136 THE COMMON BUNTING. 



Mention is made of this bird in Titus Andronicus 

 (Act ii. Sc. 3, and Act iii. Sc. 1) ; in Cymbeline (Act iii. 

 Sc. 6) ; and in Richard II. (Act iii. Sc. 3). 



Formerly, a curious method of taking larks was prac- 

 tised by means of small pieces of looking-glass and red 

 cloth. These were made to move at a little distance from 

 the fowler by means of a string, and when the birds, 

 impelled by curiosity, came within range, they were taken 

 in a net. This practice is referred to by Shakespeare in 



Henry VIII — 



" Let his grace go forward, 



And dare us with his cap, like larks." 



Henry VIII Act iii. Sc. 2. 



The cap in this case was the scarlet hat of the Cardinal, 

 which it was intended to use as a piece of red cloth. It 

 seems probable, from the context, that the word " dare " 

 should be " draw." 



A bird which is often taken with larks, and which, 

 indeed, is not unlike one in appearance, is the Common 

 Bunting (Emberiza miliaria). In some parts of the 

 country it is known as the Bunting-Lark, and, from its size 

 and general colouring, a casual observer might easily 

 mistake it for one of the last-named species. No wonder, 

 then, that the old lord Lafeu says : — 



" I took this lark for a bunting." 



All's Well that Ends Well, Act ii. Sc. 5. 



