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THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



Food.*— Seeds and grain of various kinds form the staple food of this bird, 

 In the stack-yard the Bunting is a destructive bird in hard weather during 

 winter, and I do not remember ever having one in my hand that was not 

 plump and fat. 



In Confinement this bird has not many attractions, except for those who 

 wish to study its habits in an aviary. All the Buntings should have a mixed 

 food, consisting of oats, hemp, millet, bread crumbs, meat, insects, and a 

 paste made of grated carrot, bread and barley meal. They should also be 

 supplied with water, and also with gravel, in which most of them delight to 

 bathe or rustle. 



Habitat-— The Bunting is found throughout Britain, from Land's End 

 to the Shetlands, though less commonly in the north than in England. It 

 frequents fields and cultivated parts, particularly on the higher grounds. 



Abroad it is met with more or less commonly throughout South and 

 Central Europe wherever corn is cultivated ; it is also found in North Africa, 

 Persia, and Turkestan. 



Nest. — The nest is begun sometime during May, and is placed on a bank 

 among coarse grass or briar, or in a field among clover or tares, either upon, 

 or very near the ground. It is composed of coarse dry grass and straw, and 

 lined with finer grass, and sometimes hair. 



Eggs. — From four to six. They are grey, tinged with yellow or purple, 

 with irregular blackish-purple streaks, blotches or spots, and frequently lighter 

 shades ; sometimes they have a purplish-brown tint, and others have the 

 ground nearly white. 



BUTTERFLIES AROUND LIVERPOOL. 



By F. N. PIERCE. 



Your article on the British Butterflies reminds me that I have seen no record 

 of the unusual occurrence of some of them in the Liverpool district during 

 the year 1884. 



Vanessa cardui appeared here last year in the larva state, in large quan- 

 tities, all over the district. I had never taken the larva before, but I took 

 as many as I wanted in half an hour. In other years we seldom see six or 

 eight imagines during the season. 



Vanessa atalanta also appeared fairly plentifully, though of late years it 

 has generally been scarce in the immediate district. 



Vanessa io. — In this district I have one specimen, that was at West 

 Kirby in 1881. 



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