98 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 



sparingly speckled with brownish grey, except at the 

 larger end, where they accumulated, and on two of them 

 formed a very distinct and well-defined zone. 



Of the family of the buntings I can enumerate five 

 viz., the snow, the common, the black-headed, the yellow, 

 and the cirl. The Snow Bunting (Emberiza nivalis) is 

 only a straggler with us ; I have occasionally met with 

 them during the winter, mingled with skylarks in the 

 fields on the edge of the forest at Edwinstowe. Some 

 individuals have been killed wearing the adult white 

 livery, while others were in that immature plumage 

 which has led them to be classed as a separate species, 

 under the name of the tawny bunting. 



The snow bunting migrates regularly during the 

 winter, appearing in large flocks on the shores of the 

 Humber ; but I have not seen it in numbers to the 

 southward of this boundary, those occurring in our forest 

 district being but stragglers from the main body. The 

 proportion of adult males in these flocks is but small, 

 the majority being either females, or the young of the 

 first year in the tawny livery. At times the numbers 

 to be met with on the Humber banks are very large ; 

 they feed on the seeds of the dog-grass, the crops of 

 those I have killed being literally crammed with them. 

 They run along very actively, moving each foot alter- 

 nately, and in the situations I have mentioned are very 

 fearless, allowing you to approach within a few yards. 

 If the weather continues severe, their visit is of some 

 continuance ; but no sooner is any indication felt of a 

 change of temperature than they depart at once for their 

 northern homes. 



The Common Bunting (E. miliaria) is very plentiful 

 on our arable lands, where its nest is placecTon the 



