near the nest the bird hovers round, uttering incessantly its shrill querulous notes, and thus, and by its restlessness, betrays its alarm, and often points out the very spot which it wishes most to conceal.

The food of this bird consists of insects, larvæ, small molluscous animals, and seeds, in searching for which it mixes with other birds, but chiefly those of its own genus. In summer, when masses of sea-weed are cast on shore and become putrid, the Shore Pipet finds among this an abundant supply of larvæ.

Mudie describes this bird as inhabiting the sea-shores, and finding the principal part of its food at and within high-water mark. In manner its song in spring, and its chirp at all times, bear a very close resemblance to those of the Meadow Pipet. It runs with great ease along the sand, picking up its food, and when alarmed it hops onward. with a bouncing flight. The nest is formed of bents or other plants growing near the sea, and lined with finer fibres, or with leaves. The eggs are not more than five, yellowish grey, with reddish brown spots, especially at the thick ends. There are two broods or more in the course

of the year.

N

RICHARD'S PIPET (Anthus Ricardi). But little is known of the habits of this species, which is rare in Great Britain, only a few specimens having been met with here; it has a long hind claw, and an olive brown plumage on the upper parts, and dull white on the under; the breast and sides being tinged with reddish yellow, and marked with oblong dusky spots. The form is slender and graceful, approaching very near to that of the Wagtails; it is a rare bird on the Continent, and but little is known of its habits. It is said to keep very much on the ground, where it runs with great swiftness and facility, waving its tail up and down with a gentle, easy motion; it emits a loud shrill note while flying, feeds chiefly on insects, and lays reddish white eggs, speckled with light brown or red.

Gould, in his 'Birds of Europe,' mentions but two instances that had occurred of the capture of the bird in this country; we can add a third: one was shot about six or seven years since, in Kent, by Mr. Mummery of Margate, in the museum of which town the specimen is preserved,

CHAPTER XIV.

COMMON, YELLOW, CIRL, ORTOLAN, SNOW AND
LAPLAND BUNTINGS.

THE THE Emberizine, or Bunting family, is composed of species intimately allied with the Passerinæ, or Sparrow family, in which are included the various kinds of Finches and Linnets. All these birds agree in their general characteristics, and one unacquainted with the structural and other differences, appreciable only to the scientific naturalist, wonders why they should be placed in distinct family groups.

Of the true Buntings we have in this country five species, of the Lark Buntings two; the latter birds form an intermediate link between the Sparrows and Larks. All the birds of this family have a strong, undulating, and rapid flight. They move on the ground by short leaps, frequent the open fields, retreating to trees and bushes when disturbed, and reposing at night on the ground or on low bushes. They are heavy birds, and more terrestrial in their habits than the Larks or Finches.

THE CORN BUNTING (Emberiza milliaria), is remarkably full and robust of form. It has a large head, and short, stout bill, characteristic of the Deglubitrices, or Huskers, to which order all these birds belong. The length of this species is about seven inches and a quarter. In the colour of its plumage it closely resembles the Field Lark, having the upper parts light yellowish brown, shaded with blackish brown; the lower parts pale yellowish grey, each feather of the foreneck being tipped with a triangular spot of dark brown, so as to give it a mottled appearance.

This is the commonest of the British species, being a permanent resident, and generally distributed, although it is much rarer in some districts than others. It is a hardy bird, and abounds in some of the Scottish Isles, especially the Hebrides, where it is generally known as the Sparrow. Its food consists of the seeds of grasses and other plants, the various kinds of grain, and some insects, especially beetles. It frequents open pastures, grass and corn land, and keeps pretty closely within the limits of cultivation, being seldom found on the wild moors or hill-sides.

These Buntings begin to build towards the end of April. The nest is composed of dry stalks and blades of grass, with a lining of fibrous roots and leaves. It is placed on the ground beside a strong tuft of grass or other plant, under a bush, and sometimes in an open pasture, or cultivated field. The eggs are four or five in number, about ten and a half twelfths of an inch long, greyish or purplish white, marked with spots and dots, and curved streaks of blackish brown and greyish purple. When the breeding season is over these birds collect together in small flocks, and as autumn advances they may be found in the stubble field searching for the scattered grain and seeds of various kinds. 'Frequently at this season they sit close, like the Larks, and will allow a person to approach very near before they fly off; but for the most part they are shy, and not easily approached. In winter, especially in cold or boisterous weather, they appear near houses, and mingle in the stackyards with Sparrows, Yellow Buntings, Larks, and other small birds; but they are not so gregarious as those species, and are very seldom met with in large flocks. Their flight is strong, capable of being

THE YELLOW-HAMMER.

197

long protracted, undulated, being formed by alternate beatings and cessations, but heavier and more steady or direct than that of the Yellow Bunting. When surprised in a field, or roused from a corn-yard, they fly off with a direct, rapid motion; but often when an individual, which has been resting on a twig or wall-top, starts away, it allows its feet to hang for a short time before it commences its bounding flight. I believe there is no other bird of this order which has this habit.'

During the spring and summer this bird, which, on account of the resemblance of its plumage to that of the Skylark, is often called the Lark Bunting, may be frequently seen perched on the upper branch of a tall hedge, or on the top of a low tree, uttering its harsh, unmusical notes, resembling the syllables chat or chit sharply and rapidly uttered, and followed by a protracted one. This, although most frequent during the breeding season, may be heard occasionally at all seasons.

In the autumn these birds become gregarious, and visit the barn-yards in company with Chaffinches, Sparrows, &c., for the sake of the grain to be obtained there. At this time they have a very destructive habit, which is thus mentioned by Knapp:-'It can hardly be supposed that this bird, not larger than a Lark, is capable of doing serious injury; yet I this morning witnessed a stack 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 and the other against the mow, as it slid down 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 operation of unroofing the edifice appears to be the habit of this Bunting alone.'

THE YELLOW-HAMMER (Emberiza citrinella).-This familiar bird is known by a great variety of local names, such as