166 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



feathers being rather darker ; there is a light spot of 

 pale yellowish brown over the eye ; ear-coverts rusty 

 brown ; throat and sides of the neck pale yellowish 

 brown, except a streak of dark brown spots on the 

 side of the throat reaching to the breast ; tail-coverts 

 rusty brown; under parts more inclining to pale 

 brown than in the male ; the rest of the plumage 

 nearly the same, except that it is not quite so bright. 

 The young birds resemble the female. 



The eggs have a dull sort of whitey-brown. ground, 

 curiously marked with eccentric dusky streaks and 

 spots, and a few of a lighter shade. I have one 

 variety in my collection, which I should hardly have 

 believed to be that of the Keed Bunting had I not 

 taken it myself and watched the old bird on the nest 

 from time to time till the rest of the eggs were 

 hatched and the young birds flown : all the eggs in 

 the nest were the same, and agreed in almost every 

 particular with those of the Cirl Bunting, for which 

 they might easily have been mistaken. 



YELLOW BUNTING, Emberiza citrinella. The 

 Yellow Bunting, or, as it is more generally called, 

 the " Yellowhammer," is one of our commonest 

 birds, and is resident with us throughout the year. 

 It certainly deserves more admiration for its beauty 

 than it generally receives : perhaps this is on account 

 of its being so common ; were it scarcer it would 

 probably receive a fairer share. 



In regard to its food the Yellowhammer is, like 



