20 BRITISH NESTING BIRDS 



Haunt. — Commons, downs, large fields, lanes, tall hedges, etc. 



Nesting Period. — May and June. 



Site of Nest. — Low down in a hedge or bush, or on the ground 



among coarse grass. 

 Materials Used. — Dried grass and straw outside, lined with roots, 



fine grass, and sometimes hair. 

 Eggs. — Three to Six. Four is the usual clutch. A larger egg than 



any other British Bunting, and not so pointed as some of the 



others. Dull white in ground colour, blotched and streaked 



with liver-colour, inclining to black. 

 Food. — Insects, seeds, and grain. 

 Voice. — A wheezy, persistent little song, very typical of the haunts 



frequented. Once or twice heard not easily forgotten. The 



notes are rusty and somewhat harsh. 

 Chief Features. — Very locally distributed, but where it does occur 



it is common. A solitary species. The large size and plain 



colouration, as well as the wheezy song, all aid in identification. 

 Plumage. — Upper parts yellowish-brown with dusky spots ; markings 



underneath are yellowish - white, streaked and spotted with 



dusky. Length. — Seven and a half inches. 



BUNTING, REED (Emberiza schoeniclus) 



Local Names. — Blackbonnet, Blackcap, Black-Headed Bunting, 

 Chinck, Coalhead, Mountain Sparrow, Passerine Bunting, Reed 

 Sparrow, Ring Bird, Ring Bunting, Ring Fowl, Toadsnatcher, 

 Water Sparrow. 



Haunt. — Osier plantations, willow thickets, and marshy places. 



Nesting Period. — April to July. 



Site of Nest. — Usually, but not invariably, low down among tangled 

 grasses in a marshy place. Sometimes among osier stems. 

 Always near water. 



Materials Used. — Reed stems or leaves, dry grasses, and moss, lined 

 with fine grass, reed flowers, and hair. A rather deep nest. 



Eggs. — Four or Five. Ashy-grey in ground colour, with prominent 

 jet-black markings. More pointed than the eggs of its con- 

 geners, and markings fewer but more distinct. 



Food. — Insects, seeds, and grain. 



Voice. — A harsh kind of chatter, sometimes chirpy and varied, 

 reminding one of a medley of notes uttered by different birds. 

 Not nearly so characteristic in this respect, however, as the song 

 of the Sedge Warbler. 



Chief Features. — This Bunting is of a lively disposition, and thrusts 

 itself, as it were, upon the observer. The black head of male 



