winter. It is about 15 cm/6 in long and reddish-brown with black streaks on top, pinkish-buff below, and has an olive-green head and chest and a yellow throat; the female is paler with small dark streaks on the chest. The nest is built in the undergrowth, on the ground, or on banks. Long considered a delicacy among gourmets, it has become rare and is now a protected species. (Species Emberiza hortulana, family Emberizidae, order Passeriformes.)