MEADOW BUNTING. 153 



Greece during the winter months, in which season it is mentioned by 

 Mr. Carte as .common in the Crimea, and by Lord Lilford ("Ibis," 

 vol. ii., p. 138,) as resident, but not abundant, in Corfu. It does not 

 appear to have been found in the north of Germany; and Temminck 

 says it does not occur in Holland. Dubois informs us that it is occa- 

 sionally found in Austria and Bavaria, and is very rare in Belgium. 

 It is a bird of passage in Switzerland. It ranges through a great 

 part of Asia — Syria, Arabia, and the Dauria; and is mentioned by 

 Mr. Tristram among the birds of North Africa, ("Ibis," vol. ii., p. 

 295.) "It is a rare visitor to North-east Africa, according to Von 

 Heuglin, who says of it, — 'It keeps together in small flocks, mostly 

 on sterile ground. It is very shy, and flies up before the sportsman 

 with a sharp chirping call-note, but falls again almost immediately 

 behind bushes and pieces of rock, where it knows well how to hide.' 

 Cabanis (Mus. Hein, i., p. 128,) distinguishes as a southern form 

 Emberiza meridionalis from the Lebanon. The Meadow Bunting 

 occurs in Algeria, the Lebanon, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, the 

 Himalayas, west and north of Asia, and in the southern and temperate 

 parts of Europe." 



Deputy Surgeon-General Stewart writes me, — "The Meadow Bunting 

 was stated by Jerdon to be not rare in the north-west Himalayas. I 

 can answer for its being a very abundant species at Mussoorie (seven 

 thousand feet) at all seasons except the rainy. I have found its nest, 

 which is very like the Yellowhammer's, near the foot of a briar 

 bush, containing four pale blue eggs, slightly veined with smoky." 



Of its habits Naumann has given us the best description, and I 

 am principally indebted to him for the following history: — The 

 Meadow Bunting appears in Central Germany in March and April, 

 and leaves in October or beginning of November, after which a 

 solitary bird only is to be found. In Switzerland it is much rarer 

 than the Cirl Bunting. It likes to live in mountainous places, not, 

 however, in the wild and deserted parts, but among the fertile 

 valleys. Sometimes it seeks out meadows, and is found among the 

 bushes bordering woods, and it especially loves those places which 

 are near cultivated fields and gardens. It also frequents the neigh- 

 bourhood of water, and lingers about the banks of brooks and ditches, 

 where it sits among the thickest bushes, and is often seen on the 

 ground. 



It is a lively restless bird, pecking and fighting with other birds, 

 as well as with the members of its own family. Its motion on the 

 ground is heavy, and it has a quick, wavy, or jerking flight. Its 

 habits altogether are very similar to those of the Yellowhammcr. 



VOL. III. X 



