2R0 HISTORY OF 



her with his singing; and while he is risen to an imper- 

 ceptible height, yet he still has his loved partner in his eye, nor 

 once loses sight of the nest, either while he ascends or is de- 

 scending. This harmony continues several months, beginning 



gate in winter in large flocks, when they are frequently caught in numbers, 

 and sold under the name of bunting larks, ebbs, or corn bunting. They 

 uestle on or near the ground, have four dirty-white eggs, spotted and 

 streaked with brown ; and the young liave a reddish tinge. 



During incubation, the male is generally found perched on a branch not 

 far distant from Ms mate, constantly uttering a tremulous kind of shriek, 

 several times repeated, with short intervals Their unavailing anxiety to 

 protect their eggs and young, frequently leads to the spot where they arc 

 deposited, which the simple birds are so unwilling to forsake, and, in their 

 anxiety, so easily betray. 



The Ortolan Bunting {E. Hortulana) is never known to visit this coun> 

 try. This bird, whose flesh is very highly esteemed, and which is conse. 

 quently much sought after, appears to be confined to the southern parts of 

 Europe, where it is found at all seasons. All the individuals of the species 

 are not, however, confined to one locality the whole year ; for a few of them 

 quit the south in the spring, and visit for a time the intermediate latitudes 

 of Europe. Even these, however, do not breed in all the countries they 

 visit, as their nests are said to be found only in Germany, and Lorraine and 

 Burgundy, in France. It is commonly near the stem of the vines that they 

 build their ill-constructed nest, in which the female deposits four or five 

 eggs. In Lorraine, they are said to build in the corn fields. 



A\nien these birds first arrive in France, they are far from fat; but hu- 

 man ingenuity soon makes them fit for the table : they are fatted by inclos. 

 ing a nvunber of them in a dark chamber, in which is placed a lanthorn, sur- 

 rounded plentifully with oats and millet. The darkness seems to have the 

 effect of confining the whole attention of the birds to their favourite food, 

 thus placed within view ; and it is said they will thus die of suffocation 

 from their own fat, if left entirely to themselves. Another mode is, by 

 confining them in cages, which admit a little light only to the box con- 

 taining the food. In this state, the ortolan bunting is said to be one of the 

 most exquisite morsels known for the table. 



Among the buntings, distinguished by an elongated claw to the thumb, is 

 'he Snoio Bunting, as it is found in the northern parts of Great Britain, and 

 is c^led in Scotland the snow flake. These birds appear there in large 

 flocks, at the conunencement of frost, and are feared by many as the 

 harbingers of hard weather; they are about the size of the chaffinch, black 

 al>ove, with a white rump, crown, and forehead. They nestle in holes iu 

 rocks, and produce five white eggs, with dusky spots. 



They are found in all the northern latitudes, as high as navigators have 

 penetrated; nor is it at all apparent by what means they find food in 

 these inhospitable regions. The higher the degree of latitude in which 

 they are found, the whiter, as it appears, becomes their plumage; tliis 

 tendency, which we have had frequent occasion to notice, among the man)- 

 malia, as well as in tne present class, has led to the conclusion that there 

 are many varieties of this species. It breeds in Greenland, visits this coun. 



