THE YELLOW BUNTING. 163 



siderable length of time, being answered by the other 

 Buntings in the neighbourhood. Monotonous as are the 

 love notes of this little songster, still they always sound 

 pleasant to the ear after the dull dreary time of winter. 

 Then, too, they are heard at a time when few other 

 songsters warble, and even as the season rolls on, and all 

 the feathered host unites in song, his notes form a part 

 and variation by no means to be despised. He is also one 

 of the latest birds to sing, for autumn reigns in peaceful 

 beauty, and the greater part of Nature's minstrels have 

 ceased their warbles, long before his notes decline. 



We find in most birds, from the Falcon to the Dove, 

 that in the mating season the male birds are more or 

 less pugnacious. The Yellow Bunting, being a species 

 that pairs annually, is no exception. Thus, early in 

 April, when all the males are in full song, we often 

 witness combats between rival males for the possession 

 of a female. Fiercely they fight, pursuing each other 

 with the utmost fury, their feathers bristling, and their 

 whole form swelling with rage and passion, until, finally, 

 the stronger repels the weaker, and celebrates the event 

 with a song seemingly louder and fiercer than before. 

 Once paired, however, these combats cease, and the 

 Yellow Bunting becomes as gentle and harmless as any 

 of the feathered race. 



Though the Yellow Bunting pairs so early in the 

 season, a month or even more elapses ere we find its 

 nest. The site chosen is a varied one ; round the 

 hedgerows it is seen amongst the tangled herbage ; 

 ofttimes too upon a bank, or under the shelter of a bush. 

 Though most frequently found on the ground, still it is 

 occasionally built in the smaller shrubs. A favourite 

 place is amongst nettles and other rank vegetation 

 growing on waste grounds : but wherever the site be 



