30 BUNTING. 



right. 'Corn-laws' and 'Protection' have no place in their 

 'statute book;' 'free trade in corn' is the motto of the Bunting 

 Lark; he has only regard to 'home consumption,' and ignores 

 all 'duties,' save those which hunger dictates. 



In that very pleasing volume, the 'Journal of a Naturalist,' 

 Mr. Knapp says, 'It could hardly be supposed that this bird, 

 not larger than a Lark, is capable of doing serious injury; 

 yet I this morning witnessed a rick of barley, standing in a 

 detached field, entirely stripped of its thatching, which this 

 Bunting effected by seizing the end of the straw, and 

 deliberately drawing it out, to search for any grain the ear 

 might contain ; the base of the rick being entirely surrounded 

 by the straw, one end resting on the ground, the other against 

 the mow, as it slid down from the summit, and regularly 

 placed, ^as if by the hand; and so completely was the thatching 

 pulled off, that the immediate removal of the corn became 

 necessary. The Sparrow and other birds burrow into the 

 stack, and pilfer the corn, but the deliberate unroofing the 

 edifice appears to be the habit of this Bunting alone.' 



They are rather, though by no means very shy birds, but 

 frequently in the breeding-season and in the autumn sit close. 

 They may sometimes be seen dusting themselves in the roads, 

 like the Larks and Sparrows, and other birds. They also 

 wash themselves; and may be kept in confinement. 



The flight of the Bunting is heavy and strong, rather 

 undulated, performed by alternate beatings and cessations, 

 and in some degree laboured, as if the wings were hardly 

 equal, without exertion, to support the weight of the body. 

 If suddenly disturbed, they fly off in a straight direction, 

 with drooping legs, a constant flutter of the wings, and an 

 audible 'whirr,' reminding one somewhat of the Partridge. 

 At night they roost in bushes or hedges, and also on the 

 ground, in stubble-fields. They move along the ground by 

 hopping. 



The food of the Corn Bunting consists of corn and such 

 seeds as it meets with; beetles, such as cockchaffers, in their 

 season, and other insects. It is consequently a good bird to 

 eat, and, from its ponderous and bulky size, by no means 

 despicable for the table; such at least I have found it at 

 the 'Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth,' at which 

 it was to be supposed that I received my education. 



The note of the Bunting, which is uttered both when the 

 bird is perched and on the wing, is harsh and unmusical, 



