yellowhammer, (Emberiza citrinella), Eurasian bird belonging to the family Emberizidae (order Passeriformes). The name is derived from the German Ammer, “bunting.” It is a 16-centimetre- (6-inch-) long streaked brown bird with yellow-tinged head and breast. Its rapid song is heard in fields from Britain to Central Asia.
In the southern United States a woodpecker, the yellow-shafted flicker (see flicker), is often called yellowhammer, on account of its drumming.