THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 



time in tall trees may easily escape notice. The song of 

 this Bunting commences in March, and continues well 

 into the autumn. It closely resembles that of the 

 Yellow Bunting in its opening stage, but ends even more 

 abruptly, the final long-drawn note being omitted. One 

 may aptly compare it to that of a Yellow Bunting suddenly 

 interrupted. Apart from its habit of frequenting trees, 

 the Cirl Bunting very closely resembles the commoner 

 species in its economy. It feeds on similar objects, is 

 more or less gregarious in winter, consorts with Sparrows 

 and other Finches, has the same dipping flight, similar 

 call-notes, and nests in much the same situations. Pre- 

 parations for the first brood commence in late April, and 

 the breeding season continues until July. The nest is 

 perhaps more frequently placed in a low bush a gorse 

 for preference than upon the ground amongst herbage. 

 It is made externally of dry grass, roots, dead leaves, 

 moss, and twitch, and lined with finer roots and horse- 

 hair. The four or five eggs are bluish white in ground 

 colour, blotched and streaked, and pencilled in the true 

 Bunting style with intensely dark brown, paler brown, and 

 grey. 



In the colour of the upper parts the Cirl Bunting very 

 closely resembles the Yellow Bunting, but the yellow 

 crown is wanting, the head, rump, and upper tail-coverts 

 being olive-green, streaked with black on the former and 

 dusky brown on the two latter. A yellow streak reaches 

 over the eye ; another similar in colour extends below it. 

 The wings and tail resemble those of the preceding species, 

 but the smaller wing-coverts are olive instead of rich brown. 

 The throat is black, followed by a broad patch of yellow ; 

 across the breast is an olive-green band, merging into 

 chestnut ; the remainder of the under surface is yellow, 

 with a darker shade on the flanks, which are streaked with 

 brown. Bill brown, paler below; tarsi and toes pale 

 brown ; irides brown. Length about /inches. The female 



144 



