278 BRITISH BIRDS. 



In most ornithological works the nest is described as 

 being- placed in similar positions to those chosen by its 

 congener the Yellow Hammer ; this statement is rather 

 misleading, the latter, in nine cases out of ten, builds its 

 nest actually touching the ground, whether it be placed in 

 herbage on a flat surface or in a bank or hedge ; the Cirl 

 Bunting, on the contrary, invariably builds some distance 

 off the ground, the height varying from a few inches to 

 several feet. When the nest is in a hedge bordering a 

 road or lane — a favourite site — it is generally built on the 

 field side, and from this side the nest is approached by the 

 birds ; the Yellow Hammer, in like case, will almost 

 always build on the side next the road or lane. 



The nesting sites are very similar to those often selected 

 by the Hedge-Sparrow ; I have found nests in a fork of 

 blackthorn and ivy in a hedge, in hazel and thorn at the 

 top of a hedge, in blackthorn and brambles in a hedge, in 

 a small gorse bush in a hedge, and in a low bramble 

 clump on rough ground. 



In the formation of its nest this bird generally uses a 

 greater variety of material than does the Yellow Hammer; 

 dried grass, bents, fibrous roots, moss, dead leaves, and 

 twigs all form part in the construction. The lining is 

 usually horse-hair, of any colour, and fine roots ; a nest I 

 examined last summer was lined with jjieces of short 

 matted cow-hair, and one or two feathers in addition to 

 horse-hair. Nests are rarely built with a "platform," 

 such as a Yellow Hammer often constructs at the entrance 

 to the nest, and they are, as a rule, smaller, neater, and 

 better put together. In North Wales, three eggs are, I 

 think, as frequent as four or five, at any rate in second 

 clutches, for the Cirl Bunting is usually double brooded. 



This species is, apparently, quite as erratic as the Yellow 

 Hammer in its nesting operations ; I have seen young, not 

 long flown, early in June, fledged young in the nest in the 

 middle of July, much incubated eggs the first week in 

 July, and fresh eggs on the 18th July. The eggs 

 are easily distinguished from those of the Yellow Hammer 



