YELLOW-BREASTED BIRDS. 121 



the tail ; band across the eye black, a bright-yellow 

 band above it and below it ; under parts yellow, form- 

 ing a clear collar on upper breast, clouded with gray 

 and chestnut on the breast, and streaked with chest- 

 nut on the flanks ; wings and tail dusky, with white 

 on the outer feathers of the latter. Resident. 



Eggs, — 4—5, dull purplish - gray, spotted and 

 scrawled, usually more boldly than those of the 

 Yellowhammer, with dark brown; -85 »< "63 inch 

 (plate 126). 



Nest. — Of dry grass, root-fibres, and moss, lined 

 with hair, and placed in a bank among the springing 

 stems of a bush, or in a low bush a little above the 

 ground. 



Distribution. — South of England. 



The Cirl-Buniing bears a genei-al likeness to the 

 Yellowhammer, but occurs only in the southern 

 counties of England, and even there is locally dis- 

 tributed. Whilst the Yellowhammer affects hedge- 

 rows and bushes as perching-places, the Cirl-Bunting 

 as a rule perches higher, frequenting the higher parts 

 of trees that rise from the hedges or on the outskirts 

 of woods. Its call-note and song are like those of 

 the Yellowhammer, but the song is to be distinguished 

 by the absence of the long final note used by the 

 Yellowhammer. When seen perching, the Cirl- 

 Bunting differs from the Yellowhammer in the full- 

 black markings about the face of the former ; when 

 flying, the Cirl-Bunting exposes a lower back passing 

 from brown to grayish-olive, whilst the Yellowhammer 

 is coloured bright chestnut on the lower back. In 



