Descriptive List of the Common Birds 
The Buntings, 83-85 
The yellow-hammer, with its song of “A 
little bit of bread and no che-e-e-ese,” has 
rendered the bunting clan familiar to every 
Englishman. Buntings are finch-like birds 
with conical bills, mostly rather larger than 
the sparrow. 
Several species visit the plains of India in 
large numbers every cold weather and wax 
fat on the grain crops. They occur in large 
noisy flocks, making merry among the various 
cereal crops and taking refuge in trees when 
disturbed. ‘The species most commonly seen 
are E. buchanant, E. melanocephala, and E. 
luteola.. 
83. Emberiza buchanani: The Grey-necked 
Bunting. (F. 795), (J. 716), (+1) 
There is nothing striking in the appearance 
of this bird. The upper plumage is ashy 
brown, the shaft of each feather being darker 
than the web, giving the bird a streaked 
appearance. ‘The lower parts are reddish 
brown. There is some white in the tail 
visible only during flight. There is an incon- 
spicuous white ring round the eye. 
This occurs only in the N.W. parts of India. 
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