yellowhammer

American  

[yel-oh-ham-er] / ˈjɛl oʊˌhæm ər /

noun

1. a common European bunting, Emberiza citrinella, the male of which is marked with bright yellow.

2. Chiefly Southern U.S. a flicker, Colaptes auratus, having yellow wing and tail linings.

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yellowhammer British  

/ ˈjɛləʊˌhæmə /

noun

1. a European bunting, Emberiza citrinella, having a yellowish head and body and brown streaked wings and tail

2. the yellow-shafted flicker, an American woodpecker See flicker 2

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Etymology

Origin of yellowhammer

1550–60; earlier also yelamber, yelambre, probably continuing Old English *geolu-amore, equivalent to geolu yellow + amore presumably, the bunting (cognate with Old Saxon amer, Old High German amaro; see emberizine); forms with -h- perhaps reflect blending with another etymon, later conformed to hammer (compare dial. yellowham )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yellowhammer

The land has been farmed since 1130 and is home to many declining species such as skylark, yellowhammer, spotted flycatcher and water voles.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

They provide habitat for red-listed farmland birds such as corn bunting, yellowhammer and linnet, as well as winter food for visiting species including fieldfares and redwings.

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026

Evidence suggests songbirds can also learn variations in songs from one another and that these changes last across generations: One 2016 study found variations in yellowhammer bird songs were preserved for up to 100 years.

From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2023

We saw a group of linnets, but those birds, he told me, travel in packs, and unfortunately the solitary yellowhammer stayed hidden beneath the gorse.

From Golf Digest ● Oct. 16, 2013

All was still, save for the grasshoppers and the falling finch song of the yellowhammer on the thorn.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams