30 
OTNTrtfG. 
right. ‘Corn-laws’ and ‘Protection’ have no place in their 
‘statute hook;’ ‘free trade in corn’ is the motto of the Bunting 
Lark; he has only regard to ‘home consumption,’ and ignores 
all ‘duties,’ save those which hunger dictates. 
In that very pleasing volume, the ‘Journal of a Naturalist,’ 
Mr. Knapp says, ‘It could hardly be supposed that this bird, 
not larger than a Lark, is capable of doing serious injury; 
yet I this morning witnessed a rick of barley, standing in a 
detached field, entirely stripped of its thatching, which this 
Bunting effected by seizing the end of the straw, and 
deliberately drawing it out, to search for any grain the ear 
might contain; the base of the rick being entirely surrounded 
by the straw, one end resting on the ground, the other against 
the mow, as it slid clown from the summit, and regularly 
placed, as if by the hand; and so completely was the thatching 
pulled off*, that the immediate removal of the corn became 
necessary. The Sparrow and other birds burrow into the 
stack, and pilfer the corn, but the deliberate unroofing the 
edifice appears to be the habit of this Bunting alone.’ 
They are rather, though by no means very shy birds, but 
frequently in the breeding-season and in the autumn sit close. 
They may sometimes be seen dusting themselves in the roads, 
like the Larks and Sparrows, and other birds. They also 
wash themselves; and may be kept in confinement. 
The flight of the Bunting is heavy and strong, rather 
undulated, performed by alternate beatings and cessations, 
and in some degree laboured, as if the wings were hardly 
equal, without exertion, to support the weight of the body. 
If suddenly disturbed, they fly off in a straight direction, 
with drooping legs, a constant flutter of the wings, and an 
audible ‘whirr,’ reminding one somewhat of the Partridge. 
At night they roost in bushes or hedges, and also on the 
ground, in stubble-fields. They move along the ground by 
hopping. 
The food of the Corn Bunting consists of corn and such 
seeds as it meets with; beetles, such as coekchaffers, in their 
season, and other insects. It is consequently a good bird to 
eat, and, from its ponderous and bulky size, b} r no means 
despicable for the table; such at least I have found it at 
the ‘Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth,’ at which 
it was to be supposed that I received my education. 
The note of the Bunting, which is uttered both when the 
bird is perched and on the wing, is harsh and unmusical, 
