150 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



brushed up by machinery. The Rev. C. A. Johns 

 describes the song of this bird as * harsh and 

 unmelodious.' The Rev. W. Fowler, in com- 

 paring its song with that of the yellow-hammer, 

 and referring to the latter, says : ' This song (if, 

 indeed, it can be called one) is a much better one 

 than that of the corn bunting, and is occasion- 

 ally even a little varied.' In another place he 

 remarks of the buntings in general that they 

 are ' melancholy birds,' and, * I have just been 

 looking through a series of plates and descrip- 

 tions of all the buntings of Europe, and in 

 almost every one of them I see the same deflected 

 tail and listless attitude, and read of the same 

 monotonous and continually-repeated note. . . . 

 Look at the common corn bunting as he sits on 

 the wires or the hedge-top ; he is lumpy, loose- 

 feathered, spiritless, and flies off with his legs 

 hanging down, and without a trace of agility or 

 vivacity. He is a dull bird, and seems to know 

 it ; even his voice is half-hearted.' 



The characteristics of the reed bunting are much 

 the same as those of the other three to which I 

 have referred ; but he is generally to be found in 

 the vicinity of wate'r, perched upon the bough of 

 an alder, a withy, or amongst the reeds. He 

 is by no means an uncommon bird, though, I 

 fancy, somewhat local.* The Rev. C. A. Johns 



* They are common in the neighbourhood of my home, 

 and are frequently to be seen perched on the top of some reed 

 by the riverside. 



