Buntings 845 



or more short, reedy notes, all exactly alike, and shaken out, as it were, in a hurry, 

 followed by a long, thin note, or by two notes, slightly melodious in character. 

 It may be described as a trivial and monotonous song, but it is a summer sound 

 which most people hear with pleasure, and the Yellowhammer, ' little-bit-of- 

 bread-and-no-cheese,' as it is called in imitation of its note, is something of 

 a favorite with country people." The nesting habits are similar to those of the 

 common species. 



Cirl Bunting. Perhaps most closely related to the last, but more beauti- 

 ful in coloration and in many ways more pleasing, is the Cirl Bunting (E. cirlus), 

 which is rather locally distributed throughout central and southern Europe, 

 being, for example, an uncommon and thinly distributed species in England, 

 where it is restricted to the southern and western counties. About six and a half 

 inches long, it exhibits quite a variety of colors, the upper parts being reddish 

 brown with dusky spots, and the abdomen dull yellow, while the crown is olive 

 streaked with black, the gorget and a line both above and below the eye bright 

 yellow, and the breast olive-gray, with the sides chestnut. The Cirl Bunting 

 is a resident species except in the more northern portions of its range, though 

 it occurs in winter in the south of England; but whether these are the same 

 individuals that spend the summer there or have come down from farther north, 

 is not known. It frequents much the same situations as the Yellowhammer, 

 that is, meadows, cultivated ground, hedgerows, etc., though the male when 

 he takes his stand to sing prefers to perch rather higher, as on hedgerow elms 

 and other large trees. The song is very like that of his relative, though lacking 

 the long, thin note at the end, and the nests and eggs are not to be easily dis- 

 tinguished. It breeds rather earlier, however, rearing two broods, the first in 

 May and the second in July. During the summer it feeds almost entirely upon 

 insects, the young being fed largely on grasshoppers, but at other times it feeds 

 in company with other Finches upon seeds and grain. 



Yellow-throated Bunting. In eastern Siberia, Manchuria, and Japan the 

 above is replaced by the Yellow-throated Bunting (E. elegans), which is known 

 by the more chestnut-brown upper parts, a larger patch of black on the breast, 

 and a yellow throat. It is found on the borders of forests and is said to be the 

 best songster among Buntings, Mr. Dresser speaking of its song as being particu- 

 larly rich and melodious. It places its nest on the ground among bushes and 

 lays usually five eggs, these being white, variously marked with white and 

 brownish black. 



Ortolan Bunting. The name "Ortolan" has been so long familiar in many 

 parts of the world, especially among epicures, that it has almost passed out of 

 memory that it is, by right of ancient and original usage, the property of a Bunt- 

 ing (E. hortulana). The application of the word, which is traced back through 

 modern and archaic French to the Latin signifying "a gardener," is difficult 

 of explanation ; but the fact remains that it has been for centuries applied to this 

 little Bunting, and further the practice of artificially fattening them appears to 

 be very ancient. The Ortolan, or Ortolan Bunting, then, is a rather plain-plu- 

 maged little Bunting, occurring throughout Europe generally, as well as western 



