ITO YEETEBRATA. 
The Long-tailed Swamp-Sparrow, A. rostratus of Cassin, is six inclies long; dull brown 
above, beneath dull white ; found in California. 
Genus SPIZA : Sjnza. — This includes the Indigo-Bird, S. cyanea, five and a half inches long ; 
blue, with greenish tints ; one of our most beautiful summer visitors ; feeds on caterpillars, worms, 
grasshoppers, and seeds ; the nest is usually on a low bush ; the eggs four to five, white. It 
breeds in the United States ; returns to Mexico and South America in winter. 
Other species are the Painted Bunting, S. ciris, five inches long ; colors purplish-blue and yel- 
lowish-green ; found in the Southern States, and the Lazuli Finch, jS. amcena, five and a half 
inches long; blue above and white beneath ; found on the Columbia Hiver. 
THE EMBERIZIN^ OE BUNTINGS. 
These have a conical, acute bill ; wings of moderate size ; the hind toe larger than the inner 
one, and the claws slender. They are generally distributed in both hemispheres ; feed more on 
the ground than the Fringilliufe, and build their nests in low bushes or tufts of grass. Like the 
finches, they collect in large flocks in the winter, and frequent the open fields. Their food con- 
sists of seeds and insects. 
THE OBTOLAN OE GREBN-HBADED BUNTING. 
Genus EMBERIZA : Emheriza. — This includes the Ortolan or Green-headed Bunting — 
Bruant Ortolan of the French — E. horhdana, six and a quarter inches long ; reddish-brown 
above ; beneath reddish-bufF ; frequents light sandy soils ; builds on the ground, and lays five to 
six eggs. It is migratory, and breeds in the north of Europe ; in moving southward, about Au- 
gust, great numbers are taken in England, France, Germany, &c., in nets, and fattened for the 
table, they being esteemed a great luxury. To hasten this process, they are shut up in a room 
artificially lighted, so as to offer no distinction between night and day, and fed with oats, millet, 
and bread, mixed with spice. Booth says : "These birds are fed np till they become lumps of fat 
of three ounces in weight, some of which are potted or otherwise preserved, and exported to other 
countries." The ortolan is kept in cages on account of its handsome appearance and pleasing 
song. 
The Yellow Hammer of Europe — properly Yellow Ammer, the latter word signifying hunting 
in the German — JS. citrinella, is a handsome bird, seven inches long ; head, neck, and cheeks 
lemon-yellow ; back and wings reddish-brown, tinged with yellow ; under surface of the body 
bright lemon-yellow ; common throughout Europe, from the Mediterranean to Norway ; in Eng- 
