Subfamily EMBERIZIN^. 



THE BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 

 Emberiza melanocephala, Scopoli. 

 Plate 17. 



Some eight or more examples of this rare Bunting have been recorded as 

 occurring in the British Islands, the first having been shot near Brighton in 

 November 1868. 



The summer home of the Black-headed Bunting is in South-eastern Europe, 

 where it is common in many parts ; it ranges also through Asia Minor as far as 

 Baluchistan, and winters in India. 



Seebohm writes {British Birds, vol. ii. p. 167): "The nest of the Black-headed 

 Bunting is seldom placed at any great height above the ground ; it is very 

 frequently in a small bush, but the favourite situation is amongst trailing plants 

 such as clematis, briars, and vines. In the gardens near Constantinople it is built 

 principally amongst the rows of peas and beans. 



" Canon Tristram states that he has frequently found it on the ground. It is 

 rather a bulky structure, and though neatly finished inside, has a somewhat loose 

 and ragged appearance outside. The foundation is made of dry grass, thistle- 

 leaves, and other coarse material ; but the main portion of the nest is constructed 

 entirely of the yellow dry stalks of various small flowering plants, the seed-capsules 

 on which are the most prominent object, and conjoined with the stiffness of the 

 stalks, which prevents them from bending easily, gives the nest a very slender and 

 unfinished look." The lining is of finer material and hair. 



The four or five eggs are greenish-blue, marked with ashy-brown, without the 

 lines and scratches found on those of the other European Buntings. 



The food consists of insects, seeds, and fruit, and its song, though short, is said 

 to be more musical than that of the Yellow Bunting. 



In the female the upper parts are brown, with darker streaks ; rump tinged 

 with yellow ; throat and belly whitish ; breast and flanks buff, with dark streaks ; 

 and the under tail coverts suffused with yellow. 



1. 121 Q 



