THE SEA-SIDE FINCH. BIRDS. THE REED BUNTING. 



361 



chestnut ; the belly is white. The length of the bird 

 is six inches and a half. The nest is built on the 

 ground under a tuft of grass ; it is composed of grass, 

 lined with horsehair, and contains four or five eggs. 



THE SEA-SIDE FINCH (Ammodromus marititnus), 

 another North American species, is found upon the 

 low islands of the Atlantic coast of the States, running 

 about upon the shore between tide-marks to pick up 

 the minute marine animals and fragments of larger 

 ones, which constitute its entire sustenance. Its flesh, 

 as might be expected from this diet, has a fishy 

 taste. The colour of this bird is brownish-olive, with 

 the chin and belly white, and the breast ash colour 

 streaked with buff. Its length is rather more than six 

 inches. 



THE INDIGO-BIRD (Spiza cyanea), is another migra- 

 tory inhabitant of the United States. Its plumage is 

 of a rich sky-blue colour, changing to bright green, 

 with the wings and tail black. Its length is about five 

 inches. Besides his beautiful plumage, the male Indigo- 

 bird possesses an animated song, which he pours forth 

 for several months during the spring and summer. 

 His favourite haunts are gardens, clover-fields, and the 

 borders of woods, where he is fond of perching on the 

 top of a high tree, and singing vigorously for half an 

 hour together ; but his nest is usually built in a low 

 bush, where it is attached to two twigs, one passing 

 up each side. The nest is composed externally of flax, 

 and lined with fine dry grass. The eggs are five in 

 number, and of a pale-blue colour, with a purple 

 blotch at the larger end. 



THE PAINTED BUNTING (Spiza ciris], also called, 

 from the beauty of its plumage, the Nonpareil, is an 

 inhabitant of the southern states of the North Ameri- 

 can Union, where its gay dress, and the docility of its 

 manners, render it a great favourite. It is from five 

 inches and a half to three quarters in length; the 

 male has the head and neck rich purple; the back 

 yellow, tinged with green ; the wings dusky -red ; the 

 rump and tail-coverts red ; the tail purplish-brown or 

 green; and the whole lower surface vermilion-red. The 

 female is smaller than her partner, greenish-olive 

 above and yellow below. The food of the Painted 

 Bunting consists of seeds and insects, in search of 

 which it frequents gardens, orchards, and rice-fields ; 

 its nest is generally built in a garden, often close to 

 the house, composed of grass and lined with hair and 

 fine roots. The male has an agreeable song. 



THE COMMON BUNTING (Emberiza miliarid). 

 The name of Buntings is given to a considerable group 

 of Finches, which indicate an approach to the Larks 

 in some of their characters ; they are distinguished by 

 the presence of a peculiar knob in the palate, which is 

 of service to the birds in breaking up the hard seeds 

 constituting the greater portion of their nourishment. 



The Common Bunting of this country is abundant 

 in most of our cultivated districts, where it frequents 

 corn-fields, and may often be seen perched on the 

 sprays of the hedges, and uttering its somewhat harsh 

 notes. Its nest is built at the bottom of the hedge 

 under the protection of the brambles which usually 

 flourish in such situations ; it is composed of straw, 

 grass, and roots, and lined with hah-. The eggs are 

 VOL. I. 



four or five in number, and of a pale reddish or purplish 

 colour, with purplish-brown streaks and spots. During 

 the breeding season, the Buntings live in pairs, but in 

 the autumn they become gregarious, and during the 

 winter associate in considerable flocks, with which 

 chaffinches and several other kinds of small birds are 

 often mixed. They frequently roost on the ground 

 like the skylarks, and are caught with them in nets 

 and brought to market for the table. The Bunting is 

 a well-known bird in all parts of Europe. Its length 

 is rather more than seven inches. It is of a pale- 

 brown colour above, with longitudinal dark brown 

 streaks ; the quill feathers of the wings and tail are 

 dark-brown with pale edges ; and the lower surface is 

 brownish-white, with numerous spots and lines of dark 

 brown on the breast and flanks. 



THE EEED BUNTING (Emberiza Schceniclus), an- 

 other British species, is easily distinguished by the 

 deep-black colour of its head, chin, and throat ; the 

 feathers of the back are black, with reddish margins, 

 and those of the lower surface white ; a white collar 

 passes round the back of the neck, and unites on each 

 side with a white streak descending from the angle of 

 the gape. Its length is about six inches. This bird, 

 which is generally distributed in Europe, is a summer 

 visitor to the more northern countries; it frequents 

 marshy places, where it dwells and builds its nest 

 amongst the reeds, rushes, and osiers. 



THE YELLOW BUNTING (Emberiza Citrinelld), 

 commonly known as the YELLOW HAMMER, is also a 

 common British bird, and occurs, like the preceding, 

 in all parts of Europe. It measures seven inches in 

 length, and has the head and neck, and the whole 

 lower surface of the body bright lemon-yellow ; the 

 back, wings, and tail exhibit various shades of brown 

 and black, with the feathers sometimes edged with 

 yellow. This bird builds its nest upon or near the 

 ground, usually under the shelter of some thick bush, 

 composing it of moss, roots, and hair, very firmly 

 interwoven. In the winter it is gregarious, and associ- 

 ates with other small birds, and hi Italy it is caught in 

 great numbers, like the following species, and fattened 

 for the table. 



THE OE1QLAX (Emberiza ffortulana) Plate 13, fig. 

 45 a rare and occasional' visitor to this country, is 

 very abundant in the south of Europe, where, as just 

 stated, it is in great esteem as a delicacy for the table. 

 The Ortolans are taken in great numbers in nets, kept 

 in a dark room, and fed with an abundance of oats and 

 millet, upon which diet they soon become excessively 

 fat. This bird is about six inches in length, and of 

 a deep reddish-brown colour above, with the head 

 greenish-gray ; the lower surface is reddish-buff, with 

 the throat and breast yellowish-green. 



THE CtBL BUNTING (Emberiza Cirlm}, another 

 rare visitor to Britain, is usually seen only on the south 

 coast, where, however, it not unfrequently breeds. It 

 is a common species in the south of Europe. The 

 plumage is of an ashy oh've colour, with longitudinal 

 black streaks; there is a yellow streak above, and 

 another below each eye, separated by a black line 

 passing through the eye; the back is reddish, the 

 throat black, and the lower part of the neck and belly 



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