Birds of Britain 



bird, but it so rarely occurs in this country that the con- 

 fusion likely to arise is not very serious. The nest is 

 placed on the ground in the rough grass at the base of 

 some shrub, or in the side of a tussock, and always near 

 water. It is a fairly neat structure, built, like the nests of 

 all Buntings, of grass, bents, and moss, with a lining of 

 hair. The eggs, four to six in number, are very charac- 

 teristic of this species, the ground colour is usually purplish 

 grey, boldly blotched, marked and streaked with dark brown. 

 Very handsome clutches are sometimes found, in which the 

 ground colour is pale green, showing off the dark scrolls and 

 blotches to great advantage. If the nest be discovered and 

 frequently visited after the young are hatched, they will 

 leave it at a very early age, long before they can fly. In 

 such cases, however, the anxiety of the parent birds as they 

 fly round and round the spot soon leads to the discovery 

 of their children. 



Except under stress of weather, it is a very resident 

 species, seldom leaving its favourite haunts, but sometimes 

 in winter, when these are frozen over, it will be found 

 in the fields consorting with large flocks of Buntings 

 and Finches. As a rule, however, it is by no means 

 gregarious, rarely more than ten or twelve being found 

 together. 



In summer the male has the whole of the head and 

 chin deep black, surrounded by a white collar and having 

 a white stripe along the line of the lower mandible. Mantle 

 and wings black with broad rufous and grey edgings. Hump 

 grey streaked with black. Under parts white striped with 

 brown on the flanks. In winter the black and white of 



