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BLACK-THROATED BUNTING. 
EMBERIZA AMERICANA, GMEL. 
PLATE CCCLXXXIV. Mate anv FEmate. 
AttHovucH this handsome Bunting may be said to be abundant 
in our middle Atlantic districts, it is there much less so than in the 
vast prairies of the south-west; and I consider those of the Texas to 
afford the localities best adapted to its habits. There, as my compa- 
nions and I were returning from the capital of the infant republic, 
Houston, we were surprised to see how very numerous the Black- 
throated Buntings were in every open piece of ground covered by 
tufts of tall grass. They are also abundant on the open lands of 
Missouri and Illinois ; but rarer in Ohio, and scarce in Kentucky. 
They are rarely observed to pass over South Carolina, but in Penn- 
sylvania they are plentiful, and there breed in every field covered with 
grass or grain. I have also met with them in Massachusetts, but 
beyond this they are not seen to the eastward. 
At the approach of the period of their removal from our Middle 
States southward, the Black-throated Buntings congregate in particu- 
lar localities, as if to consult regarding their future proceedings. At 
this season I once went from Philadelphia in search of them, accom- 
panied by my friend Epwarp Harris, and my son Jonn Woopuovuse. 
Having reached Salem in New Jersey, we rambled some time in the 
neighbourhood, and found an elevated piece of ground, closely covered 
with high rank weeds, among which a great number of these birds 
had assembled. It being late in July, the males were moulting, or 
had already acquired their new plumage ; the young, although full 
grown, had not yet assumed their second clothing, in which the sexes 
- are distinguished ; and the females were generally ragged. The birds 
were at first quite gentle, but after we had fired a few times they all 
flew off to a considerable distance, from which, however, they soon 
returned. On our continuing to harass them, however, they rose high 
in the air, and flew out of our sight in a southward direction. ‘They 
had then undoubtedly begun migrating. These birds are very partial 
to particular localities. Sandy soil, unmixed with clay or earth, is not 
