The ORTOLAN, or GARDEN BUNTING (_Glycyspina hortulana_), is a member of
this family; in size it is somewhat smaller than the Golden Bunting, its
body not measuring more than six inches in length; the span of its wings
is about ten inches, the wings three inches, and the tail two and a half
inches. The female is not quite so large as her mate. Among the Ortolans
the sexes are but little distinguishable by their plumage, in which a
reddish brown generally predominates. The head, nape, and front of the
neck are grey, the throat, stripe upon the cheeks, and a small circle
round the eyes of a straw colour. The back is marked with long dark
streaks, the wing-quills are brown, the secondaries being bordered with
light brown, and the rest with light red, as are also the tail-feathers;
the exterior tail-feathers have a long white patch upon their inner web.
The plumage of the female is spotted and duller in its tints than that
of the male, which, however, resembles her in these respects during the
winter months. The iris is brown, and the feet and back of a reddish grey.
[Illustration: THE BLACK-HEADED BUNTING (_Euspiza melanocephala_).]
The Ortolan is found throughout the greater portion of the European
continent, and is extremely common both in South Norway and in Sweden,
as also in Southern Italy and on the eastern coast of Spain. It is well
known in Holland, England, France, Russia, and some parts of Germany;
it inhabits Asia as far as the Altai Mountains, and, though rare, is
occasionally met with in Northern Africa. In its life and habits the
Garden Bunting closely resembles its golden-plumaged relative, and even
surpasses it in its powers of song, although the voices of the two
are very similar. The nest is built upon the lowest branches of some
thickly-foliaged tree. The eggs, four or six in number, are whitish red
or reddish grey, streaked and spotted with blackish blue. The Ortolan
is entitled to our notice from the fact that it enjoys and always has
maintained a very high reputation as a delicate and costly article of
food. By the Romans these birds were always tended with the greatest
care, in order that their flesh might attain its full perfection, and
lamps were kept constantly burning near their cages at night, that they
might eat with as little intermission as possible. This mode of fattening
them is still employed in Italy and the South of France, as well as
among the Greek Islands, where Ortolans are kept in great numbers.
When ready for the market, their necks are wrung, the birds steeped
in boiling water, and then packed by hundreds in small casks filled
with highly-spiced vinegar, after which precautionary measure they are
exported to foreign markets, where they always command a high price. At
the present day, the gamekeepers in many parts of Germany are allowed to
appropriate the proceeds of the sale of these delicate birds, whose flesh
resembles that of the Snipe, but is, in the opinion of the epicure, even
more delicate.