YELLOW HAMMER. 163 



The young are fed exclusively on insects and caterpillars ; and whilst 

 they are in the nest the bird is of great service to man. Throughout 

 the summer, and even far into the autumn, they are insectivorous ; and 

 as two broods are often reared in the year, and fresh eggs may be 

 found in August, it is evident that the quantity of insects captured 

 must be enormous. As soon as the young can take care of themselves 

 the Yellow Hammer becomes more or less a nomad, and wanders far in 

 search of food. In autumn they visit the grain-fields ; but in seed-time 

 they are perhaps seen there in the largest numbers. As autumn ap- 

 proaches, they congregate into flocks, and throughout the winter live 

 entirely on various kinds of seeds. In the depth of winter they may be 

 often seen in farmyards clinging to the corn-stacks, or picking a scanty 

 sustenance from the manure-heaps ; they will also hop round the barn- 

 door even whilst thrashing is going on, and pick up the grains that are 

 scattered. In winter a favourite haunt of the Yellow Hammer is the 

 fields of autumn-sown corn ; there they congregate in a somewhat scat- 

 tered flock in company with Bramblings, Chaffinches, and Greenfinches, 

 retiring, it may be, to those portions of the field where the wind has swept 

 the snow away, and where a few yards of open ground offers them a scanty 

 and precarious table. At this season of the year the bird's flight can be 

 witnessed to perfection. They wheel in the air with great regularity, 

 almost like Starlings, and pass overhead chirping to each other as they go ; 

 with a sudden movement they will sometimes dart downwards, as if shot 

 from a bow, and alight in the branches of some tall tree directly under 

 them. They seek the fields again very cautiously ; first one bird will fly 

 off, then another, or two or three together, until the. whole flock is down 

 again feeding as before. This singular mode of alighting on trees directly 

 beneath them is almost unique, and is often indulged in just about dusk, 

 when the birds are about to seek a roosting-place. Yellow Hammers 

 roost in evergreens at this season, and sometimes on the ground with 

 Larks. 



There are few prettier sights than a flock of Yellow Hammers in the 

 snow, when their rich plumage contrasts with the frosted branches and 

 the whiteness all around. They very often frequent newly manured fields 

 at a time like this, and sometimes the whole flock will congregate on a 

 small bush. They are somewhat shy, and when a flock is feeding there 

 are usually one or two birds perched on the look-out near at hand, who 

 rarely fail to give the alarm by a chirping note. Great numbers of 

 Yellow Hammers visit this country in autumn, and it is of these migrants 

 that the larger flocks of this species seen in winter are probably composed. 

 As previously stated, the Yellow Hammer is partly insectivorous and partly 

 granivorous. It will eat most kinds of grain, much of which is ob- 

 tained on the ground ; whilst the smaller seeds, including those of the 



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