•2 BLACK-HEADED BUNTING.
approaching their quarters. The birds arrive fur the most pari singly, Hying high anil darling down with a
sudden sweep, and at once disappearing among the sterna of the reeds, appearing to take up a position close
above the water. As many as forty or fifty might he counted seeking the shelter of this small patch of rushes
shorlly before dusk.
I n winter, while keeping eompnnny with other Buntings and Finches, the food or this species consists for
the most part of grain collected from the neighbourhood of farm-buildings ami stackyards, as well as the seeds
of many grasses and plants. Insects and caterpillars, together with a few seeds, probably form the principal
part of their diet during spring and summer, A smaU white moth which appears among the water-plants
growing on the broads in the east of Norfolk early in June is enrgerly sought after by this Bunting. The
insect is usually found clinging to the stems of the reed : and unless the weather prove too stormy, the birds may
be seen daily for a few weeks, flitting from stem to stem, diligently hunting through all the straggling patches
of reed that fringe the side of the marshes.
Y E L L O W B U N T I N G.
EMBEB1ZA CITRINELLJ.
THE Yellow Banting is to be met with in almost every part of the British Islands where the country is
siidicientlv wooded to supply its very modest reqiurenieuls in the way of concealment for its nest.
Of all our birds, whether native or migratory, this bright-coloured and attractive species is one or the hardiest,
apparently more lit tea to veil list anil the severity of the climate than many of our winter 1 isilors from the shores of
Norway, Sweden, or Lapland. The Redwing and Fieldfare land on our northern coasts, and pass south as the
cold increases, often being found, during protracted storms, helpless from want or frozen to death in the
southern counties of England. The swarms of Bramhlings which make their appearance in autumn first on
the stubbles or in the beech-groves, and finally, us winter draws nearer, in the neighbourhood of the farmsteadings,
gradually take their departure, together with the greater number of the Chaffinches, to districts less
exposed, leaving the Yellow Hammer to face the cutting blasts and drifting suow-sipiulls iu its native glens.
In some of the wildest parts of the Highlands I met with these Buntings, during hard frosts, collected into
Hocks numbering several hundreds. The sheltered corner of the cattle-yards and the immediate vicinity of
any dwelling-houses where food might be procured were their favourite resorts, and, indeed, the only spots
where the poor birds had a chance of sustaining life. On one occasion during a heavy snow-storm I observed a
large number of these birds, together with a score or so of Chaffinches, clinging to the joints and feedin ; "II til !
Ilesh of a dead horse, which had been hung against a dog-kennel at the back of a shooting-lodge iu the west of
Perthshire. On the pieces being removed and placed on the ground, and the snuw swept from them, the halfstarved
birds came down in hundreds and settled on the meat.
The Yellow Bunting may lie found frequenting situations differing considerably iu various localities. In
Sussex it is distributed over the woodlands, breeding by the roadside hedge or under the shelter of some
bramhie-covered bank. It is also equally numerous on the furze-clad downs, its nest being concealed in tin;
coarse grass or among the loner branches or roots of some stunted bush. On one occasion (June IS, 1s7j] I
discovered a nest of this species containing three eggs, on the open hillside on the downs to the north of
Staumer Par!;. The pasture was exceeding!! -Iiorl ; and there was not the slightest coyer of any description
within a distance of live-aini-li! enty or thirty yards.
The sheltered vallev s among this range of hills are a favourite resort during winter, if the weather remains
mild. Here I have repeatedly noticed these birds collecting into immense docks. If disturbed in the evening
twilight shortly after seeking their roosling-quarters, the whole hill-side for several acres would appear alive
with fluttering wings. Frost and snow soon force them to the farmyards; and in all parts of the country
they may bo seen clinging to the stacks, or pecking about the yards in company with Sparrows, Greenfinches,
and Chaffinches. In the marshes of the Broad districts of the eastern counties, tins species is
less abundant, its place being taken by its relative the Black-headed Bunting or Keed-Spariw ; on the
cultivated lands adjoining the fens, however, it is plentiful. Severe weather, though it usually drives this