. The popular natural history . Zoology. 546 THE YELLOW HAMMER. generally five eggs, though they sometimes reach the number of six, and their colour is greyish white, profusely covered with spots and dashes of grey-brown. They are, however, extremely variable, and even in the same nest it is not uncommon to find some eggs that are almost black with the mottlings, while others have hardly a spot about them. The Sparrow is a very prolific bird, bringing up several broods in the course of a season, and has been known to rear no less than fourteen young in a single breeding season. The Buntings ar
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 546 THE YELLOW HAMMER. generally five eggs, though they sometimes reach the number of six, and their colour is greyish white, profusely covered with spots and dashes of grey-brown. They are, however, extremely variable, and even in the same nest it is not uncommon to find some eggs that are almost black with the mottlings, while others have hardly a spot about them. The Sparrow is a very prolific bird, bringing up several broods in the course of a season, and has been known to rear no less than fourteen young in a single breeding season. The Buntings are known by their sharp conical bills, with the edges of the upper mandible rounded and slightly turned inwards, and the knob on the palate. They are common in ^ most parts of the world, are gre- garious during the winter months, and in some cases become so fat upon the autumn grain that they are considered great dainties. One of the most familiar of all these birds is the Yellow Bunt- ing, or Yellow Hammer, as it is often called. This lively bird frequents our fields and hedge-rows, and is re- markable for a curious mixture of wariness and curiosity, the latter feeling impelling it to observe a traveller with great attention, and the former to keep out of reach of any missile. So, in walking along a country lane, the pas- senger is often preceded by one or more of these birds, which always keeps about seventy or eighty yards in advance, and flut- ters in and out of the hedges or trees with a peculiar and unmis- takable flirt of the wings and tail The song—if it may so be called —of the bird has a peculiar in- tonation, which is almost arti- culate, and is variously rendered in different parts of England. For example, among the southern counties it is well represented by the words," A little bit of bread and no che-ee-ee-ee-se ! " In Scotland it assumes a sense quite in accordance with the character of its auditors, and is supposed to say, " De'il, de'il, de'i
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
