THE YELLOW BUNTING, OR YELLOW AMMER. 



349 



thrush falls a victim to the bird-catcher, and passes the remainder of its life cooped in the 

 narrow precincts of a cage. 



The song if it may so be called of the bird is set in the minor key, and has a peculiar 

 intonation, wliich is almost articulate, and is variously rendered. For example, it is well 

 represented by the words, "A little bit of bread and no cheese !" the last syllable but one 

 being strongly accented. In Scotland it assumes a sense quite in accordance with the character 

 of its surroundings, and is supposed to say, "De'il, de'il, de'il take ye." So, in revenge for 

 the sentiment by which the bird is supposed to be actuated, the rustics persecute the bright 

 little creature most shamefully, killing the parents, breaking the eggs and destroying the 

 nests, whenever they can find an opportunity. Mr. Thompson says that, to his ears, the 

 cry of the Yellow Bunting is of a mournful character, in which opinion I cannot at all agree 

 with him, having many a time been cheered by the odd little tones that were poured forth 

 close to my ear. 



The nest of the Yellow Bunting is generally placed upon or very close to the earth, and 



YELLOW BUNTING, OR YELLOW AMMER.-,Em*<>riza citrineila. 



the best place to seek for the structure, is the bottom of a hedge, where the grass has been 

 allowed to grow freely, and the ground has been well drained by the ditch. In rustic parlance, 

 a " rough gripe" is the place wherein to look for the Yellow Ammer's nest. It is a neatly- 

 built edifice, composed chiefly of grasses, and lined with hair. The eggs are five in number, 

 and their color is white, with a dash of very pale purple, and dotted and scribbled all over 

 with dark purple-brown. Both dots and lines are most variable, and it also frequently hap- 

 pens that an egg appears with hardly a mark upon it, while others in the same nest are entirely 

 covered with the quaint-looking decorations. Generally the nest is built later than that of 

 most small birds, but there are instances when it has been completed and the five eggs laid as 

 early as January, or even December. 



Both parents are strongly attached to each other and to their young, and during the last 

 few days of incubation the mother bird becomes so fearless that she will sit in her nest even 

 when she is discovered, and in some instances has even suffered herself to be touched before 

 sne would leave her charge. 



