THE YELLOW-HAMMER 
The middle of March is the pairing time of the 
Yellow-Hammer, and the eggs are laid early in April 
They are generally of a stone colour, streaked and 
scribbled over with lines of purplish-brown or grey. 
Because of these curious marks the bird is sometimes 
known as the Writing Lark. 
The male bird is a devoted father, and he helps 
his mate to hatch the eggs. When she is on the 
nest he is nearly always to be found on a spray close 
by, chirping a little song. Two broods are reared 
in a year, and usually three nestlings in each, but 
sometimes four or five. The young are not able to fly 
until about a fortnight after they have been hatched. 
When first fledged they are of a dull yellowish- 
brown, streaked with black. They do not show their 
golden crowns until after the first autumn moult. 
The song of the Yellow-Hammer, although 
cheerful, is not exactly beautiful Country-people 
say that he is repeating the words — 
A little bit of bread and no che^ — ^e — ese ! 
He is to be heard singing early in February, 
and he continues right through July and August, 
when most other birds are silent. He feeds on insects 
and flies, but mostly on the seeds of troublesome 
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