The GREY BUNTING (_Miliaria valida_) is one of the largest of its family,
the length of the body being seven and a half inches, the breadth across
the tail twelve and a quarter inches, the wing four inches, and the tail
three inches. The female is not quite so large as her mate. The plumage
of this species is extremely simple in its coloration; the body is a dark
grey, the lower portion, as far as the breast, being marked with white
or yellowish white, and the sides with brown. The exterior tail-feathers
are of uniform grey, the iris dark brown, the beak greenish yellow, and
the feet horn colour. The female is exactly like her mate. The young
are darker than the old birds, and the spots upon the feathers larger.
The Grey Bunting is not only distinguished by the simplicity of its
plumage, but by its comparatively large, strong beak, furnished with a
protuberance on its roof; its feet are weak and its wings short; it is
likewise remarkable for the shortness of the claw upon the hinder toe.
The Grey Buntings inhabit the greater part of Europe, either as permanent
residents or as birds of passage, appearing in the largest numbers in the
more southern portions of the continent: they are likewise met with both
in Egypt and the Canary Isles. Fields and pastures are the localities
they prefer, and they but rarely make their home in the neighbourhood of
forests or in mountain districts. This bird has a clumsy and unwieldy
appearance, as a glance at its stout, powerful body, combined with weak
legs and short wings, will at once show; indeed, when upon the ground it
looks eminently ungraceful, as it bends itself nearly double, flapping
with its tail as it hops slowly from place to place. When in the air it
flies with difficulty, the short, whirring strokes of its wings producing
an undulating kind of motion. The song of this Bunting has nothing to
recommend it, being in sound not unlike the noise produced by a stocking
machine, from which fact this species is in many places known as the
"Stocking Weaver." Still, however unpleasing to our ears this performance
may be, the birds themselves are highly delighted with their own music,
accompanying their notes by a variety of gesticulations, and thus
appearing to give utterance to sentiments that their very limited gamut
does not permit them otherwise to express.
The breeding season commences in April. The nest is generally placed in
the grass or amongst a group of plants, and is built of straw and dry
leaves, lined with hair and other elastic materials. The eggs, from four
to six in number, have a delicate pale grey or dirty yellowish shell,
marked with dull purple spots, veins, and lines that are very close
together at the broad end. The young are fed upon insects, and are fully
fledged by May, when the parent birds at once proceed to undertake the
care of a second family, only joining the rest of the flock when the work
of incubation is completed. The flesh of the Grey Bunting is considered
excellent; it is therefore much sought after by man, whose example is
followed by falcons, rats, foxes, and other animals.