204 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE. 



it to be. I saw and obtained this specimen 

 immediately afterwards. 



SNOW BUNTING, Snowflake or Tawny Bunting, 

 Plectrophanes nivalis. An occasional winter vi- 

 sitor to the Downs. Not unfrequently taken with 

 larks during hard weather, but then generally pre- 

 senting the plumage of the tawny or immature 

 bird. Out of nearly forty which were captured by 

 one birdcatcher during a single winter 1847-48 

 only two had the white head, which is charac- 

 teristic of the adult snow bunting. 



COMMON BUNTING, Emberiza miliaria. Provin- 

 cial, Clod bird. Common in open cultivated dis- 

 tricts. Less frequent on the Downs, and very rare 

 in the weald. Plentiful in the neighbourhood of 

 Brighton and Worthing. Its local name would 

 appear to be derived from its habit of perching on 

 a projecting clod of turf or clay in a stubble 

 or fallow field, while it utters its harsh monotonous 

 note. 



BLACK-HEADED BUNTING or Reed Sparrow, Em- 

 beriza schoeniclus. Peculiar to marshy tracts and 

 sedgy swamps. 



YELLOW BUNTING or Yellow Hammer, Emberiza 

 citrinella. Generally dispersed. 



CIRL BUNTING, Emberiza cirlus. A very local 

 bird, affecting the neighbourhood of the coast, but 



