150 BRITISH BIRDS. 



the note between the sexes is a long-drawn-out kaak, and frequently the 

 two notes are heard together, tzit-kaak. 



Dixon writes of the Corn-Bunting in Algeria : " If this bird does not 

 sufficiently merit the title of ( Common ' Bunting in England, it most 

 assuredly does so in Algeria, and from the coast to Batna is, I think, 

 the commonest bird of the country. It may be seen in all kinds of 

 scenery, the half dried-up river-beds, the rich barley-fields, the gardens, 

 the roadsides, the plains, the wooded slopes of the Aures, the farmsteads, 

 and even near the Arab dwellings. In some parts almost every bush was 

 crowned with a heavy and ungainly-looking Corn-Bunting, or they were 

 perched, at intervals of a few yards, on the telegraph-wires, all sing- 

 ing lustily. It was as tame as in England, even more so, and in some 

 instances it allowed me to approach within a few feet ere taking wing. 

 This bird often utters its short harsh song when flying in the air. As we 

 rode past them on the wayside, the rumble of the heavy diligence 

 repeatedly startled them, and they flew off over the fields, singing as they 

 went, and, as they possess the singular habit of allowing their legs to hang 

 downwards, they looked even more clumsy and lazy than when at rest. It 

 was very interesting to notice the distribution of this bird in this part of 

 Africa. From the coast to Batna the country is pastoral, and in places 

 very well cultivated. Here the bird was evidently in its favourite haunts; 

 but as we left Batna behind us, and went south towards the Sahara, we 

 left the Corn-Bunting too, and in the oases we searched suitable places 

 for it in vain it had vacated them in favour of the Sahara Bunting, the 

 Grass -Warblers, and the Crested Larks." 



I found it equally common in the Dobrudscha, on the steppes which lie 

 between the Danube and the Black Sea, and in the similar districts of 

 Wallachia to the north of that river. 



Early in spring the Corn-Bunting pairs, the flocks that have congre- 

 gated during the winter separate, and the birds retire to their breeding- 

 grounds. Although paired so early, this bird is a late breeder, and its 

 nest is seldom found before May or the beginning of June. The site is 

 variously selected in an open field amongst the growing corn, under a tuft 

 of grass or the shelter of a bush. Sometimes it is under the shelter of a 

 large plant, or amongst brambles and briars, but is perhaps most 

 frequently found when the grass is being cut for hay. The nest is gene- 

 rally placed on the ground in a little depression, but sometimes it is 

 slightly above it ; it is rather loosely put together, and made of dry grass, 

 a scrap or two of moss, sometimes roots or tufts of twitch, and is lined 

 with fine grass and, in most cases, a few hairs. The eggs are from four to 

 six in number ; and although they differ considerably amongst themselves, 

 their size prevents them from being confused with the eggs of the other 

 Buntings that breed in this country. The ground varies from pale-clay.* 



