The YELLOWAMMER, or YELLOWHAMMER, Photo ly J. T. Newman] [Berkhcmi&ted. is another familiar roadside form in England, GREENFINCH. which scarcely needs description. Commonly known as the Green Linnet.

The most celebrated of all the buntings is the ORTOLAN, or GREEN-HEADED BUNTING, a bird resembling its congener the yellowhammer, but lacking its bright coloration. It has acquired fame.from the delicate flavour of its flesh, and to supply the demand for this delicacy immense numbers are netted annually by the bird-catchers of the Continent. Wintering in North Africa, these birds leave Europe in September in large flocks, and it is during this migration and the return journey in the Common over the greater part of Europe,spring that their ranks are so mercilessly thinned. it is somewhat surprising that the ortolan does not occur more frequently in the British Islands, where it is only an occasional spring and autumn visitor.

The SNOW-BUNTING, or SNOWFLAKE, is a regular winter visitant to the British Islands, some pairs indeed remaining to breed in the Highlands of Scotland every year, whilst its presence serves to enliven some of the dreariest spots of high northern latitudes. The male in breeding-dress is a handsome bird, having the upper-parts black and the under white; its mate is somewhat duller, the black parts being obscured by greyish white, fulvous, and blackish

Photo ly W. F. Piggott} _Leighton Muzzard. LINNET. One of the most popular cage-birds. The so-called Red-brown and Grey Linnets are but phases of plumage of the same species. The bird in th right-hand corner is a greenfinch.

full dress of the male is rarelybrown, whilst the white parts are less pure in tone. The seen in the British Islands, save in specimens procured from Scotland; for in winter, when the snow-bunting is chiefly captured, the plumage is altogether more rufous.

Unlike the buntings so far described, the EEED-BUNTING is to be found only in marshy places, but in suitable localities it may be found in the British Islands all the year round, being for special description here.as common a species as the corn-bunting, and therefore not calling

The eggs of the buntings are remarkable for the curious scribble-like markings which cover them, and serve readily to distinguish them from those of any other British bird.

CHAPTER XYI.

LARKS, TITMICE, HONEY-EATERS, AND THEIR KINDRED.

almost entirely to the Old World, where they are represented by more than one hundred species, many of which have undergone considerable specialisation in the matter of plumage, so as to enable them to live in desert regions, the LARKS constitute a well-marked group, into the characters of which we need not enter here. is the SKYLARK. Common throughout the British The best-known member of the group Islands, and of sober coloration, no bird is more universally beloved, and this largely on account of the sweetness of its song, which is second only to that of the nightingale. Poets and prose-writers alike have sounded its praises, many in passages that will be remembered as is one of the few birds which sing while on thelong as our language lasts. The skylark wing; the peculiar nature of the flight at this time all must have watched, entranced the while by the beauty of the song.

Larks, Titmice, Honey-eaters, and their Kindred 527

Grahame, in his "Birds of Scotland," happily describes the nest as follows- The daisied lea he loves, where tufts of grass Luxuriant crown the ridge; there, with his mate, He founds their lowly house, of withered bents, And coarsest speargrass; next, the inner work With finer and still finer fibres lays, Rounding it curious with its speckled breast.

This bird displays great affection for its young, removing them under the fear of impending danger, or if the nest is meddled with. Occasionally, however, the bird sits close, instead of seeking safety by flight. Brighton enjoys the credit of consuming more larks than any other place in England, except London. It has been estimated that the number of larks annually entering the metropolitan markets alone reaches a total of 400,000 20,000 or 30,000 being often sent together; and the numbers eaten elsewhere in the country must be enormous, quite as large, indeed, as abroad. Most are captured from the hosts which arrive on the east coast of Scotland and England from the Continent on approach of severe weatherr the birds making their appearance in thousands, forming a constant and unbroken stream for two or three days in succession.

Close allies of the Larks, the WAGTAILS and PIPITS come next under consideration. The former range over the Old World, but are unknown in Australia and Polynesia. The pipits have a similar range, but one species is found in, and is peculiar to, Australia. Like wagtails, pipits are unknown in Polynesia; only two species occur in America.

The WAGTAILS are generally black and white, grey and white, grey with yellow breasts, or yellowish green with yellow breasts. In the last-mentioned case, as in some specimens of the YELLOW WAGTAIL, the yellow predominates. These birds frequent streams and stagnant waters, like the EED and GREY WAGTAILS; or corn-fields and meadows, as in the case of the YELLOW WAGTAIL. All these are commonly met with in the British Islands.

Photo by C. Reid} [Wishaw, N.B. SKYLARKS. The numbers of skylarks seem to increase with the spread of agricultural improvement.

of the World528 The Living Animals

The PIPITS are duller-coloured than the Wagtails, have shorter tails, and evince less fondness for the water. The MEADOW-, ROCK-, and TREE-PIPITS are the commonest British species.

Neither Wagtails nor Pipits are much given to perching, but the TREE-CREEPERS spend their lives upon trees, some being specially modified for this mode of life, their tail-feathers being stiff and terminating in sharp points. By pressing its tail closely against the tree-trunk up which it is climbing, the bird obtains a wonderfully reliable support. Beginning at the bottom of a trunk, creepers quickly work their way up in a spiral direction, or sometimes in jerky zigzags, searching every crevice for tiny insects, their eggs and larvae, and flitting tree.from the higher branches, when these are reached, to the base of another

Creepers are mostly dull-coloured, but the WALL-CREEPER has crimson patches on the wings. This bird, which has occurred in Britain, haunts mountain-cliffs. The TREE-CREEPER, a resident in Britain, builds its nest behind pieces of loose bark, or under tiles, or in crevices of trees, walls, or hollow branches. In this nest are laid from six to nine eggs, pure white, spotted with red, or with a creamy ground-colour, with the spots thicker round the large end. Intermediate in position between the Creepers and the Titmice are the NUT- HATCHES. Chiefly inhabitants of the northern parts of both hemispheres, they extend as far south as Mexico, whilst in the Old World they occur plentifully in the Himalaya. The largest species is found in the mountains of Burma. One species is frequently met with in England, and occasionally in Scotland, but is unknown in Ireland. The ENGLISH NUTHATCH may serve us as a type of the group. "Its habits," writes Dr. Sharpe, "are a combination of those of the tit and woodpecker. Like the former bird, the nuthatch seeks diligently for its insect-food on the trunks and branches of trees, over which it runs like a woodpecker, with this difference, that its tail is not pressed into the service of climbing a tree, nor does it generally ascend from the bottom to the Photo by A. S. Rudland Sons. YOUNG SKYLARKS. top, as a woodpecker so often does. On the a nuthatch will generally be found Several broods are reared by each pair of birds in a season. contrary, in the higher branches, and will work its is just as much at home onway down from one of the branches towards the trunk, and the under side of a limb as the upper. Its movements are like those of a mouse rather than of a bird, and it often runs head-downward, or hangs on the under side of a branch and hammers away, at the bark with its powerful little bill. The noise produced by one of these is really astonishing for a bird of its size, and, if undisturbed,birds, when tapping at a tree, it can be approached pretty closely. Its general food consists of insects, and in the winter the nuthatches join the wandering parties of tits and creepers which traverse the woods in search of food.... In the autumn it feeds on hazel-nuts and beech-mast, breaking them open by constant hammering; and, like the tits, the nuthatches can be tempted to the vicinity of houses in winter, and become quite interesting by their tameness."

The nuthatch nests in hollow trees, plastering up the entrance with mud, and leaving an aperture only just sufficient to enable it to wriggle in and out. A remarkable nest may be seen at the British Natural History Museum. It was built in the side of a haystack, to which the industrious birds had carried as much as 11 Ibs. of clay, and had thus made for themselves a solid nest in an apparently unfavourable position.

Larks, Titmice, Honey-eaters, and their Kindred 529

The TITMICE occur in one form or another all over Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in the New World as far south as Southern Mexico. The family may be divided into TRUE. CRESTED, LONG-TAILED, and PENDULINE TITS and REED- LINGS, all but the penduline tits being represented in England.

Of the true tits, the best known is the BLUE TIT, which is no stranger even in London parks. Travelling in small bands throughout the autumn and winter, they may frequently be met with during a country walk, their presence being made known by a pretty tinkling little note. This method of travelling is obviously advantageous, for the discovery of food at this time is an arduous task, and, if undertaken individually, many would surely : " A starve, as Professor Newton points out single titmouse searching alone might hunt for a whole day without meeting with a sufficiency, whilst, if a dozen are united by the same motive, it is hardly possible for the place in which the food is lodged to escape their detection, and, when discovered, a few call-notes from the lucky finder are Photo ly J. T. Kewman] [Herkkamsted. enough to assemble the whole company to NUTHATCH. share the feast.... One tree after another Apparently unknown in a wild state in Ireland, and rare in Scotland, in is visited by the active little rovers, and its England fairly common. branches examined: if nothing be forthcoming, away goes the explorer to the next that presents itself, merely giving utterance to the usual twitter that serves to keep the whole body together. But if the object of search be found, another chirp is emitted, and the next moment several members of the band are flitting in succession to the tree, and eagerly engaged with the spoil." is on These little birds display great affection for their old nesting-places. An instance record where, so far back as 1785, a pair built their nest in a large earthenware bottle placed in the branches of a tree in a garden at Oxbridge, near Stockton-on-Tees. With two exceptions only, this bottle was tenanted by a pair of these birds every year till 1873. In 1892 Professor Newton, who had this account from Canon Tristram, was informed that the occupancy had ceased for four years. tail. The LONG-TAILED or BOTTLE-TIT is a British species, deriving its name from the long It is a pretty little bird, black and rose-colour above, with a rose-coloured abdomen, and the head, throat, and breast white. It enjoys the distinction of being one of the smallest British inbirds, and is found in woods and plantations all over England, though less common Scotland. These tits have a curious habit of roosting during the winter, six or seven huddling together in a row, with three or four others perched on their backs, and two or three on the top. The nest, which is placed in a tree or bush, is a model of industry. Oval in shape, and roofed, with a small aperture near the top, it is composed of moss, lichen, and hair, closely felted and lined with an enormous collection of feathers, Macgillivray having counted 2,779 in a single nest. Other species of titmice occurring in Britain are the GREAT, MARSH-, COAL-, and

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