94 THE SPECIES. 



Elanus. Plate xv. FALCONIDM. 



187. cceriileus, 13 in. Black-winged Kite. White forehead ; white 



eye stripe ; grey above ; white below ; small wing 

 coverts black. 

 The Black-winged Kite— Dimensions, Lf— sent a solitary representative from the tropics 

 ro be made into a British bird by an untimely death in County Meath, in 1862. 



Emberiza. Plate viii. EMBERIZTNM (Passeridae). 



115. pusilla, 4I in. Little Bunting. Head chestnut, striped with 



black ; throat reddish white ; breast streaked with 

 black. 

 114. rusiica, s\ in. Rustic Bunting. Head brown, with black crown 



and sides ; throat white ; rufous band on chest. 



116. schmnidus, 5I in. Reed Bunting. Head black, eye stripe white ; 



throat black ; lower breast white. 



112. cirlus, 6 in. CiRL Bunting. Head olive brown, eye stripe 



yellow, lores and ear coverts black ; throat black 

 and yellow ; breast chestnut and yellow. 



113. horiulana, 6^ in. ORTOLAN BUNTING. Head greenish grey ; throat 



yellow ; breast reddish buff ; a yellow ring round 

 eye. 

 III. citrinella, 6J in. Yellow Bunting. Head yellow ; throat yellow ; 



breast yellow — all with chestnut streaks. 

 109. melanocephala, 6| in. Black-headed Bunting. Head and ear coverts 



black ; throat yellow ; breast yellow, 

 no. miliaria, 7 in. Corn Bunting. Head brown, spotted and 

 streaked ; throat whitish, with angular brown spots 

 at side. 

 A Little Bunting— Dimensions, Aq ; Eggs, Bn— was found by a boy in Sussex, in 1864 ; 

 the first, and apparently the last, to be identified in this country. 



The Rustic Bunting— Dimensions, Cf ; Eggs, Ds— has been found here three times, the 

 first record being in 1867. 



The Reed Bunting — Dimensions, Cr ; Eggs, Cb — is with us all the year round. It is 

 known by its monotonous double note repeated several times and ended with a long draw]. Its 

 flight is a dipping one, ending in a flutter of the wings and a sudden spread of the tail so as 

 to show the white. The female has no black on the head and throat which are reddish brown. 

 In winter the black and white of the male are edged with brown. The nest is on the ground, 

 or near it, always in a swampy place ; and it is made of moss, grass, and reeds, lined with 

 reed flowers and horsehair. The eggs are from three to six in number. 



The Cirl Bunting— Dimensions, Dh ; Eggs, Eg — was discovered by Montagu, at Kings- 

 bridge, in t8oo, and is a not uncommon resident south of the Thames. Its note is " tirrilirrilul," 

 and its call "chea-chee." Its flight is swift and graceful, with a long dip and a rise. Its 

 nest, In which there are four or five eggs, is generally on the ground, or in a furze bush, and 

 consists of dried grass, moss, and roots, often, but not always, lined with hair. The female 

 has black In the crown, and the eye stripe pale yellow, but in winter the plumage of male and 

 female is much duller than in spring. 



The Ortolan Bunting — Dimensions, Ec ; Eggs, Dr — occasionally comes here in the spring, 

 but does not breed here. Most of those recorded are probably escapes from the poulterer's. 

 The Yellow Bunting — Dimensions, Ej ; Eggs, Eq — is the Yellow Ammer (so called to 

 distinguish it from the other Ammers grouped under the Latinisation of Emberiza), to which 

 some cockney humorist prefixed an " h " which seems so difficult to remove that it has been 

 thought better to give the bird its cider name. Its flight is quick and undulating, with a 

 characteristic wheel in the air, and a jerk of the tail on alighting. Its note is the often quoted 

 " little bit of bread and no cheese ! " with an emphasis on the ** no " and the " cheese ; " or 

 in its Scottish form, " deil, deil, deil, tak' ye ! " The call is a *' chick, chick, churrr." Itis 

 asserted that this bird invariably sings at three o'clock in the afternoon, and certainly a good 

 many of them seem to do so. The streaks in the male's crown are brown ; in the female's 

 they are black, and there is much less yellow about her. In summer the male's crown is 

 often pure yellow. The nest is generally on a hedge bank, and always near, or on, the ground. 

 It is made of dry grass and moss, with finer grass, and roots, and horsehair ; and contains 

 four or five eggs. 



The Black-headed Bunting — Dimensions, Eq ; Eggs Ei — is an Asiatic, occasionally 

 straying here. 



