COMMON BUNTING. 435 



Lark, is capable of doing serious injury ; yet I tliis morning 

 witnessed a rick of barley, standing in a detached field, en- 

 tirely stripped of its thatching, Avhich this Bunting effected 

 by seizing the end of the straw, and deliberately drawing it 

 out, to search for any grain the ear might contain ; the base 

 of the rick being entirely surrounded by the straw, one end 

 resting on the ground, the other against the moAv, as it slid 

 down from the summit, and regularly placed as if by the 

 hand ; and so completely was the thatching pulled off, that 

 the immediate removal of the corn became necessary. The 

 Sparrow and other birds burrow into the stack, and pilfer the 

 corn ; but the deliberate operation of unroofing the edifice ap- 

 pears to be the habit of this Bunting alone." 



This bird generally roosts in thick bushes, particularly 

 during the cold nights of winter ; but many of them also pass 

 the night on the ground in stubble fields, and are caught 

 with Sky Larks in the nets employed for that purpose, and 

 are brought with them to market for the use of the table. 

 The general resemblance of this Bunting to the Sky Lark 

 in the colour of its plumage, has given origin to another 

 provincial name by which it is known, that of the Bunting 

 Lark. 



The Common Bunting is well known around London, and 

 is also to be found in suitable localities in all the southern 

 counties of England from Sussex to Cornwall. Mr. Eyton 

 says it is common in Shropshire and North Wales ; and 

 Mr. Thompson sends me word that it is common and in- 

 digenous to Ireland. North of London it is found in Suf- 

 folk and Norfolk, is more rare in some parts of Derbyshire, 

 and is said not to be partial to rocky or mountainous coun- 

 tries ; it occurs in Lancashire and Yorkshire ; is included by 

 Mr. Selby in his Catalogue of the Birds of Durham and 

 Northumberland, and by Dr. Heysham in his Birds of Cum- 

 berland. Sir William Jardine, Bart, who has most kindly 



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