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(Emberiza Miliaria, Linn.—Le Proyer, Buff.)
THE length of this bird is about seven inches and a half. The bill is brown; irides hazel; the general colour resembles that of a Lark; the throat white, the upper parts olive brown, each feather streaked down the middle with black; the under parts are dirty yellowish white, streaked on the sides with dark brown, and spotted with the same on the breast; the quills dusky, with yellowish edges; upper coverts tipped with white; tail feathers much the same as the wings, and somewhat forked: legs pale brown.
The Bunting is very common in all parts of the country, and may be frequently observed on the highest part of a hedge, or uppermost branch of a tree, uttering its harsh and dissonant cry, at short intervals; they are heard and seen in these situations during the greater part of summer, after which they are met with in flocks, and continue so during winter: they are often shot in great numbers, or caught in nets; and from the similarity of their plumage, are not unfrequently sold for Larks. The female makes her nest among the thick grass, a little elevated above the ground; she lays five or six eggs. Buffon observes, that in France the Bunting is seldom seen during winter, but that it arrives soon after the Swallow, and spreads itself through almost every part of Europe. Their food consists chiefly of grain; they likewise eat the various kinds of insects which they find in the fields and meadows.
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