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shot near Worthing, in Sussex, and in 1859 another at Lowestoft, in Suffolk. On the continent it is most

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widely distributed—from the hot countries of Spain and oe to Holland, Sweden, Finland, and Norway,
Danie my visit to Norway in 1856, few birds came more frequently under my ee ma. It was
seen i the road-side, at others it was perched on stone walls oc among sual. Sune »by UGE, out mostly on
the fences of gardens and fields: my attention was attracted to i by the conspicuous colouring of te
and the tameness of its disposition. Ina note sent to me by H. E. Dresser, Esq., that gentleman saya The
Ortolan breeds all over Finland ; yet its nest is not so often found as might be Sigcorel It arrives at
Uleaborg in the latter end of May. I saw a good number on ue aa of Je. while walking along the
banks of the ja river; but it was too early to procure any eggs.” Speaking of a bad as seen in Sars
M. Bailly states that it arrives in that country between the 15th and 20th of April, in small companies of
four or ak individuals, or in pairs, but that it is principally between the 25th and 30th of that month that it
appears in great numbers. ‘ As soon as they arrive they pair, and spread over the country, some resorntty
to the vineyards, oat-, and wheat-fields, others to places surrounded by hedges and copses, and others again
to sandy or stony situations. These migratory flights are performed during serene and moonlight nights ;
and it fs then at we frequently hear their cry of thi, thé, thit, thi, thé, the last syllable of the three
cries being ordinarily a little higher in tone than the others. They depart again at the end of August
or September. The old birds are the first to leave, and are generally accompanied by the young ones
that have already moulted : the others migrate as soon as they have finished changing their feathers; and
these are often accompanied by one or two -old birds, which usually fly at their head, as if to guide them.

In the southern provinces, where they are very common, they are considered a great delicacy, and are

fattened for the table in great numbers. For this purpose they are shut up in dark places, sometimes only
ina cage covered over with silk, except the seed-drawer, to which
to feed. Millet seed, steeped for a moment in boiling water,
these prisons the Ortolans, deprived of all exercise, and provided with
food, soon become covered with an amount of fat whic
killed in time to prevent it.”

lighted by the rays from a lantern, or
light is admitted that they may see

is alone
given to them. In

an abundance of
h would not fail to suffocate them, were they not

When compared with the birds forming the ge

nus Emberiza as now restricted, the bill of the Ortolan
Bunting will be found to have a more

prolonged and otherwise different form—a. circumstance which has
induced Mr. Cabanis to Separate it into a distinct genus, Glycyspina, which, concurring with him in opinion,
I have adopted.

The nest, which seems to be invariably plac

edina slight hollow on the ground in fields of corn, is very
similar to that of the Sky

lark, but is somewhat more compact; it is formed of dry grass and small roots
lined with finer grasses and hairs.

The eggs are from four to six in number, of a bluish white, speckled
and spotted with black.
The food consists of grain and various seeds when ripened, to w

hich insects are added in the early part
of the season.

As is the case with the other members of the family, much differe

v head, which bas obtaine
In summer the adult male has the head
feather with a darker centre ;

nee occurs in the colouring of the sexes,

d for it the trivial name of Greenheaded Bunting.
and cheeks of a greyish green; the b
wings brownish black ;
wing-coverts broadly margined,

the male alone having the gree

ack reddish brown, each
the primaries narrowly edged, and the tertiaries and
tail brownish black, the two outer fe
their inner web, near the tip;
under surface reddish buff, lighter on
brown ; bill reddish brown ; legs

The female has the head of
brown, and her general c

with reddish brown ;
side with a broad patch of white on
breast yellowish green ;

athers on each
chin, throat, and upper part of the
the abdomen and under
brown.
a greyer tint and streaked with dark
olour not so rich as in the male.

The Plate represents the two

tail-coverts ; irides
, toes, and claws pale reddish-

brown, the breast streaked with dark

sexes, of the size of life, on a branch of the Barberry, Berberis vulyaris, Linn.