30 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS. 



the Colne, the Kennet, the Chess, and the Thames. 

 It breeds annually with us ; the nest is hidden among 

 long grass or rushes at the river side, and the female 

 lays five or six eggs of a light purple brown colour, 

 streaked and marked with dark brown and black. So 

 curious are these markings that occasionally letters, 

 X, C, A, and others, are found more or less distinctly 

 stamped upon the shell.^ 



Yellow Bunting {Emheriza citrinelld). Provin- 

 cial, Yellow Ammer, Yellow Hammer, By far the 

 most numerous of the Buntings, and one of our 

 commonest residents, frequenting every hedge, field, 

 road-side, orchard, or garden in the two counties. The 

 Yellow Hammer is indeed a pretty bird, and his 

 bright plumage enlivens many a country walk in 

 early spring, when he will pour forth his song — which 

 by the way is not very sweet — from the topmost twig 

 in the yet leafless hedge. 



This bird is not an early breeder : the nest is almost 

 invariably placed upon the ground, often on a sloping 

 bank exposed to the sun's rays, and is well concealed. 

 I have found this Bunting nesting within a yard of 

 the rails of the South Western Railway, near Windsor, 

 on a sloping, grassy bank, where Blackheaded Buntings 

 and Meadow Pipits delight to build, apparently un- 

 disturbed by the noise and shaking of the continually 

 passing trains. Some birds do not even leave their 

 nest when a train passes within two or three yards of 



* This remark applies equally to the eggs of the Yellow Bunting. 



