THE ORTOLAN". 219 



yellow, sprinkled with grey. They are not unlike young 

 Yellowhammers ; though a connoisseur is able to distinguish 

 between the sexes, even in the nest. 



There are also white, yellowish white, and in the aviary, 

 even black varieties of this bird. 



Habitat. In a wild state the Ortolan inhabits the southern 

 and temperate regions of Europe, and is not uncommon in 

 many parts of Germany. An attentive observer will, however, 

 remark that it is constantly upon the move ; as in its passage 

 from one climate to another, it makes frequent halts, and never 

 takes long flights at once. This route is so uniform, that we 

 may calculate upon seeing them every spring in the spot where 

 they have been once observed. They fly in families rather than 

 in flocks. They arrive in Germany about the end of April, or the 

 beginning of May, when they may be seen in gardens, or in 

 fields, in which are groves or bushes. Near breeding-time 

 they frequent gardens and groves in the neighbourhood of ex- 

 tensive forests, especially if millet be cultivated in close prox- 

 imity. In August they fly in families into the open country, 

 and leave us after the oats have been gathered in. 



The Ortolan is sometimes, as a rare and valuable bird, pro- 

 vided with a handsome cage ; though it is frequently also 

 allowed to range the room with other birds. 



Food. In a wild state it eats not only all kinds of insects, 

 but also millet, oats, buck wheat, hempseed, &c. 



If confined in a cage, it may be fed with millet, poppy seed, 

 and shelled oats : if allowed to run about, it is content with 

 the usual paste. It is, however, a delicate bird, which we 

 rarely succeed in preserving above four years at most. 



Diseases. The disease most frequently fatal to the Ortolan 

 is atrophy, or decline. 



Mode of Taking. In spring these birds may be easily at- 

 tracted to the decoy bush by one of their own species, or a 

 female Yellowhammer. 



In August a small area of turf, near bushes, like that in- 

 tended for the capture of Chaffinches, should be cleared, sur- 

 rounded with a low hedge, and covered with oat ears. Near 

 this should be placed one or more decoy birds ; and also one, 

 round whose wings is fastened a band of soft leather, which 

 again is attached by a string to a peg in the ground, so that 

 the bird has freedom of motion within certain prescribed limits. 



