The Yellowhammer nests on or near the ground. The nest is placed well hidden in a tussock of grass, along a field margin or low in a bush, and is built of grass stems and rootlets. The female usually lays 3–5 eggs, which are characteristically scribbled with fine dark lines. Incubation takes about two weeks, and the pair often manage two broods in a season. The ground-level nest leaves the eggs and young exposed to predators, and the loss of field margins and hedgerows in the modern farming landscape has reduced the number of safe nest sites, which contributes to the species' decline.