56 embertzid.f:. 



IXSESSORES. EMBERIZIDJE. 



CONIROSTRES. 



PLATE CI. 



REED BUNTING. 



E3IBEBIZA SCHCENICLUS. 



Another member of this very handsome family is the 

 Reed Bunting, "which, although not distinguished by the 

 lively yellow colour that belongs to most of its congeners, is 

 not less elegant, "when in its full spring dress. 



The attachment of this species to the vicinity of -water 

 renders it of course local, but in aquatic situations it is 

 often found in great plenty. Along the banks of the Thames 

 that border the opposite counties of Surrey and Middlesex, 

 this species is very common, and, no doubt, equally so in 

 many similar localities. In the southern parts of England, 

 "we have no doubt that the Reed Bunting is resident through- 

 out the year : and we are not aware that it abounds more at 

 one season than another. At all periods, this species may be 

 found, as before observed, on the banks of the Thames and 

 its tributary streams ; and we have seldom observed a nest of 

 this species many yards from water of some description. In 

 the small islands along the Thames appropriated as osier 

 grounds, Reed Buntings abound in summer, and such places 

 are, in the months of April and May, alive with these birds. 

 In passing through them the birds are roused from their nests, 

 and, springing up, cling among the slender stems of the 

 osiers, flitting from one to another in anxious alarm. They 



