CHAPTER XVII. 



Ortolan. 



/ALTHOUGH not as brilliantly plumaged as the Yellow- 

 hammer, this is one of the handsomest, at least 

 of the European, Buntings; but they are not interesting 

 as cage-birds and are, moreover, I fancy, somewhat 

 delicate. True, I did not keep my pair very long, but 

 nevertheless, they were in my possession a sufficient 

 length of time to prove that they were very susceptible 

 to cold, and pined when the supply of insect-food ran 

 short. A Frenchman of my acquaintance had made 

 me a present of the only two I ever had, and I believe 

 they were male and female, for one was smaller and 

 duller in colour than the other. Neither attempted to 

 sing while I had them, and only occasionally uttered 

 the note that is said by Morris to be incessantly repeated, 

 and is certainly monotonous. Bechstein, on the other 

 hand, describes the "song" as full and clear, but if so, 

 I have never been privileged to hear it. 



The Ortolan is a very rare visitor to these islands, 



