220 The Field Naturalist 's Quarterly August 



sometimes see him adorned with rose-red breast and crown. 

 As the poor little fellow jumps from side to side of his tiny 

 prison, he sings a quiet little chirruping song, " pretty-pretty- 

 pitchup, chee-chee, pretty-pretty." By noting the song 

 when we hear the bird in its cage we learn to know him 

 when seen in little flocks in the fields or nesting amongst 

 the furze bushes. 



The Lesser Redpoll (A. rufescens), common in some 

 parts of the country, is still smaller than the linnet, and 

 more often has the crimson breast and crown. Its black 

 throat helps us to distinguish the bird, which has a very 

 different song to the linnet ; feebler, less varied, and very 

 often sung on the wing, in a jerky way — " zizzy-ziz-^, 

 zizzy-ziz -*?£." It keeps amongst the upper branches of 

 trees much more than the linnet. 



The Yellow-Hammer (Emberiza citrinelld) is conspicuous 

 in being the only common perching bird whose most notice- 

 able colour is the bright yellow which adorns its head and 

 tinder parts, causing the novice sometimes to fancy that it 

 is an escaped canary. And if the bird's appearance were 

 less striking one would soon be attracted by its song, which 

 bears a fanciful resemblance to the words " little bit o' bread 

 and no cheese." 



The Corn-Bunting (E. Miliaria) is just a size larger than 

 a sparrow, and even duller in plumage. It haunts corn and 

 pasture fields, especially near the coast, and spends most of 

 its leisure time in singing a monotonous drizzle of a song 

 from the top of a hedge or bush, " tuck-tuck-ting-ting, 

 tidder-idder-<?£m'-£." By its haunts and habits it may be 

 most easily identified, and often also by the peculiar way it 

 allows its legs to hang down when it leaves its perch. 



The Reed-Bunting (E. schceniclus) is another bird of the 

 size of the yellow-hammer, and although much less common 

 it may often be seen by reedy river banks or marshy 

 ground. It is the black-headed bunting of the older books. 

 It may readily be known by its black head relieved by a 

 white collar and moustache-like mark below, black throat 

 and breast. As this is the only black-headed bird that one 

 usually sees about its haunts, it is not easily confounded 

 with any other. 



