184 BIKDS OP NORFOLK. 



EMBERIZA MILIARIA, Linnaeus. 



COMMON BUNTING. 



Is resident tlirougliout the year, and pretty gene- 

 rally distributed, though not particularly plentiftd as 

 a species. Shy in its habits, and always difficult of 

 approach, the harsh note of the Corn-Bunting is heard 

 in spring, whilst perched on a low wall or fence, or the 

 branches of a small tree, whence a sharp look out is 

 kept in all directions, and in autumn its numbers are 

 apparently increased by migratory arrivals, as is un- 

 doubtedly the case with the yellow ammer. A speci- 

 men of this bird in my collection, which was netted at 

 Markshall in 1856, exhibits in the malformation of its 

 beak the curious and interesting '^ means to an end," 

 which nature adopts to obviate the effects of accident. 

 Of the lower mandible, only a stump remains, having 

 probably been carried away by a shot, but the upper 

 mandible being curved downwards, like the bill of a 

 parrot, still comes in contact with it, and by this 

 means the bird was still enabled to collect and crush its 

 food, and when taken was in good condition. Pied 

 varieties of this bunting occur at times. A specimen 

 almost white, having only a few brown feathers in the 

 wings and tail, was killed near Norwich in 1863 ; and 

 in the previous autumn one, almost entirely cream- 

 coloured, excepting a few dark feathers on the upper 

 surface, and another, mottled with white, were also 

 obtained in this neighbourhood. 



