Yellow-breasted Bunting
Emberiza aureola Pallas, 1773 (8, 2)
Photo © By Tokumi - Own work, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98004313
STATUS
Palearctic. Polytypic.
OVERVIEW
All records as per BOU (1971) who state six occurred between 1905-13, three between 1936-51, with another in 1957.
RECORDS
1). 1905 Norfolk Cley-next-the-Sea, first-winter female, obtained, 21st September, now at Castle Museum, Norwich (Acc. No. 479. 966).
(W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 16: 10-11; E. C. Arnold, Zoologist 1905: 466; J. H. Gurney, jun., Zoologist 1906: 134; Arnold, 1907; H. Saunders, British Birds 1: 13-14; F. G. Penrose, British Birds 1: 263; Witherby, 1920-24; Pashley, 1925; Riviere, 1930; Seago, 1977; P. Trett, Eastern Daily Press, March 2005; Stoddart & Joyner, 2005).
History W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Editor (1905) in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol. XVI. pp. 10-11, at the 117th Meeting of the Club held on 18th October 1905 at the Restaurant Frascati, London, says: 'Mr. Howard Saunders, on behalf of Mr. E. C. Arnold, of Eastbourne College, exhibited the following birds: …Emberiza aureola, the Yellow-breasted Bunting, shot by Mr. E. C. Arnold near Cley on 21st September, 1905. From the plumage it appeared to be a young female. Mr. Saunders had for a long time expected the occurrence of this species as a wanderer to Great Britain, inasmuch as it had been thrice recorded from Heligoland, eleven times from Northern Italy, twice from Austria, and often from South-eastern France.'
E. C. Arnold of Blackwater House, Eastbourne College (1905) in The Zoologist, 4th series, Vol. IX. p. 466, says: 'On Sept. 21st, between Wells and Cromer, I flushed a bird which I at first supposed it to be a very yellow Titlark. On securing it I found that it was a small Bunting, which proved to be an example of this species. The bird has been identified by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe and Mr. Howard Saunders, and was recently exhibited in London. The wind was N. E. It was presented to the Eastbourne Museum.'
J. H. Gurney, jun., of Keswick Hall, Norwich (1906) in The Zoologist, 4th series, Vol. X. p. 134, says: 'September 21st. N.E., 4. A Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola, Pall.), immature, and probably a female, shot on the coast close to the shore, where it had most likely arrived that morning, as recorded briefly by Mr. E. C. Arnold (Zool., 1905, p. 466). He noticed its flight to be much more buoyant than that of a Yellowhammer, from which his example chiefly differs in having the lower part of the back streaked. If it had come in three days earlier it would have been on the same date as the first Heligoland example. As this is its first detected visit, I am glad to be able to take advantage of the offer of a drawing made of it by Mr. Arnold (cf. Plate II). Its occurrence on the day following the Red-breasted Flycatcher and Lesser Grey Shrike is interesting, probably all of them were from Eastern Europe.'
Arnold (1907: 60-61) says: 'The following year I had the extraordinary good luck to add another bird to the British list - viz., the Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola), and, had I followed the advice of several people who saw it in the flesh, it too might have been thrown away. This was a genuine case of patience being rewarded.
The season of 1905 was in the early part of September an unusually bad one. Day after day people went through the bushes and hardly a shot was fired. Some left the village, some ceased to do the bushes, and in the end I, as the only person who stuck to them, had the shooting almost to myself. Up till the 14th the wind was mostly S.W., it then veered to N.W., and on the 19th I got a Landrail out of the scrub.
On the 20th, with the wind still N.W., Mr. A. H. Streeten and I unquestionably saw, and missed, a Red-breasted Flycatcher. The bird flew straight at me, and settled a few yards off. I had a good view, and noted that it was smaller than a Pied Flycatcher, and had white in the tail, but none on the wings. For fear of blowing it to bits I retired too far and managed to miss it, and, as it unfortunately flew out over the muds, we never again got on its track.
However, the meeting with this bird proved a stepping-stone towards the acquisition of the Bunting. Having decided that if the Flycatcher had returned from its excursion into the estuary, it had probably got into the "Watch House" bushes, we did these with elaborate care the following day, and though no Flycatcher was to be found, we suddenly put out a bird, which from its flight and size appeared to be a very yellow specimen of a Titlark.
Still there was a doubt about it, and so we started on a chase, which proved eminently discreditable to our shooting powers. After each miss I became more convinced that the bird was a rarity; but, when it was at length laid low, we both thought at first that it was a young Yellowhammer, buoyant though the flight had been; its streaked rump then attracted my attention, and also the arrangement of the white on the tail feathers, and, taking these peculiarities in conjunction with the fact that it bad a very distinct broad yellow eye-stripe, I finally decided to stuff it.
I then took it to the British Museum, where it was identified by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, and afterwards by Mr. Howard Saunders, who exhibited it with the Stonechat at the British Ornithologists' Club. The bird is now in the Eastbourne Museum.'
Howard Saunders (1907) in British Birds, Vol. I. pp. 13-14, under 'Additions to the List of British Birds since 1899', says: 'On 21st September, 1905, at Cley, Norfolk, an immature female of this species was shot by Mr. E. C. Arnold, of Eastbourne College, and was subsequently exhibited on his behalf (Bull. B.O.C., XVI, pp. 10-11).
As the bird had been recorded thrice in Heligoland, as well as many times in Northern Italy and South-eastern France, its apparition is not remarkable. At Archangel and to the eastward it is a common breeding species.'
Pashley (1925) says: 'Mr. E. C. Arnold shot…a Bunting of some sort, very like a female Cirl Bunting. (It turned out to be a Yellow-breasted Bunting, the first British specimen).'
Percy Trett, in the Eastern Daily Press of March, 2005, after studying his grandfather's journals and talking to John Gledhill, writes: 'One September morning, the late E. C. Arnold, the scholar naturalist, shot a small bird perched on the roof of the old Pilot House on Blakeney Point. He knew it was a bunting, but he did not recognise the species.
So, that evening he skinned his prize and preserved it for when he next attended a meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club at Pagani's restaurant in London where, for the sum of 7s. 6d., eminent ornithologists could sit down to an excellent dinner and could exhibit their trophies over coffee and cigars.
In due course Arnold's little corpse was produced and deposited on a clean plate and a waiter summoned to take it to the chairman for inspection. John's grandfather was present and recorded that he observed a somewhat puzzled expression come over the bearded countenance of Lord Rothschild, who was presiding.
Again and again he picked it up and laid it down. He ordered another bottle of Pagani's best wine and the bird was handed around the learned gentleman on the top table. Many a wise head was bent over it and a smile appeared on Arnold's face as Gledhill senior remarked "You have stumped Rothschild".
Dr. Ernst Hartert, the curator of Tring Museum, was called. Hartert leant across and whispered something into Rothschild's ear. He nodded, gavelled the August meeting to silence then, holding up the specimen as though he had recognised it at first glance, announced "Mr. Arnold is to be congratulated on adding a new species to the British List. His bird is undoubtedly a Yellow-breasted Bunting".'
Stoddart & Joyner (2005: 221) add: '…first-winter female now at Castle Museum, Norwich.'
Comment Preserved by H. N. Pashley of Cley, Norfolk. Dr. A. G. Irwin (per. comms.) says: 'The case was "designed and cased by B. Bates, Naturalist, Eastbourne" and bears no other information.'
2). 1907 Norfolk Wells, immature female, shot, 5th September, now in the Holkham Hall collection.
(W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 21: 30; F. G. Penrose, British Birds 1: 263; J. H. Gurney, jun., Zoologist 1908: 129; Witherby, 1920-24; Riviere, 1930; Seago, 1977; Bloomfield, 1993).
History W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Editor (1907) in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol. XXI. p. 30, at the 136th Meeting of the Club held on 20th November 1907 at the Restaurant Frascati, London, says: 'Dr. Penrose, on behalf of Mr. A. T. Napier of Holkham, exhibited an immature female example of the Yellow-breasted or Willow Bunting (Emberiza aureola, Pallas).
The bird had been shot on the salt marshes at Wells, Norfolk, on September 5th, 1907, by Patrick Cringle, the son of one of Lord Leicester's watchers. This was the second record of this species in the British Isles.
The first, also an immature female, was shot at Cley, Norfolk, on September 21st, 1905, by Mr. E. C. Arnold, of Eastbourne College, and was exhibited by Mr. Howard Saunders to the Members of the Club [cf. Bull. B.O.C., XVI. no. cxvii, p. 10 (1905)].
The specimen shown agreed very closely with some skins in the British Museum, but had a darker bill. Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, who had examined the specimen, said that he had no doubt this bird had been correctly identified.'
F. G. Penrose (1908) in British Birds, Vol. I. p. 263, says: 'An immature female of the above species was shot by Patrick Cringle, a son of one of Lord Leicester's watchers, on the Cabbage Creek Marsh, near Wells, Norfolk, on 5th September, 1907.
I saw the bird in the flesh the same day with Mr. Alec. J. Napier, of Holkham. The latter forwarded it for preservation to Mr. T. E. Gunn, the taxidermist, of Norwich, who identified it - and his identification was confirmed, I believe, at the meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, on 28th October, 1907, by Mr. J. H. Gurney and Mr. Southwell.
Mr. Napier kindly allowed me to show the bird at the November meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club, and previously to the meeting I took it to the Natural History Museum to show it to Dr. Bowdler Sharpe. He very kindly allowed me to compare it with the skins in the collection, and there is, I think, no doubt of the identification.
In the present specimen the beak is darker than in any of the Museum specimens, and the bird is a very dingy specimen. In the first number of British Birds, Howard Saunders, in referring to the first occurrence of this species in these islands, viz., an immature female shot at Cley, Norfolk, by Mr. E. C. Arnold, of Eastbourne College, on 21st September, 1905, writes: "As the bird had been recorded thrice in Heligoland, as well as many times in northern Italy and south-eastern France, its apparition is not remarkable".'
J. H. Gurney, jun., of Keswick Hall, Norwich (1908) in The Zoologist, 4th series, Vol. XII. p. 129, says: 'September 5th. S.W., 4. It was not until September that the coast migration proper set in. I was in Scotland, but several rare birds seem to have been passing.
As stated by Mr. F. G. Penrose in British Birds, a Yellow-breasted Bunting was shot near Wells by a son of one of the Earl of Leicester's game-watchers; the wind the preceding evening had been S. 4, but in the morning N.W. 3. Russia is the country it would be expected to have come from, but it goes as far as Syria, according to authors.
I am indebted to Mr. Napier for a sight of this Bunting, which is to be added to Lord Leicester's collection.'
Riviere (1930: 27) says: 'This immature female was shot by Mr. P. Cringle on "Cabbage Creek" marsh, Wells, on 5th September, 1907.'
Bloomfield (1993: 131) adds that it is now in the Holkham Collection.
3). 1907 Fair Isle No locality, female or first-winter, 28th September, now at National Museums of Scotland (NMSZ 1908.15.7).
(Saunders & Clarke, 1927; H. F. Witherby, British Birds 22: 46-47; Baxter & Rintoul, 1953; Forrester & Andrews et al., 2007).
History Clarke (1927: 81, 3rd ed.) in Saunders's Manual of British Birds, says: '...others, all in September and singly and in immature plumage, have been obtained at Fair Isle in 1907.'
H. F. Witherby (1928) in British Birds, Vol. XXII. pp. 46-47, in a Review of W. E. Clarke's 3rd ed. of Saunders's Manual of British Birds, says: 'For years Howard Saunders's Manual was the standard authority for British ornithology until his last (1899) edition became too out of date to be so regarded. The present edition we fear falls short in the accuracy sustained in Saunders's own two editions....There are many details in the book to which we take exception, and there are also certain records which do not appear to have been published previously, and it must suffice to refer here to a few of these items.
The Yellow-breasted Bunting is recorded from Fair Isle in September in 1907 and 1909 and at St. Kilda in 1910. We suppose these escaped identification until after the publication of Dr. Clarke's Studies in Bird Migration, since they are not mentioned there and no explanation is vouched.'
Forrester & Andrews et al. (2007 (2): 1495) say: 'An immature shot on Fair Isle by Wm. Eagle Clarke on 28th September 1907 is now at the National Museums Scotland (NMSZ 1908.15.7).'
4). 1909 Fair Isle No locality, female or first-winter, September, now at National Museums of Scotland (NMSZ 1910.132.22).
(Saunders & Clarke, 1927; H. F. Witherby, British Birds 22: 46-47; Baxter & Rintoul, 1953; Forrester & Andrews et al., 2007).
History Clarke (1927: 81, 3rd ed.) in Saunders's Manual of British Birds, says: '...others, all in September and singly and in immature plumage, have been obtained at Fair Isle in 1909.'
H. F. Witherby (1928) in British Birds, Vol. XXII. pp. 46-47, in a Review of W. E. Clarke's 3rd ed. of Saunders's Manual of British Birds, says: 'For years Howard Saunders's Manual was the standard authority for British ornithology until his last (1899) edition became too out of date to be so regarded. The present edition we fear falls short in the accuracy sustained in Saunders' own two editions....There are many details in the book to which we take exception, and there are also certain records which do not appear to have been published previously, and it must suffice to refer here to a few of these items.
The Yellow-breasted Bunting is recorded from Fair Isle in September in 1907 and 1909 and at St. Kilda in 1910. We suppose these escaped identification until after the publication of Dr. Clarke's Studies in Bird Migration, since they are not mentioned there and no explanation is vouched.'
Forrester & Andrews et al. (2007 (2): 1495) say: 'An immature shot on Fair Isle by Wm. Eagle Clarke on 20th September 1909 is now at the National Museums Scotland (NMSZ 1910.132.22).'
5). 1910 Outer Hebrides St Kilda, female or first-winter, September, now at National Museums of Scotland (NMSZ 2006.9).
(Saunders & Clarke, 1927; H. F. Witherby, British Birds 22: 46-47; Baxter & Rintoul, 1953; Forrester & Andrews et al., 2007).
History Clarke (1927: 81, 3rd ed.) in Saunders's Manual of British Birds, says: '...others, all in September and singly and in immature plumage, have been obtained at St Kilda in 1910.'
H. F. Witherby (1928) in British Birds, Vol. XXII. pp. 46-47, in a Review of W. E. Clarke's 3rd ed. of Saunders's Manual of British Birds, says: 'For years Howard Saunders's Manual was the standard authority for British ornithology until his last (1899) edition became too out of date to be so regarded. The present edition we fear falls short in the accuracy sustained in Saunders's own two editions....There are many details in the book to which we take exception, and there are also certain records which do not appear to have been published previously, and it must suffice to refer here to a few of these items.
The Yellow-breasted Bunting is recorded from Fair Isle in September in 1907 and 1909 and at St. Kilda in 1910. We suppose these escaped identification until after the publication of Dr. Clarke's Studies in Bird Migration, since they are not mentioned there and no explanation is vouched.'
Forrester & Andrews et al. (2007 (2): 1495) say: 'An immature shot on St Kilda (Outer Hebrides) by Wm. Eagle Clarke on 10th September 1910 is now at the National Museums Scotland (NMSZ 2006.9).'
6). 1913 Norfolk Cley-next-the-Sea, female or first-winter, shot, 4th September, now at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (Acc. No. 1954Z1.1214).
(E. C. Arnold, British Birds 7: 170; J. H. Gurney, jun., Zoologist 1914: 167, 177; S. H. Long & B. B. Riviere, Transactions of the Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists' Society 9: 789; Witherby, 1920-24; Pashley, 1925; Riviere, 1930; Seago, 1977; Stoddart & Joyner, 2005; Watson, 2010).
History E. C. Arnold (1913) in British Birds, Vol. VII. p. 170, says: 'At Cley on September 4th, 1913, the wind being in the northeast, I secured by some extraordinary chance another specimen of the Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) which I added to the British list on September 21st, 1905. The most prominent feature of this bird in the field is the very marked eye-stripe. It has also much white in the tail.'
J. H. Gurney, jun., of Keswick Hall, Norwich (1914) in The Zoologist, 4th series, Vol. XVIII. p. 167, says: 'From a beautifully executed drawing of the Yellow-breasted Bunting with which Mr. E. C. Arnold has obliged me, it can be seen how close a resemblance there is to his first one, of which the Zoologist gave a figure (1906, plate ii.). This rare Bunting has been added to Mr. W. R. Lysaght's fine collection.'
Further, p. 177, he adds: 'September 4th. Birds of all sorts were now on the move, and Mr. Arnold, with his usual good fortune, annexed a Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) near "The Hood".
In his diary the wind is entered as E., 2, at 8 a.m. The two previous occurrences of this Asiatic Bunting were with a very light N.W. wind (1), and a N.E. (4). There is nothing to beat a strong east or north-east wind to bring a big rush.'
Pashley (1925) says: '1913. September 4th. Mr. E. C. Arnold got another Yellow-breasted Bunting, the third for the British Islands; Mr. Arnold also got the first one.'
Stoddart & Joyner (2005: 222) say: '…it passed into the Connop collection which is now at the City of Birmingham Museum.'
Watson (2010) in detailing the W. R. Lysaght collection in the Birmingham Museum lists a specimen obtained at Cley, Norfolk, on 4th September 1913, without further detail.
Comment Preserved by H. N. Pashley, Cley, Norfolk.
7). 1936 Isle of May No locality, female or first-winter, trapped, 4th September, released 7th September.
(Midlothian Ornithologists' Club, Scottish Naturalist 57: 53-54; Eds., British Birds 31: 123; Baxter & Rintoul, 1953).
History Midlothian Ornithological Club (1937) in the Scottish Naturalist, Vol. LVII. pp. 53-54, under '1936 Autumn Report of the Isle of May Bird Observatory', say: 'Yellow-breasted Bunting. - An immature bird of this species was trapped and examined in the hand on 4th September by Messrs M. K. Hamilton, W. M. Kerr, and A. D. Watson.
It was conveyed to Edinburgh, where Messrs H. F. D. Elder and J. H. B. Munro released it on the 7th having confirmed the identification. Very careful notes were taken of the plumage, the buffish-brown rump, white axillaries and broad diagonal white band across both webs of the outer tail-feathers being specially noted. The wing measured 75 mm. and the 3rd to 5th but not the 6th primaries were emarginated on the outer web. The iris was dark brown, upper mandible bluish-horn, lower mandible and lower edge of upper mandible at base pale pinkish, legs and feet purplish-pink. Except for the iris, the colours of the soft parts disagree with those given in the Practical Handbook.
In the field it did not associate to any extent with other species, but was chivied frequently by Rock Pipits. On the ground the bird was remarkable for its well-marked head, with broad pale superciliary stripe and pale line down the centre of the dark crown. Otherwise there was nothing striking about this small, rather light brown Bunting. Once, when perched in the sunlight on a wall, it exhibited the trace of a buffish breast-band across the prevailing pale yellow of the underparts. At no time was there conspicuous white on the wing, but the broad white edgings to the tail were noticeable in flight and reminiscent of a Pipit. It fed silently, but in flight uttered a single rather Robin-like note.'
In an Editorial (1937) in British Birds, Vol. XXXI. p. 123, they say: 'The Report by the Midlothian Ornithological Club of migration observations in the autumn of 1936 on the Isle of May (Scot. Nat., 1937, pp. 51-5) contains a number of interesting items. The members of the Club were assisted by some fourteen other observers.
The most notable bird was an immature example of the Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) which was trapped on September 4th, conveyed to Edinburgh and carefully examined and then released. There are only three previous records of this species - all from Norfolk.'
8). 1946 Fair Isle No locality, female or first-winter, 12th to 13th September.
(A. G. S. Bryson, B. A. Stenhouse, G. Waterston & A. D. Watson, Scottish Naturalist 60: 50-51; Baxter & Rintoul, 1953).
History A. G. S. Bryson, B. A. Stenhouse, George Waterston & A. D. Watson (1948) in the Scottish Naturalist, Vol. LX. pp. 50-51, say: 'An immature Yellow-breasted Bunting was observed by us on Fair Isle on 12th and 13th September 1946.
It was fairly tame and allowed us to observe it at close range for considerable periods each day. It showed a preference for feeding on stubble and stocks at the edge of standing oats. When disturbed it took refuge in the standing corn, or sometimes even in turnips, but regularly returned to the same area of stubble.
The following features were observed in the field: A small bunting with relatively short tail which it often fanned rapidly, showing white on the outer tail feathers. Prominent pale eyestripe. Unstreaked pale-yellow underparts; dark fringe to ear coverts. Back brown and heavily streaked, with an incomplete pale "V" mark somewhat similar to the back of a little stint. Whitish tips to greater coverts. In flight no white wing-bar was visible. The only note heard was a soft robin-like "tic". Upper mandible dark horn, lower mandible fleshy horn. Legs brownish flesh. Eye dark.
A comparison of skins in the Royal Scottish Museum with our notes taken in the field and with paintings of the bird done at the time by A. D. W. (who also saw and sketched the yellow-breasted bunting on the Isle of May in September 1936) placed the identification beyond doubt. This is the fifth occasion on which this species has been recorded in Scotland and the third recorded occurrence in Fair Isle.'
1950-57 RECORDS
9). 1951 Fair Isle Lower Stoneybrake, adult male, shot, 13th July, now at National Museums of Scotland.
(K. Williamson, Fair Isle Bird Observatory Bulletin 1 (3): 23-24; K. Williamson, Scottish Naturalist 63: 186-187; K. Williamson, British Birds 45: 230; K. Williamson, Fair Isle Bird Observatory Bulletin 1 (10): 24; Dymond, 1991).
History K. Williamson (1951) in the Fair Isle Bird Observatory Bulletin, Vol. I (III). pp. 23-24, says: 'An adult male in splendid plumage was collected by George Stout of Field, in the Lower Stoneybrake potato drills, on the evening of July 13th.
It is the 4th record for Fair Isle and the 6th for Scotland, and apparently the first occurrence in Britain of an adult male. The bird was in very good condition, with a fair amount of orange-coloured subcutaneous fat. It weighed 25 gm.'
K. Williamson (1951) in the Scottish Naturalist, Vol. LXIII. pp. 186-187, says: 'In view of the occurrences of adult male Red-headed Buntings at Stonehaven in May and Fair Isle in August, it seems worthwhile noting the appearance of another Eastern bunting at Fair Isle in July 1951.
This was an adult male Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola, collected by George Stout of Field on the evening of 13th July....The bird which was in good condition, with a fair amount of orange coloured subcutaneous fat, was skinned and sent to the Royal Scottish Museum. It weighed 25 g. and had a wing-length of 75 mm. Bill 13 mm. to skull, upper mandible dark horn, lower mandible flesh-colour with a purplish tip. Tarsus 21 mm., brownish-flesh....'
K. Williamson (1953) in the Fair Isle Bird Observatory Bulletin, Vol. I (X). p. 24, says: 'We are indebted to Miss Theresa Clay of the British Museum (Natural History) for the following determinations of Mallophaga from birds examined at Fair Isle. Yellow-breasted Bunting Philopterus citrinellae (Schrank) from an adult male on July 13th 1951.'
10). 1957 Isle of May Pilgrims' Haven and Top Lighthouse, female or first-winter, 18th September.
(W. J. Eggeling, Edinburgh Bird Bulletin 8: 42; M. F. M. Meiklejohn, Scottish Birds 1: 20).
History W. J. Eggeling (1958) in the Edinburgh Bird Bulletin, Vol. VIII. p. 42, under 'Isle of May Report, 1957', says: 'On Wednesday, 17th September, a bright early morning clouded over to give way to cloud and drizzle which passed off in the afternoon; the wind was in the right quarter, SSE, force 2, dying down later. Just after midday...I saw a bird that was completely new to me. It perched a minute on a rock and I was able to see that it had bright yellow-buff underparts, more of the same colour on the wing coverts, and a stripy head…it was a Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) - only the second occurrence for the island.'
M. F. M. Meiklejohn (1958) in Scottish Birds, Vol. I. p. 20, says: 'On 18th September 1957 on the Isle of May the weather was overcast and rather misty, the wind being SSE, Force 2, declining to nil in the afternoon. Pied Flycatchers Muscicapa hypoleuca, which are nearly always evidence of drift migration across the North Sea, were present. At about 1400 hours GMT, just north of the Pilgrims' Haven, I saw a bird new to me in the company of Rock Pipits Anthus spinoletta petrosus.
In a first brief view after which it temporarily vanished - it appeared to be a small finch or bunting with striking yellow-buff underparts and a pale appearance on the upperparts on account of yellowish edgings to certain feathers, a similar colour scheme, one might say, to that of the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola.
The bird was later rediscovered perched on the stay of a mast near the Top Lighthouse, where it was watched in a bad light, but better views were later had at close range as it perched on a rock. It was finally chased away by Rock Pipits and not seen again. It was very small for a bunting, about the size of a Linnet. While perched it constantly uttered a loud "tick", which could easily have been mistaken for that of the Robin Erithacus rubecula: the sound was much more like the call-note of the Robin than is that of the Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla, which was heard two days later.
The head looked very stripy. The crown was pale, bordered with black. Very marked yellowish-buff eye stripe. Dark line through eye. Ear-covers buff with dark line below. Underparts uniform bright yellow buff; no streaking observed. Closed wing had bright buff on edges of covert feathers, giving a markedly pale appearance. There was some white on the outer tail feathers. The bill was pale. I have no doubt that the bird was a Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola, a species which cannot easily be confused with any other. I am familiar with twelve other species of Palearctic buntings.'
