CIRL-BUNTING. 91 



part of the breast, is of a fine olive-green, the first streaked with dusky; 

 from the upper mandible through the eye, a dusky stroke; above and 

 beneath the eye a bright yellow one ; throat black, slightly tipped with 

 brown, running into a bar under the yellow on the cheek ; beneath this 

 is a gorget of beautiful bright yellow. The back and scapulars are of a 

 fine chestnut-brown, the former marked with dusky streaks, the margin 

 of the feathers with olive ; rump olive-brown ; upper tail coverts in- 

 clining to chestnut ; the smaller wing coverts olive-green ; greater 

 coverts dusky, their outer webs chestnut-brown ; greater quills dusky, 

 edged with green on the exterior webs ; smaller quills chestnut, dusky 

 down their middle. Across the breast is a band of chestnut, mixed with 

 yellow ; belly and under-tail coverts yellow, the latter dusky on the 

 shafts ; sides more inclining to brown ; the under-wing coverts bright 

 yellow ; the two middle feathers of the tail chestnut-brown, the rest 

 black, except the two exterior on each side, which have an oblique bar 

 of white from the tip half way ; and the outmost feather is white 

 throughout the whole of the exterior web ; the legs are brown ; claws 

 dusky. 



The female, in general, weighs half a dram less than the male. 



The upper part of the head is olivaceous brown, streaked with dusky ; 

 over the eye a dull yellow streak, passing down the side of the head ; 

 cheeks brown, on which is a yellowish spot ; on each side the lower 

 mandible is a broken streak of dusky, passing downwards ; chin and 

 throat dull yellow, the latter streaked with dusky ; the back part and 

 sides of the neck and breast olivaceous-brown, with dusky streaks ; 

 belly and sides pale yellow, with large dusky streaks on the latter ; the 

 upper part of the body and wings like the other sex, but the colours 

 less bright. 



We first discovered this species near Kingsbridge, in the winter of 

 1800, not uncommon amongst flocks of yellow hammers and chaf- 

 finches, and procured several specimens of both sexes, killed in different 

 places six or seven miles from that place. They are indigenous to 

 Devonshire, but seem to be confined to the southern parts of that county 

 contiguous to the coast, having found them extending as far as Teign- 

 mouth, at both of which places we found their nests ; but have never 

 observed them far inland. It generally builds in furze, or some low 

 bush ; the nest is composed of dry stalks, roots, and a little moss, and 

 lined with long hair and fibrous roots. The eggs are four or five in 

 number, cinereous white, with irregular long and short curved dusky 

 lines, terminating frequently with a spot at one end ; size rather infe- 

 rior to those of the yellow hammer, to which it bears great resemblance. 



