65 
BAY- WINGED BUNTING. 
Ehberiza graminea, Gmel. 
PLATE CLIX. — Male. 
I have never seen the Bay-winged Banting in any portion of Louisiana, 
Missouri, Kentucky, or Ohio, and am therefore inclined to look upon it as a 
resident of the country lying to the eastward of the range of the Alleghanies. 
It there occurs from Georgia to Massachusetts, both along the shores and 
inland, as far as the base of the mountains, and here and there on the moun- 
tains themselves, but seldom in places to which cultivation has not extended. 
I have thought it prepossessed in favour of sandy ground, and dry barren 
soils. It sings sweetly, and at times for half an hour, without changing its 
place, either from the tops of the sassafras or. sumach bushes which grow 
along the fences, or from the upper bar or stake of a fence itself. During 
this little serenade it is easily approached, but when on the ground, where it 
runs nimbly and with grace, it is rather shy. It is fond of scratching in the 
warm and dry sand, and of wallowing in it, to cleanse its body. Its flight, 
which is easy, consists of a succession of gentle undulations, and, when it is 
chased, sometimes extends over the whole of a field. It is a solitary bird, 
and is rather pugnacious, for when two males or two females happen to meet, 
little skirmishes frequently ensue. The nest, which is placed among the 
grass, and partly sunk in the ground, little attention being paid to its con- 
cealment, is prettily constructed. It is formed externally of leaves and fine 
grass, and is well lined with horse hair, so as to look neat and comfortable. 
The female lays from four to six eggs, about the middle of April, in favour- 
able seasons, and generally rears two broods each year. I have shot these 
birds during winter, in the neighbourhood of Lancaster in Pennsylvania, 
where but few are seen. At the same period of the year they were found 
numerous along the sea-coast of Virginia and Carolina. Their food consists 
principally of the seeds of grasses and other plants, although they sometimes 
run after insects and eat them also. Their flesh is juicy, tender and savoury. 
This species extends its migrations to the shores of the Columbia river, 
where it was procured by Dr. Townsend ; and it is mentioned by Dr. Rich- 
ardson as one of the birds that reach the prairies of the Saskatchewan early 
in May, to depart in September. In these distant localities it breeds on the 
ground, as it is wont to do in our own Middle Districts, as far south as 
