ne res ee Bi neared Do at tae CS s aie ee ontaey Sus some ae Soe tees = 2p = 5 2 =| 2 unt ct a t LU - ~j > s~ OD o< POL —t {yp iw A p SF - Bias a THE BIRDS OF EUROPE a BY JOHN GOULD, F.LS., IN FIVE VOLUMES. VOL. IIL. INSESSORES. LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 20 BROAD STREET, GOLDEN SQUARE. 1837. LIST OF PLATES. VOLUME III. Norz.—As the arrangement of the Plates during the course of publication was found to be impracticable, the Numbers here given will refer to the Plates when arranged, and the work may be quoted by them. Great Tit Sombre Tit Siberian Tit Toupet Tit Azure Tit Blue Tit . Cole Tit . Marsh Tit Crested Tit Long-tailed Tit : Bearded Tit, or Reed Bird Penduline Tit . Waxen Chatterer Black Lark* Calandra Lark Short-toed Lark Shore Lark Crested Lark . Sky Lark Wood Lark Bifasciated Lark Lark-heeled Bunting Snow Bunting Common Bunting Black-headed Bunting Yellow Bunting Yellow-breasted Bunting Cirl Bunting Ortolan Bunting Rustic Bunting Lesbian Bunting Meadow Bunting Pine Bunting . Cretzschmar’s Bunting Marsh Bunting Reed Bunting Common Sparrow Tree Sparrow . Spanish Sparrow Alpine Sparrow Doubtful Sparrow Chaffinch Mountain or Bramble Finch Snow Finch Winter Finch . Common or Brown Linnet INSESSORES. Parus major, Linn. . ——-~ lugubris, Natt. ——- Sibericus, Gimel. bicolor, Linn. cyanus, Pall. . coeruleus, Linn. ater, Linn. —— palustris, Linn. cristatus, Linn. caudatus, Linn. 3 Calamophilus biarmicus, Leach. - &githalus pendulinus, Vig. Bombycivora garrula, Temm. Alauda Tartarica, Pall. Calandra, Pall. —— brachydactyla, Temm. ——— alpestris, Linn. cristata, Linn. arvensis, Linn. arborea, Linn. Certhilauda bifasciata. Plectrophanes Lapponica, Selb. nivalis, Meyer. . Emberiza miliaria, Zinn. . melanocepala, Scop. —— citrinella, Linn. aureola, Pall. . —-— Cirlus, Linn. hortulana, Linn. rustica, Pall. Lesbia. cia, Linn. pithyornus, Pall. cesia, Cretz. palustris, Savi. scheeniculus, Linn. Pyrgita domestica, Cwv. . montana, Cuv. Hispaniolensis, Cuv. Cisalpina, Cwv. petronia. Fringilla Celebs, Linn. nivalis, Linn. ? hyemalis. Linaria Cannabina, Swains. * Named erroneously in the letter-press Black and White Lark. — montifringilla, Linn. . . 150 hrs . 152 . 153 . 154 bios . 156 . 157 . 158 . 159 - 160 . 161 . 162 . 163 . 164 . 165 . 166 . 167 . 168 . 169 . 170 ZA! 2 > ee . 174 . 175 . 176 5 Mee els s he . 180 Ae toy | . 182 . 183 bie4 iss . 186 & size . 188 . 189 . 190 . 191 Mountain Linnet, or Twite Mealy Redpole Lesser Redpole Serin Finch Goldfinch Siskin, or Aberdevine Citril Finch Hawfinch Green Grosbeak Parrot Crossbill Common Crossbill } White-winged Crossbill . Pine Grosbeak Siberian Grosbeak Scarlet Grosbeak Rosy Grosbeak Vinous Grosbeak Bullfinch Starling . Sardinian Starling Rose-coloured Pastor Nutcracker Jay : Siberian Jay — Magpie Azure-winged Magpie* Alpine Chough Chough Raven Carrion Crow Hooded Crow Jackdaw Rook ; Great Black Wigounenken Green Woodpecker Grey-headed Green MyGoupecker White-rumped Woodpecker Great Spotted Woodpecker Middle Spotted Woodpecker Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Three-toed Woodpecker Wryneck ‘ Common Nuthatch . Dalmatian Nuthatch Asiatic Nuthatch Common Creeper Hoopoe . Wall Creeper . Common Cuckoo Great Spotted Cuckoo American Cuckoo LIST OF PLATES. Linaria montana, Ray. canescens. minor, Ray. Serinus flavescens. . Carduelis elegans, Steph. spinus, Steph. citrinella. Coccothraustes vulgaris, Briss. chloris, lem. Loxia pityopsittacus, Bechst. curvirostra, Linn. leucoptera, Gimel. Corythus enucleator, Cuv. longicauda. Erythrospiza erythrina, Bon. rosea. githaginea. Pyrrhula vulgaris, Temm. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. -unicolor, Marm. . Pastor roseus, Temm. : Nucifraga caryocatactes, Briss. Garrulus glandarius, Briss. infaustus, Temm. Pica caudata, Ray. cyanea, Wagl. Pyrrhocorax Pyrrhocorax, Tem. Fregilus graculus, Cuv. Corvus corax, Linn. corone, Linn. cornix, Linn. monedula, Linn. . frugilegus, Linn. . Picus martius, Linn. — viridis, Zinn. . canus, Gmel. — leuconotus, Bechst. —— major, Linn. — medius, Linn. minor, Linn. Apternus tridactylus, eee Yunx torquilla, Linn. Sitta Kuropea, Linn. Syriacat, Ehrenb. Asiatica, Temm. Certhia familiaris, Linn. Upupa epops, Linn. Tichodroma pheenicoptera, Ten emm. Cuculus Canorus, Linn. glandarius, Linn. Coccyzus Americanus, Vievll. . 192 5 198 . 194 . 195 . 196 ea97 . 198 . 199 . 200 . 201 . 202 . 203 . 204 . 205 . 206 . 207 . 208 . 209 . 210 , Pilih . 212 1 PN . 214 . 215 . 216 maz . 218 . 219 . 220 . 221 . 222 | 223 . 224 . 225 . 226 . 227 . 228 . 229 . 230 . 231 . 232 . 233 . 234 | 235 . 236 . 237 . 238 . 239 . 240 . 2A . 242 * Since the completion of the work Captain S. E. Cook has informed me, that I have made one or two slight mistakes in my account of the Azure-winged Magpie, Pica cyanea; and adds that it “is stationary in Spain, and not migratory as thought by M. Wagler. There is also a mistake respecting its inhabiting willows, which are rare in Spain, and not found at all where this bird is most frequent.” It is “common in all the royal parks and chaces in New Castile, but is by far the most numerous in the Sierra Morena, in some parts of which it is so abundant, as to be very destructive in the olive grounds.” + Named erroneously on the Plate Picus tridactylus. { Named erroneously Sitta rufescens. i if fi it Hue 1 er" a0y,'h yale ay GREAT TIT. Parus Major; /Zam/ 7 ~ Zz lA 2] Tr zz Beton, Draven Naare & on Stone ty ThE, Contd: Lin tee Y Genus PARUS. Gen. Cuar. Bill strong, short, somewhat conical, slightly compressed, sharp-pointed, and hard. Nostri/s basal, round, covered with reflected bristly feathers. Feet with three toes before and one behind ; the fore ones divided to their origin ; the hind toe strong and armed with a long hooked claw. Wings, the first quill of moderate length or almost obsolete ; the second shorter than the third ; the fourth and fifth longest. GREAT TIT. Parus major, Lann. Le Mésange charbonniere. Tue Great Tit, as its name implies, is one of the largest and most typical of the native examples of the present genus ; and it is also certainly one of the most beautiful, from the contrasts of its colours, which are brilliant and decided. In its habits and manners, as well as the places it frequents, it strictly agrees with its congeners. It is distributed throughout the whole of the wooded districts of Europe, being stationary in almost every locality : in the British Islands it is certainly so. In severe winters it often leaves the hedges and fields for the warm thickets, coppices and gardens, and not unfrequently farm-yards, where it becomes bold in its endeavours to obtain a subsistence. Its summer food consists of insects and their larvee, together with the buds of trees and fruits; to these it adds the scattered crumbs from the cottage-door, of whatever matters they may by chance consist, whether animal or vegetable, its digestive powers being apparently adapted to a great variety. : . On the approach of spring it becomes noisy and restless, betaking itself to the top branches of high trees, where it utters its harsh note for the day together: the note greatly resembles the noise made by the filing of a saw, or the creaking of a gate on rusty hinges. It builds a nest in the holes of decayed trees, in the crevices of walls, often in the deserted nest of a crow, a bed of cow’s hair and feathers being the receptacle of the eggs ; these vary in number from eight to fifteen, and are of a white colour spotted with reddish brown. The sexes offer but little difference of plumage, the female having less brilliancy of gloss. The head, throat, and lower part of the neck glossy black; occiput white; back olive green ; rump grey ; under parts fine yellow, with a black mesial streak ; tarsi bluish grey ; bill black. Our Plate represents the male and female of the natural size. ‘ din ee Bis role ongile WAS SA ae: Lure Revises hae Lace NAL iM lh 00 O50 oe BE BEPE Tel F oD ih Tia : . 4 : : x a : i aS Te , ee ify ayric) gis int ese bal aizey Dee othe x L . ae ‘ y oy ie OO vin . =F ’ i ao on be jel ‘ay: v1 f Cara i 7 ee ‘ a] BE WCE CV EES Qe eevee iy sbegeyy Stree 44? B Mayee er ie Mees 2 a | ite ‘fr ATERE” > any = i) 7 y *. 7 F A y LA a 5 ye 1 ay, : * erly | 7 a be i . at ry ~ ‘ i = ot “ t - Jeyodek bit lain Reece x ytir§ els alt pyigite hadaee ; - 1 — = ; i : . ‘ : : “4 . 4 ; : te 7 4 A res F ¥ rT : L at - rw) Ft 2 é : a rai ca i : ; ; ‘., i £ ; } Fil 1 Z * i Lt t i : 7 i { ‘ A hives de eed . - - “ ‘ ‘ * 4 +I : 7 thartiw anh ie : Coed, ‘ , ; : : Re | if t ‘ i, b ‘ it s é i P : hy ' 4 i ( F i " + . ; ' P ’ sy ut , ' . +, rales 5 4 - ‘i att ee 5 \ a . . ” u ‘ ’ »! r Dard ; ies ; : oo 4 Tl 4 ia - r F { ‘ iy At's ; 2 ! : Y H AEM: PANNELL J - ‘ & + 5 y 4 7 al ‘ ' i J Fr i 4 a id al | ? sf 7 Pin . a y pie ite j i f f 4 A ih i cm aay iy {yf , i, =_ . ° ’ A ‘ lye} f : ‘ + ES ES TON c (aiden veq ; J fi el tat I aly glee \ Se 2 ae I) RE ae Ord: eRe ee i “* : , : a ee = * Pe r JU Seis WE yh : y Li, vu : i a y x . a 4 ; i ore id P j § : ¥ M f i 3 f § I a : eared Maid ths, ab len See nite Sar wil ried 3t gat marie but? { * - é — i ey, 4 fork * \ ‘ ? } ; ' ‘ i gis Yes l ey 4 eal teary 4 Bt eh ee vt or? OME Bane te Tap q . ' i 7 4 i i : 2 H s ‘ ' t ' J if . st | la] ay bls port i t j ‘ ie _ j 7 ay y ol ie ar i i { ft) A : i ae | tae Py Oy. Sia k, Sheehy TRE ui ye ly Pie ge 7 5 4) a4 Bats» fA i e r 7 we, = is og = Py 7 ° : Tir; Weanalee ke 7 DTU “Se Is lta Sere fang af 4: F rane 4 cm | i H = " a) j a ve ee ee aes ss he : : ‘ t: ch sit SUD OED” SOA SY AGT ISTE Fike thes eer Pee ras af ¥ " Ne | oa at Se oo f: { rile , oe : A : Case es a Lhe f es sa: eae a" A = ir ee sal esha ays OW TIRE 2 ame Gare aoe alt Ue tise iol Ear. dnaiadt ee ae : F ia ; is ’ 4 oi : 1 hy es : 4% Hens wee A : im i ae re et ia, A PaaS (7 fEe. Sai: 2 ies: Tie OE, APA COTW AEE Ae oe i eet ah iy taht! - yap Be pg? lg whe ants = oe ‘ % . \ i \ r hie Se. a We ese Te ai Ge ais tases h yt eit) Se a 2 7 oo et ‘ s re a ‘ F ; ‘ : : a ' 4 ‘ : Som F ‘ mg ; - ip Fe ‘ a : * rary eo i,.SOMBRE TIT. Parus lugubris, /WVaé// Draven from Nature & on Sane by 7k E. Goud: swonrs ar" 2. SIBERIAN TIT. Parus Sibericus; (/GmeZ// intend by CLudimandel. SOMBRE TIT. Parus lugubris, Natt. Le Mésange lugubre. We have figured on the accompanying Plate two species of Tits, nearly allied to each other in form, colour and native locality, neither of which approach the British Islands, nor even the more temperate parts of the European continent. The first is the Parus lugubris, a species that may at all times be distinguished by its greater size, exceeding, although but in a small degree, our well-known P. major: it is, however, clothed with plumage less gaudy, being entirely devoid of those contrasts of black, white, and yellow, which characterize the plumage of that species. M. Temminck informs us that the Parus dugubris is almost restricted to the European confines of the Asiatic border, and that, although pretty common in Dalmatia, it has never been observed in Austria or any part of Germany. The manners, habits and food of this species we believe to be similar to those of its British congeners; but we have no details to offer respecting them from our own experience, nor has any author to which we have access given any particulars respecting them. The male and female are alike in plumage, and may be thus described :—The whole of the upper surface of a brownish ash colour, becoming deeper on the top of the head; the secondaries and tail-feathers slightly margined with whitish ; throat brownish black ; the cheeks and the whole of the under surface white, slightly tinted with brownish grey; beak and feet lead colour. SIBERIAN TIT. Parus Sibericus, Gmel. Le Mésange a ceinture blanche. Aurnouen the Parus Stbericus has no great attraction as regards beauty of plumage, it has in its shape and general form a more elegant and graceful contour than the P. dugubris. In size it is considerably smaller, having at the same time a longer and a graduated tail, offering, though in a slight degree, a relationship to the Long- tailed Tit, so commonly dispersed over Europe ; and we have to regret that the extreme rarity of the Siberian Tit, in Europe at least, prevents our ascertaining whether its habits and manners offer any approximation to those of the bird just referred to. M.Temminck, in his Manuel, informs us that it is an inhabitant of the most northern parts of Europe and Asia, migrating in winter to some of the provinces of Russia; and we received from Sweden the specimens from which our figures were taken. The plumage of Parus Sibericus may be thus detailed :—The upper surface is of a deep ash colour, tinged on the back with brown ; the quills, secondaries and tail-feathers edged with white ; throat black ; cheeks and upper part of the chest pure white ; under parts greyish white, washed with rufous on the flanks ; bill and tarsi lead colour. Our Plate represents these two rare species of the natural size. LET J Lronin tram Netware & on Stonu by I & Ferd, TOUPET TIT. Parus bicolor; (Zenm/ Printed by CHaklimoandd, TOUPET TIT. Parus bicolor, Lenn. La Mésange bicolore. TueEre can be no doubt that the northern regions of America form the true habitat of this species; we have, however, seen specimens which were undoubtedly killed in Russia, and therefore no longer hesitate in classing it among the occasional visitants of the European continent ; nevertheless it is there extremely rare and is con- fined to the regions adjacent to the arctic circle. In the works of Wilson and Audubon its manners are described as resembling those of the other members of the genus. ‘‘ It moves along the branches,” says the latter gentleman, “‘ searches in the chinks, flies to the ends of twigs, and hangs to them by its feet, whilst the bill is engaged in detaching a beech- or hazel-nut, an acorn, or a chinquapin, upon all of which it feeds, removing them to a large branch, where, having secured them in a crevice, it holds them with both feet, and breaks the shell by repeated blows of its bill. . . . It resorts to the margins of brooks to drink, and when unable to do so, obtains water by stooping from the extremity of a twig overhanging the stream; it ap- pears to prefer this latter method, and is also fond of drinking the drops of rain or dew as they hang at the extremity of the branches.” The same author also informs us that its notes, which are usually loud and mellow, are rather musical than otherwise ; that it is somewhat vicious in its disposition, and occasionally attacks and destroys smaller birds by repeated blows on the head until it breaks the skull. The nest is constructed of all kinds of warm materials, and is generally placed in the holes formed by the Downy and other species of Woodpecker, but is occasionally placed in a hole dug by the bird itself for that purpose. The eggs, which are from six to eight in number, are of a pure white, with a few red spots at the larger end. The sexes are so much alike as to be scarcely distinguishable. Forehead black; sides of the head brownish black; all the upper surface uniform grey; under surface greyish white, tinged with yellowish brown on the flanks ; bill black ; irides dark brown ; feet lead colour. We have figured an adult of the natural size. € 4 Pa ren veo GON Ge ST Bike netudiloy die fem da devon * ’ Wout ON ee AZURE, TIT. Parus cyanus; (fall) ed or Scone by Jb E, Could. a. x N) a teh tC Ballmerded: AZURE TIT. Parus cyanus, Pail. Le Mésange azurée. Tus beautiful little Tit is a native of Siberia, whence it frequently strays into the northern parts of Europe, such as Russia and Poland, and it has been known to penetrate so far south as Germany. Like the rest of its family it dwells in woods and forests, generally in the most retired parts; it is not so much to be _ wondered at, therefore, that its history is shrouded in obscurity, when we consider how little intercourse naturalists have hitherto had with the remote countries which it inhabits. Were we allowed to judge from analogy, we might very reasonably conclude that its manners and its disposition are in strict unison with those of its near relative the Blue Tit (Parus ceruleus) of England. For the specimens from which our figures were taken, and which we believe to be the only examples in England, we are indebted to the liberality of the directors of the Royal Museum of Berlin. Like the rest of its race, the sexes of the Azure Tit offer little or no difference in the colouring of the plumage. Nothing is at present known respecting its nest or eggs. The forehead, throat, and breast are white; a band of deep blue extends from the eye round the back part of the head; the back and rump are fine blue grey; the tail-feathers fine deep blue with white tips, and the outer one on each side wholly white; the wings deep blue, the secondaries largely tipped with white; a band of the same colour crosses near the shoulders; primaries grey, brown on their inner webs and white on the outer; feet and bill lead colour. The Plate represents a male and female, of the natural size. J tigdic 4 ) « : Sw : { % 7 " ¢ BLUE TUT. Parus ceruleus ;/Z7770./ 1 Tran trom Nature £ om stone ty ThE Contd Trinted by Ciiadimandd: BLUE TIT. Parus coeruleus, Lenn. La Mesange bleue. Few birds can be more familiar to our readers than the Blue Tit, the habits and manners of which every one must have repeatedly noticed, since of all the species it is the most common in our gardens and around the precincts of our habitations, and it is exceeded by none in its sprightly actions and in the address and activity with which it searches the extremities and shoots of trees in quest of its insect food. The mischief it does to the tender buds of trees, in stripping off their envelopes, has rendered it very obnoxious to the gardener, although doubtless the benefit it confers by the destruction of insects more than compensates for the injury. Like the rest of the British Tits, if is a permanent resident in our island, braving the severity of our hardest winters, against which it is peculiarly defended by the full downy plumage which invests the whole of the body. On the approach of spring its simple note may be heard in our woods and gardens, which is a true sign that its pairing-season has already commenced, and that the mated birds are preparing for the task of incubation. The situation chosen for the nest varies according to circumstances ; most frequently it is in the hole of a tree, the chinks of a wall, and even the interstices of old posts or palings ; it is generally constructed of moss lined with feathers and hair; the eggs are white, speckled with dark red. The young assume the colouring of the adults at an early age, and quickly follow their parents in their assiduous search after insects and their larvae. The family group keep united until autumn at least, when they all separate, going in winter in single pairs, or passing the colder months singly or in company with other small birds. The sexes are so closely alike in colouring as to offer no decided difference ; the tints of a male are, perhaps, somewhat the brightest. On the Continent they are widely distributed, and exhibit the same habits and manners that they are ob- served to do in the British Islands. The top of the head is fine ccerulean blue ; the forehead, stripe over the eye, and cheeks white ; a black stripe passes from the bill, through the eye and surrounds the white of the cheeks; the upper surface is delicate olive green ; the wings and tail blue, the secondaries being slightly tipped with white, and the pri- maries dark brown; the whole of the under surface yellowish green ; tarsi and bill blueish lead colour. The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. 1. COLE TIT. X&. MARSH TIT. Parus ater; /Zznn-/ Parus palustris, (Zzzw/ Lravty from WNatare & om Sune ty JEL. Condd. tried ty C Hukimanded: { «) COLE TIT. Parus ater, Lznn. La Mésange petit charbonniére. Tue Cole Tit appears to give a preference to woods of birch, oak, and pine, in hilly and mountain districts ; nevertheless, it frequents, in tolerable abundance, hedgerows, shrubberries, and gardens, over nearly every portion of Europe. ; In its habits and manners it is remarkably quick and active, searching with great assiduity among the twigs and buds of trees for insects and their larvae, upon which it feeds, while every action is animated and sprightly. It braves with indifference not only our severest winters, but even those of the northern portion of the Continent. Its nest is placed indifferently according to circumstances, being sometimes formed in the hole of a decayed tree or old wall, and at others on the ground: it is composed of moss and wool, generally lined with hair. The eggs are from six to ten in number, of a pure white, sparingly dotted with reddish brown. The sexes offer little or no difference in their plumage, and the young assume at an early period the colouring of maturity. The top and sides of the head are black; a white mark occupies the occiput; throat black; sides of the face white; upper surface grey, with a slight tinge of brown; wings and tail brownish black, the former having two transverse bands of white; flanks and under-surface white slightly tinged with rusty brown; bill black ; tarsi lead-colour ; irides hazel. MARSH TIT. Parus palustris, Lenn. La Mésange nonnette. Tue Marsh Tit is slightly superior to the Cole Tit in size, and differs from it also in the situations it frequents, giving the preference to low tracts of land, covered with thickets, in the neighbourhood of swamps and marshes ; it is also found in orchards, gardens, and similar localities. It appears to be more abundant in Holland than in any other country; it is, however, very generally spread, and is found in very high northern latitudes. In England it is as equally diffused as the rest of the genus, and is as active and sprightly im its habits, prying in search of food with the same dexterity and adroitness. It constructs its nest in the holes of trees, and lays from ten to twelve eggs, of a white colour, dotted with reddish brown spots. It may be observed that the Marsh Tit and the Cole Tit often associate together during winter, and it not unfre- quently happens that the Crested Wren and other small birds join their company. The sexes offer no distinction, except that the colours of the female are more obscure. In the male the top of the head and back of the neck are deep black; the upper surface, wings, and tail are greyish brown, the latter bemg somewhat the darkest ; breast black ; cheeks and throat white; the under surface white, clouded with dusky brown; bill black; legs lead-colour ; irides dark hazel. The upper bird in our Plate represents the Cole Tit, the lower the Marsh Tit, both of the natural size. Rant, isin té ds fijoq spgai a ‘ i i 5 ‘ a Ml A etd ni i iy , ; ; fi -? ball i ‘ + ‘ 7 s fs 5 + « as ns P seks #: “ FP , ree ; : a i rm gelorieth migeoi Dao QUE AE Re Ban ano date (or Baie Oe arrears 1h is, QaPy a atesqga iF. sb ant . % Cite ’ : his ita LeWdasuhiel” sangha : ; : ‘ « x . , . axuls | . i ee Fa iF ' “ i « rks ‘i ‘ ff ‘ re * as the ; , a3 P , _ < a nf io ate + SUSAR TAA A i LGA TCH Ore RE Re 2, tia alidad ata ¢ 5 sg : : . bt : m 44 J : ’ x ‘ + o ie : Eis “i rT eit : # fbx ’ rah ote ‘ a ig ; : f % j we Gan I . rk 7 é é . i 4 a4 f 1 : + r fe \ . ! - . * e iu ; f H , ae . A « ’ ¢ i, 4 ] ‘ i fF j { H j f j j w a 4 ‘ ¥ . : | a ' Ps 9 ¥ ih : s a % | a % \ : Pde. soetagg 2 Se yt y Sh! Any } } ee Cte Cty iid uP “esloH bert alt aa fowl D qilaapes te 26.30 pale, a eee Viciot daly. Sided oa dine: Bae! By coos at Te i .ehidad atin oii f ; metLevey'e Le OE ¢ baive & nO yr) Shi ad 3 Od ort ayAk bus wat! uy aad: ; L stikodees abla TP alOOh odd hen 3 detalles sae ted fated: ele ey : fist Hf ane ae aeee hate J il f tight Pri. ; fs ,’ ¥ ries ‘ { MEIC: | ’ * ie i 7 oe 1 , i 7 i AUST SPIE AAT gt tek: ae re Lys a ee ; » i Ay iar F mi. or : t » adi; rift Dow edaade. ¢ Aoaltt tetande ite daly sep tanks iste r i Aral ashi. ¢1adlyi-inal amet 33 ald iid, awit “dt? a if sowok silt SE | CRESTED .TIT. Parus cristatus ;//7;/. Drum trem Tife bon Stone ly The £ Cond. irked by C tndinandid: CRESTED TIT. Parus cristatus, Lznn. La Mesange huppée. In our attempts to discover this interesting species of Tit in this country we have been unfortunately disap- pointed, notwithstanding every work which has hitherto been published on British Ornithology has enumerated it as one of our indigenous birds. In his work on British Birds, Mr. Selby states that he has been informed by Sir W. Jardine that the Crested Tit has been found in some plantations near Glasgow, where it annually breeds. Upon the testimony of this distinguished naturalist, we feel ourselves bound to agree in the propriety of its admission into the list of our native Fauna, hoping that at no distant day we shall receive further infor- mation on the subject. Rare as it is with us, it is very common in some parts of Europe, beg abundant in the pine forests of all its northern regions, and especially where juniper trees are plentiful. M.Temminck, however, assures us that it is scarce in Holland: we know it to be common in Germany, France, and the Alpine regions. In habits and manners it resembles the rest of the smaller Tits, feeding on insects, berries, and the seeds of evergreens. M. Temminck says it builds its nest in the holes of trees or walls, or in the abandoned dreys of Squirrels and Pies. The eggs are as many as ten in number, of a white colour, marked on the larger end with spots of blood red. The sexes offer no external difference in plumage. The head is furnished with a beautiful crest, capable of erection, consisting of long white feathers, having their centres black ; the cheeks and sides of the neck white, bounded before by a band, which passes from the throat to the sides of the neck, and behind by a similar band passing from the back of the head in the same direction; the ear-coverts are also bounded by a narrow line of black ; the general plumage above is delicate brown, and below white, slightly tinged with brown. The Plate represents a male of the natural size. os i LONG-TAILED TIT. Parus caudatus; (Zimn/ Drawn from + NWatwre & on Stone by J&L, Conk. 7 Printed, by C Budimanded, LONG-TAILED TIT. Parus caudatus, Lznn. Le Mésange a longue queue. INDEPENDENTLY of the deviation from the form of the rest of the genus which this little Tit exhibits, its habits, mode of nidification, and food, also tend to place it in an isolated situation, and it is questionable whether it might not be with justice considered as the type of a new and distinct genus. Few persons who have been accustomed to observe the habits of our native birds can have failed to be struck with the peculiar actions of this bird, which is continually wandering from tree to tree and hedge- row to hedgerow, diligently traversing every branch in quest of insects and their larva, which constitute almost its sole food: these peregrinations appear to be repeated day after day over a given circuit, and it often happens that at the same hour, on several successive days, they may be found at the same place ; during the breeding and summer seasons there is, however, an exception to this general rule, which leads us to suspect that these wandering parties consist of the broods of single nests which continue to associate together till the following summer causes them to separate into pairs for the purpose of breeding. Noted as birds of this genus are for their active and restless habits, the Long-tailed Tit is conspicuous among them as being the most agile and expert ; clinging in every possible attitude to the branches with the utmost ease, and prying into every bud and crevice, even along the under sides of the twigs, with the strictest scrutiny. Among the nests of our British birds, that of the Long-tailed Tit is pre-eminent for beauty and the ingenuity displayed in its structure: in form it is oval, and domed over at the top, and is generally fixed in the forked branches of a low tree or tall bush in a dense hedgerow ; it is composed externally of moss, lichen, fibres, and wool, admirably interwoven together, and is lined internally with feathers: in this secure and warm receptacle, the female lays her eggs to the number of twelve or twenty, white in their colour, with obscure reddish spots at the larger end. Though not a songster, this interesting bird utters during the season of love a few simple, twittering notes ; but these cease with the summer, a chirping call being its only note during the rest of the year. Its flight from tree to tree is tolerably rapid, but cannot be maintained for any distance. The top of the head is white; a black mark passes through each eye to the occiput, and joining there with that of the opposite side, runs in a broad streak down the back, passing off at the edges into a rose red, which is the tint of the upper surface ; the quills are black ; the secondaries edged with white ; cheeks and throat greyish white, under parts pinky grey; tail long and graduated, the four middle feathers black, the two next tipped with white, the rest with the outer webs white also; beak and tarsi black. The female does not differ from her mate in colouring. We have figured a pair of the natural size. BEARDED ‘TIT. Parus biarmicus, (Ze / - Calamophilus____; (Leach) Drawn from Life and ow Stone by SEE. Could. i Lrnieed by LED VET 8 Genus CALAMOPHILUS, Leach. Gren. Cuar. Beak nearly as in the genus Parus, but the upper mandible at its tip is some- what curved. Taz/ elongated, wedge-shaped. Legs very slender. BEARDED TIT or REED BIRD. Calamophilus biarmicus, Leach. La Mesange moustache. Dr. Luacu was induced to separate this very interesting and elegant bird from the genus Parws, in consequence of its differing in several minor characters from the other species of that genus, particularly in the situation it affects as a place of abode and nidification ; constructing a nest on or near the ground in wet and marshy places : its food is also very different, consisting of the seeds of reeds, with aquatic insects and minute shelled- snails, for the trituration of which it is furnished with a strong muscular gizzard. It inhabits England as well as most of the temperate countries of Europe, but is more particularly abundant in the low and marshy districts of Holland, France and Germany. Its disposition is timid, and its manners shy and retired, dwelling in situations both local and difficult of access; a circumstance which, until lately, has prevented naturalists from giving any minute details respecting its peculiar habits. We are indebted to Mr. Hoy, an intelligent observer of nature, for the best account of this bird yet published, from which, as given in ‘“‘ The Magazine of Natural History,” vol. 3. p. 328, we take the liberty of making the following extract. “The borders,” says Mr. Hoy, “of the large pieces of fresh water in Norfolk called Broads, particularly Hickling and Horsey Broads, are the favourite places of resort of this bird ; indeed it is to be met with in that neighbourhood wherever there are reeds in any quantity, with fenny land adjoinmg. During the autumn and winter they are found dispersed, generally in small parties, throughout the whole length of the Suffolk coast, wherever there are large tracts of reeds. - I have found them numerous, in the breeding season, on the skirts of Whittlesea, near Huntingdonshire, and they are not uncommon in the fenny district of Lincolnshire ; whether they are to be met with further north I have had no means of ascertaining, but they do not appear to have been noticed north of the Humber. It begins building in the end of April. The nest is composed on the outside of the dead leaves of the reed and sedge intermixed with a few pieces of grass, and invariably lined with the top of the reed, somewhat in the manner of the nest of the Reed Wren (S. arundinacea, L.), but not so compact in the interior. It is generally placed in a tuft of coarse grass or rushes near the ground, on the margin of the dikes, in the fen; sometimes fixed among the reeds that are broken down, but never suspended between the stems. The eggs vary in number from four to six, rarely seven, pure white, sprinkled all over with small purplish red spots, intermixed with a few small faint lines and markings of the same colour ; size about the same as that of the Greater Tit, but much more rounded and shorter. Their food during the winter is principally the seed of the reed; and so intent are they in searching for it, that I have taken them with a birdlime twig attached to the end of a fishing-rod. When alarmed by any sudden noise, or the passing of a hawk, they utter their shrill musical notes and conceal themselves among the thick bottom of the reeds, but soon resume their station, climbing the upright stems with the greatest facility. Their manners in feeding approach near to the Long-tailed Tit, often hanging with the head downwards, and occasionally assuming the most beautiful attitudes. Their food is not entirely the reed-seed, but insects and their larvee, and the very young shelled-snails of different kinds, which are numerous in the bottom of the reedlings. I have been enabled to watch their motions when in search of insects, having, when there has been a little wind stirring, been often within a few feet of them, quite unnoticed, among the thick reeds. Was it not for their note betraying them, they would be but seldom seen. ‘The young, until the autumn moult, vary in plumage from the old birds ; a stripe of blackish feathers extends from the hind part of the neck to the rump. It has been said that the males and females keep separate during the winter; but I have always observed them in company ; they appear to keep in families until the pairing time, in the manner of the Long-tailed Tit ; differing in this respect, that you will occasionally find them congregated in large flocks, more particularly during the month of October, when they are migrating from their breeding-places.” To this interesting account we may add, that they are to be met with occasionally on the banks of the Thames, from the thick reed-beds of Erith in Kent throughout the course of the river to Oxford; but their visits are by no means regular, or to be calculated on with certainty. The total length of the male Bearded Tit is about six inches; the beak orange, the upper mandible longer and overhanging the under ; irides yellow; feet black ; crown of the head, nape, and cheeks delicate ash colour; between the base of the beak and the eyes is a black mark, which proceeds down the side of each cheek, and terminates in a fine and lengthened moustache ; throat white ; breast vinous grey; the sides of the breast, the back, and the four middle tail-feathers fine reddish orange ; primaries brown externally, edged with white ; secondaries the same colour as the back, with a black longitudinal stripe ; vent black ; tail graduated, and about three inches in length. The female is rather less than the male, of a more uniform ferruginous colour, with a few dashes of black on the upper part of the neck and back, and has a faint yellowish white instead of a black moustache. We have figured a male and female of the natural size. ab = | iso + Pee ae sinned ay oR? Be: My 4 a Ie R “* ree. ; asda it aay alt ‘ak y . r * 1 h Pi : y ahah? ; ' 7 . ’ - a ‘ sh ; r 5 « * . : J fuga | “ Pa we - “To * \ ‘ , . & ; { it bd i cr 7 / : ‘ | A ; . t, he los 7 + . a re 4 ge dl ‘ f « « j / ' . F . * ” he 2 . a e i £ : : - 4 . Ld < } . ' i _ | . 7 | . 7 ; | “ " : | ; pk e ~ \ ' : . j , eo ? — . ad .- vid { : . is - ” 4 ; “ § whe r wl? f i is r. i é 9 4 i : % - ; | . ; . * . - | 1 , ; : 5 | a i , $ a © om ; r : 7 A - . = , ¥ : : q i © % ¢ ¢ } * 4 | | | ' mie Ps +*, no. 3 i é: : : J : , * “i , ; . r ' é , i i 2 ti vt } . 7 ‘ . yi ' ; i 4 2) : ; | | i iz ; % : . f . at ‘ : . iby . . : } ELD i ; Mi ¥ ‘ . +e Medial te ; a3 ai * 4 my ; ‘ ® j ; / S | e i { + ‘ a rr L : / ny F 3 4 . i a ? 4 q f t ; . ‘ : y aes i ; ; + ! ra Fy + : ; . Ly : 9 : " ne . rs iy ; ; ray | . hy " . a h ; : : ry i 7 ¢ Dols ie ; a mls j - oJ od : ; 3 : : 4 « ‘cs % f ' ’ ear: i ; f ; . ‘ i \ Fi | ' 7 id - * : .* ‘gr . | ; ’ j t , . 4 | } F come ia 7 . ; aes 7 : E ' ‘ie se * . " r ‘ ; dav’ ' ‘ ' a: y * P| F td : * me ; : - 2 ¢ "| be i ne - ‘ en eee oe i a> Fey iz ei” 7 mt r . A ' “ H . ’ EF am ; : Pi at ii a . | | rh air a Rieres a i keane MER It he | i ak. : ute . zs ~ : & “dhs \ ’ . « _ aed si 1 : if - . m3 7 ee hare 2 5 > : Ary a ie) , call 4 _ wg | fe Te at j Py sy s q oe ee : j ; i a* Sine ai ih i RT aes s ye > . é + , . f | s 2 “| + : As ; Toe : } y j | ' ; Ma 4 : ‘ 4 - pe i t} ¥ if tans ‘i tf oe ee ES ly! Bt ‘ ‘ ; sf é : : | - . ; f . arth : i I . 5. dates F : +s ‘- i : : 7 @ . wie 5 * } : Me Ay is , * ned fie = fi . als : ‘ eta ' st EGE. SP ret ers *, mk 3a hub t% ‘ide ats ang whee } r i ' * ; 4 ; " “ eked a ek a 2 Af ‘ , 4 ' ; ; : v4 , y 3 + - 2" J oe ry ce vSee ‘ i Lay oe emt? ebs: my a dy gst aes | y - t 7 q 7 “a rag ; ae we anf jl Y nik 19 ban “a: ae gl) ih i Hep RIORIT ICING 18, ISIE Agitalus pendulimus ; (Lge/. Dram fiom Netare de om Stone by Th bead, Bivited by C Bidimandel: Genus AGITALUS, Baye. Gen. Cuar. Beak moderate, very acute, the upper mandible straight, middle toe free from the base: hind claw large and strong. az/ truncate and moderate. PENDULINE TIT. ffigitalus pendulinus, Boze. Le Mésange rémiz. We quite agree with M. Boje in the propriety of assigning this elegant little bird to a separate genus, distinguished by several minute particulars from that of Parus. In habits, manners, and the localities it frequents, it bears a great resemblance to the Bearded Tit (Calamophilus biarmicus, Leach); but in the form of its beak and tail, and in its mode of nidification, it not only differs from it, but also from every other species of the family. In this little bird, whether we regard its elegant hanging nest or its chaste plumage and sprightly form, there is much to attract attention: it is not, however, among the natives of our island, but must be sought for in the southern and eastern provinces of Kurope. It is tolerably abundant in Italy and the South of France, and is also found in some parts of Russia, Poland, and Hungary, everywhere frequenting the borders of rivers and inland sheets of fresh water, where willows, reeds, and luxuriant herbage afford it shelter. Its food is said to consist, like that of the Bearded Tit, not only of seeds, but also of aquatic insects, and the animals inhabiting small freshwater shells. Proverbial as are the Tits for the beauty and skilful structure of their nests, none are more remarkable and curious than that of the present species : it is constructed of the soft down of the willow or poplar; and this substance, which closely resembles cotton wool, is interwoven together with admirable ingenuity, so as to form a flask-shaped nest, with a lateral opening into the internal chamber. It is suspended at the extremity of a drooping branch of a willow or any similar tree overhanging the water. The eggs are six in number, of a pure white, marked with a few red blotches. The sexes in the adult state offer but little difference in the colour of their plumage; the markings of the female, particularly the black band across the face, are however more obscure, and the young, besides being of a lighter colour, want the black mark entirely. The plumage of the adult male is as follows: a black band extends across the forehead, encircles the eyes, and spreads over the ear-coverts; top of the head light grey; throat lighter; the upper surface chestnut brown, more intense on the middle of the back, fading off to buff; breast chestnut, becoming lighter as it spreads over the abdomen ; wings and tail brownish black, each feather having a lighter margin. Our Plate represents a pair of these birds, and their nest, of the natural size. hag 7 1 PR Prag Secrest iy 8 ; : ? sain: vise AiSaRO AOE: PHBE) ake = j oI Mt a4, fal e”" : : i MLOTTO 1h OSiaS winks Teited D here ahh a /- a ‘ s H Pi : 4 : 4 Fi q ‘ i} ; ; ties , ‘ ¢ ’ Fe i A i ‘ ‘ be + 4 ad | hh 5 7 iy ie ol ae aid & ra a ; { a ‘ : ~ _ ! oO -& 7 { mn p ‘ 3) oks i a fortes ‘ Zz ae ’ X. i a tr] fe) rai aiv : usntobda of} ian abaaiias . ae = be, iy tu alg & aber oieP Deeb oen | iar * : i i (ome i WAXEN CHATTERER. he Bombycivora garrula;/Zm “/ ‘ Finlimanvaed. by G Lrinted Dram from life am on stone by J & £. Condde Genus BOMBYCIVORA, Temma. Grn. Cuar. Beak short, straight, elevated, the upper mandible slightly curved towards its extremity and furnished with a very marked tooth. Nostrils basal, ovoid, open, concealed by short stiff hairs directed forward. Toes, three before and one behind, the external and middle toes united. Wangs moderate, the first and second quill-feathers equal and longest. WAXEN CHATTERER. Bombycivora garrula, Temm. Le Grand Jaseur. Tue birds composing the genus Bombycwora, as restricted by M. Temminck, are by no means numerous, three species only having as yet, we believe, been discovered. ‘The present beautiful example, which is the largest, and may be considered the most typical of the genus, is the only one Europe affords us ; it is also to be found in the northern regions of America, although much less common than the smaller allied species peculiar to that Continent. The rare and uncertain visits of the Waxen Chatterer to our Island afford us but little insight into its history, as it is in winter only that small flocks now and then appear, driven probably by the severity of the season in northern climes to a more southern retreat. Its true habitat appears to be the regions of the arctic circle, whence it emigrates to the adjacent districts both of Asia and Europe. Dr. Latham informs us that it is plentiful both at St. Petersburg and Moscow in the winter, but is observed to come there from parts further north, and to depart again to the arctic circle in spring. It is never known to breed in Russia, is scarce in Siberia, has not been found beyond the Lena, and is mentioned as a Tartarian bird by Frisch, who says it breeds among the rocks; and nothing more, we believe, is known respecting its habits and nidification. The formation and general structure of its beak indicate it to be a true berry-feeder, and we accordingly find that during its visits here its food consists of the berries of the mountain ash, the haw, the privet, &c. The general colour of the body of the male bird is of a dull vinous ash, with a bright ferruginous tinge on the forehead and cheeks ; the feathers of the head prolonged into a beautiful crest ; beak and tarsi black ; the throat, the feathers of the nostrils, and a band which passes from the beak through the eye, black ; primary quill-feathers brownish-black, each feather being marked on the inner margin of the tip with a yellow line ; secondaries tipped with white and having the shaft prolonged and furnished with singular appendages resembling red sealing-wax, whence its name; upper tail-coverts ash-coloured, the under ones ferruginous ; tail black tipped with a yellow band. The male and female offer but slight external differences, both having the wax-like appendages to the secondaries ; they are, however, less numerous in the female, and are altogether wanting in the young. Our Plate represents a male in the adult plumage and of the natural size. ae ee eS ay ae ¥ ' i L a 4 -., ‘ ~ - * . ’ * ‘ i tas - } oe) ; c ee - I ‘ é ; : : ac ae : + * a bs ae ; in , - ! i ¥, ‘ ae. . ha t ¢ 1 j i Frits ad * - -, F 4 ; - " . \ A ; i fal ; iS 5 a ; \ ¥ fi i > = . bes ‘ = ; J Sey - i : 4 ‘ a ny ee ye : = * rt * .§ \ 4 : * : * * 7 Q ate : - : P : v4 . ' pa y . [ . ' 13 = \ = . ‘ Ms ‘ 4 ‘ - 4 P , 3 vest ‘ : + : B * z ° 1 id . ’ ] ‘ al a ! i S > \ . * ‘ ‘ ae \ t 3 F a : s i 5 oe , P t ud, . ! lay | ay an “ ae ey 4 ; teas eur : u . ' eT eee " : ‘ Fs a te iz “ai% pate es é- a ee af is our Tro Nature & cr stcme & JEL Ccuéa. WACK JLAIRIK . Alauda Tartanca; (ZalZ/ Lronted by C Lalande. Genus ALAUDA, Linn. Gen. Cuan. Bilt subconic, short, the mandibles of equal length, the upper one slightly convex. Nosérdls basal, lateral, oval, partly concealed by small reflected feathers. Feet, three toes before, and one behind ; the anterior ones entirely divided; the claw of the hind one long and nearly straight. Wings, the first quill very short, or wanting, the third the longest ; tertials in most instances shorter than the quills. Coronal feathers generally produced, and capable of being erected. BLACK AND WHITE LARK. Alauda Tartarica, Pall. L Alouette Négre. Tux Alauda Tartarica is a native of the high northern regions of the old continent, where it enjoys a most extensive habitat, being dispersed, as we have every reason to believe, over the whole of Siberia, Northern Russia, Lapland, &c., and from whence it performs periodical migrations into more temperate climes. It spreads in autumn, says M. Temminck, over the provinces of European Russia, where it dwells in small com- panies ; hence it is necessary to include it in the fauna of Europe. Like Plectrophanes nivalis and Lapponica it is subject to very considerable and contrasted changes in the colouring of its plumage at opposite seasons : during the rigorous months of winter its clothing is remarkably thick and warm ; the feathers, which are then elongated, are encircled with a band of light tawny grey, and falling closely over each other, conceal the black colouring of the base of each feather. On the approach of summer a decomposition takes place in the lighter portions of the feathers, which gradually break off, and leave the bird in the height of summer of a jet black, which style of dress continues until the autumn, when a moult takes place, and the bird again assumes its usual winter clothing. The lower figure in our Plate represents the bird in the winter dress, while the upper illustrates the nearly completed plumage of summer, when, as will be readily perceived, many of the feathers possess the remains of the winter plumage. The Alauda Tartarica is a bird of great rarity in the collections of Europe; and independent of our own specimen, which we received from Paris, we know of no other example in England. The only difference in the outward appearance of the sexes consists in the hues of the female being some- what less deep, and in her being rather smaller in size than her mate. We cannot examine this and the following species, 4/auda Calandra, without being fully impressed with the propriety of separating them into a new genus, distinct from Alauda, which genus is typically represented by Arvensis; but having already figured one species which according to our ideas would range in this divi- sion under the name of Alauda brachydactyla, we have considered it best, in these instances also, to retain the old generic title Alauda. After what has been said above we conceive any further description of the plumage will be unnecessary : the beak is yellowish buff at the base and black at the tip; the feet and legs are black. The figures are of the natural size. i ie We, a = rr Bin in . 7 cae fe . ib. 5 . " a t { ae 3 # 2% : ‘ ' - Hai! 4 i ia « Ai trait Wake 5 “ap wd a, wy 4 -'> ie ee ; . , aa ‘ ‘ a ' ' \ » : 2 : oo 4 : oa, ae +e i" > ; satire ; : fi vit | Sevigny Al ; Mevinyy. iia t ¥ i 7 4 La , 4 At - a , . ’ = 7 a‘ } -" 4 . : , , } i iY i? [hit vt Tad 245¢Vh aay i , . , : ‘ 7 P “© F e 5 : oa * a “ - : Peace TP Gerd vein fitted * a 4 m : - i" : 4 ii . ‘ r « ; ‘ . 3 ein St Pay cad a f " 7 ; A tf] ' TE ate i a [ styh ae “Ye e re . i . “ 7 © : ir ar 7 f . ‘ ey | 4 . . > ‘ : ‘ ? 7 ° y al 4 of a ' ¥ 7 2e j ' A . as 2 ‘ . ss cae fy ‘* * * ts i : q Bs ew ‘ . ? * f x - j *; + e ’ ova H « : 7” it " ¥ * J : , iid) : . ‘ hg ‘ 3 7 7 ri f a ‘ “g i+ ( : s | : gl t ae ; Min, - ’ ‘ , ; j > t - ' i . . ich : ' ' i ~ uj t * { - “ ‘ 3 ft ot 4 2 7 AL . ‘ ! “ * " ar j : ’ : ; ' P i pathy y + ” r Lion } afer facie de eer an ua (se fee he Aioie ait ere ae ih rly HOLM Der ee Re SOP PELE Uber eS , f" } 4 ? rs j q . . é. Pa pos f E . Ceti Git 2 127: fh Bal ities ito : . J : a : i vl (aral baie teat Leuk Miley are aie ee i y nee ee ivatnie eco Pity ie uivian Tint i. f? ae ce bay j - i * ' ' ‘ i 7 é al a a: t ‘ ' t V 1 , ‘ bf . os , bi - i LARK-HEELED BUNTING, Plectrophanes lapponiea, /-SedZy/ Trnked by CLilimande: LARK-HEELED BUNTING. Plectrophanes Lapponica, Selby. Le Bruant Montain. So little is known of the history and changes of plumage which this scarce bird undergoes, that we are left in doubt as to whether the tricoloured livery of the upper bird in our Plate, which is that of the male in summer, is exchanged in winter, as in the case of the Snow Bunting, for a more uniform and sober dress, or whether, like some of the more typical Buntings, (Hmberiza Scheniculus, Linn., for example,) it retains its strongly contrasted colouring throughout the year. We make this observation because there have been frequently examples killed in England, all of which resembled the lower bird of the Plate. Some of these, on dissection, proved to be males, and were most probably immature birds, the migrations of which are known to be, according to the general rule, both more widely diffused and more irregular in their course than those of mature birds. The summer retreat of the Lark-heeled Bunting, where it incubates and rears its brood, is within the limits of the arctic circle, from whence, as winter approaches, it gradually passes southwards, in Europe as far as Switzerland, and in America visiting the northern parts of the United States in considerable abundance. _ Its nest, according to Dr. Richardson, who observed it in the arctic regions of the American continent, is placed upon a small hillock, among moss and shrubs, and is composed externally of the dried stems of grass interwoven to a considerable thickness, and lined very neatly and compactly with deer’s hair. The eggs are usually of a pale ochre yellow, spotted with brown. In habits and manners the Lark-heeled Bunting resembles very closely the Snow Bunting, with which it is sometimes found associated ; and it is worthy of remark, that the examples killed in England have been found among the vast quantities of Larks exposed for sale in the markets of London and other large towns, a circumstance indicating its almost exclusively terrestrial habits. Its food consists of grain, the seeds of various mountain plants, and perhaps insects. The colouring of the adult male may be thus detailed : The top of the head, cheeks, throat, and chest jet black, interrupted by a line of white, which passes from the base of the beak over the eye, behind which it dilates and extends to the occiput, bounding the ear- coverts ; a broad band of chestnut passes across the back of the neck; the whole of the upper surface is brown, each feather being edged with rufous, and having a black dash in the centre; the sides of the chest and under surface white, the flanks with a few dashes of black ; bill yellow, passing into black at the tip ; tarsi blackish brown ; irides hazel. The female, according to M. Temminck, resembles the young bird in her general colouring, except that a band of reddish white occupies the same place as in the male, and unites with a white streak, which passes from the angle of the beak ; the throat is white, bounded laterally by a broad band of brown; the breast is marked with blotches of grey and black, and the under parts are white. The young birds, as we may presume those to have been that were taken in this country, have the whole of the upper surface brown, each feather bearing a reddish edge, and a dark central dash; the under surface dirty white, with dashes of brown along the sides. The Plate represents an adult male, and a young bird of the year, of the natural size. i shell on 4 vere ia sailed mite Os Wei: else et ia f f * H ‘ ~ eae Os . £o aie +e a . 4 > 4 F \ S 5 ‘ : | t < Ba ‘< H ee 4s . by ee aad } rate = 7 ¥ « d ae: ' A ES i ’ ; i pean ae ny ; . t 14 iit 51 ; 1 e 7 ; { ‘ 7 ‘ é i +) PA eee ay \ 1 Rete iy ik aauhies ‘ ia he eset af by pat Ty ‘ Y : % te eh mova) i i7 ‘ : ¢ Aiae a ae te ? ere Phe: 7 j Fugees id ® be a =F z rs & i ae i ‘ rs ay i 3 ¢ tA a hd | ‘ ELE. £4 7 ity) heats eae ; ; rhage UD r ‘ . £ \ Hi } F F # { J f Vé f * ’ © ¥ ¥ if te er Ki CRtied, geese heen ‘ ! PLENHED OEE OR tRaR E.coli ’ z ’ oo t 5 P ‘ - Die , 4 h a . “4 = ‘ * , : ay 7 be eke A: GS ab RET bees af Y ; awe oly) Uren from Lit & ow Stone by &L. Govdd: SNOW BUNTING. Plectrophanes nivalis ; (Meyer), SNOW BUNTING. Plectrophanes nivalis, Meyer. Le Bruant de neige. Tux Snow Bunting may be strictly pronounced a migratory species throughout the temperate countries of Europe, visiting them at the commencement of winter, and enlivening the bleak hills and barren shores which at this season of the year are deserted by those birds whose instinct has directed them to seek more southerly and consequently milder regions. The summer residences of this neat and chastely plumaged bird are well ascertained to be the northern hemispheres of the continents of Europe and America, over which portions of the globe it is generally and even universally diffused. The most wild and dreary spots of the northern parts of the latter continent are, according to the accounts of persevering travellers who have visited those regions, animated with the presence of the Snow Bunting. Dr. Richardson informs us, that Southampton Island, situated in the 62nd parallel, (where this species was observed by Captain Lyon,) is the most southern locality which has been discovered as its breeding-place. As soon as the task of incubation is accomplished, they commence their migrations towards warmer regions, although, by the authority of the above-mentioned traveller, they do not hasten southwards with that immediate alacrity which distinguishes the passage of many other small birds; they linger rather in the vicinity of forts by the sea-side and other exposed places, subsisting on the seeds of grasses, and performing their journey by short stages until the approach of colder weather quickens their progress ; indeed the visits of the Snow Bunting to our own island seem to depend very much on the severity of the winter in their northern retreats. The Shetland and Orkney Islands are their first resting- places, whence they proceed to the Highlands of Scotland, then the Cheviot-hills, and finally distribute them- ‘selves over the southern barren districts of the British Isles. Mr. Selby informs us, that << they arrive at the latter end of October, and generally in very large flocks, which seem chiefly to consist of the young of the year with a few adults intermixed, and afterwards, if the season should be severe, small flocks are seen, principally consisting of adult male birds in their winter dress.” On the Continent they annually visit the North of Ger- many, France and Holland, in the latter of which countries M. Temminck states them to be very abundant, particularly by the sea-side, a situation to which they evince a partiality in our own Island, especially if a flat and sandy shore prevails. From all these places, on the approach of spring, they again flock to the northern latitudes, whence they originally came. The Snow Bunting is subjected to a considerable variety of plumage, of which either sex, age, or season is the cause. The decided and contrasted plumage represented in the lower figure is not attained until maturity, and is then only observable inthe summer season, at which time the male and female offer less distinction than is given in the accompanying Plate, the upper figure of which represents an immature bird in the plumage characteristic of the greater portion of those individuals who visit England. In this state it has been called the Tawny Bunting, and regarded by many authors as a distinct species. As the lengthened hind claw would lead us to conclude, the habits of this bird induce it to frequent rocks and arid districts, where they run with great celerity and are never known to perch on trees ; and from the beak being destitute of the palatine knob, it has been separated with great propriety from the other Buntings. The situations chosen for the nests of this species are niches in the rocks of mountainous places, and some- times upon flat shores among large stones. The nest is formed of dried grass neatly lined with hair or feathers. The eggs are six or seven in number, of a pale flesh colour, speckled with minute dots, and blotched at the larger end with reddish brown. ‘Their food consists of the seeds of alpine plants, and the larvee of various insects. The adult male in summer has the head, neck, under parts, outer tail-feathers and centre of the wing's pure white ; the remainder of the plumage, the feet, and bill black ; irides dark brown. The female at this season differs only in having the back of the head, side of the chest, and a portion of the neck and breast tinged with rufous, and the other parts of the plumage of a less pure black. The male of the first year, the female, and adult birds in winter offer but little difference in the colour of the plumage. The upper figure in the Plate represents a bird in this stage, and the colouring may be thus characterized. The top of the head, sides of the breast, margin of the scapulars, back, and tail-feathers reddish brown; the throat, breast, four outer tail- feathers, under parts, and centre of the wings white; each of the back feathers has the centre brown; the quills and middle tail-feathers are also of the same colour beak reddish brown ; irides dark brown; legs black. ae : ¥ ; ; * " ; + bi $ 5 F . < i : F - : , 3 ] j ¢ ; : * i 4 q } Bi - i : : , : ; : j ; 3 4 ° f : i Z ‘ 2 eh ‘ ' p pia. a } : 7 i 4 - A b * oe v u a ‘ . - ‘ hee ; j f ‘ i f : j 4 < ¥ ty ? a 2 &4o 4% = # 2 ' K ‘ x 7 i s uy * i K Pr : \ . Ft,” ‘oT or Sea ‘, t a 4 S sla dds Meyda eek Ot aiee Saas ete w scant, ras of ere \ a ia i , ra ici e met Dpeel i ess | tT IN0K. Ea Ea ME rs . ‘ . i r - p al . ; 7 +2 is ca COMMON BUNTING. Emberiza muiharia; Zan/ earn fran Nard on Seonety T&L could: Linied by C Hadimanded Genus EMBERIZA. Gen. Cuar. Bill conical, strong, hard, and sharp-pointed ; tomia of both mandibles bending inwards, and compressed towards the point; the upper mandible narrower and smaller than the under one, and its roof furnished with a hard bony knob ; base of the mandibles, or gape, forming an angle, and rather open. _Nos¢ra/s basal and round, partly hidden by the small feathers at the base of the bill. Feet having three toes before and one behind ; the anterior ones entirely divided. Claws rather long and curved. Wings with the first quills rather shorter than the second and third. COMMON BUNTING. Emberiza miliaria, Lenn. Le Bruant Proyer. Tus well-known species of Bunting may be considered a permanent resident in the British Islands, over the whole of which it is dispersed ; it is also equally abundant on the Continent, where it ranges from the regions of the arctic circle to the most southern boundary of Europe: of this fact we have received satisfactory evidence, by the inspection of examples from Trebizond in Asia Minor, which country would, however, appear to be nearly its southern and eastern limit, as we have never observed any specimens in collections either from India or Africa. It is the largest and one of the most typical of its genus, having the palatine knob more fully developed than im any other species. Its food consists, in a great measure, of grains and seeds, which induces it to give a preference to those cultivated districts which afford the most abundant supply. Besides grain, many of the Buntings eat insects and their larve with avidity, and we have observed the present bird in particular feeding on the body of the large species of Chafer Melolontha vulgaris. During autumn and winter the Common Bunting congregates in flocks, often in company with the Lark, to which, in the flavour of its flesh, it is very similar; on the return of spring it is dispersed over the face of the country, being partial to hedge-rows skirting large fields, where it may be observed perched on the topmost twig uttering its oft-repeated monotonous note, which is more loud although not unlike that of the Yellow-hammer, Eimberiza citrinella. The ground is the situation chosen for the purpose of incubation, and in this respect it resembles the true Larks; the nest is composed of various grasses lined with hair and fibrous roots; the eggs are five or six in number, of a pinkish grey, streaked and spotted with reddish brown. The sexes so nearly resemble each other in the colour of their plumage as to render a description of both unnecessary ; the young also assume at an early age, with a trifling exception, the precise tints of the adult. _ The whole of the upper plumage is brown inclining to olive, the centre of each feather being darker ; the under surface yellowish white, with numerous stripes of dark brown running down the shaft of each feather ; feet and bill brown. The Plate represents an adult male of the natural size. iV : = : ? / a * Dey rah ee Wa rite yl ie a ah ‘t al h . r ¢ beet, AACR det . : ous) sak ade FSi Bn Axi et ee ; r pee h Hone avanti at of aa aes i . : < 7 f i j ¥ ‘ vs iv i 4) B itisidvo's ‘wk 4 i wi ; 4 . . ri ae ; u Tey a j ‘ig yiers) ih rate ae fd hee: Alivaawit | i hs Babel ASCE et biryeil dou hin wees wobateltodt ipl. * a , "he cP 4 aEpns ' UF Wa ae eS) Arh: wiftaa Piette’ wetatne ite Mtn OY: (bese ik 14 < 4 rt q J is n 4 F hey ies | ui ut , ligne aut : i, i it . , ' i r ‘ MY +h ‘1 a) a +. ~1 hatiey it : 4 Bye aN oh ey wis : yo! + ious, mah | ie Kinetic kl waa : ny , iy . ome i | a | : | i “% } f ‘ i } rs | s Re fi ~ . i ! ri LP Co : f ‘ van Pr; toh n : ’ . i 7 : , ine ss busslti ‘ : : } any . RS Lae elt ey pa fenk diane, abc ert Falk noe f ar an nat oe wit Ls ok “ ‘ a atte Pew iis sg hy 4 ay ; | ea ee ee Lrrantn LF FoI L Ye and on Stone by BLACK HEADED BUNTING. Emberiza melanocephala, /Scopolc/ BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. Emberiza melanocephala, Scopolz. Le Brunt crocote. WE are not able to enter into a minute detail respecting the habits and manners of this beautiful species of Bunting, as it has never been known to visit the British Islands, nor, as far as we are able to ascertain, either the northern or western portions of the European Continent; the middle and southern districts and the border-line which joins the Asiatic confines being its native locality. M. Temminck informs us that it is very abundant in Dalmatia and all over the Levant, and common in Istria and in the environs of Trieste; he also states that it sings agreeably, and chooses hedgerows and low bushes for its place of incubation, building near the ground and laying four or five white eggs, thinly sprinkled with minute dots of a light ash-colour. Its food consists of seeds, grains, and occasionally insects. In the male the whole of the head and the cheeks are deep black; the sides of the neck, throat, and the whole of the under surface of a fine king’s-yellow; the back of the neck, the scapulars and back are of a rich rufous brown; the rump and tail-coverts inclining to yellow; the wings and tail light brown, each feather having a lighter edge ; the beak ashy-blue ; feet and tarsi light brown ; length about six inches and a half. In the female the whole of the upper surface is brown, the middle of each feather inclining to black ; the throat yellowish white; the whole of the under surface inclining to a yellowish red. In all our collections from Western India we receive this species in abundance, or if not this identical bird, one very closely allied to it, having all its characters, except that the feathers of the head instead of being entirely black are tipped with a grayish brown, and the rest of the plumage, which in the European species is so vivid and distinct, is less pure and decided. The specimens from which our figures were taken form part of the collection of the Zoological Society of London, and were received from Berne. Switzerland we believe to be the western bounds of its locality. In the annexed Plate we have figured a male and female in their spring plumage. es © TA eal apie eRe eh Se Pee ' ad Ga YELLOW BUNTING. Emberiza citrinella,/Zenm/ Dronmnyrom Neture & on Stone by J&L Contd, Lronted by CHidimandel, YELLOW BUNTING. Emberiza citrinella, Lznn. Le Bruant jaune. Wurtz perched on the topmost branch of the roadside hedge displaying its richly coloured tints, this well- known bird would, were it less common, excite great interest in the passing traveller, as well as in those who lead exclusively a country life, and who therefore have it under their observation during all seasons of the year. | The male is most attractive in the early months of spring, his energies at this period having by the natural impulse warned him of the approaching breeding-time. Now, being mated, he may be seen mounted on the most slender twig pouring forth his simple song, which, although neither melodious nor varied, nevertheless has a natural simplicity which cannot fail to please, and it is doubtless cheerfully listened to by his less gaily attired mate, who prefers the more secluded bush or more dense parts of the hedge-row. The Yellow Bunting is rather a late breeder, seldom commencing until the herbage is sufficiently grown to afford it a complete shelter from observation. The shelving side of a bank or tuft of grass is generally selected for the situation of the nest, which is most neatly constructed of dried grasses and moss, lined with finer grasses and hair: the eggs are four or five in number, of a pale bluish white, marked with spots and lines of chocolate red. | In winter the Yellow Bunting associates in considerable flocks, often in company of other granivorous birds, and spreads over fields and arable lands; in severe weather resorting to farm-yards and similar situations. It is, we believe, indigenous in every part of Europe, to which quarter of the world it appears to be strictly confined, as we have never seen any examples of it in collections from any other locality. The young during the first autumn resemble the female, which, as we have above stated, is much less brilliant in all her markings than the male. The male has the crown of the head, throat, chest, and under surface rich gamboge yellow, the flanks and under tail-coverts streaked with reddish chestnut ; the upper surface rich brown inclining to olive, the centre of each feather being darker; primaries blackish brown with lighter edges; rump brownish orange; tail brownish black, the outer edges of the feathers yellow, and the inner web of the outer feather on each side largely blotched with white; legs and feet yellowish brown. The upper surface of the female resembles that of the male, but the tints are less brilliant ; the under surface also is not so bright, and is destitute of the rich chestnut streaks which adorn the male, these markings being brown. The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. ? ah, mit ¥ e YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING. Emberiza aureola./4a4@/ Dravn from Noiare & on Stene by Jb 2 Gould. Sinted ty C Balimeardd, YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING. Emberiza aureola, Pall. La Bruant auréole. Tuts very beautiful Bunting has been more than once captured within the precincts of the European conti- nent ; it consequently becomes necessary for us to give a figure of it, and in so doing we introduce to our readers one of the most beautiful species of this group, so celebrated for their agreeable and well-contrasted colours. A specimen of the male, one of the very finest we have ever seen, was obligingly lent to us by T.B.L. Baker, Esq., of Hardwicke Court, Gloucester, a gentleman to whom we shall ever feel indebted for many acts of great kindness and liberality, and who has considerably facilitated the study of ornithology by the publication of a work entitled ‘* An Ornithological Index”, in which are enumerated the genera and species contained in the works of most of the present writers, and which he hopes will form a stepping-stone to a still more elaborate production by some more experienced ornithologist. M. Temminck states that the native habitat of the Yellow-breasted Bunting is Kamtschatka, Siberia, and the Crimea; it has also been occasionally seen in the southern parts of Russia, and in other portions of the eastern boundaries of Europe. The male is much more richly coloured than the female, and may be described as follows : A band of black extends round the base of the beak and over the ear-coverts ; the top of the head and the whole of the upper surface is of a rich chestnut, a band across the chest of the same colour ; throat and under surface rich yellow marked with streaks of brown on the flanks; primaries and tail brown, the latter having the two outer feathers on each side marked with a large white spot near the tip ; beak and tarsi brown. The female is nearly devoid of the rich colouring which characterizes the male; the upper surface being dull brown tinged with green, the under surface olive yellow with the flanks marked as in the male. The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. ma Cup 5 y Vy i Wat teal CIRL BUNTING. Emberiza carlus; Azenn/ Tram from Netare & on Stone by Jé L. coud: LBriiteds by C Haltmandels sth ae CIRL BUNTING. Emberiza Cirlus, Zann. Le Bruant zizi. 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 (Eméeriza citrinella, Linn.), which is distributed through the whole of our island, the Cirl Bunting is extremely local in its habitat, being seldom seen in the 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. In general habits, manners, and nidification it closely resembles the Yellowhammer. Its nest is generally placed either beneath a low bush or at the foot of a large tree; it is composed of dried grass intermingled with vegetable fibres, and lined with hair. The eggs are in general more round than those of the Yellowhammer ; in colour they are grey, marked with those peculiar zigzag lines of dark brown which are so characteristic of all the Buntings’ eggs. Its food consists of various kinds of grain, to which insects are largely added, of which Montagu informs us grasshoppers are the greatest favourites. The sexes offer a contrasted difference in the colour of the plumage, the male being adorned with a gorget of black and distinct facial markings. The adult male has the crown of the head and back of the neck olive grey, the former exhibiting longitudinal dashes of black ; a yellow stripe from the base of the beak encircles the eye, and terminates on the side of the head; the throat is black in summer, but as winter approaches it becomes obscured with olive grey ; below this black a yellow band extends across the throat; the whole of the upper surface is reddish brown, each feather having a greyish margin ; quills blackish brown; the breast, below the yellow gorget, is greenish olive; sides of the chest washed with ferruginous under fine yellow; two outer tail-feathers white for the greatest part of their inner web ; bill brown; legs brownish flesh colour. The adult female, which differs little from the young male of the year, wants the black throat and gorget of yellow; the head is olive green with dashes of brown; the chest is yellowish grey streaked with brown ; the under surface dull pale yellow ; and the upper plumage is less vivid than in her more ornamented mate. Our Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. a PRE ARETE iAP o abel etter Yds ONY ed Ea ete My | ae ' at as : : | | , : 4 3 Were rie: BO TCE) Ba ie salt Aatate dathenriny Wit: tect Beaibeasye: Yen ul case Kogel teat? ty Sipe das eerie pape eB. wl NL AAV te er iay ta ae yee abe 00 fearttttanes ee) Gee eran ee aaa? 2) ‘ iF he )') Meet ie ny GHEE LL aaa Tu 7 bh MBs, i } H ORTOLAN BUNTING. Embenza hortulana:/Zzx7,/ Dramnppom life on Stne by The B. Gould: : Printed ly CHalimandd: ORTOLAN BUNTING. Emberiza hortulana, Lznn. LOrtolan. Turs bird has long been celebrated as one of the greatest delicacies of the table throughout the countries of France and Italy, for which purpose numbers are annually caught and artificially fattened. The South of Europe and the northern portions of Africa appear to be its natural habitat ; it is nevertheless generally spread throughout continental Europe, even as far as Holland, Sweden and Russia. The British Isles are only occasionally visited; one of the examples, a male, now in the museum of the Natural History Society at Neweastle-upon-Tyne, having been taken on the Yorkshire coast. It is not improbable, however, that we should find this bird more frequent than it is believed to be, were it not overlooked from its similarity to the Yellow Bunting (Eimberiza citrinella, Linn.). Dr. Latham informs us that it is strictly migratory in its habits and is frequently taken in the spring and autumn at Gibraltar, whence we may suppose that the greater number pass over to Africa and make that continent their winter residence. It is during these migrations, when vast numbers are assembled together, that they are caught in traps, principally in Italy and the South of France, and are then kept by being placed in a dark room, and there fed with plenty of oats and millet-seed, upon which they quickly fatten. From the accounts of various authors, it would appear that they offer several variations of plumage, caused by peculiar diet and other circumstances: these varieties, being purely accidental, are not to be considered in the same light as the variations of plumage which occur in many other birds. The nest of-the Ortolan is constructed of fibres and leaves, and placed in the most convenient situation the locality may afford, most commonly in low bushes and hedges, but sometimes on the ground among corn. The eggs are five in number, of a reddish grey marked with streaks of brown. The plumage of the male is much more lively than that of the female. The top of the head is greenish olive; an edging of white feathers forms the margin of the eyelid ; ear-coverts brown ; the throat, the sides of the face, below the eye, and the chest, are of a delicate yellow; the upper surface reddish brown, the feathers of the back and wings being dashed in their centre with black ; the under surface pale tawny ; beak and legs flesh-coloured. In the female, the whole of the upper surface is greyish brown, with a number of small black lines on the head, the feathers of the back having their centres black also; the throat is pale yellow, and is bounded by a range of brown spots; the rest of the under surface is pale brownish red ; the eyelid is edged with white as in the male. The Plate represents an adult male and female of the natural size. ‘ ‘ a}, j ae : a ; : r ' ‘3 \ 7a , A ¥ ac? ‘ Fr a @ \ ‘ F 5 : P 1 We ‘ + is ' by ™. D by. we pid laps uf b ’ i cS - i (a 7, “ Le Z t : salt i oe ee 1 . juve a. sat ai iy j i Me ea a 3 - ; a * < £ c ; Lat ; 7h ery ’ : 3 ii t ‘ ‘ { *% ; civ ' pikere 4 4 : - ‘ i ; ? Ate gh Peers " oo 7 : ? uy * 4 : 7 ‘ ‘ ak ore est ¥ at ait P t s* : . * 7 q b- an 3 i : y id : ; 1 on ae } r a . > Foat + ue foe ™ AEF wi * & ‘ ; Phar Sree: te: Tey #- 7 > i ‘ ? Cr an i a ‘ J PAS 7 7 " ' 1 sultan ea tis 7 Tr a s (Th é ta USED rae i . Me AG F ' nase. Satie) CSE - ' pling! ; : j ; i ‘ : f s dy Laa“Rvecge. vag © te ee : ies 4 = ‘ , « WN wet wi Pevern? va ‘ m a fr ; uit i ead Pd “ple, ) * Bae 2 el ee a ST " r Ser eo Fay eee Dah 24 . ay ys Li ‘ ‘ eoseet ab ta a AAS Ta “ : pa i at ave iay akeaty : " ‘ fos ~bing oe iy apQieoiieg } Ge? ; SG ed ee iid awytwe Eyer ee vice : a ' > ; ; ne UE ce eas Seah ee Ut ae 4 ; 7 : f Cy he Basra y OEE CEE facta LF A ; bd ee ave ; ee ey 2 ADL AO Sate hE © : ire g-ilawty &3 iA Lies os ¥ " a's 7 WB, J t : be qi LS . Oe eek ed oe ” al Ue ea ; 1 "do, ohichys. celtics nk ae i t * 6 * ‘ wee mn =] ae: 2 f - Aim ; Rees a2 Casita Yano) wh ; i thy E . te : CSL ES TELA GTEC Se Fe varrkd dood lll Yt See Peet OP ieee * ; ‘ if f i re % "ee VtaITHRE Aas i “1, ; b ‘ ¥ ‘ i = Fe iy a. ' 4 e : hy { , $ROTGY, SG) perks se r 4 Mane ae yigie ; al (Vabe A ¢ 9 dy oe nine ail? + oe " rE one =. ue ae ST ie : 2 shite 50s Ath Stee be ; a 4 - a Pane May amis © re nyliest aariwe 7 : y . ae ohn Ts on |b & : “ue + * ah ; dt ty stn aael hua ajaiee atin ete ” * ' ee Kn é , RUSTIC BUNTING. Emberiza rustica, (C72 Dravmn from Notre & on stone by Jb Jan RUSTIC BUNTING. Emberiza rustica, Pall. Le Bruant rustique. For fine examples of both sexes of this exceedingly scarce Bunting we are indebted to the Directors of the Museum at Frankfort; and although its native country is Siberia, Kamtschatka, and the adjacent islands, we are inclined to admit it among the Birds of Europe, on the assurance of some naturalists that it is frequently found within the limits of the north-eastern portions of the Continent. M. Temminck has also admitted it on the same grounds, though he himself has never received it in a recent state, and until he does, he prefers taking his account from the work of Pallas. In the disposition of its colouring the Rustic Bunting resembles several other species of the genus Emberiza ; but it departs in a trifling degree from that form; and in the stoutness of its bill and the shortness of its tail would appear to approach the Finches. The female may be distinguished from the male by the absence of the black colour on the crown of the head and ear-coverts ; in other respects their plumage is closely similar. We have no information to communicate respecting its habits and manners, nor is its nidification or the colour of its eggs as yet ascertained. . The male has the top of the head, with the exception of a white line down the middle, and the space between the beak and the ear-coverts, black ; a broad white streak passes over the eye, and down the sides of the neck and throat; the whole of the upper surface is rich brown, each feather having a darker mark in the centre; this brown colouring passes into rufous on the chest, which it surrounds like a collar; the wings are of the same colour as the back; secondaries tipped with white; primaries and tail brown, the two outer feathers of the latter white on their outer edges; the flanks red brown, each feather having the centre darkest ; under surface white; legs and bill dull yellow brown. The plumage of the female is somewhat paler and more obscure than that of the male, and the black which ornaments the head of the male is replaced by brown; the stripe over the eye and down the throat is yellowish white. The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. yah veka tye Fae aa = ‘ t i vi , ry . : a " * 4 + Phas dathet 3 ee ‘) ST ae ae ty: coecse od To, engines ri LU ’ F ; alt . ; att famed bua sHottenen’ ta icra a! , ; - : pee] + ( 2 " ty fife dt dim Ne Oa bonelout vite i CAEP r 7455 r ~~ 3 , f ‘203 fe Gy at OF GEC ETE DURGE a ’ 7 TTY oa iowa sored ait ne ¥ £ : “ete f ' i i € . et tage s oy Sits > ark lita , re ; : ? yi : it st Wreisk OEE ttt Pid : Lf untitt sol areal a dad i . i al Pt s aleiteich of] in 4 : Pee ats . ; - | Ph rf ‘ “es ata tk . ay ¥ ) ih tae : : 4 rope ty wats 2b 10 TINGE i . ft, t 7 te P ‘ ‘ , bara sid ality) ; Pigs ! ant skh cul atpde-odb ey , > ; ; 3 *. r tf. a ign be t : ake a ' Ae 4 ; ; Rela eo | eve i “ ¥ y ytt- DyA eo Oe? cS 5 i : : < : is ie By Comey A i ; yrnte . chee ‘i = evi ya esi ee i \ beat sthem? hite ei iat i j id PhS! ; ik > ; 2 ik fat a 7 -“ r, 4 - ; ‘ ; F s oo aid : ae { van Valaxe F 1] ‘ . Ns eos f tit 'j 4 j t *) vizD Eidis visi » “LT ig | iF) i b c it n, oF +1 me . “> ’ ru 4s aca Sail ae vets i mati) ; ? Pie ible ; 1} j =u ‘ t ites] iy Sine Sy AP. Se saint i J te aati jqdltiot- dans eeuia Lee 4 Hal odk to eredinat iste oe ve t éhe Pee ea eae. ote Tele ge he ‘ % P 5 j il t 4 “i ae Pe r » wile asetuia tof 7 eee Si cs P ad) : ‘ pay t i] sriat ab: aleversls alt Wey o VAY sit - r , . . ¥ “ i \, 3 ie sie 7" ata at cel Sy OY: Hts oY (4 ) ite oh o wernt +e bérpalejod ag sisiit aa to bia lt 2 easements, M4 . i u 4 ig ataier. ; nf ara i Pip ii Thiet Held Tpalueist bas olor & alirpesen a ey Lt ice - i 4 LESBIAN BUNTING. Emberiza Lesbia; (Gmel/ Drampram Nature bom Stone ty S&L: Could. Lronted, by CLiadlmandid, LESBIAN BUNTING. Emberiza Lesbia. Le Bruant de Mitiléne. Tue Emberiza Lesbia is one of the rarest species of the present genus, but at the same time one of the most universally distributed ; it sparingly inhabits the eastern parts of southern Europe, and occurs but very rarely in Italy and Provence ; it is-also found in Greece, and we have seen it in collections from China. M. Tem- minck states that it is found also in Japan, where it is known under the name of ‘‘ Jamuzuzume.” In its habits and manners it doubtless closely resembles the other members of the family, and but little difference is perceptible between the sexes. The head is greyish olive, with a stripe of dark brown down the centre of each feather; back of the neck and back reddish brown, with a broader and more conspicuous stripe down each feather, but becoming nearly imperceptible on the rump; wing-coverts chestnut, striped down the centre with blackish brown ; secondaries blackish brown, bounded on each side with rufous and margined with pale brown; quills and tail brown margined with paler brown ; ear-coverts deep reddish brown, beneath which is a broad stripe of buff; throat whitish ; bounded on each side with numerous oblong spots of dark brown, which meet and cover the front of the breast ; under surface buff, marked on each side immediately below the breast with several indistinct spots of chestnut, and on the flanks by stripes of dark brown on the centre of each feather ; bill, legs, and feet pale brown. The female only differs in having the spots on the sides of the throat and breast more numerous, and in having the whitish part of the throat less extensive. We have figured a male and female of the natural size. iv Vi qe sa a i ’ si My i Te Napa hee oe Panu) Uiths Dravn from Mature be on Stonely The B Could, MEADOW BUNTING. Emberiza cia; (Zenn- /. MEADOW BUNTING. Emberiza cia, Linn. Le Bruant fou, ou de pré. Tuis species of Bunting, although common in the meadows bordering the Rhine, as well as in the southern parts of France, Italy, Spain, and adjoining the Mediterranean, does not appear to be distributed in the North as is the case with so many of its congeners, neither Holland nor England being among the places of its habitat. The nearest-allied species among our native Buntings is the Reed Bunting (Zinderiza scheniculus, Linn.), which it resembles, not only in its general habits and manners, but in the peculiar character of its markings, particularly about the head, and in the feebleness of the beak. The nearest extra-British species in alliance with it is the Emberiza lesbia: and it would appear that with both of these birds in certain stages of plumage it has been confounded ; and not with these only, as will appear from the following translation of a note which we have taken the liberty of extracting from M. Temminck’s Manuel d Ornithologie. ‘‘ Besides the double use which Buffon makes of this species in describing it under the name of Foolish Bunting, and Lorraine Bunting, he commits a second error in giving his description and Ortulan de neige, pl. 511. fig. 2, as the female of the Ortolan de Lorraine. The German authors are equally in error in enumerating under the synonym of Le Bruant fou the birds described and figured by Buffon under the names of Gavoue and Mitilene de Provence ; these form two distinct species. The French naturalists place the Emberiza passerina of Gmelin, Syst. i. p. 871. sp. 27., in the synonym of Le Bruant fou, while the description of Gmelin pourtrays very exactly an old female of Le Bruant des roseaux.” The Emberiza cia offers in its sober tints a harmony of colours which renders it far from being the least pleasing of its genus. The food of this bird, as its feeble bill indicates, consists of the small seeds of farina- ceous plants, such as millet, canary, &c., as well as insects of various species ; in fact, as above stated, its manners and actions are in close unison with our well-known Reed Bunting. It constructs a nest in bushes and tufts of herbage, and not unfrequently on the ground: the eggs are five in number, of a whitish colour marked with a few lines of black. The whole of the head and breast is ash coloured ; three stripes of black occupy the face on each side, one passing above the eye, one through the eye to the occiput, and one encircles the lower part of the face from the angle of the beak ; a greyish white stripe passes above the eye, bordered by the two lines of black ; the whole of the upper surface is of a rufous brown, each feather having a dusky mark down the centre; the feathers of the shoulders are edged with light grey ; the primaries brown ; the three outer tail-feathers white, the remainder brown edged with reddish ; the whole of the under surface pale rufous. The female is destitute of the beautiful grey which ornaments the head and chest of the male, as well as the jet black lines, which are only faintly indicated on the cheeks; the head and chest are pale greyish brown ; the throat dotted with dusky spots; the rest of the plumage resembles the male, except that it is more obscure. The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. SHAVE” anal ’ tall ie A PINK BUNTING. Emberiza pithyornus,(/@// Printed by 6 Hinilimande, LN ey K) & Ea PINE BUNTING. Emberiza pithyornus, Pail. Le Bruant 4 couronne lactée. In size this rare Bunting rather exceeds the Yellow-hammer (Emberiza citrinella, Linn.), which so frequently attracts the notice of the passing traveller through the British Islands. Its true habitat would appear to be the northern parts of Russia and Siberia, though, according to M. Temminck, it is frequently found as far south as the centre of Turkey, and the shores of the Caspian Sea, Hungary, Bohemia, and Austria are among the places of its resort. Dr. Latham states that it frequents the pine-forests of Siberia, and has the note of the Reed Bunting. Although it has not the brilliant yellow colouring which pervades the plumage of many of its tribe, the Emberiza pithyornus is very pleasing to the eye, from the harmonious arrangements of its rich but somewhat sober tints, in which respect, and in fact in its whole contour, it assimilates exceedingly to the Bunting-like Finches of the New World, such as the Emberiza leucophrys, Gm., (Zonotrichia leuco- phrys, Sw.); and in all probability, when the vast countries of Siberia, Kamtschatka, &c. have been more thoroughly investigated, that species, intermediate in form, will be found to complete this chain of affinities. The sexes of the Pine Bunting may be distinguished from each other by the more obscure colouring of the female, and the total absence of the gorget and superciliary stripe of chestnut with which the male is adorned. The plumage of the male is as follows : A stripe of white passes along the top of the head to the occiput; on each side of this white stripe is another of black, and this is again succeeded by one of chestnut immediately over the eye; ear-coverts white ; throat rich chestnut; below this is a half band of white succeeded by a broad band of dusky greyish chestnut across the chest; whole of the back, wings, and flanks rich brown, each feather being darkest in the centre ; rump and upper tail-coverts pale chestnut; tail brown, each feather edged with reddish brown, and the two outer ones largely blotched with white; centre of the breast, belly, and under tail-coverts white; legs and bill yellowish brown. The female is more obscure in all her markings; the ear-coverts are brown with a band of white beneath them; superciliary mark yellow white; throat white surrounded with small dark spots. The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. CRETZSCHMAR'’S BUNTING. _Emberiza cesia,/Geeschim) Dravin from Nakare & on Stone ty Jd LZ. Contd. Lrinted by C Fedimended: CRETZSCHMAR’S BUNTING. Emberiza cesia, Cretzschmar. Le Bruant cendrillard. We have received beautiful examples of this rare bird from Dr. Cretzschmar of Frankfort, who has also obliged us with numerous other rarities from the fine collection under his charge. From the circumstance of so distinguished a naturalist having added this interesting bird to the Fauna of Europe, as an occasional visitant to the southern and eastern portions of that continent, we feel no hesitation in inserting it in the present work. The true habitat of the mberiza cesia are the northern and eastern portions of Africa, in which countries it was observed in abundance by Dr. Riippell. In the third part of his ‘‘ Manuel d’Ornithologie,’ M. Tem- minck states that ‘it inhabits Syria and Egypt; is probably more common in the middle of Europe than it is supposed to be, where isolated individuals may have been taken for varieties of the hortulana and cia ; it 1s found accidentally in Austria and Provence, an individual having been taken near Vienna in 1827. We have never seen an example either from India or any of the islands of the Archipelago, which circum- stance would lead us to conclude that it is almost exclusively confined to the portion of the globe above men- tioned, and in which it will be necessary to seek for information relative to its peculiar habits and ceconomy. The plumage of the sexes is less contrasted than is generally observed in birds of this genus. In spring the male has the top of the head, back of the neck, ear-coverts, and chest grey ; a narrow streak of the same colour passes from the chest to the base of the lower mandible ; throat, cheeks, and a narrow band across the forehead light chestnut brown; upper part of the back brown, each feather having a darker centre; rump and upper tail- coverts brown without spots; the whole of the abdomen rich chestnut brown, more intense on the breast ; wings dark brown ; the secondaries and scapularies strongly edged with light brown inclining to chestnut ; tail dark brown, the outer edges of the feathers chestnut, and the two outer ones on each side largely tipped with white on their inner webs. The female has the chest marked with numerous small spots of black on a ground of brownish grey, which colour pervades the whole of the head; the remainder of the plumage resembles that of the male, only being much less intense in colour. The Plate represents a male and female in their spring plumage, of the natural size. AMEHOE? im WEHHO © . Ni 5 Pld ah . t.3 * F; UE 7 LHe! Sat “Fas cv ah re 4 5 © mI a rat f ‘iia at ivrahiiod ? eee. Py a Py jae FE Ivee 1 e* j +5 5 7 33 ti “4 - “a. ‘ 4 £ 3 tian Lb ce SVR SPTRE PEI e BARS SAF teF t ; Mer 4 Ps i ae 7 ia Foyt ‘ ™ . ~~ mee >. ts , : t ee i « \ a e a) - i i a 7 i } ¢ f aay ch [ i : io50 ' : ee f : ‘ ' ar aes. es t ia s = * tpl 4 ot i # Bai i ae A tad oe: J ‘ : a ] FP P , ‘ 4 * : = f - ” wy e ; é 2 ' ; “7s ; I 3 i} Ly t Film] j \ ‘ae J ; OO ¥ ‘ ; 1 ry : ae if , 4 fr; 2B a y- tt} b L: : 5 . : ; wt d abisinio : a 1 7 ere p 2 ; RYU Ate) eG Pie ta - 1 i . é i : ; iG yay “4 ve - Ly ie ‘ ory : ae : al Fe Ty oo SMA ; AS , a 3 I ny: DATO SE a ‘ ewig ae 4 ,f *N eh. yee )- DERPAP OIF Qala PE wialas { ; - i 4 ie’ ne noha? 6 ae 4e0%. SEE + y jf : ; oT Pe tae i y Ts she 7H {enw ‘vi pill mee : e. ‘ = 7 m * = - ‘ ? heal and ‘ Peale Bast ; 77 hy ae " aes hon 4 ry MARSH BUNTING. Emberiza palustris, Saz/ have dy om Stone “y GL Gouhd, PARADA: MARSH BUNTING. Emberiza palustris, Sav. Tis rare species, which offers so close a resemblance in general colouring and habits to our well-known Black-headed Bunting, (Embertza melanocephala, Scopoli, ) exhibits nevertheless, in the robust structure of its beak, a departure from the typical characters of the genus, and either forms its extreme limits, or may be regarded as the representative of another genus ; but its affinities are at present but little understood, the bird itself bemg very rare, and only to be met with in the southern and eastern provinces of Europe. The best account of this bird is to be found in Professor Savi’s “« Ornitologia Toscana,” according to which eminent author it dwells in the marshes of Tuscany, but he has not yet been able to obtain a sight of its nest and eggs ; if, however, we may judge from analogy, we may consider its habits and manners as very much resembling those of the Common Reed Bunting. Professor Savi further informs us that it inhabits the vicinity of stagnant waters covered with reeds and bulrushes, and that it feeds to a great extent upon the insects which lodge upon the culmens of the reeds. The sexes offer the same relative differences that are observed in the Reed Bunting, the black head of the male being exchanged in the female for brown blotched with dashes of black. . In the male, the upper part of the head, cheeks, and throat are black ; a white stripe begins near the angle of the beak, and extends round to the back of the neck; the whole of the upper surface is of a rich chestnut brown, the centre of each feather being largely blotched with black; the under surface is white, the flanks being marked with longitudinal lines of brown; bill black; tarsi brown. The female, which closely resembles the male in her general plumage, is distinguished by the colouring of the head already alluded to; by the absence of the white stripe round the neck; and by the dull brownish white of the under surface, which is thickly dashed with longitudinal spots of deep brown. The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. z FMB Caneel asthe ‘hy (eave ati ated & i apd i ry } ; | Y ye a ae Loy aS 1 tay 4 rote at wet a Tare ty is bephnephagbuct FX ‘ ' ‘ ; ve feet gy ibs “th lit sneppuees Bt ataed ? y e t¢ . 4 " \ * " re sul bas oye 3 Os oA Tee Ae WEE te Ne he Se eae ietiaus. te , aaied twa eae OP RSH. oriet riaa cart tesit fad * be ~s F Y Le . , z : GC. i - &] fees . r ! . hi ‘ " i are i “te its ’ , . Pa = ‘ Pi t 4 F 7 it j oy Paral TL: foun ; CP its ‘ j - . se) & ~ i, -) f ; i ‘> mars F . iat | ‘ ¢ ‘ ¥ { : t t EE. ! i ise linhue cet ‘ i spthts Dea ; # | ‘i j eos AN Pai? Hoe ree | r ve ene _ . ! . t . : . a 4 ? : . tf Galigest alae Py Peek | eve ogy I iH reetol pe ‘yo hraee hen 3 e . - : T > - a) 1 am e . . - b. ys ; * i ot ‘ : ° » pet ey eth ap “austen tng fia sieht ooh SL dee ae & at! acess doulgg alent afl al Lago oat elie se Ey jantela ool ve +07 hei yaoi based oer us th wake ea] ficaisht cL tin-He devia cele woahhes shan pdt Po 7 : 3 fi \ . j ’ iy 1 i : i aa i py tpt dd Bek oisethad MS on meee a gtelt fF Y ad 4 i) ; . 4 t i. a a : 7 q a1 iJ x aH) ‘* ‘ , ee a) iM iy * we af a" REED BUNTING. Emberiza schcentculus, Zaa/ Drown from Native k om Stone by J dL, Codd. Lrinted ty C Hadlmandel: REED BUNTING. Emberiza Scheeniculus, Lznn. Le Bruant de Roseau. Tue situations to which the Reed Bunting gives preference are the edges of rivers, large ponds, and beds of osiers; though at certain times, particularly during severe weather, it quits its marshy abode and associates with the Yellow-hammer and other small granivorous birds, frequenting at such periods the open fields, and, when pressed by hunger, visiting even the farm-yard, in search of a more abundant supply. It appears to be indigenous in every portion of Europe, or if not in every portion, at least through the whole of the centre. Like some other species of its genus, its summer and winter plumage exhibits a remarkable contrast ; the male being characterized during the former season by a jet black head and throat, rendered more conspicuous by the white stripe from the base of the bill, and the collar of the same colour round the back part of the neck : in winter the male loses the black plumage of the head and throat, and is then scarcely to be distinguished from the female. The assumption of the black colourmg commences early in spring, and is fully accomplished at the approach of the breeding-season, which begins as soon as a sufficiency of fresh herbage and the young shoots of the willow have rendered the reed a covert dense enough to shelter the nest from observation. The nest is generally placed near the ground, on a low stump of willow or any entangled herbage: the eggs are five or six in number, and of purplish grey, streaked and spotted with dark red brown. The Reed Bunting is not at all remarkable for its song, which consists of only a few simple notes delivered without either energy or execution. In summer the male has the whole of the head, ear-coverts, and throat black, the two latter being separated by a white stripe, which extends from the base of the bill to the sides of the neck, where it meets a collar of the same colour extending from the back of the neck ; the whole of the upper surface of a rich brown, the centre of each feather being of a darker hue; the two middle tail-feathers brownish black edged with brown, the outer feathers largely blotched with white at their extremity ; under surface white clouded with brown ; flanks spotted longitudinally with obscure dusky lines ; bill black; feet and legs brown. The female differs from the male in having the general plumage more obscure, and in the total absence of the black head and white collar which are so conspicuous in the male; her flanks are also more largely spotted with brown. The Plate represents a male and female in their summer plumage, of the natural size. 1. HOUSE SPARROW. Pyrgita domestica; /Cw:/ Drevin fron Netureds on stone by ThE Couid. 2,#TREE SPARROW. Pyrgita montana, (Cm) Printed by CHedimandels Genus PYRGITA, Cuv. Gen. Cuar. Bill strong, conical, longer than deep; upper mandible slightly curved ; tip emarginate ; culmen slightly raised; lower mandible compressed and smaller than the upper. Noséreds lateral, immediately behind the bulging base of the upper mandible, round, and nearly concealed by small plumes. Wings: the second quill-feather rather the longest. Tarsz nearly as long as the middle toe. Toes three before and one behind, those in front divided: claws sharp and curved, that of the hind toe rather larger than that of the middle. Taz/ square or very slightly forked. COMMON SPARROW. Pyrgita domestica, Cuv. Le Gros-bec Moineau. Or the four species of this group indigenous to Europe, no one is more extensively spread or more generally known than the Common Sparrow, a bird with which we are all so well acquainted that to enter into the de- tails of its history seems almost superfluous. We are informed that in Italy and Spain its place is supplied by two species peculiar to those countries, viz. Pyrg. Cisalpina and Pyrg. Hispaniolensis, but with this exception it is undoubtedly spread over the whole of Central Europe ; it also occurs in Northern Africa and in the hilly districts of India. In England it is stationary throughout the year, congregating in flocks in autumn and winter, but in summer dwelling and breeding either in small companies or in pairs. Accommodating itself to all situations, it breeds indifferently among the branches or in the holes of trees and under the eaves of houses, not unfrequently usurping the nest of the Common Martin (Airundo urbica) ; but never far from the habitation of man, to whose presence it appears perfectly indifferent, hence we see it as abundant in the largest cities as in the smallest villages. The nest when placed in a tree is of a domed form, carelessly constructed of straw, grass, and any materials at hand, but always lined with feathers: the eggs are five or six in number, of a greyish white spotted with brown. The food of the Common Sparrow consists, during a great part of the year, principally of seeds and grain of different kinds, which in summer are in a great mea- sure exchanged for insects and their larvee, with which it invariably feeds its young. This bird is destroyed in vast numbers in many agricultural districts, on account of the supposed injury it inflicts upon the farmer by the destruction of his corn ; but we much question whether this practice can be fairly justified, for we con- ceive that the injury it may inflict is more than counterbalanced by the benefit accruing from the havoc it commits among the insect tribes, which-are in fact the real enemies of the farmer, the fruit-grower, and every cultivator of the land ; and we ourselves incline to think that it would be better to protect the grain or even to sacrifice some portion of it, than utterly to exterminate a creature which has, no doubt, been wisely appointed to fill its place in the great scheme of creation. _ The male Sparrow is really a pretty bird when seen undisguised by the smoke and dirt which disfigure its plumage in our larger towns and cities: the crown of the head is bluish grey, back of the neck and stripe from the eye rich chestnut; cheeks and sides of the neck greyish white; throat and chest black ; upper sur- face rich brown dashed with black ; a white bar across the shoulders ; under surface greyish white ; feet and bill black in summer and brown in winter. The female has the upper surface dull brown; the under surface greyish brown; and the feet and bill brown at all seasons. TREE SPARROW. Pyrgita montana, Cw. Le Gros-bec Friquet. Unuixe the preceding species, which loves to dwell in the streets of our towns, this affects the open country, where every field and wood affords it food and a congenial habitat. In the British Islands it is extremely local in its range, being scarcely known in some counties, while in others, Essex, Cambridgeshire, &c., it is tolerably abundant. It is found in most parts of central and southern Europe, and we have also received it from the Himalaya mountains and from China. The food consists of seeds, grains, and insects. Like all the other members of this restricted genus it is devoid of song. The-nest is constructed in the holes of stunted trees and pollards, and very closely resembles that of the Common Sparrow, as do the eggs also, except that they are smaller. The sexes offer no difference in the colouring of the plumage. The Tree Sparrow may be distinguished from the male of the common species by its being much smaller in size, and by its having the top of the head rich chestnut brown; a patch of black on the ear-coverts, and two narrow bars of yellowish white across the shoulders. The Plate represents a male and female of the Common Sparrow, and an adult male of the Tree Sparrow. . ; ot Me 4 ; re breail rs OTT riytiry 1th pti tO Par AARP TSE LAE “wy teat Gee Uy SEE | hadvot vite ge eure St Ui * s ' i af + i ee oa. Se a -¥ an ae é ; ® yt rt ‘ , ; a hit ‘ . . 7 i “ a @ aman a 5 fy” tn | wits Wek Gar tEee at qevoeeyy atic toy Raa Ate, a 46) : tej ' . ae ‘ ' 4 ; fe 2 : i ea reat verre CORE S04 qual GUA > Lae f j H AG! He y ' +h 7 : ie ig vue Wy V3 new a ; : he eet forall eit 1 BRE $ ’ ‘ : > ) i . a ' ¥ , . a . te y q : \ Och Oa) ay Boa ait prey ' cf ee . f $ j FEE Be FE : pe tea f 4 to eto ¥ r, . it} yeiy ' i Tile ey * cay , he. 4 ff H s 1 ; 4 ie ARE tht * ‘ . . Q ; ” ' ¥ . 4 * ‘ i a P ; LL WAL phitieth ad. 4 Sires ‘ : J ¥ } a * ; : , b 7 5 ' A bé t ‘ ‘ F , i 4 F te t A = . faa 1 ; A. . a> | ee : ; f ? i a) * ‘ - 2 1 * ° “4 F } | si ? . ‘ y OP 6 aay N : Peers ets wr byesit Pie BOTH GF 5 : ; sj a t ‘ : , Bi " ; t pecere eee ee Ta Tae mia male eld, Z ; ; ries fe LhG te eh ‘ i a al ; , ‘ fs ( watery on) ee sk ay i. : } Py «hy riy y { y ] i : ‘ x rita ; 1 7 [ ; ; ; ated ih: te (PO a ' ° #4 ; 7 ‘ * ; - ; + ~ r, be | vee ce a as , if ay tt rey sg BR SE Earl : ‘ ee Lear, Hf vs Ma a ere : 1 (ne Fihir eo a a ay oc) = . ; a 1 4 - Z + iT ae y : Me og Riel oe dpertir *. ; te ¥ . Ain : ieee Pi: PERE O RECA Rhee Oe ; ) Th a ia ie +4 P - ! ere : Pe eae espe : Nee h , at feet ey phen +s, i. : ‘ aes os ; de! t f Tafa nseevl ac: ad ree i obaeitiig, ale aavtte of 1H Me. ay alk 8 ai i a a anol dvistee saiia tT oe ; 3 Mak peat “Slash ‘ bial ; a hog at abit, ff 5 me LSPANISH SPARROW. | 2.ALPINE SPARROW. e Pyrgita Hispaniolensis, /Czv./ Pyrgita Cisalpina; /Cwv./ Draven prom Life & on Stone & Lrnieds ty 6 Bud anand. SPANISH SPARROW. Pyrgita Hispaniolensis, Cuv. Le Gros-bec Espagnol. Tue two species illustrated by the present Plate, bear, as will be seen, so close a resemblance to our common domestic sparrow, as at first sight to be easily mistaken for that bird, and therefore require a more than common attention to the disposition of the colouring, &c., in order to establish their differences. We have to lament that we cannot say much respecting their habits and manners ; as those who have had opportunities of seeing them in their native localities appear to have noticed them so little, that the accounts are of the most meagre description. ‘They appear to fill up the same place in the situations they inhabit that the common species does here, but are more inclined to resort to the barren lands and rocky districts of the country, than to collect in the villages and towns. Of the two species given in our Plate, the Pyrgzta Mispanolensis is the least known. Its true habitat appears to be the southern portions of Spain, Sicily, the Archipelago, and Egypt. We have omitted to figure the females of these two species, as they so closely resemble those of our own country as not to be distinguished by plumage alone, without an intimate knowledge of the examples under examination. The top and back of the head is of a bright and strong chestnut; the back and phoulier: black, each feather bordered with rufous ; the throat, fore part of the neck and se black ; the sides marked with long dashes of the same colour ; belly white; line over the eye and the cheeks dirty white; beak black, and more lengthened than in our own domestic species, or that which follows. ALPINE SPARROW. Pyrgita cisalpina, Cwv. Le Gros-bec cisalpin. ‘Tue Alpine Sparrow,” says M. Temminck, ‘is only seen in the southern countries on the other side of the great chain of the Alps and Apennines, never on the northern side of those mountains:’” from these localities it appears to extend itself along the whole of Italy and the southern countries of Europe. It differs in its habits from our own species, inasmuch as it gives the preference to plains and open country instead of cities and villages. In the male, the top of the head and back of the neck are of a pure bright chestnut in summer, becoming, after the autumn moult, of a redder tinge, every feather being then edged with rufous ; the cheeks pure white; in other respects the colour is like that of our own bird. The female is so like that of P. domestica that one description will apply to both, with the exception that in the present bird the head and back of the neck are of a lighter ash-colour, and that its tints are generally paler. Of the nidification and eggs of the two species here figured we have been unable to obtain any information. Our Plate represents a male of each species, and the head of the female of P. cisalpina. sblotia dived wall io EE sanga $ itv cae ‘ie “ OF ear ea iy toon, ings. . Beiow te seh $4 sorted oF a viene a - ey aegis ia ML ‘ort. A: ale 7 Gib Wh) fu susthivnn adie natieg, a oy neat svathig ab ak afdei id ish pete: utd. av ah , ul , hy Mit 1 1 marti Wau s pels ' ; faery, : al 4 uy i , Ht LAMM Oe | ee “) | r Fok «il lols x ne iy, , bir) ch Pe ‘ ne etie hee i b - ‘ yee us 1A We Dla Pt i ? i Dron from Neatorvd ow stone by ThE Goud. DOUBTFUL SPARROW. Pyrgita Petronia. fo L t A) E Prunted by C Hadimmndes DOUBTFUL SPARROW. Pyrgita Petronia. Le Gros-bece soulcie. We have followed the example of many previous ornithologists in associating this bird with those forming the restricted genus Pyrgita, or true Sparrows, although we doubt the propriety of so doing, as we think that it possesses peculiar characters, which would entitle it to rank as the type of a separate genus: its strong conical bill, lengthened wing, and abbreviated tail are not in strict unison with the generic characters of Pyrgita; but we have refrained from separating it, being desirous of obtaining further information respecting its habits and manners, which doubtless differ in many particulars from those of the Sparrows the typical form of which is represented by the common species inhabiting England. Independently of the characters alluded to as differmg from those of Pyrgita, we may add that in this genus the markings and colour of the plumage of the sexes are very different, while in the sexes of the present bird no outward variations are perceptible. Dr. Shaw informs us in his General Zoology, vol. ix. part i. p. 434, that ‘‘this species is found over the greatest part of Europe, in the southern portions of which it is migratory, but is nowhere so common as in Germany. It is not found in this country; it affects woods, and builds in the holes of trees, laying four or five eggs, and feeds on seeds and insects. These birds are very delicate, as numbers are often found dead in trees in the winter, during which time they assemble in flocks.” ; The top of the head is longitudinally banded with greyish white tinged with yellow, which colour pervades each of the feathers of the back and upper surface; wings brown; the secondaries and scapularies tipped with yellowish white; primaries and tail brown with the outer webs margined with yellowish white; the inner webs of all the feathers of the latter, except the two middle ones, having a large spot of white near the extremity; under surface dusky grey and white, mixed deepest on the flanks; upper mandible brown, lower one yellow at the base and brown at the tip; irides brown; feet brown. We have figured a male of the natural size. whiting Ba ora. eSNG alt ae CHAFF INC H. Fringilla Celebs; Zznnm/ Dronnpratn Water eh om Stone, by ThE Conta, Protea ty C Hallmanded, Genus FRINGILLA. Gen. Cuar. Bill concave, longer than deep, straight, and pointed ; cutting edges entire, and forming a straight commissure. Nostri/s basal, lateral, oval, partly hidden by the frontal plumes. az slightly forked. Legs having the tarsi of mean length, with the toes divided and adapted for hopping or perching. C/aws sharp. CHAFFINCH. Piette Gealalin gone Le Gros-bec pinson. Tuts ornamental Finch is so well known to all persons whose attention has been directed to the habits of our native birds, that we doubt whether we can offer any novelty relative to its history. It appears to be very © generally distributed over every portion of Europe, in most parts of which it is stationary. ‘ re : ak ttt? hae suas astib’ satan § é b sid ba nn oak raat. anes a sa ) ae ay a sbobicl vlined .levd fat sts leant ae. Jeti Aikgieithe a Qiiertot + hie j ey ee paterare ar rh F ‘ : ; 4 (ohivifs aod det dtm altel anaes Te tal ade yori” naga hantiot wiitigita Way ake. MPT te FAPS sll Fe So : 7 . \ pend WEE Y cael’ rice ty queiegypset qk hatipab batik 4 h x drat lee er Nee) eel r , ‘ aa, y } F i rot ale - cH A ea * ; ‘| iti j . ‘ P 3°) 7 f 4 7 . : oF | A ‘Peg Givi AC he i ’ RS : + ' r i ' ; | m . * . ‘ pe ; an i F ph) ’ ry dl . . = ae ; Mi p a @ . { t - i r e : ) ; i @ We iia a is . 5 i . fi . An ‘if 7 ' ; i E h i Wiehe uke ‘ } ieee peecdee f vi L at LL : ’ “ cs a, vr ry pilin ' . : Trt eo Uh P| “ i e ee eT bebe . L ; : _ 7 sails rey Ue g Hee sich 4 uth.” ta aan ; fii Bi iive # witar ie t/ yy } . et ie - i marty a mas a0 ND Mod vielicsiailo dine hogs. ge97e wearin stant 3 nip i, ied, cwietg. eA tee i a ps t fh y' . ( i) nage oe > adh. audea 4a apr yi, (tke Wl yh rr 4h Haat - iti al Hi ay i « ‘Ona tt whe ae i si? b AAEAS@ gtaeht «4a Pl ee #" OHS Sim Mit 'y hull oth oe. -.cemernd foot Bane wae: anhalt They NTE elie ifs ta coun, von - “ners nites *° tay mn athe - 17) ony. Rig ‘ i a ia ext “71 s lolsk ; 1 AS. 3. eFt py rltyh ‘VeiGa ie if ti j will ‘ silivarieh cistegiale ‘aye er daneyrt. 49K (re Wahl EDURED, STARR PIES: han Rete Ay: Gy Sor at ; a | ‘ ? iy pape os oe € = ile anisitoily ook anumate. SY GUN TEM shat oll as ef lind ini emihin cil 3 suit. acroeopliat vai 8 i va Lan ie aM Pf Li : + malic ib ila ilhinepart, anwdivd pean = iiaied ‘ih ial ilidiend tHe, vabotronalan ‘een “ae dyucacddit nyentuley 1 Blue ‘vied, a alpeied Ua aes aa 3 i dase os facts verbs jug din id y % yt iyif yl? la x piysliagl ol obey risky si ini ; cael cite wath fe a Tug fae i‘ Dy, AM ses MOUNTAIN OR BRAMBLE FINCH. Fongilla monufringilla; Z777./ Drown rw Nutare hon Stneby 7b&L£ Contd, Lrutud by 6 Znlinandd, MOUNTAIN OR BRAMBLE FINCH. Fringilla montifringilla, Lenn. Le Gros-bec d’ Ardennes. Tus species of Finch is dispersed in considerable abundance throughout every country in Europe, and, as its specific name implies, prefers high and mountainous districts. In many parts of the Continent it is stationary, while in others it is strictly migratory. In the British Islands the winter season alone is the period of its visits, where it makes its appearance at the end of the autumn, and retires again on the approach of spring. During summer it dwells and incubates in those extensive forests of fir and pine which abound in all high northern latitudes. Although few seasons pass without the presence of this elegant bird in the central portions of our island, nevertheless it must have been remarked that at certain periods it makes its appearance in some of our woods and stubble-lands in flocks, often associating with Chaffinches and other granivorous birds in innumerable quantities. As to situation, they appear to evince a decided preference to woods of beech, on the mast of which they for a time subsist, feeding also on various seeds and the shoots of tender vegetables, resembling in this and many other respects the Chaffinch (Aringilla celebs, Linn.), and like the latter is equally typical in form ; and for beauty and elegance it is not surpassed by any other of its genus. Although it is very probable that a limited number of this species remain to breed in the northern parts of Scotland, yet we have never been able to verify the fact. It is said to incubate in forests of lofty pine and spruce, the nest being composed of moss and wool, lined with feathers and hair. The eggs are white, spotted with yellowish brown, four or five in number. Tn the general style of colouring the two sexes are similar; the male, however, far. surpasses his mate in the richness and contrast of his plumage. In summer the male is adorned with a different dress from that of winter, that portion of the plumage which is then brown being exchanged for black during the spring and breeding-season. ‘The male bird in the accompanying Plate exhibits a state of plumage intermediate between these two seasons, both sexes having been taken immediately before their departure. The male has the head, ear-coverts, nape, and upper part of the back black, each feather being edged and tipped with yellowish brown; scapularies barred across the centre of the wing with white; edges of the secondaries, throat, and chest bright ferruginous brown ; rump and vent white; primaries black edged with yellowish red; bill black at the tip, yellow at the base; legs brown; irides hazel. The female has the general markings and colours of the male, but in every respect much more obscure and dull. The Plate represents an adult male and female of the natural size. ap) septy pie ‘igh Ica SNOW FINCH. Fringilla nivalis ; /Zevn/ Dron tom Lite ow Stone by J de L Conta. Lrinted ty CHipdimanddd: SNOW FINCH. Fringilla nivalis, Lenn. Le Gros-bec niverolle. Tuts species of Finch approximates so closely in form and general style of colouring to one species of the genus Plectrophanes, that it has been with some difficulty we have decided upon following the arrangements of M. Temminck in still retaining it in the genus Fringilla. We find that this bird, as it departs from its more typical relations, exhibits the same differences, and assumes almost the same characters and general appearance, as the Snow Bunting, Plectrophanes nivalis: the construction of its bill, however, which more strictly resembles that of /ringilla, denotes its true situation, and a more beautiful link could not be con- ceived, uniting as it does in the most complete manner the species of two genera, viz. the Buntings and Finches. Still it cannot be denied that the Snow Finch has as great a claim to a new generic title as the Snow Bunting, possessing as it does characters so essentially different from the true Finches. We are led to believe from its form and the imperfect accounts published respecting its history, that its habits are in a great measure terrestrial, although it chooses the most elevated situations, such as the Alps, Pyrenees, and other mountainous districts of Europe, the British Isles excepted. In these wild and barren regions, upon the very verge of perpetual snow and ice, it dwells in unmolested security, and there finds that food which nature has destined for its support. This, according to M. Temminck, would seem to be of a mixed nature, consisting of seeds of various kinds, often that of the fir cone, and various species of insects. It builds its nest in crevices of the rocks, laying four or five eggs of a light green, irregularly sprinkled with ash-coloured dots, intermingled with blotches of dark green. The sexes offer but little difference in plumage; neither does the summer and winter dress exhibit much variation, the beak being more or less yellow in winter, but deep black in summer. In the male the top of the head, the cheeks and back of the neck are of a blueish ash; the scapulars and the two secondary feathers nearest the body are deep brown; all these feathers being bordered with a lighter colour; the remainder of the secondaries, the wing-coverts and the coverts of the tail are pure white ; tail white, with the exception of the two centre feathers, which are blackish, and the whole tipped with the same colour ; quill-feathers deep black ; the under parts are white or whitish according to age; feet brown. This description applies to the female also, except that we find in her the ash colour of the head tinged with rusty brown, and the quill-feathers brown instead of black. We have figured a male in summer plumage, and a female in that peculiar to winter. 4 * * F ae * P le aio) ae ieee “ae d Yr 4, (SRETL. PEPE: SRL AE PI OT, Se eas - ye r é ass g 7 aa i as Pa at : Menor 2S Mies sa ot ete i 4 - 7 ’ < oo } fii a « « ; =. F i 4 « , : ‘ 7 ‘ el gt | 2 ut ow 30 au) 1 ve c F 4 ‘4 a ie ae ead ee f i ere : ft Stat try t “Hi i 290 1) a SCL ee ‘ es pe a ae ice ar Frou Foy ' b iG 6 ae heise od tomes 28 eee 4 , 4 ed ‘ ! ry ‘ i « 5 ay . ; f ny Lye agit y race) i Svat ae for). Th ap eteaseey june ots 2/5 A : ‘ : a7 Te te tee *4 ‘ ae * aes es F ie ed ie. heap? : beeer: pati eee fey re te 4908 pry Gf iG sparta + 6 I2H TH otf a ima f 4 | . ; ' Z wa ‘ A . . 2 : ’ f 4 (TL EE A Sotntihs “sy laevied FINGASUE: IASI ae tidiget Abfalije : ’ : a ite ag eae "4e e : ; ry p cheney ae Ly et ith ts Ahi - Aaa eee ft Pe e+ Paes S145 Ie ane tie. te ‘OTS PEMY.. Or SR ts Piet Beale tieet ci b saa F r ¥ . c ‘ z a , ¢ ‘ f . er . , ee ae 4 firs ah, ath 4 , aes ya. Me “inet F “fh. Gadadie ate db feaheain asd sian “ie Bade ~ : T-BA .-% j : ; on PUM AIO? Stith BORAT Ca s ‘ y - 7 . ’ = “ ’ . ‘ Poa Plee ane sti aerity + b was 94 4 + RAPER t Ky Agta. ek teed ait ab $i ‘ , ; : . : . 4 & a i ee ' « aa b 4 2 i @ € I bs J ane © J ; een i aah) L Av HE Seal: .. ter erga . F ‘ ‘pte : : een Pe 5 Te ‘“ ca on ; 7 ix t 5 i ( iat bed emer! ; ‘ z Te | 7 = . , . ‘ 4, t J yo wo re As ‘ ti ) © och savy lin’: weonk aaah oie thei “ir iesthen snide Tide oat et hen 2 ; , P / \ + > See SAE Te. abegrge “sat 5 eho abe hy validisdiae ac . F ue — . oe 4 P Ey : { 7 : thes. fd west: mer SIR ‘HET it OGLE it Hatt ewe . : { ' chip Ee +9 y gainer iw ya 4 E uch. modinotifiag ¢twoles ait eae ; fu i ; BoM ass bar ae r ee ?