86 BRITISH BIRDS. 



bluish-white to light dingy brown, with spots, marblings 

 or streaks and long lines of purplish-brown ; size '86 by '65. 

 Song : tic-tic-tic-tic, tee-e-eeze, ascending quickly, the ter- 

 mination prolonged and dying away more slowly. 



106. Emberiza eirlus, Linn. CIRL BUNTING. 



Hab. Western Europe, north to England, also South- 

 ern Europe, Asia Minor and Algeria. 



Male : crown and nape olive with black streaks ; above 

 eye a pale yellow stripe ; lores and ear-coverts black, form- 

 ing a black band through eye, below which is another 

 stripe of pale yellow ; mantle chestnut-brown ; lesser 

 wing-coverts greenish grey ; secondaries broadly edged 

 with chestnut ; rump and upper tail-coverts olive green, 

 with dusky streaks ; chin and throat black, below which 

 is a band of pale yellow extending to ear-coverts ; breast 

 and sides olive -grey, streaked with chestnut ; belly pale 

 yellow ; bill and tarsi as in Yellow Bunting ; iris hazel. 

 Length 6'oo. Female : lacks black throat ; chestnut and 

 yellow replaced by duller tints. 



Breeds tolerably commonly in the southern counties 

 from Kent to Devon, also sparingly along the northern 

 side of the Thames ; has straggled casually to Scotland 

 and Wales, but not to Ireland. Nest : in furze or at side 

 of a hedge, often in a little bush just within a meadow. 

 Eggs : 3 to 5 ; bluish-white with bold spots and short 

 thick streaks of brownish-black and faint purplish-grey ; 

 size '85 by "62. 



107. E. hortulana, Linn. ORTOLAN BUNTING. 



Hab. Western Palsearctic region, in summer north to 

 Trondhjem in Norway, but only casually to Britain. 



A rare and irregular visitor in spring or autumn to 

 eastern and southern coasts of England ; two examples 

 have been taken in Scotland and one in Ireland. 



