Mustached singer

This was Sunday morning our second full day of birding.  We drove down roads bordered by farm fields.  It wasn't yet clear what we were looking for but then word got out that we were going to try for Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana).  It was deeply cloudy, raining and cold. Whenever I hear "try for" my hopes are not high.  But I like buntings, a lot, so I hoped Anttu would find one.

Anttu found two singing males, one each in the weedy edges on opposite ends of the same plowed field.  Ortolan Bunting is a common and wide-ranging bird throughout Europe, but in Finland it is at the very northern edge of its range.

It took awhile for everyone to lumber out of the vans, but we eventually saw both birds well and had good opportunities for photographs.  The first two photos are of the bird on the left side of the field (better light I think) and the remaining photos are of the bird on the right.  Left or right won't mean anything to readers, but helps me keep my memory of these birds clearly oriented.   

Above and below:  the malar band along the Ortolan's lower jaw is noted best on the frontal views and lends a comical expression to the bird.  It even curls up at the ends giving the mustache a handlebar appearance.  Cute, cute bird.  

The Ortolan Bunting was seen at a place called Tyrnävä -- Ängeslevä in Northern Ostrrobothnia.