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 spring that their ranks are so mercilessly thinned. Common over the greater part of Europe, 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 brown, whilst the white parts are less pure in tone. The full dress of the male is rarely 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.
Photo by W. F. Piggott] [Leighton Buzzard.
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 the right-hand corner is a greenfinch.
Unlike the buntings so far described, the Reed-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 as common a species as the corn-bunting, and therefore not calling for special description here.
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.