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| Lover of elm trees |
Our bird of the week is the cirl bunting - specifically, the one that was detected and photographed by Cameron Sharp at Barnard Castle in Co Durham. It was only the second record for the county and in such an unlikely location as to make its appearance probably even more of a surprise than all those American wood warblers that turned up in Pembrokeshire back in autumn. Had the mysterious bunting wandered northeast from its stronghold county of Devon? Had it drifted to Britain from southern Europe. Or was it an aviary escapee? We might never know. Below are what three commentators of yesteryear have written about the species whose unusual name, incidentally, is said to derive from the Italian verb ‘zerlare’ - to chirp. Both the illustrations are by John Gould.
From Field Studies of Some Rarer British Birds (1914) by John Walpole-Bond
It is unnecessary to specify every place in Sussex where the species occurs, but I may just add that I have encountered the bird in a number of spots, amongst which the following centres may be notified : Hastings, Eastbourne, Lewes, Brighton, Steyning, Worthing and Chichester.
It is certainly commoner from Lewes and Brighton on west than it is in the east of the county.
In the right district the cirl bunting is a frequenter of country roads and lanes as well as, though in a very minor degree, of certain lower slopes of the Downs which luxuriate in a good mixed growth of gorse, brambles, and thorns and which are bounded by a rough road or well-used track; or, again, those portions near the valleys which are under cultivation and which boast 'shaws' or irregularly planted trees.
Trees, indeed, are practically indispensable to the species.
It loves civilisation far more than its cousin, the familiar yellowhammer; really wild country it sedulously shuns.
So fond, apparently, is the bird of man's vicinity, that, in any 'Cirl region', there is almost always a certainty of a pair being found nesting close to each scattered farm or homestead.
Even country seats can sometimes boast a pair of cirls in their pleasure-grounds during summer; more, I have found the nest in Worthing itself, and have heard of others in the gardens of similar big towns, Chichester for one, Eastbourne for another.
The cirl evinces a marked liking for elms: in nearly all its haunts, elm trees form a distinct feature of the scenery.
One cannot help thinking that this special love of the elm must take origin from some species of insect or caterpillar haunting that tree, and on which the nestlings are chiefly nourished.
Yet I can think of scores of places rich in elms where cirl buntings are never seen!
There is practically but one method of finding a cirl's nest: that is by beating out and searching all the likely cover in and around any spot where the male sings regularly.
If there are two people in the game, so much the better, since you then have an operator on each side of the hedge, quite a necessary precaution when it is recollected that any bird, especially one flushed from eggs is prone to pop out of a hedgerow on the opposite side to that on which you are working solo.
This means that, though you will certainly hear the rustle, you seldom get a fair view of your quarry, if indeed you get one at all.
In one way, however, all the buntings are straightforward in their tactics.
I mean they, one and all, when flushed from their nest, crash right off into the open.
They never slip off secretively and creep through the adjacent undergrowth, as many of the warblers and the hedge sparrow are so fond of doing.
The cirl generally first attracts you by its song: as you saunter (an ornithologist should nearly always saunter, unless he feels obliged to race time) some summer morn along the highway or byways, there suddenly assails the ear from somewhere high up in a leafy tree a monotonous, if somewhat musical trill which resembles to no small extent the letter 'T', or else the word 'tut' or 'tehr' (just as fancy dictates) repeated loudly and clearly.
Even now the birds are reluctant about being approached too nearly: if you attempt it, they are prone to recompense you by flying off altogether, perhaps clean out of sight or else they may seek immediate seclusion in any adjacent tree.
Exceptionally, however, you shall obtain, and linger delightfully over, a good view of one perched, all unconscious of your presence, on a hedge-top, fence or log of fallen timber.
If disturbed now, the shy creature makes off with dipping flight straight along the hedgerow for some distance, and generally, too, on the far side of it, especially should you have claimed the road, before seeking cover.
From An Illustrated Manual of British Birds (1899) by Howard Saunders
The cirl bunting is a resident in the south of England, and was added to the British list by Montagu who found it breeding in Devonshire.
Subsequent observations have considerably extended our acquaintance with its range.
The bird is known to be fairly common - though very local -from Cornwall to Kent and upon the slopes of the valleys of the Thames and its tributaries as far as Gloucestershire; also on the chalk-hills of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, especially in the neighbourhood of Tring.
It has also been found breeding in Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.
In Wales it has decidedly spread of late, and it is known to have nested in Brecon, Glamorgan, Cardigan and Denbighshire, while it has occurred in other parts of the Principality.
In East Anglia, it is rare, only five examples having been recorded for Norfolk.
In Northamptonshire and the Midland counties it is of accidental occurrence, and to Yorkshire it is a rare visitor , while in Durham, Northumberland and Cumberland it is unknown, though it has strayed to Lancashire.
In Scotland, at long intervals, three stragglers have been taken: one near Edinburgh, one in Aberdeenshire and one in Roxburghshire.
In Ireland, no authenticated example has been obtained.
The cirl bunting has only twice been obtained (in spring) on Heligoland, and is of rare occurrence in Holland and Belgium.
In summer, it is found from France on the west to Bohemia on the east, while southward it is resident from the Spanish Peninsula to Greece, southern Russia, Turkey, Asia Minor and the islands of the Mediterranean.
The late Lord Lilford found it breeding up to 4,000 ft. in the mountains of Algeria, and in winter it is partially migratory from the north as far as the south of its range.
From Our Favourite Songbirds - Their Habits, Music and Characteristics (1897) by Charles Dixon
In spring, the cirl bunting becomes more of a tree bird, rather more shy and skulking, and is certainly quieter, less demonstrative and consequently more apt to be overlooked.
It has also a habit of flying out of that side of a hedge or tree furthest away from the observer.
As long as it thinks itself unseen, it will remain chirping monotonously at regular intervals, but it seldom lingers long after it becomes aware that it is being watched.
In spring and summer, when flushed, it usually flies from one tree to another, and is careful to hide itself away amongst the foliage.
Showy bird as it is, it does not readily reveal itself, and often all our prying amongst the leaves is in vain, to discover the hidden and monotonous chirper.
From The Birds of Europe (1837) by John Gould
For the discovery of this beautiful species of bunting in our island, we are indebted to the industry and research of the late Colonel Montagu.
It is now much more numerous than it formerly was, but, unlike its ally, the well-known yellowhammer, which is distributed through the whole of our island, the cirl bunting is extremely local in its habitat, being seldom seen in our midland and northern counties.
It is common in Devonshire and all along our southern coast.
In Sussex, we have ourselves seen it in abundance, particularly in the neighbourhood of Chichester where it annually breeds.
It is much more shy and retiring than the yellowhammer. Its song is also different, more resembling that of the Chaffinch.
It frequents nearly the whole of the southern provinces of Europe, and is especially abundant along the shores of the Mediterranean as well as in Italy and the southern parts of France.
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| Apt to be overlooked |
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