Birds. 7447 



Skylark, Alauda arvensis. 



Situation. On the ground amidst corn and standing grass. 



Materials. The dried stems of a variety of herbaceous plants 

 outside ; lined with very fine grasses. 



Eggs, 4, 5. Dirty white, tinged with green, and spotted with umber- 

 brown, generally forming a zone at the larger end. 



Wood Lark, Alauda arhorea. 



Situation. On the ground, under a tuft of grass or any low plant. 



Materials. Grasses and bents, the coarser ones outside, the finer 

 used for lining. 



Eggs, 4, 5. White, thickly speckled with reddish brown; rarely 

 zoned at the larger end. 



Shore Lark, Alauda alpestris. 



The Hon. T. L. Powys mentions (Zool. 3707) the very remarkable 

 fact of the shore lark breeding in Devonshire. "On the 12th of July, 

 1851, my friend, Mr. W. W. BuUer, found a nest of the shore lark near 

 Exmouth, South Devon, among some bent grass close to the sea, and 

 containing four eggs. The eggs were very much like those of the 

 wood lark. The hen bird was caught on the nest, and is in my. 

 friend's possession." 



Common Bunting, Emheriza miliaria. 



Situation. Among coarse grass, near to or on the ground. 



Materials. Straw, coarse hay, outside; lined with fibrous roots 

 and sometimes with horsehair. 



Eggs, 4 — 6. Gray, tinged with yellow, with red-brown and ash- 

 coloured spots and streaks. 



Blackheaded Bunting, Emheriza Schoeniclus. 



Situation. On the ground, under a tussock of Carex, Aira caespitosa, 

 or some coarser grass, always in moist swampy localities. 



Materials. Moss, dried grass, lined with fine grass and horsehair. 



Eggs, 4, 5. Gray, with a slightly rosy tinge, spotted, streaked and 

 veined with purple-brown. " The eggs much resemble those of a 

 chaffinch." — Col. Montagu. 



Yellow Hammer, Emheriza citrinella. 



Situation. On or near the ground, commonly under shelter of 

 overhanging grasses. I have on three occasions found the nest of 

 this bird in cart-ruts seldom used ; in two instances the parent had 

 perished by the passage of a waggon laden with hay. 



Materials. The decayed or dried leaves of grass form the exterior 

 of the nest, then follows a layer of finer grasses, and the whole is lined 

 with horsehair. 



