52 FIELD-STUDIES OF RARER BIRDS 



always a certainty of a pair being found nesting 

 close to each scattered farm or homestead. Even 

 country seats can sometimes boast a pair of Girls 

 in their pleasure-grounds during summer; more, 

 I have found the nest in Worthing itself, and have 

 heard of others in the gardens of similar big towns 

 Chichester for one, Eastbourne for another. 

 The Girl evinces a marked liking for elms : in 

 nearly all its haunts elm trees form a distinct 

 feature of the scenery. One cannot help thinking 

 that this special love of the elm must take origin 

 from some species of insect or caterpillar haunt- 

 ing that tree, and on which the nestlings are 

 chiefly nourished. Yet I can think of scores of 

 places rich in elms where Girl Buntings are 

 never seen ! 



The normal nesting-haunts of this species in 

 Sussex are close to the beaten track, those dust- 

 ridden, motor-ploughed highways, the hedges of 

 which droop and pine away soiled and jaded 

 beneath a sad, khaki cloak of grit, an utter 

 abomination to all who pass 'that way ; as well as 

 hedgerows with trees, even if but a few, in 

 or near them aligning railway-embankments. 

 Nevertheless, I am familiar with one specially 

 charming summer-resort of the Girl, where a 

 narrow and ever-narrowing ribband of lane winding 

 from an old-time village wends its way well nigh 

 to the instep of Chanctonbury Ring, there losing 

 its identity in an insignificant downland track. 



