THE CIRL BUNTING. 

 Emberiza cirlus, Linnseus. 

 Plate i8. 



In Great Britain the Cirl Bunting is more or less confined to the southern 

 parts of England, and only occurs in Scotland and Ireland as a rare vagrant. 



On the Continent it is found over Central and Southern Europe. 



The nest, sometimes placed in a furze-bush or juniper, at others in a roadside 

 bank amongst shrubs and vegetation, is composed of grasses and moss, with a 

 lining of hair. It generally contains five eggs, in ground colour white, tinged 

 with lilac, and spotted and streaked with brownish-black. 



The food of the Cirl Bunting is similar to that of the other species of this 

 family, and the song resembles the Yellow Bunting's, but lacks the prolonged 

 drawn-out note at the end. 



In habits it is not so sprightly and brisk as that bird, and is easily approached ; 

 it frequents enclosures and cultivated land, and in winter may sometimes be seen 

 in flocks. 



The female is not so brightly coloured as her mate, having only a pale yellow 

 streak over the eye, without the black and yellow on the head and throat. 



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