166 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
feathers being rather darker; there is a light spot of 
pale yellowish brown over the eye; ear-coverts rusty 
brown; throat and sides of the neck pale yellowish 
brown, except a streak of dark brown spots on the 
side of the throat reaching to the breast; tail-coverts 
rusty brown; under parts more inclining to pale 
brown than in the male; the rest of the plumage 
nearly the same, except that it is not quite so bright. 
The young birds resemble the female. 
The eggs have a dull sort of whitey-brown ground, 
curiously marked with eccentric dusky streaks and 
spots, and a few of a lighter shade. I have one 
variety in my collection, which I should hardly have 
believed to be that of the Reed Bunting had I not 
taken it myself and watched the old bird on the nest 
from time to time till the rest of the eggs were 
hatched and the young birds flown: all the eggs in 
the nest were the same, and agreed in almost every 
particular with those of the Cirl Bunting, for which 
they might easily have been mistaken. 
YeLttow Buntine, LHmberiza citrinella. The 
Yellow Bunting, or, as it is more generally called, 
the ‘‘ Yellowhammer,” is one of our commonest 
birds, and is resident with us throughout the year. 
It certainly deserves more admiration for its beauty 
than it generally receives: perhaps this is on account 
of its being so common; were it scarcer it would 
probably receive a fairer share. 3 
In regard to its food the Yellowhammer is, like 
