The 
Yellowhammer. 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
(i35) 
two ago—a fresh-caught specimen—and that 
also moulted out successfully and got a card at 
the Palace; and, as you all know, I got second 
this year with a Yellowhammer, which I have 
sold, and it has also won with its new owner. 
A Bird of Many Aliases. 
The Yellowhammer may be called a bird of 
many names; its proper name is, of course, the 
Yellow Bunting. It is called in Shropshire Yel¬ 
low Amber or Yellow Omber; in the north the 
popular names are Yellow Yowle, Yeldren, 
Yeorling and Yite. 
A Simple Songster. 
Of course, everyone who has taken a stroll 
along a country lane in springtime has no doubt 
seen the bird under discussion flitting along the 
hedges and perching on the topmost branches, 
where it utters its plaintive little song, which 
is commonly rendered as “ a little bit of bread 
and no cheese,” and these words seem to fit the 
notes of the song as well as any phrase I know. 
I might say that in Gloucestershire they call 
it “pretty-pretty creature.” If anyone chances 
to see one of these birds sitting on the top of 
a furze bush singing, let them repeat one of 
the above sentences after the bird has uttered 
his quiet, plaintive notes, and they cannot fail 
to be struck with the resemblance of either of 
them to the song. 
Does One Spell Him with an H ? 
There seems to be some doubt among some 
writers on bird topics as to the correct way to 
spell the common name of the bird, and in many 
articles and books it is referred to as the Yellow- 
hammer. Perhaps the initial “ h ” makes it 
more euphonious and supplies something that, 
at first glance, seems to be missing in the form 
of “ Yellowammer.” 
The Yellowhammer's Relatives. 
There are a great many relatives of our bird, 
either residents or seasonal visitors, in this 
country, such as the Cirl Bunting, Lapland 
Bunting, Snow Bunting and Reed Bunting. 
The Bunting family are easily distinguished by 
their angular gape and apparently toothed bill, 
or horny excresence on the upper mandible. 
The most distinguishing feature of the family 
lies in the remarkable markings of their eggs, 
known to nearly every schoolboy in country dis¬ 
tricts. . Though the ground colour of the eggs 
varies, in different species, they are all marked 
with irregular lines, varying in thickness, as 
if someone had tried to scribble on them with 
a pen. 
Unpopular in Scotland. 
When I was staying in Scotland I was told 
the children seem to treat this bird with con¬ 
tempt. It certainly seems the bird is evilly re¬ 
garded by the country-folk, and it suffers in con¬ 
sequence. The nest is seldom spared, and the 
young are tortured in some places. 
Fortunately, with the growth of education and 
greater interest taken nowadays in nature study, 
these unreasonable and strange antipathies to 
certain birds and animals are fast disappearing, 
and the consequent barbarities perpetrated by 
the village children are becoming things of the 
past also. 
A Final Note on Show Cages. 
I forgot to mention show cages. Of course 
some have a fancy for one colour and some for 
another. I myself like to show them against a 
light-green; some prefer a dark-blue enamel for 
the background. 
Some Questions and Answers. 
Many questions were asked Mr. Turnber as to 
if there was any trouble with scaly legs. 
The answer was that the Bunting family 
were great sufferers from this complaint, 
which could be avoided by scaling the 
legs by soaking well in warm water and 
using the finger-nails to remove the scales, 
and after the operation Zam-Buk was very use¬ 
ful to prevent soreness. Some remarks as to 
the difficulty of getting the Yellow Bunting to 
eat colour-feed were made. The answer was, 
Mr. T. found no difficulty in doing so. 
There were also questions asked as to the age 
when Yellowhammers are in their prime for 
show. Answer: About three years; it was 
generally understood the majority of British 
birds were in their prime then, especially the 
Finch tribe. Mr. Wynn asked if there was any 
suggestion to be made as to the best way to 
steady Corn-Buntings, as he possessed a 
very wild specimen. Answer : A steady, fresh 
Corn-Bunting is rarely met with. They 
invariably take about two cage moults to get 
them fit for show. Of course, some settle down 
to cage life better than others. Mr. Curtis told 
a tale that he had heard of a man making the 
remark of the Yellow Bunting being used to 
get size in Crests, which of course is easily 
understood. The Yellow Bunting cross with 
Canary was unknown yet. Mr. T. said he 
thought the only possible cross with the Yellow 
Bunting which was likely might be with a Reed 
Bunting, if tried for in a large aviary. 
An Enjoyable Evening. 
A very enjoyable evening was spent and was 
greatly appreciated by one and all, as, though 
this club was at one time only canary men, it is 
now getting very strong in British bird exhibi¬ 
tors. A vote of thanks was passed and finished 
the evening. 
