150 ~ BRITISH BIRDS. 
the note between the sexes is a long-drawn-out kaak, and frequently the 
two notes are heard together, ¢z¢¢-kaak. 
Dixon writes of the Corn-Bunting in Algeria :—“Tf this bird does not 
sufficiently merit the title of ‘Common’ Bunting in England, it most 
assuredly does so in Algeria, and from the coast to Batna is, I think, 
the commonest bird of the country. It may be seen in all kinds of 
scenery, the half dried-up river-beds, the rich barley-fields, the gardens, 
the roadsides, the plains, the wooded slopes of the Aures, the farmsteads, 
and even near the Arab dwellings. In some parts almost every bush was 
crowned with a heavy and ungainly-looking Corn-Bunting, or they were 
perched, at intervals of a few yards, on the telegraph-wires, all sing- 
ing lustily. It was as tame as in England, even more so, and in some 
instances it allowed me to approach within a few feet ere taking wing. 
This bird often utters its short harsh song when flying in the air. As we 
rode past them on the wayside, the rumble of the heavy diligence 
repeatedly startled them, and they flew off over the fields, singing as they 
went, and, as they possess the singular habit of allowing their legs to hang 
downwards, they looked even more clumsy and lazy than when at rest. It 
was very interesting to notice the distribution of this bird in this part of 
Africa. From the coast to Batna the country is pastoral, and in places 
very well cultivated. Here the bird was evidently in its favourite haunts ; 
but as we left Batna behind us, and went south towards the Sahara, we 
left the Corn-Bunting too, and in the oases we searched suitable places 
for it in vain—it had vacated them in favour of the Sahara Bunting, the 
Grass- Warblers, and the Crested Larks.” 
I found it equally common in the Dobrudscha, on the steppes which lie 
between the Danube and the Black Sea, and in the similar districts of 
Wallachia to the north of that river. 
Karly in spring the Corn-Bunting pairs, the flocks that have congre- 
gated during the winter separate, and the birds retire to their breeding- 
grounds. Although paired so early, this bird is a late breeder, and its 
nest is seldom found before May or the beginning of June. ‘The site is 
variously selected in an open field amongst the growing corn, under a tuft 
of grass or the shelter of a bush. Sometimes it is under the shelter of a 
large plant, or amongst brambles and briars, but is perhaps most 
frequently found when the grass is being cut for hay. The nest is gene- 
rally placed on the ground in a little depression, but sometimes it is 
slightly above it; it is rather loosely put together, and made of dry grass, 
a scrap or two of moss, sometimes roots or tufts of twitch, and is lined 
with fine grass and, in most cases, a few hairs. The eggs are from four to 
six in number ; and although they differ considerably amongst themselves, 
their size prevents them from being confused with the eggs of the other 
Buntings that breed in this country. The ground varies from pale clay- 
