162 The Naturalist in Siluria. 



THE GIRL BUNTING. 



I believe this remarkably handsome bird to be in much 

 greater numbers all over the country than is generally 

 supposed. The close resemblance it bears to the yellow- 

 hammer, its near congener, no doubt leads to its being 

 often mistaken for the latter. Indeed, to most country 

 people it is unknown, just for this very reason; as the two 

 are so like in size, colour, and general habits as to be 

 indistinguishable from one another at any great distance. 

 He would be sharp-eyed who could tell which from which 

 at twenty yards off, unless a practised ornithologist. To 

 him, however, there are distinctive marks by which 

 either may be identified at a glance ; and to enable an 

 ordinary observer to do this, I may say that the best 

 guide or most conspicuous one will be found on the 

 throat; that of the Girl Bunting being black, as though 

 it were a black scarf, while the yellow-hammer is with- 

 out this sombre distinction. 



It is a somewhat curious coincidence that with several 

 genera of our small birds there are two species of each 

 usually found frequenting the same neighbourhood so 

 like one another as to require close scrutiny for their 

 identification. Notable examples are the two pipits 

 (Antlius arboreus and pratensis), the common and tree 

 sparrows (Passer domesticus and montanus) ; the pied and 

 white wagtails (Motacilla yarrellii and alba) and the sky 

 and wood larks (Alauda arvensis and orborea), the last 

 pair, however, not so much alike as the others. 



