346 THE VELLOW HAMMER. 
generally five eggs, though they sometimes reach the number of six, and 
their colour is greyish white, profusely covered with spots and dashes of 
grey-brown. They are, however, extremely variable, and even in the same 
nest it is not uncommon to find some eggs that are almost black with the 
mottlings, while others have hardly a spot about them. The Sparrow is a very 
prolific bird, bringing up several broods in the course of a season, and has 
been known to rear no less than fourteen young in a single breeding season. 
THE BUNTINGS are known by their sharp conical bills, with the edges of 
the upper mandible rounded and slightly turned inwards, and the knob on the 
palate. They are common in 
most parts of the world, are gre- 
garious during the winter months, 
and in some cases become so fat 
upon the autumn grain that they 
are considered great dainties. 
OnE of the most familiar of all 
these birds is the YELLOW BUNT- 
ING, or YELLOW HAMMER, as it 
is often called. 
This lively bird frequents our 
fields and hedge-rows, and is re- 
markable for a curious mixture of 
wariness and curiosity, the latter 
feeling impelling it to observe a 
traveller with great attention, and 
the former to keep out of reach 
of any missile. So, in walking 
along a country lane, the pas- 
senger is often preceded by one 
or more of these birds, which 
always keeps about seventy or 
eighty yards in advance, and flut- 
ters in and out of the hedges or 
trees with a’peculiar and unmis- 
takable flirt of the wings and 
tail 
The song—if it may so be called 
—of the bird has a peculiar in- 
tonation, which is almost arti- 
culate, and is variously rendered 
in different parts of England. 
For example, among the southern 
counties it is well represented 
by the words, “ A little bit of bread 
and no che-ee-ee-ee-se!” In 
Scotland it assumes a sense quite 
in accordance with the character 
of its auditors, and is supposed 
ORTOLAN.—(Ziméeriza hortulana.) to say, “ De’il, de’il, de’il take ye- 
ee-ee-ee.” 
The nest of the Yellow Bunting is generally placed upon or very close to 
the earth, and the best place to seek for the structure is the bottom of a 
hedge where the grass has been allowed to grow freely, and the ground has 
been well drained by the ditch. In rustic parlance, a “rough gripe” is the 
place wherein to look for the Yellow Hammer’s nest. It is a neatly built 
