A bird of the fields and the hedgerows, with a monotonous song which the male (illustrated here ) chirrups out during the finer days of spring and summer. As usual in the bird world, the female is not so brightly coloured as the male. The yellowhammer feeds on insects and seeds and, in hard winter weather, may be seen in the stack-yards in company with finches. The nest is built near the ground, often in a hedgerow and is made of grasses and moss, and lined with hair. Because of the beautiful markings on the eggs one country name for the bird is "the scribbling lark". |