128 BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



made not a few of the important discoveries 

 which made his name famous in the annals of 

 our favourite science, and keep his memory 

 green. There is one thing about this species 

 which we can never quite understand, and that is 

 the way in which so many writers speak of its 

 comparative rarity in the county. In one of the 

 most recent works on the ornithology of Devon, 

 we are informed that this Bunting has frequently 

 been obtained at Torquay. One would naturally 

 infer from this, that the Cirl Bunting is scarce 

 in the neighbourhood of Tor Bay. This is not 

 the case, and in many localities round here 

 the bird is so often seen that its appearance 

 calls for no record. On the higher ground round 

 Marldon, and between that village and Berry 

 Pomeroy, this Bunting is quite as common 

 as Emberiza citrinella, with which it closely 

 fraternises during winter. We have repeatedly 

 met with flocks of Cirl Buntings near farmsteads 

 and ricks in the fields ; it is one of the most 

 familiar species in the hedgerow-trees hereabouts ; 

 while it actually breeds almost as commonly as 

 the Yellow Bunting not a mile from our present 

 residence. We have known this past summer 



