190 



EMBERIZID^. 



In summer it rarely quits the vicinity of water. At this 

 season its food consists of various seeds and insects ; but 

 on the approach of winter it either forms small parties, or 

 joins itself on to flocks of Yellow-Hammers, Sparrows, and 

 Finches, and visits the stack-yards in search of grain. It 

 builds its nest in low bushes, or among aquatic plants, very 

 near the ground, employing bents, bits of straw, reeds, &c., 

 and lining it with hair. The eggs are four or five in num- 



THU BLACK-HiLAUKi) BUNTING 



ber, of a dull, livid purple colour, marked with irregular 

 curves or blotches of darker purple, which remind one of 

 the figure of the lines, so often seen on bramble leaves, 

 made by leaf-eating grubs. Its note resembles that of the 

 other Buntings, and is pleasant from its association with 

 walks by) the river's side rather than for tone or melody. 

 In Scotland the Black-headed Bunting is migratory, re- 

 pairing southwards in October, and returning in March. 



