RICE BUNTING. 175 



this part of it, have little to plead in justification, but the plea- 

 sure of destruction, or the savoury dish they furnish their tables 

 with; for the oat harvest is generally secured before the great 

 body of these birds arrive, the Indian corn too ripe and hard, 

 and the reeds seem to engross all their attention. But in the 

 states south of Maryland, the harvest of early wheat and barley 

 in spring, and the numerous plantations of Rice in fall, suffer 

 severely. Early in October, or as soon as the nights begin to 

 set in cold, they disappear from Pennsylvania, directing their 

 course to the south. At this time they swarm among the Rice 

 fields; and appear in the island of Cuba in immense numbers, 

 in search of the same delicious grain. About the middle of Oc- 

 tober they visit the island of Jamaica in equal numbers, where 

 they are called Butter-birds. They feed on the seed of the 

 Guinea grass, and are also in high esteem there for the table. * 



Thus it appears, that the regions north of the fortieth degree 

 of latitude are the breeding places of these birds; that their mi- 

 grations northerly are performed from March to May, and their 

 return southerly from August to November; their precise win- 

 ter quarters, or farthest retreat southerly, is not exactly known. 



The Rice Bunting is seven inches and a half long, and eleven 

 and a half in extent; his spring dress is as follows; upper part 

 of the head, wings, tail and sides of the neck, and whole lower 

 parts black; the feathers frequently skirted with brownish yel- 

 low as he passes into the colours of the female; back of the head 

 a cream colour; back black, seamed with brownish yellow; sca- 

 pulars pure white, rump and tail coverts the same; lower part of 

 the back bluish white; tail formed like those of the Wood- 

 pecker genus, and often used in the same manner, being thrown 

 in to support it while ascending the stalks of the reed; this habit 

 of throwing in the tail it retains even in the cage; legs a brown- 

 ish flesh colour; hind heel very long; bill a bluish horn colour; 

 eye hazel; see fig. 1. In the month of June this plumage gradu- 

 ally changes to a brownish yellow, like that of the female, fig. 

 2, which has the back streaked with brownish black; whole 

 * Kennel's Hist. Jam. 



