190 EMBERIZID^E. 



In summer it rarely quits the vicinity of water. At this 

 season its food consists of various seeds and insects ; but 

 on the approach of winter it either forms small parties, or 

 joins itself on to flocks of Yellow-Hammers, Sparrows, and 

 Finches, and visits the stack-yards in search of grain. It 

 builds its nest in low bushes, or among aquatic plants, very 

 near the ground, employing bents, bits of straw, reeds, &c., 

 and lining it with hair. The eggs are four or five in num- 



THE BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 



ber, of a dull, livid purple colour, marked with irregular 

 curves or blotches of darker purple, which remind one of 

 the figure of the lines, so often seen on bramble leaves, 

 made by leaf-eating grubs. Its note resembles that of the 

 other Buntings, and is pleasant from its association with 

 walks by > the river's side rather than for tone or melody. 

 In Scotland the Black-headed Bunting is migratory, re- 

 pairing southwards in October, and returning in March. 



