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but when the Lord of .Ml was fastened to tlie tree, some of 

 the birds, more touched than the rest, though all nature 

 j^roaned and travailed in its despair, tried to do what they 

 could to free the Son of Man from his terrible predicament. 

 Thus it was that the robin j^ot his red breast and. in his 

 fruitless endeavours to pull out the nails which fastened the 

 Master to the Cross, the cross-bill '^nt his mandibles so twisted 

 that they never came straij^ht again! Such is the story. 



We must not close the cliapter. however, without reference 

 to those humble little cousins to the finches, the buntings. 

 These number amongst them the hedge-sparrow-liUe com- 

 mon bunting which is always flitting along before us in the 

 winter fields in China, and very much more attracti\e birds, 

 such as the yellow-hammer, the Lapland bunting, the snow- 

 bunting, etc. David describes seventeen species, amongst 

 them Einhei'iza eleiians. a beautiful species known throughout 

 the Hast, and to the Chinese under the name llwanii-inci. or 

 yellow-brows. The far-famed ortolan bunting is a near rela- 

 tive to the cirl bunting of Central Europe. Both have a good 

 deal of the yellow-tint so noticeable in the yellow-hammer. 

 Mostof them migrate, including the Ta-hicaiig-i)iei ' E. cJnyso- 

 phrysi) X numerous and most interesting family. 



Sft.-5Ti 



