THE LAND-BUNTING 123 



uplands to build. But still a few remain on the marshes, and 

 when the marshland is yellow with crowsfoot they begin 

 to build their nests in a hollow scraped out in a " bottom," 

 just as does the lark. Indeed the top of his nest is often 

 level with the ground, though at times it is a foot above 

 ground, and sometimes lodged in a hayrick, A coarse nest 

 of dried grass and quicks pulled up by the roots, and some- 

 times horse-hair, lined with fine grass pulled off above the 

 roots, upon which the four scribbled eggs are laid — eggs that 

 vary much in form and colour and mysterious markings. 



All day you may hear the cock crying on some spray, 

 whilst the hen hugs her eggs into life, when the young 

 brood is fed upon butterflies, which you may see the old cock 

 catching as the marshmen mow down the ripe swathes — and 

 a poor food it seems ; for, like all buntings, the young are weak 

 on the wing till they are good large birds, even for a time 

 after they leave the nest, and if flushed in a grass field they 

 will drop into the long ripe grass, and are easily caught by 

 the hand. And when the young are full-grown they re-form 

 into flocks and wander over the oat stubbles freshly cut, 

 roosting in the sallows at night until the autumn brings 

 low skies grey. At such season, if you look into their 

 favourite sallows, perchance you may see a flock on the 

 decorative sprays, looming large and soft against the grey 

 mists, a subject worthy of Hokusai. But not long are these 

 pictures to be seen by the cold grey river, for when the hail 

 squalls pelt down the marsh grasses the buntings go into 

 the warm reed-beds to roost along with the few surviving 

 reed-pheasants, sallying out in the dull morning to the corn- 

 stacks, where they get a precarious living; for the gunner 

 is sure to be on their track, sometimes killing sixteen "at 

 a shoot," feeding his ferrets upon their plump bodies or 

 sending them to market by the carrier, the last migration of 

 many a rare bird. 



