2 
MAC K-IIEAD E D 15 U N'T IXG. 
approaching their quarters. The birds arrive for tlie most part singly, flying high and darting down witli a 
sudden sweep, and at once disappearing among the stems of the reeds, appearing to take up a position close 
above the water. As many as forty or fifty might be counted seeking the shelter of this small patch of rushes 
shortly before dusk. 
In winter, while keeping companny with other Buntings and Finches, the food of this species consists for 
the most part of grain collected from the neighbourhood of farm-buildings and stackyards, as well as the seeds 
ol many grasses and plants. Insects and caterpillars, together with a few seeds, probably form the principal 
part of their diet during spring and summer. A small white moth which appears among the water-plants 
growing on the broads in the east of Norfolk early in June is eargerly sought after by this Bunting. The 
insect is usually found clinging to the stems of the reed ; and unless the weather prove too stormy, the birds may 
he seen daily for a few weeks, flitting from stem to stem, diligently hunting through all the straggling patches 
of reed that fringe the side of the marshes. 
