172 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



In structure, with only a few exceptions, the nests are rather 

 loose ; so loose, in fact, that it is very difficult to keep them in 

 shape once they have been detached from the branches. The 

 material used is hay and withered blades of grass ; rootlets, 

 hair and vegetable down, though very sparingly, are often used 

 as an inside lining. 



The eggs, four to five in number, are white, speckled over 

 with purplish-brown. I noticed some nests in 1910 in which 

 the eggs were conspicuously blue. 



The breeding season for the Linnet in Malta generally lasts 

 from the middle of March to the middle of May. The earliest 

 date on which I found freshly-laid eggs was March 8th. 



17. CORN-BUNTING. 



Emberiza miliaria, Linn. — Durrajsa. 



The Corn-Bunting is one of our common resident and 

 breeding species. It was much more abundant a few years 

 ago ; its present diminution being perhaps due to the great 

 demand for its eggs among dealers on the continent. In 

 February fresh arrivals are often noticed. 



The nest is usually placed on the ground in a depression of 

 the soil under cover of some dwarf herbage, very often amongst 

 the withered leaves of the Asphodelus ramosus. Sometimes, but 

 very rarely, it is found on the lower branches of the carbb. 



Both sexes take part in its construction, which they complete 

 in nine or ten days. 



The nest is rather bulky, but neat and compact ; it is made 

 of fine roots on the outside, having an inside lining of horsehair. 

 In nests which are found not far from the seashore seaweeds 

 are generally found as part of the construction-material. 



The eggs vary in number from four to six, the last being, 

 however, the usual number. In colour they vary from a 

 delicate creamy-white to almost a light reddish-brown, speckled 

 over with brown and black, and often having very irregular scrib- 

 blings, which are generally more confluent about the thicker end. 



Nidification lasts from the middle of February to the end of 

 May. 



