GIRL BUNTING. 
EMBERIZA CIRLUS. 
The range of this species is, according to my own experience, exceedingly limited in Great Britain. With 
e exception of Sussex where the Cirl Bunting is common in certain localities, I have only met with a chance 
of observing this bird in the Isle of Wight. That it is an occasional visitor to Norfolk, however, I am “ 
possession of good proof, having discovered a couple of fresh-killed females among a dozen Yellow Buntin-s and 
other small birds, shot at my request by a fanner as food for an Owl I kept in confinement. This occurred in 
had Te t“] h 8 l ’r T* H<>iSham Deal ' Tarm0Uth ' The l,irds were obtained round a stack that 
been thrashed ; but though I carefully watched the spot on the following day (being aware the species 
is considered rare in the district), no other specimens .were detected. In the winters of 1879, ’81, and ’82 
again closely inspected the large numbers of Yellow Hammers frequenting the farm-buildings in this 
locality, but without recognizing the bird ; and doubtless it is but a rare straggler to the east of Norfolk. 
In Sussex the Cirl Bunting is a resident, and may be found at all seasons in the country immediately north 
of the range of the South Downs, being particularly abundant within the distance of fifteen or twenty miles 
from Brighton. I have seldom, if ever, noticed the bird further inland than eight or ten miles from the 
coast. During the summer a few make their appearance to the south of the lulls, and nest in the immediate 
vicinity of the seaside towns and villages. I have remarked these Buntings in a few instances as far east 
and west as Hastings and Bognor. 
In autumn they collect in flocks, as many as fifty or sixty being seen at times in company. Yellow 
Hammers and a few stray Chaffinches are occasionally to be observed in close proximity, though for the most 
part I have remarked that they appeared to prefer their own society. At this season they feed on the 
stubbles, resorting for shelter to the hedgerows and coverts. I imagine these birds do not shift their quarters, 
however severe the weather, beyond paying a visit to the farmyards, having met with them frequenting the 
slopes of the downs and the adjoiniug arable land from early in November till the end of February. 
The nest much resembles that of the Yellow Hammer, though I have now and then noticed that the structure 
exhibited a larger quantity of green moss in its composition than is commonly made use of by that species. 
The quickset edges alongside the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway are a very favourite breeding- 
resort for these birds. In the plantations on the sloping sides of the downs, nests may occasionally be seen 
at an elevation of five or six feet in moss-grown and ivy-covered stumps of thorn. In the foliage of trained 
rose-bushes, as well as among ferns and creeping plants on rockeries in gardens, the young have been 
repeatedly reared in the vicinity of Brighton. 
The eggs vary to a considerable extent, exhibiting several shades of colour, though in some instances they 
correspond closely with those of the Yellow Hammer. The young shortly after being hatched are thickly 
covered with a dull black down, and show a large and clearly defined white gape. 
The plumages of the female Cirl Bunting and Yellow Hammer bear a very close resemblance. It is by no 
