The Bird Book 



is "warm." Ah! there is the nest, neatly con- 

 cealed by the ivy and supported by a branch 

 which it closely resembles. It is beautifully 

 compact, woven of moss and dry grasses, 

 decked with lichens, and lined with hair and 

 feathers. 



The male is much more brightly coloured than 

 his mate. Picture him if you can thus : his head 

 and nape bluish, back chestnut brown, giving 

 place to a beautiful green above the tail. The 

 under parts are "pale vinous red," while a white 

 band across the wing sets off the whole. At last 

 we move on, and he gives vent to his relief with 

 his cheery trilling love-song, while his soberly 

 coloured spouse returns to the nest to admire her 

 eggs before commencing the more serious task 

 of sitting. 



By many a roadside the Yellow Hammer is 

 quite a feature. He sits stolidly on the telegraph 

 wires or on the top of the hedge, and occasionally 

 utters a harsh note, varied by his well-known 

 song, " A little bit of bread and no cheese." 

 Stolidity is a characteristic of the Bunting family, 

 and we are able to get very close to a fine male 

 bird. He signifies his uneasiness by frequent 

 flirts of the tail and moves his head from side to 

 side, but apparently cannot quite reconcile himself 

 to the effort of flight. His head and underparts 

 are yellow, streaked with blackish brown at the 

 flanks, and the back is bright reddish brown, but 



