The male has the head chestnut with the exception of a black
superciliary stripe; rest of the upper parts reddish brown streaked with
darker. Chin and throat pale chestnut, under parts white streaked with
black on the breast and flanks. The female is duller, and the young bird
has the chestnut of the crown replaced by buff. Length 5 in.; wing 2·75
in.
THE YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING
Emberiza aureola, Pallas
This is an Arctic species, ranging in summer across Siberia eastwards
from Archangel; in winter it migrates to Palestine and Southern Asia.
An immature female was shot in Norfolk in September 1905.
The adult has the forehead, cheeks, and chin black; rest of upper parts
deep reddish brown, brightest on the rump; under parts bright yellow
with a narrow chestnut collar across the upper breast. Length 5 in.;
wing 3·1 in. The female is much duller, and in winter the colours in
both sexes are obscured by long greyish margins.
REED BUNTING
Emberiza schœniclus, Linnæus
The Reed Bunting is an inhabitant of marshy places where osiers, alders,
and long rough sedgy grass and reeds abound, and in such localities it
is by no means uncommon. In summer the male may often be seen clinging
to some reed stem, as he sings his very short and feeble song. Owing to
his black head and white collar, which enable him to be very easily
distinguished, he is known in some parts of the country as the
Black-headed Bunting. The true Black-headed Bunting is, however, a very
different bird, but it so rarely occurs in this country that the
confusion likely to arise is not very serious. The nest is placed on the
ground in the rough grass at the base of some shrub, or in the side of a
tussock, and always near water. It is a fairly neat structure, built,
like the nests of all Buntings, of grass, bents, and moss, with a lining
of hair. The eggs, four to six in number, are very characteristic of
this species, the ground colour is usually purplish grey, boldly
blotched, marked and streaked with dark brown. Very handsome clutches
are sometimes found, in which the ground colour is pale green, showing
off the dark scrolls and blotches to great advantage. If the nest be
discovered and frequently visited after the young are hatched, they will
leave it at a very early age, long before they can fly. In such cases,
however, the anxiety of the parent birds as they fly round and round the
spot soon leads to the discovery of their children.
Except under stress of weather, it is a very resident species, seldom
leaving its favourite haunts, but sometimes in winter, when these are
frozen over, it will be found in the fields consorting with large flocks
of Buntings and Finches. As a rule, however, it is by no means
gregarious, rarely more than ten or twelve being found together.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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