157 



BUNTING. 



COMMON BUNTING. CORN BUNTING. BUNTING LARK. 



PLATE LXXVI. 



Emberiza miliaria, PENNANT. MONTAGU. BEWICK. 



NIDIPICATION commences towards the end of April. 



The nest, which is begun and finished in the course of this month, 

 is usually placed on the ground, or only slightly raised above it by 

 coarse herbage, and frequently on a bank, sometimes in, a bush, or 

 under a hedge, among the grass, is composed of dry straws and grasses, 

 lined with smaller grasses and small fibrous roots, moss, and hair, 

 rather neatly, but not finely, compacted. It is somewhat large and 

 thick, but shallow inside. 



The eggs, generally four, or rarely five or six, in number, and of an 

 obtuse oval shape, are of a whitish colour, with a slight tinge of grey 

 or red, sometimes pale purple red, streaked and spotted in a very 

 irregular manner with dark purple brown and pale greyish purple. 

 They differ a good deal in size, shape, and colour. In some the 

 ground colour is nearly white. 



One variety is of a dull grey, the larger end marked with pale reddish 

 brown and some dark marks, a few of which are scattered over the 

 surface. 



Another is yellowish brown, with a few darker marks of the same. 



A third, a mixture of dull pale yellow, brown, and red, with a few 

 dark marks. 



A fourth, light-coloured greyish brown, with a few very fine large 

 dark blots, and some smaller marks at the larger end. 



