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OF

Fr “bli RDS OF EUROPE:

INCLUDING ALL THE SPECIES INHABITING THE

WESTERN PALHARCTIC REGION.

BY

H. KE. DRESSER, F.LS., F.Z.8., Ere.

VOLUME IV.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR,
6 TENTERDEN STREET, HANOVER SQUARE, W.

1871-1881.

TLAMMAM.

PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.

\
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OS Se os

EMBERIZINA.
CYPSELIDEA.

LB. F.2.5., E16. 4

SS ge TET ee SP SRT OME >Re?

F.

RRA RAO eee mee

CORVIDA

J
CAPRIMULGIDA.

G
LOXIINA

VOLUME 1Y.
CONTAIN
ngilla),

STURNIDA.

FRINGILLINA (from Fri

ALAUDIDA.

59.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

LETTERPRESS TO VOL. IV.

Genera and Species.

FRINGILLA .

196.

Oe
198.
UY),
200.

LInoTa .

201.
202.

203.
204.
205.
206.
207.

Fringilla eles
Fringilla tintillon .
Fringilla spodiogena .
Fringilla montifringilla .
Fringilla teydea

Linota Abner) cannabine ;

Linota linaria .
Linota rufescens
Linota exilipes .
Linota hornemanni
Linota flavirostris .
Linota brevirostris

CaRPODACUS

208.

209.
210.

Carpodacus Papell
Carpodacus sinaiticus
Carpodacus erythrinus

ERYTHROSPIZA

211.
212.

Erythrospiza Pehasinea®
Erythrospiza sanguinea .

PYRRHULA .

213.
214.

215.

Pyrrhula major
Pyrrhula europea .
Pyrrhula murina .

PINICOLA .

216.

Pinicola Se

Date of

publication.

1880
1873
1873
1873
1871
1873

1880
1875
1877
1877
1877
1876
1876
1878

1880
1878
1877
1871

1880
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1876

1880
1876
1876
1876

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Issued in
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18
18

Pages in
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ao [=

co Mm 8 eH

Oo OT ee

oe Do oe

Final
paging.

1
3-8
9-11
13, 14
15-24
25-27
29
31-36
37-46
47-50
51-53
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59-63
65, 66

67
69-71
73, 74
75-82

83
85-89
91-93

95
97-100
101-105
107, 108

109
111-118

61.

62.

64.

66.

67.

iv

Genera and Species.
HORTA gece catias war coax
217. Loxia pityopsittacus .
. Loxia curyirostra .

bh bo
a
©<

. Loxia leucoptera .
. Loxia bifasciata

bo
bo
S

EMBERIZA . rae ae ar,
. Emberiza melanocephala
. Emberiza cinerea .

e

. Emberiza miliaria.
. Emberiza citrinella
. Emberiza cirlus

Hm ©9 bO

(or)

. Emberiza hortulana .
. Emberiza chrysophrys
. Emberiza striolata

=I

wow wpwwbl bb bb bo bo
SS ae oe pe ReneS

eo)

. Emberiza cia

bo
fa)

. Emberiza cesia

bo
pan

. Emberiza leucocephala

bo

i)
©9 ©9 05 O99 OD OG) OD

. Emberiza aureola .

oo bo

. Emberiza rustica .

ISG

. Emberiza pusilla .
. Emberiza scheeniclus .
. Emberiza pyrrhuloides .

wo we lo
Or

(or)

PLECTROPHANES . BAN
237. Plectrophanes lapponicus
258. Plectrophanes nivalis

CERTHILAUDA . eae
239. Certhilauda desertorum .
240. Certhilauda duponti .

. GALERITA .

241. Galerita cristata
242. Galerita macrorhyncha .
243. Galerita isabellina

ALAUDA ee ae
244, Alauda arvensis
245. Alauda arborea

AMMOMANES Se
246. Ammomanes deserti .
247. Ammomanes cinctura . .-.

Date of
publication.

1880

misin2

1872
1877
1877
1880
1872
1877
1871
1871
1871
1871
1871
1871
1872
1871
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1878
1878

1880
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1873
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1872

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14
61, 62
61, 62
80
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63, 64

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10

oT ae

oO

Ot # GC COC OF COM OC

= eH PS 4 Foe © oOo Dd

Sw)

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paging.
119
121-126
127-136
137-140
141-147

149
151-157
159-161
165-170
171-175
177-185
185-192
195-195
197-204
9-212

bo
j=)
i
bo
H~ bp pw eR
S&S vo 0 — &

eo bo

b po bw wD WH bP vo
HS
(oe)

|
Smww hb bw
oC)

68.

69.

(ale

73.

(ithe

Genera and Species.

CALANDRELLA.

248. Calandrella peachy daceyla :

249. Calandrella minor
250. Calandrella beetica
251. Calandrella pispoletta

MELANOCORYPHA .

252. Melanocorypha bimaculatd

253. Melanocorypha calandra
254, Melanocorypha sibirica .
255. Melanocorypha yeltoniensis

. RHAMPHOCORYS

256. Rhamphocorys alge. ey :

Orocorys . :
257. Otocorys Aimeuene.
258. Otocorys penicillata .
259. Otocorys bilopha .

. SLURNUS

260. Sturnus Seb
261. Sturnus unicolor
262. Sturnus purpurascens

Pastor. gies
263. Pastor roseus

PYRRHOCORAX : :
264. Pyrrhocorax g peaculus
265. Pyrrhocorax alpinus .

. NUCIFRAGA

266. Nucifraga areca tactes ‘

. PERISOREUS

267. Perisoreus infaustus .

GARRULUS . Fae nae
268. Garrulus glandarius .
269. Garrulus brandti .
270. Garrulus atricapillus .
271. Garrulus krynicki
272. Garrulus cervicalis

Date of

publication.

1880
1873
1875
1873
1873

1880
1871
1871
1875
1871

1880
1873

1880
1874
1874
1874

1880
1874
1874
1880

Issued in
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Pages in
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1

oo oe WD ©

bo oe H> oo CO H

H> H= CO

bo oo ee Ee

Final
paging.

839

341-348
349, 350
351-3538
355-357

359
361-364
365-372

415-418
419, 420

437-444
445-448

449
451-468

469
471-478

479

481-486
487-490
491-494
495-497
499, 500

vi

Genera and Species.

78. CYANOPICA ato
273. Cyanopica cooki .

79. Pica rae
274. Pica rustica
275. Pica mauritanica .

80. Corvus Sires
276. Corvus monedula .
277. Corvus corone .
278. Corvus cornix .
279. Corvus frugilegus .
280. Corvus affinis .
281. Corvus tingitanus .
282. Corvus corax
283. Corvus umbrinus .

81. CYPSELUS . oi
284. Cypselus apus .
285. Cypselus affinis
286. Cypselus pallidus .
287. Cypselus unicolor .
288. Cypselus melba

82. ACANTHYLLIS . ce
289. Acanthyllis caudacuta

83. CAPRIMULGUS . Eatery
290. Caprimulgus europeus .
291. Caprimulgus egyptius
292. Caprimulgus ruficollis

Date of
publication.

1880
1874

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1873
1873
1880
1875
1875
1874
1875
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80

30, 36

77-79

39, 06
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Pages in
article.

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e

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ws

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o 0 OH TH ONRAaNH whwrk AO TAH

F inal
paging.
501
503-506

507
509-518
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521
523-529
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551-557
559-562
563-565
567-576
577-879

581
583-589
591-596
597-600
601, 602
603-610

611
613-617

619
621-628
629-631
633-635

2. Fringilla celebs .

3. Carpodacus rubicillus

PLATES

TO WiOL eve

Plates.

. Figs. 1, 2, Fringilla _ tintillon ;
fig. 3, F. spodiogena .

. Fringilla montifringilla .

. Fringilla teydea Sree
. Linota cannabina (Linaria canna-
bina on Plate) .

. Linota linaria .

. Linota rufescens . Aes
. Fig. 1, Linota exilipes ; ae: 2, L.
hornemanni .

. Linota hornemanni . :
. Linota flavirostris (Linaria ne.
rostris on Plate)
. Linota brevirostris

. Carpodacus sinaiticus

. Carpodacus erythrinus .
. Erythrospiza githaginea
. Exythrospiza sanguinea .
. Pyrrhula major

. Pyrrhula europa

. Pyrrhula murina .

. Pinicola enucleator .

. Loxia pityopsittacus .

. Loxia curvirostra .

. Fig. 1, Loxia iteasalinise fe 2, i
leucoptera

. Loxia bifasciata

. Emberiza melanocephala
. Emberiza cinerea.

. Emberiza miliaria

Issued
in Part

Ly

20. Emberiza pusilla .
. Emberiza scheeniclus:

22. Fig. 1, Emberiza

bo
(=r)

bo
Dw we we

oO

<i

bo
ie)

Do w bl

S

(3%)

bo
(sb)
—

i)
eo 9

bo

i)
(Se)

Plates.

. Emberiza citrinella .

. Emberiza cirlus

1. Emberiza hortulana .

2. Emberiza chrysophrys .

. Emberiza striolata

4. Emberiza cia .

5. Emberiza hortulana juv.; fig. 9,

E. cesia juy.; fig. 3, E. cirlus

juv.

. Emberiza ceesia ;
. Emberiza leucocephala .
. Emberiza aureola
9. Emberiza rustica .

1H, JLo
winter; fig. 2, Qad. .
schoeniclus ;

figs. 2, 3, E. pyrrhuloides

3. Plectrophanes lapponicus .
. Plectrophanes nivalis :
. Fig. 1, Plectrophanes apuenicuee

fig. 2, P. nivalis: in autumn

plumage .

. Certhilauda desertorum

. Certhilauda duponti. ;

. Galerita cristata ee :

. Galerita cristata . ;
. Fig. 1, Galerita isabellina ; Fe? 2,

G. macrorhyncha .

. Alauda arvensis
. Alauda arborea
. Ammomanes deserti .

Issued
in Part

On Gui ©

Or

vill

Plates. eee, | No. Plates. ey
. Ammomanes cinctura . . . . 30,36 | 256. Fig. 1, Garrulus krynicki; fig. 2,
. Calandrella brachydactyla. . . 22 Cr claro, . 2 5 5 . x
. Fig. 1, Calandrella minor; fig. 2, | Zor, Gages Ionpmolk 5 . 2 2 « Ile
@abzeticay seen asus essere ANS, Cemanllos Goats . 5 4 1 5 Ibs
. Calandrella isglete eth Weer | Ax, Cyemoo GO 1 6 6 « o « AS
. Fig. 1, Melanocorypha calandra ; | 260. Fig. 1, Pica mauritanica; fig. 2,
me, A, IML, lonely 6s 6 5 8 | Pescusticay | ete ae aaa ome
. Melanocorypha calandra . . . 5 | 26il Corvus monedula ©. 2) y) 9 45
. Melanocorypha sibirica. . . . 23,24 | 262. Fig. 1, Corvus umbrinus; fig. 2,
. Melanocorypha yeltoniensis (i. CS ycoxone ities 3.) Ca coraxe
ROUPCUOGD ©, INES) 24 6 5 & | figs. 4, 6, C. oe figs. 5,7,
2. Rhamphocoris clot-bey. . . . 17 @athiaisieeeee SIAALS MOO
. Ofoconys allots 5 6 6 2.6 Bo 263. Fig. 1, Corvus corone ; Ge 2, C.
4. Otocorys penicillata . 32 comix . 3 LL PRPS 22.6
5. Otocorys bilopha . : 33 264. Corvus frugilegus . . . . . 38,36
. Sturnus vulgaris ad. winter, et juv. 29, 30 265. Fig. 1, Corvus corax; fig. 2, C.
. Sturnus vulgaris . 26 | umbrinus . a7
. SUMBNMS MNCOlO? . 5 6 5 5 » AG AD, OOS YOU, 6 6 2 2 o «ail
. Sturnus purpurascens . . . . 77-79 267. Cypselus affinis SURE OS
» JEESOP WOSEUS 5 oo 6 56 6 6 All 268. Fig. 1, Cypselus pall dee ‘fie 2,
. Fig. 1, Pyrrhocorax graculus; | Csunicolor aie! OO
ies, Je, ao = go 7G), Cyjoselns mallee, o 2 soa o 5 Bll
. Nucifraga caryocatactes . . . 28 270. Acanthyllis caudacuta . 77-79
3, INSATOKOUS WEIS, o o o 6 Aly) 271. Caprimulgus europeus . 39, 36
» Garmilns aleimcemms, . 6 5 . Io 272. Caprimulgus egyptius . . . . 61, 62
, Cayarallg lomingin. 5 »o oo » IG | 273. Caprimulgus ruficollis . 34

Genus FRINGILLA.

Fringilla, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 318 (1766).

Passer apud Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As. li. p. 17 (1811).

Struthus apud Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 374.

Celebs apud Cuvier, fide G. R. Gray, Gen. & Subg. of B. p. 77 (1855).

Tue true Finches form, comparatively speaking, a small group of birds which inhabit the
Palearctic and the northern portions of the Oriental and Ethiopian Regions, all the species
being found in the Western Palearctic Region. They are residents or migrants, and frequent
groves, woods, and gardens during the summer; in the winter they collect together in flocks,
associating with other allied species, and wander about in search of food. They feed on insects,
seeds, and fruits, are active and sprightly in their habits, have a rapid and undulating flight, and a
tolerably rich and mellow song. They construct neat, well-formed, cup-shaped nests, which they
place on a tree or bush, and deposit purplish white or bluish white eggs, spotted and clouded
with deep brown or reddish brown.

Fringilla celebs, the type of the genus, has the bill somewhat long, straight, nearly conical,
acute, the tip with an obsolete notch; nostrils oval, basal, nearly concealed by recurved feathers ;
wings moderate, broad, the first quill obsolete, the next four nearly equal, but the third or fourth
longest; tail moderately long, emarginate; tarsus stoutish, covered in front with four large and
three inferior scutelle ; toes rather slender, compressed, claws moderately long, curved, laterally
erooved, acute.

oy)

18

CHAFFINCH.
FRINGILLA CALEBS

149

FRINGILLA CQ@LEBS.

(CHAFFINCH.)

Fringilla celebs, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 318 (1766).
Fringilla nobilis, Schrank, Fauna Boica, p. 176 (1798).
Passer spiza, Pall. Zoogr. ii. p. 17 (1811-1831).
Struthus celebs, Boie, Isis, p. 374 (1826).

Pink, Spink, Twink, Beechfinch, Horsefinch, Shelly, Shilfa, English ; Breac-ant’sil, Gaelic ;
Pinson ordinaire, French; Buchfink, German; De Vink, Dutch; Bogfinke, Danish ;
Bofink, Swedish ; Bogfinke, Norwegian ; Peipponen, Finnish; Ziablik, Russian ; Fringuello,
Italian; Spunsun, Maltese; Pinzon, Spanish; Tentilhaio, Portuguese.

Figure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 44; Gould, B. of Europe, pl. 187; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl.
taf. 118. figs. 1 & 2; Sundevall, Svensk. Fogl. pl. iv. figs. 5 & 6.

é fronte nigra: pileo et collo postico cum tectricibus alarum minimis scapularibusque claré cinereis: dorso
superiore sordidé rufescente, interscapulio summo vix olivascenti-viridi lavato : dorso imo, uropygio et
supracaudalibus olivascenti-viridibus: tectricibus alarum medianis albis, majoribus nigris albo termi-
natis, fasciam duplicem alarem formantibus: remigibus nigris, primariis extus ad basin albis, pallide
flavicante limbatis : cauda nigra rectricibus duabus extimis conspicué et obliqué albis, basaliter et extus
apicaliter nigris, rectricibus duabus centralibus cinerascenti-brunneis : strigd superciliari cum facie laterali
et corpore subtus toto rufescentibus, pectore pallidiore et magis vinaceo: abdomine imo et subcaudalibus
albis: subalaribus albis flavicante tinctis, exterioribus basaliter brunneis: rostro cerulescenti-corneo :
pedibus pallidé brunneis: iride brunned.

? supra olivascenti-brunnea vix flavido lavata, pileo clarits brunneo: facie laterali toté olivascenti-brunnea :
tectricibus alarum minimis dorso concoloribus, reliquis nigricantibus extus olivaceo-viridi limbatis et
laté albo terminatis, fasciam duplicem alarem formantibus: remigibus nigricanti-brunneis ad basin
pogonii interni albidis, primariis extis albido, secundariis olivascenti-viridi limbatis: dorso imo,
uropygio et supracaudalibus olivaceo-viridibus: caudé nigricante, rectricibus duabus centralibus
brunneis fulvescente limbatis, rectricis extime pogonio interno feré omnino albo, proximé versus
apicem graduatim albi: corpore subtis toto olivascenti-brunneo, pectore medio albo.

Adult Male in summer (Hampstead). Forehead black ; crown, nape, and sides of neck rich slaty blue; back
dull chestnut-red, shading off on the lower part into dull green, which latter colour pervades the rump
and upper tail-coverts; outer tail-feather on each side obliquely black at the base, the remainder being
white, with the outer web and a patch on the inner web black at the tip; the next in order black, with
the terminal half of the inner web obliquely white; the third with only a terminal white spot on the
inner web; the two central tail-feathers blackish grey, indistinctly edged with white; quills blackish
brown, white at the base, and narrowly edged with dull white; inner secondaries margined with

2H

2

fulvous; larger coverts blackish brown, broadly tipped with white ; smaller coverts almost pure white;
least coverts and scapulars dull lead-blue; cheeks, auriculars, throat, and underparts generally rich
reddish brown, this colour gradually becoming lighter towards the lower part of the abdomen, which,
with the under tail-coverts, is dirty white ; under wing-coverts white, those on the edge of the wing
marked with black; bill bluish lead; legs dull brown; iris hazel. Total length 6:5 inches, culmen 0°55,
wing 3°45, tail 3, tarsus 0°75.

Adult Male in winter (Hareskov, Denmark, 7th of January). Everywhere much duller in colour; the black
on the forehead and lead-blue on the head and nape hidden by the feathers there having dull brown
tips ; the white on the wings washed with yellowish ; underparts paler than in the summer plumage ;
beak pale reddish brown, darker at the point, under mandible flesh-brown ; legs dull brown.

Female (Falster, Denmark). Head and back dull dark brown, darkest on the crown; rump and upper tail-
coverts dull green ; wings and tail as in the male, but rather duller; underparts generally dull greyish
brown, fading into dirty white on the centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts; beak, legs, and
iris as in the male.

Tue Common Chaffinch is everywhere in Europe a numerous species, and is found in the summer
season up into the high north, whence it migrates during the winter into Southern Europe, a
few remaining in the higher portions of Central Europe during moderately mild winters. It
occurs from the extreme west to the Ural range, and southward into Northern Africa, where,
however, it is a rare species, found only in the winter.

In Great Britain it is one of our commonest and best-known birds, and is found throughout
the country up to the extreme north of Scotland. We have ourselves met with it in every
county in England; and as regards its range in Scotland, we transcribe the following from
Mr. Robert Gray’s excellent work on the birds of the west of Scotland :—‘‘The pert and
familiar Chaffinch is widely distributed throughout Scotland. It is found in several localities in
the Outer Hebrides, especially in the sheltered districts of Harris and Lewis; there are none on
the treeless islands. Mr. Elwes informs me that on one occasion he observed a female Chaftinch
on the summit of Ben-a-Chaolais, in the island of Jura, at an elevation of 2500 feet.” As regards
its range in Ireland, Thompson says that it “is a common resident species throughout the culti-
vated and wooded parts of that country.” On the Feeroes it is not uncommon, though not found
in Iceland or the Shetland or Orkney Islands. In Scandinavia it is numerous; and in Norway,
Mr. Collett writes to us, “it is found commonly up to the Polar circle, where it breeds in
Saltdalen. Boie observed a few in Lofoten. On the fells a few pass through the fir-region into
the birch-belt, and stragglers remain to winter in the coast region.” According to Nilsson it is
_in Sweden “equally common throughout the whole country. A few remain throughout the
winter in Skane, even in severe seasons.” Dresser met with it in Finland in all parts of the
country up to the borders of Lapland, though more numerous in the central and southern
portions of the country. In Russia Mr. Sabandaeff informs us it is “a common forest-bird, but
not so numerous in Perm as in Central Russia, where at times, though rarely, a few remain to
winter. It usually arrives in Central Russia late in March, and migrates away early in October.”
It is common in the Baltic provinces. Count C. Wodzicki found it unusually numerous in the
mountains of Poland, and remarks that he can scarcely understand how such numbers can find

3

food; for almost every tenth or fifteenth tree contained a nest of this species. Throughout
Germany it is a common bird during the summer—a few males, but seldom any females,
remaining over winter in the eastern part; whereas in the west many males, and now and then a
few females, remain. In the mountain-forests it is, according to Borggreve, almost the only bird
found breeding in numbers at an altitude of 1500-3500 feet. Dr. KE. Rey, writing from Halle
A. S., says that he has there observed only males during the winter season, whereas from other
localities he has heard that females only, or at least but few males, are seen during that season.
In Denmark, writes Mr. Benzon, ‘‘it is everywhere common where there are groves and woods ;
and it has but one name, that of Bogfinke, or ‘ Beechfinch,’ derived either from its fondness for
beech-nuts, or else from its inhabiting more especially our beech-groves. ‘The females migrate at
latest in November and return in March, and hence Linné’s name of celebs, or ‘ bachelor. A
few of the hen birds occasionally remain with us over the winter. It breeds with us at least
twice in the year, from late in April to early in May, and again in August, and lays from four to
five, rarely six eggs.”

It is equally common in Holland, Belgium, and France, in Belgium, however, far more
numerous during the seasons of migration than during the breeding-season. In Portugal it is,
according to Professor Barboza du Bocage, common—though Dr. Rey informs us that it is rare,
and that during his residence in that country he only saw it on one occasion, near Algarve, in
the month of April. In Spain it is, according to Major Irby, ‘‘ very common, more so in the
winter than in the summer season, and not seen on the Rock of Gibraltar after May ;” and Mr.
Howard Saunders writes that it is abundant in the winter, but he never could find its nest in the
spring. Lord Lilford likewise records it from Spain; and M. A. von Homeyer remarks that
‘the Chaffinch found on the Balearic isles is the true Fr. celebs, not in any way differing from
the German bird. On those isles it is resident, and not particularly numerous. In the fruitful
valleys of the northern mountain-chain it is to be met with, and affects the olive-groves during
the breeding-season.” Passing eastward we find it numerous in Italy; and Count Salvadori
writes that “ numbers arrive in Sardinia in the autumn and leave again in the spring; and not a
few remain to breed. ‘They are to be met with both on the plains and in the mountains.” On
Malta, Mr. Wright says, “flocks of Chaffinches arrive in October; and a good many stay the
winter. On the approach of spring they all disappear.” And Captain Sperling, writing on the
ornithology of the Mediterranean, records it from “ Corfu, Santa Maura, Greece, in abundance.
In the winter they collect into large flocks, and frequent the plains on the north coast. I never
observed them in the summer months.” In Greece it is, according to Lindermayer, “ very
common, from November to March, in the gardens, olive-groves, and fields; but about the end of
the latter month they migrate to the north, a few, however, remaining to breed in the mountains
and woods of Northern Greece.” Messrs. Elwes and Buckley record it as common in Macedonia ;
and Dresser met with it all along the Danube and in Turkey. It is found on the shores of the
Black Sea; but Professor von Nordmann writes that he never observed in Southern Russia such
large flocks of the Chaffinch as are seen in the north. He found it breeding on the Adshara
mountains. In the forests of the Caucasus and in the forests of Lenkoran it is, according to
Ménétries, ‘‘ very common ;” and it is likewise found in Asia Minor and Palestine. In the latter
country, Canon Tristram writes, it is “ very common in winter on the maritime plains and among

2H 2

4

the southern hills, congregating in flocks, the sexes apart, the male flocks appearing greatly to
exceed the female in number. Early in spring they all disappear, and return to the highest
parts of Lebanon, where they breed abundantly in May and June, among the mulberry-groves of
Hazrum and Ehden. We found them very plentiful as high as the cedars; and in the trees of
the famous grove we took several nests.” Mr. C. W. Wyatt shot one in Wady Feiran, on the
peninsula of Sinai; and Von Heuglin writes that ‘“‘it has been several times observed and killed
in Lower Egypt, namely at Alexandria. Dr. Hartmann saw it near Thebes in February; and in
the Berlin Museum are examples from Syria and Arabia.” Captain Shelley states that he met
with several specimens of this bird near Damietta in March, and on the 28th of that month
shot one in order to verify the species. ‘It is only a winter visitant to Egypt, and appears to be
rarely seen above. Cairo, and probably never ranges above the First Cataract.” In Northern and
Western Africa it is very rare; Major Loche states that several were taken near Algiers in
December 1859; and our friend Mr. Taczanowski informs us that he killed a male bird at
Mahuna, in Algeria, where, he adds, it is very rare. In Algeria it is replaced by a closely
allied but perfectly distinct species, Yringilla spodiogena, which is confined to Northern Africa;
and on the Canaries another species occurs.

To the eastward the Chaffinch extends into Baluchistan, whence Mr. Blanford brought home
a series of skins, which he has kindly placed at our disposal for examination, and which we
find similar in every respect to our European bird; it is, however, not recorded by any of the
Siberian travellers, excepting Pallas, who writes respecting it “per omnem Rossiam et Siberiam
occurrit ;” but as there appears to us no further note of its ever having occurred there, we think
that this statement is open to doubt. Few of our common birds are better known than the
Chaffinch ; for during the summer scarcely an orchard is without them, or in the winter season a
farmyard where this cheerful bird is not found pecking amongst the refuse, and getting a living
from what seeds and grain it can pick up. In the summer its cheerful spink, spink, is con-
tinually heard, especially in the gardens and about cultivated ground; for next to the House-
Sparrow the Chaffinch most affects the neighbourhood of dwellings. At that season of the year
they are met with scattered in pairs all over the country; but so soon as the autumn sets in some
migrate southwards, and the remainder collect in flocks and range about the fields or frequent
the farmyards. In its habits it is active; and its movements are very quick; when on the ground
it does not run, but moves by short hops, and when alarmed flies up and perches on the nearest
tree; the flight is swift, and consists of a succession of undulations, with short intervals of
cessation. When hopping on the ground, or when suddenly alarmed, the male has a habit of
raising the feathers of the crown, almost appearing as if it had a crest.

During the breeding-season the Chaffinch is generally distributed over Northern and Central
Europe, but few, comparatively speaking, remaining to breed in the south. In Great Britain it
is, Mr. A. G. More writes, “the commonest and probably the most abundant of our Finches,
nesting regularly as far north as Caithness, but appears only as a visitor in the northern Scottish
isles.” Its nest is usually placed on a fruit- or thorn-tree, or, indeed, on the branch of almost any
sort of tree where a suitable position offers itself; and sometimes, though not so often, it is con-
structed in a low hedge. It is a pattern of careful and neat architecture, and exhibits in its
mode of decoration no mean proof of the good taste of this feathered craftsman. Those built on

5

old moss-covered apple-trees usually are most carefully decorated, so as to resemble the moss-
grown bough on which the nest is placed. According, however, to Mr. Robert Gray, it differs
in its style of nest-building, and “varies the structure according to the locality which it happens
to frequent. In rural places, away from the dust and smoke prevailing near cities and large
towns, the nest is a perfect model in its way for neatness and compactness of form; but in less
favourable situations, where the building-materials are not so fresh, it is slovenly and untidy.
A series of nests before me gives ample proof of this, some being composed entirely of moss
closely interwoven, others of lichens, laced all over with spiders’ webs, whilst those obtained in
the outskirts of Glasgow are built of dirty straws, pieces of paper, and bits of blackened moss
intermixed, forming as a whole such a cradle as a country shilfa might feel ashamed of. I once
took one from a smoke-begrimed hedge within the city boundaries, which had, among other odd
things adhering to it, three or four postage-stamps exhibiting various effigies that a juvenile
collector would have prized.” In Dresser’s collection are several nests from various parts of
Europe, one taken by him at Uleaborg, in Finland, being of the most artistic structure. It was
placed on a birch-tree, and is neatly ornamented with pieces of yellow and grey lichens and small
bits of birch-bark, so as to resemble a portion of the tree itself, and is finally most carefully
lined with soft moss and bits of down and wool, through which some fine roots show every here
and there; the entire nest is most carefully shaped and finished. Mr. Benzon describes the nest
from Denmark as much the same as those obtained by us here in England, and in Finland by
Dresser; one he describes as having been found at Dyrehaven was decorated all over the outside
with small pieces of newspaper: the outside measurements of a series of nests obtained in Den-
mark he gives as from 90 and 60 to 140 and 70, and the inside from 45 and 35 to 50 and 40
millimetres. In Dresser’s collection is a series of Chaffinches’ eggs from Finland, Sweden,
Germany, and Great Britain, most of which are of the ordinary type, purplish grey, washed
with green, clouded with rufous here and there, and spotted and blotched with dark red. Three,
however, obtained at Uleaborg, are pale blue, here and there marked with faint purple, and
spotted with small dark-brown dots. Mr. Benzon has also obtained the light varieties of the
eggs of this species in Denmark, and says that he considers that there are two races of the
Chaffinch there, as he has never seen the light- and the dark-coloured eggs in the same nest, and
further remarks that the light-coloured varieties appear to run larger than the dark eggs. The
general measurements he gives as from 19 by 15 to 22 by 16 millimetres. Dr. Rey writes that he
has measured one hundred eggs, and finds the average size 19-3 by 14°6 millimetres, the largest
measuring 22°75 by 15:5, and the smallest 17-0 by 13-7 millimetres respectively. “I have,”
writes this gentleman, “several abnormal eggs, of which I may describe the following :—one egg
with a dark blue ring round the centre; secondly, several eggs having the ordinary ground-
colour, without any spots or markings; and, thirdly, a sitting of five eggs, which are pale blue,
slightly spotted with dark brown at the larger end.”

Referring to its habits during the breeding-season, Macgillivray writes that “the pairing
takes place without much display of animosity among the males, who at this season are fre-
quently heard repeating their ordinary note from two to six, generally four times, in rapid
succession, tweet, tweet, tweet—tweet. At other periods it is generally a single tweet, rather
deep and mellow. Its song is short, modulated, mellow, and for a time pleasant to the listener,

6

although apt to become disagreeable from its being so frequently repeated without the least
variation. The people in the south of Scotland most unpoetically imagine the song of the
Chaftinch to resemble the words ‘ wee, wee, wee, wee, drunken sowie, to which no doubt it bears
some resemblance. In the lanes and gardens it is almost incessantly heard from the beginning
of May to the middle of June, or considerably earlier if the weather be fine; but its quality is by
no means in harmony with the beauty of the bird, which is such as to attract the most unob-
servant as it hops familiarly along the road, or perches on the boughs.” The Chaffinch feeds
during the spring and summer principally on insects, and on grain at other seasons. According
to Naumann, it feeds on both the oily and also the mealy sorts of seed. Next to hempseed it
prefers the seeds of the Galeopsis, especially those of G. tetrahit. It is also fond of all sorts of
cabbage-seed (including all the varieties of Linné’s genus Brassica), mustard- and radish-seed,
linseed, poppy- and lettuce-seeds, those of various sorts of wild grasses, and, in the forests, the
seeds of pine, spruce, alder, and birch trees, beech-nuts, and occasionally the seeds of the bird-
cherry.

During the summer season, however, they feed principally on insects and larve, coleoptera
of various kinds, flies, and even gnats, and sometimes catch winged insects in the air.

The specimens described and figured are in Dresser’s collection; full particulars of locality
&c. are given above.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

Cs

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6. Hampstead, near London, May. 4, c,d, ¢. Hampstead, October. e, juv. Hampstead, September.
f, 6. Highgate, September 30th (Davy). g, 9. West Drayton, Sussex, June 22nd (Paraman). h, ¢.
Hareskov, Denmark, January 7th (Benzon). 7, 9. Falster, Denmark (Benzon). k, ¢. Stockholm,
April 2nd, 1872. /, 6. Jonkopimg, March 11th, 1868. m, 3g. Piedmont, March. n, ¢, 0, g. April.
P47, d. May (Count Salvadori). s, 2. Granada, Spain, January 1871 (Sanchez).

E Mus. Ind. Cale.

a, 6,c, d. Near Shiraz, Persia, September 1870 (W. T. Blanford). d, «, 2. Oak-forest, near Shiraz, June
1870 (W. T. B.). f,g, ¢. Anan Mazendardn, N. Persia, August 11th, 1872 (W. T. B.). h, 2. Kari
Valley, Elburz Mountains, Persia, August 10th, 1872 (W. T. B.).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 3,6, 2. Greatham (H. B. T.). c, d. Cedars of Lebanon, June 16th (A. B. T.). d, 2. Nahr El Kilb,
November 24th, 1863 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

a,b,c, 3. Greatham. d, 3. North Repps, January. e, ¢. Edinburgh, July. f, 2. Bamborough, April
(J. H. G., jun.).

18

e)

AZOREAN CHAFFINCH,

FRINGILLA TINTILLON

a

ALGERIAN CHAFFINCH.
FRINGILLA SPODIOGENA

FRINGILLA TINTILLON.

(AZOREAN CHAFFINCH.)

Fringilla canariensis, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. xii. p. 232 (1816).

Fringilla tintillon, Webb et Berth. Orn. Canar. ii. p. 21, pl. iv. fig. 1 (1841).
Fringilla moreleti, Puch. R. Z. p. 413 (1859).

Fringilla canariensis, var. moreleti, Drouet, Elem. Faun. Acor. p. 117. no. 27 (1861).

Figura unica.
Webb and Berthelot, tom. cit. pl. 4. fig. 1.

é ad. supra Fringille spodiogene similis, sed rostro robustiore et caudé nigrofuscé, rectricibus externis pogonio
externo ad basin, et interno ad apicem albis: secundariis et sequentibus pogonio interno vix albido
apicatis: gula, facie suboculari, gutture et pectore pallidé brunnescenti-isabellinis: corpore reliquo
subtus albicante, crisso subcaudalibusque isabellino lavatis: hypochondriis griseo-plumbeis: rostro et
pedibus ut in Fr. spodiogend.

Q ad. feeminz Fr. spodiogene similis, sed rostro robustiore, corpore subtus saturatiore et cauda ut in mare (sed

saturatiore) distinguenda.

Adult Male (St. Michael’s, Azores, March 1865). Forehead black; crown, nape, and scapulars dark lead-
blue, this colour being darkest on the crown; back and rump dark yellowish green, with dull slate-blue
showing through every here and there; upper tail-coverts dark slate-blue, washed with green; wings as
in Fringilla celebs; tail blackish brown, the two central feathers washed with slate-grey, and the outer
feathers edged with white on the inner web, the outermost having the outer web white at the base;
auriculars, throat, and breast light yellowish buff, without any trace of red as in Fringilla spodiogena ;
flanks washed with pale slaty grey; abdomen and under tail-coverts white, washed with yellowish buff;
bill lead-blue; legs brown; iris dark brown. Total length 5:8 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3°25, tail 2°8,
tarsus 0°85.

Adult Female (St. Michael’s, Azores). Differs from the females of F. celebs and F. spodiogena in having a
much more powerful and larger beak, rather less white on the tail, and the breast being of a darker
shade, washed with dull buff.

Tus, a perfectly distinct species of Chaffinch, though allied to both the common and the
Algerian Chaflinches, is found only on the Atlantic group of islands—the Azores, Madeira, and
the Canaries. Mr. F. DuCane Godman, who has carefully examined the types of F. tintillon and
F. moreleti, has come to the conclusion that but one species exists in the Atlantic islands; and I
have followed him in uniting these two species, as also in using the specific name of tintil/on in
preference to the older one of Vieillot. As so little is known respecting the present species, I do
not hesitate to transcribe the excellent notes published by Mr. Godman in his ‘ Natural History
of the Azores,’ as follows :—“ In order to satisfy myself as to the validity of the species described

10

>)
fel

by Dr. Pucheran under the name of Fringilla moreleti, and to ascertain for certain whether it
differs from F. tintillon, the species common to the other Atlantic groups, I availed myself of
a recent opportunity to compare the specimens I collected in the Azores with the types of
F. tintillon and F. moreleti in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The result is, I
do not hesitate to say, that there is but one species of Chaffinch in the Atlantic islands, which is
shared in common by the Azores, Madeira, and Canaries. A close examination of a large series
of specimens shows that considerable variation in size, and some in colour, exists without reference
to locality. Out of thirty specimens from the Azores some have the bill larger than others, in
some the green gloss of the back begins at the nape of the neck and spreads over the whole
upper surface to the tail, in others this colour is very slightly shown, and one female is destitute
of any such colouring at all. Three Madeiran specimens have the lateral tail-feathers nearly
white, a fourth has very little white on the tail. The same variation is shown in the Azorean
specimens. Some males have the frontal feathers black; others, again, are without this mark.
My specimens from Madeira and the Azores were all collected between the middle of April and
the end of June, and are in breeding-plumage. I do not know at what season of the year the
Teneriffe specimens were procured; but all three are males. The two specimens in Paris, as well
as the one lent me by Professor A. Newton, all have the tarsus lighter-coloured than the
Azorean birds; but the latter having been in spirits, and the former exposed for years in the
gallery of the Museum, I do not attach any importance to this apparent difference. Being, then,
unable to reduce the variation observable in the Chaffinch of the Atlantic islands to any sort of
law, I have no alternative but to consider, with Professor Barboza du Bocage, that there is but
one species, and that Fringilla moreleti must be considered a synonym of the older title
F. tintillon. ‘The name which should stand, by the strict law of priority, is F. canariensis,
Vieill.; but as this name is so liable to be confounded with /. canaria, Linneus, I think Webb
and Berthelot’s appellation had best be adhered to.” In his paper on the birds of Madeira and
the Canaries, Mr. Godman further states that “it 1s a very common species, though in the
Canaries it seems seldom to descend lower than 2000 feet above the sea. In habits it is very
like our Chaffinch (7. celebs); and, like it, the number of males seems greatly to exceed those
of the females. It builds a larger and more clumsy nest than our bird; its eggs are a little
larger, but much resemble them in colouring.” Messrs. Webb and Berthelot record it as
“common in the laurel-groves, which, however, it leaves during the winter, and takes refuge in
the gardens and bush-covered localities on the coast. We have retained its common local name
of Tintillon, which may be derived from Tintillo (claret-coloured wine), on account of the some-
what vinous colour of the male. T%ntillo is also the Spanish term for an idiot, or stupid
individual who continually repeats the same thing; and its local name may therefore be an
allusion to its monotonous song.”

Dr. Carl Bolle met with it chiefly in the laurel-groves in the northern part of Teneriffe, but
also common in the chestnut-groves on Palma; and I translate the following notes he gives
respecting this bird:—“It is an inhabitant of what Berthelot calls the second clime, especially
where the ericas and laurels abound on the western islands, and appears to me not to be so
abundant on Teneriffe. Nor is its name of Tintillon known everywhere. Near Santa Cruz and
along the entire south and east coasts it is only occasionally seen during the winter; and even in

9
o

Monteverde, which is its true home, one may seek long before seeing it. In the splendid laurel-
wood of Agua Garcia it is tolerably numerous. In 1856 I saw the first in the Machado garden
at Villa Orotava, and hoped to hear the song in the higher chestnut-groves, but was disappointed.
In the autumn I observed it here and there in the tree-like erica-growth between Punta de
Anaga and Las Casillas, and in the dense laurel-grove of Las Vueltas de Taganana. It also
inhabits the north of the Canaries, and is said to occur in the remains of the Dorama wood, and
in the winter to be seen in the orchards. I observed several on the 4th of July in the Vega of
Canaria, in a locality where the wild laurel, which tree it greatly affects, is found amongst other
growth. A male was singing in a low tone; the song was poor, and sounded like hita, hita, hita,
herrrrrrrr, the finish being indistinct, and the note unlike that of our European Chaffinch. This
was the only tune I ever heard the Tintillon sing; and I think it must have been a young male
practising, as an old male could never be so unmusical. On the wooded island of Gomera this
bird is common, and is called Pajaro del monte. I saw several on the edge of the large forest
above Hermiqua, and suppose that they inhabit the densely wooded interior of the island; but in
the dense forest they cannot well be seen. As on Gomera they are not pursued by man, they are
very tame, and I have often observed them hopping about the boughs only a few feet from me,
watching me with evident curiosity..... In the winter the Tintillons on Gomera are driven by
the cold from the heights into the valleys, and seek their food near habitations. Iam most sorry
that I never obtained this species alive, so as to study its habits, which are as yet quite unknown.”
Beyond the above notes nothing appears to have been published respecting the habits of this
Chaffinch ; and specimens are still very rare in collections.

I have in my collection two eggs, obtained at St. Michael’s, Azores, in 1866, for which I am
indebted to my friend Mr. Godman. Compared with the eggs of the Common Chaffinch, these
eggs are rather larger, and have the ground-colour paler, and the shell-markings more blurred.

The specimens figured and described are in my own collection, and were obtained by
Mr. Godman at St. Michael’s, Azores.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 6. Madeira, February i856. 6, ¢,c, 2. St. Michael’s, Azores, March 1865 (F. DuCane Godman).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.

a,b, g. Madeira, June 1871. c,d,e, 6. Orotava, Teneriffe, April 1871. jf, go. Teneriffe, May 1871.
g, 2. Orotava, Teneriffe, April. h, i,7, ¢. St. Michael’s, Azores, March and April 1865. k, 9. St.
Michael’s, April 1865. J, 3. Flores, May 1865. m, 2. Madeira, June 20th, 1871 (Ff. D. Godman).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, 3, 6, 2. St. Michael’s, Azores, April 1866 (F. DuCane Godman).

1i

oY

FRINGILLA SPODIOGENA.

(ALGERIAN CHAFFINCH.)

Fringilla spodiogenys, Bp. Rev. Zool. t. iv. p. 146 (1841).
Fringilla africana, Levaill. jun., Expl. Scient. de VAlg. (1855).
Fringilla spodiogena, Bp. Cat. Parzud. p. 18 (1856).

Figure notabiles.
Levaill. jun., tom. cit. pl. 7. fig. 1(¢), fig. 2 (2).

3 ad. fronte et loris nigris: capite supra et nucha cerulescenti-plumbeis: dorso et uropygio lutescenti-
viridibus : supracaudalibus plumbeis, viridi lavatis et angusté apicatis : cauda remigibusque ut in Fringilld
celibe: scapularibus cerulescenti-plumbeis: genis, regione parotica et parauchenio vertici concoloribus
sed paullo sordidioribus: gula, gutture et pectore superiore sordidé rosaceis: pectore imo et abdomine
albidis vix rosaceo lavatis: hypochondriis griseo-plumbeis, subcaudalibus albis: rostro obscuré cerules-

centi-corneo: pedibus incarnatis : iride fusca.
9 ad. haud a feemina Fringille celibis distinguenda.

Adult Male (Tangiers, summer). lLores and a narrow frontal line black; head, sides of neck, and face
rich lead-blue ; centre of the back and rump dark yellowish green; upper tail-coverts dark lead-grey,
marked with green; scapulars lead-blue; wings and tail as in Fringilla celebs ; throat and breast light
reddish brown, appearing to be washed with pale rose-red, this colour fading on the abdomen to white,
washed with dull rose-brown ; flanks washed with pale slate-grey ; under wing-coverts white, the feathers
on the edge of the wing marked with black; under tail-coverts white; beak dull lead-coloured; legs
brown; iris dark brown. ‘Total length 5°8 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 3:5, tail 2°9, tarsus 0°75.

Adult Female. Undistinguishable from the female of Fringilla celebs.

Tue Algerian Chaffinch, which, though closely allied to our Common European Chaffinch, and
still more nearly so to Fr. tintillon, is a perfectly distinct and good species, is found in Northern
Africa, and is said by MM. Degland and Gerbe to have occurred in Southern Europe. These
gentlemen give an instance of its capture, which, however, is scarcely above all doubt. The
specimen they refer to is in the collection of M. Laurin, and was obtained in April 1861, at
Notre Dame de la Garde, near Marseilles, by the son of M. Gierre, a dealer; and another was,
according to M. Jaubert, procured also near Marseilles.

It is common, however, in Northern Africa. Mr. Osbert Salvin records it as “common
about Tunis; but we lost sight of it on moving westward.” Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake found it
in Eastern Morocco and Tangiers; and I have a specimen collected in the latter locality by
M. Olcese. It appears to be most numerous in Algeria, where M. Taczanowski writes to me he
“found them during the whole of the winter of 1866 in the wooded mountains of Algeria, but
never in large numbers. ‘They occur in small flocks of a few individuals, and are generally seen

2N

14

2

searching for food on the ground amongst the bushes or under the trees, and never, like the
Common Chaffinch, in the open fields. Early in April they were paired. I found several
finished nests, but none containing eggs. The nests are placed in similar positions and are
constructed like those of the Common Chaffinch.”

Respecting the habits of this species in Algeria, Loche writes as follows:—“ Like its
European congener, this Chaffinch feeds on seeds, insects, and caterpillars: its song closely
resembles that of the European Chaffinch, but is rather louder and harsher, and, besides the
usual song the male utters in the breeding-season, when danger threatens it, a short, plaintive
call. In the autumn both male and female utter a sharp cry. ‘This species builds in a low tree,
and constructs its nest like that of Fringilla celebs, laying four eggs, bluish in colour, marked
with reddish-brown spots, and measuring 20 by 15 millimetres.

“Tt is a sprightly and confiding bird, easily tamed, and not without intelligence, and lives
from seven to eight years. Its flesh is not good; and it is sought after as a cage-bird, and not for
its flesh; and, thank God, in Algeria they do not practise the torture so usual in France, and
though the poor bird often loses its liberty it retains its sight.”

The male bird figured and described is in my own collection; and the female described is in
the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun. As will be seen, I have only figured the male bird, the
other birds on the Plate being the male and female of Mringilla tintillon.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, d. Algeria (J. H. Gurney, jun.). 6, 5. Tangiers (Olcese).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, d. Algiers, April 16th, 1856; 6, ¢. April 21st, 1856 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a, d. Algiers, January 29th, 1870. 62. Algiers, February 4th, 1870 (J. H. G., jun.).

184

va

ONIYSILNOW VITIONS
“ONITEAWNV YE

FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA.

(BRAMBLING.)

Fringilla montifringilla, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 318 (1766).
Fringilla lulensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 318 (1766, ex Briss.).
Fringilla flammea, Beseke, Vog. Kurl. p. 79 (1822).

Struthus montifringilla, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 323.

Fringilla septentrionalis, Brehm, V og. Deutschl. p. 274 (1831).
Fringilla media, Jaubert, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. v. p. 117 (1853).

Brambling, Bramble, Bramble-Finch, Mountain-Finch, English; Pinson d Ardennes, French ;
Peppola, Vtalian; Pinzuni varvariscu, Sicilian; Pinzon montaies, Spanish ; Tentilhao
montez, Portuguese; Spunsun selvag, Maltese; Bergfink, German; Keep, Bergvink,
Dutch ; Bergfink, Norrqvint, Swedish; Bjergfinke, Norwegian; Kuwker, Kuekerfinke.
Norske Bogfinke, Danish; Harkapeippo, Finnish.

Figure notabiles.

Naum. Vog. Deutschl. v. Taf. 119; Gould, B. of Eur. iii. pl. 188; Yarr. Brit. B. 1. p. 465 ;
Kjerb. Orn. Dan. Afb. xxvii. p. 2; Schl. Vog. Nederl. pl. 166; Gould, B. of Gt. Brit.
part ii.; Fritsch, Vog. Kur. Taf. 25. figs. 13. 14.

3 e@stiv. supra nigerrimus, purpureo nitens, plumis ad basin albis: scapularibus cum dorso postico et uropygio
puré albis, illis aurantiaco tinctis: tectricibus supracaudalibus cinereis nigro variegatis: tectricibus
alarum minimis aurantiaco-fulvis, medianis albis, majoribus nitidé nigris, his dorsalibus aurantiaco
terminatis: tectricibus primariarum brunneis vix flavido marginatis: remigibus brunneis, extus ad basin
imam albis, vel flavicantibus, fasciam transalarem formantibus, primariis secundariisque extus flavido
plus minusve distincté marginatis: cauda brunned, pennis duabus centralibus cinereo lavatis, rectrice
extima ad basin pogonii externi et ad apicem pogonii interni alba: facie tota laterali nigra pileo con-
colori: subtus albicans, gutture imo et pectore summo aurantiacis: hypochondriis maculis parvis nigris
rotundatis ornatis: subcaudalibus albis aurantiaco lavatis: subalaribus intimis leté citrinis, extimis albis :
rostro indigotico: pedibus rubro-brunneis: iride saturaté brunneda.

3 hiem. similis ptilosi estivee sed supra fulvescens nec niger: tectricibus alarum et secundariis magis conspicué
aurantiaco marginatis: rostro leté flavicante, versus apicem nigro: pedibus flavicanti-corneis.

? mari fere similis sed sordidior: capite brunneo fulvo obscuro: macula parva mystacali nigricante: facie
laterali brunned, colli lateribus pallidé canis: pectore antico pallidé aurantiaco rubro.

Male in breeding-plumage. Upper surface of the body glossy blue-black, the bases to the feathers white,
showing occasionally and more especially on the nape; lower part of the back and rump white, slightly
varied here and there with black; upper tail-coverts ashy grey, irregularly marked with black; least
wing-coverts orange, forming a conspicuous patch at the top of the wing; median coverts tipped with
white, forming a bar across the wing; greater coverts black, slightly tipped with white and marked

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with orange on the innermost feathers; primary coverts brown, very narrowly edged with yellowish
white; quills dark brown, with a white or yellowish-white spot at the extreme base of the feather,
forming a bar right across the wing, all the quills also more or less narrowly edged with yellowish
white ; tail dark brown, the two centre feathers washed with ashy grey, the last feather marked with
white at the base of the outer and the extremity of the inner web; all the side of the face glossy blue-
black like the head; throat and fore part of the chest pale orange; rest of the under surface of the
body white, with a quantity of little round black spots clustered on the flanks; under tail-coverts white,
with a tinge of buff; under wing-coverts for the most part white, but the innermost or greater coyerts
bright lemon-yellow; inner surface of the wing white; bill horn-blue; feet reddish brown; iris dark
brown. Total length 5°8 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 3°5, tail 2:4, tarsus 0°7.

Obs. Some specimens in breeding-plumage are more richly coloured on the breast than others, and have
the scapulars more tinged with orange. An example of the Brambling, in our collection, from Tientsin,
in China, differs from our European specimens only in being a little richer-coloured on the breast, and
having a rufous tinge on the white of the belly and under tail-coverts; the edgings to the scapulars and
wing-coverts are also much more rufous. This bird measures as follows:—Total length 6-5 inches,
culmen 0°5, wing 3°5, tail 2°5, tarsus 0°7.

Male in winter plumage. Ground-colour of the upper plumage glossy blue-black, everywhere broadly edged
with sandy buff; lower part of the back and rump white, faintly tinged with yellow and slightly varied
with black; upper tail-coverts black, broadly edged with ashy grey and tinged with buff; sides of the
face black, obscured like the head with sandy margins ; sides of the neck and nape ashy grey, with small
markings of black; scapulars orange-rufous, as also are the least wing-coverts, the latter being tinged
with bright lemon-yellow, median coverts white, forming a bar across the wing; greater coverts black,
the outer ones edged with white, the inner ones with orange-rufous like the scapulars ; primary coverts
brown, with very narrow edgings of yellowish white ; quills dark brown, with a distinct spot of yellowish
white at the base of the feather, forming a distinct bar across the wing ; all the primaries very distinctly
margined with yellowish, the secondaries with orange-rufous; tail coloured as in the summer dress, but
all the feathers more or less distinctly edged with yellowish; fore part of the chest, extending down on
to the flanks, clear orange-rufous, the latter slightly spotted with black ; under surface of the body dull
white, the under tail-coverts tinged with orange-rufous; under wing-coverts white, the mner ones
bright lemon-yellow; bill bright yellow, black at the point; legs pale brown.

Obs. We have given a full description of the bird in its winter dress, as it is in this plumage that the bird
generally occurs in this country. Before they leave in spring many of the males have begun to assume
their summer plumage, which is obtained by the wearing away of the sandy margins to the feathers.

Female. Differs from the male in being more obscurely coloured, but especially in the absence of the black
head, the cheeks being greyish brown.

THE Brambling is spread over the whole of the Palearctic region, and may, indeed, be considered
one of its most characteristic birds. It breeds in the high north, descending in winter into more
southern latitudes.

No authentic instance of its breeding in the British Isles has as yet been recorded. Mr. A.G.
More refers to the only reputed occurrence in the following words :—‘ In the ‘ Zoologist’ for
1864 (p. 9210), the Rev. J. C. Atkinson describes a nest and eggs found near Thirsk, which he
supposes to have been those of the Brambling, a bird which in Western Scandinavia does not

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breed south of lat. 59° N., and in Eastern Scandinavia not south of lat. 67° N. (Wallengren, in
‘Naumannia, 1855, p. 136).”

We can ourselves scarcely believe in the authenticity of the above-mentioned nest, and it
would appear that the present species is only a winter visitant to Great Britain. Messrs. Gray
and Anderson, in their ‘ Birds of Ayrshire and Wigtownshire,’ state that it is “a regular winter
visitant, but only in small numbers, except in unusually severe weather. It then appears at farm-
steadings, mixing with Sparrows, Chaffinches, Yellow-Ammers, and Green Linnets.” All over
England it is more or less common in winter. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., sends us the following
note :—“ Mr. Hogg says that they are rare in south-east Durham (Zool. p. 1062), but they were
extremely numerous at Greatham in the winter of 1866-67, and, what was singular, they seemed
to be all males. I saw one as late as April 6th: it was a dull-coloured specimen; but on the
18th of March I had seen a splendid male bird, with a head as black as a Bullfinch’s, by far the
finest one I ever saw wild.” In the southern counties of England we have ourselves found it
abundant in some winters, particularly in beech-woods. In the south-western counties, however,
it would seem to be less plentiful; for Mr. J. Brooking Rowe says that it is not common in Devon,
and Mr. Rodd tells us that it only occurs in Cornwall in severe weather. ‘Thompson says that it
is a winter visitant to Ireland; but, as will be seen from the note sent to us by Mr. Gatcombe, it
is sometimes found there in immense numbers; and there can be no doubt that the mildness or
severity of the season influences in a great measure the migration of the Brambling to this
country.

Mr. Collett, in his ‘ Birds of Norway,’ writes as follows :—“ Along the fells it is common in
all subalpine conifer-woods and in the birch-region on the fells, and is found breeding in small
colonies on most of the more elevated forest-regions. Along the west coast and northwards up
to the Russian frontier it breeds in the birch-woods down to the sea. On the lowlands it is most
numerously found during the migrations; and occasional birds winter with us, though sometimes,
as at Christiania in 1863-64, in large flocks.” Messrs. F. and P. Godman, who collected near
Bodo, state:—‘'This bird, which we found extremely local in the country that we explored,
arrived on May 13th. There were two places, both on the side of a mountain running north-west
and south-east, with a lake at its foot, where they were not uncommon; and in these two localities
we found several nests.” In Sweden, according to Nilsson, it passes the summer in the north
only, being found in the southern portion of the country during its spring and autumn migrations,
and occasionally during the winter. In April and May they return from the south in families or
flocks ; and early in June they have paired and scattered in the forest on the fell-sides in Norway,
Lapland, and Norrland. ‘Their head quarters are the small birch-woods above the conifer-forests.
Here they are found in countless numbers, and utter their harsh note from almost every tree and
bush; consequently large numbers breed near together. Summerfeldt found it on the Varanger
Fiord in summer; and Wheelwright, in his ‘Spring and Summer in Lapland,’ says :—“ It was
certainly the commonest of all the small birds in our forests during the summer, and the flocks
which we used to see on the bare patches of cultivated land early in May (when they first
arrived) were past all belief. Every forest was filled with them, and their monotonous call-note,
cree, cree, was heard from every tree.” In Finland it is abundant, arriving early in the spring,
remaining in the northern parts of the country to breed, and leaving in flocks late in the autumn.

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Dresser found them numerous in the spring throughout the country, and procured many nests in
the neighbourhood of Uleaborg. He first had his attention attracted to this bird by its call-note,
which very closely resembles that of the Common Greenfinch ; and scarcely a day passed during
his journey northwards along the coast that he did not hear this harsh loud call, generally uttered
from the very top of a tree. Von Nordmann says that in this country it returns from the south
earlier than the Chaffinch. Meyer says that it is found in Livonia, in conifer and green woods:
it is a migrant, appearing in April and May, and sometimes in autumn, never, however, being
seen in winter, nor does it nest there. An excellent note on the occurrence of the bird in
Denmark will be found below, from the pen of our kind friend Mr. A. Benzon.

In Germany they arrive as soon as the cold weather sets in, remain in different parts of that
country during the winter in flocks, and return again to the north in the spring, only in very
isolated instances remaining to breed in North Germany. It is generally distributed and common
throughout the country in winter. Mr. H. M. Labouchere writes to us as follows:—‘ The
Brambling visits Holland on its autumnal migrations, immense numbers passing through the
country in company with Chaffinches. Great use is made of this bird on the ‘ Vinkenbanen,’
or places where the Chaffinches are caught, its extraordinary strength of sight enabling it to see
flocks of birds in the distance long before the human eye can distinguish any thing, and to warn
the bird-catcher by its kape kape to be on the alert for the arriving birds.” In Belgium, according
to De Selys-Longchamps, it arrives in October, remains over the winter, leaving in April, a few
breeding in the Ardennes in the beech-trees; he once killed an adult bird in July, near Liége.

Godron says that in Lorraine it “arrives in autumn and departs in spring ;” and it is, according
to Kroener, sedentary in Alsace and Lorraine during the winter, and is found both in the moun-
tains and plains. Degland and Gerbe say that it is found every year in the northern departments
of France, in large flocks, as soon as the frost sets in. It is everywhere abundant in severe
winters near Dunquerque, where quantities are killed. It disappears about the end of February.
MM. Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye say that it is common during migration in Provence,
its passage commencing late in October and continuing into the winter, and it returns northward
in the spring. According to Bailly it is found im Savoy only on passage, and never breeds there.
The first arrive near Chambéry from about the 5th to the 10th of October, and are then found
singly or in flocks with other Finches. About the 15th or 20th of the month they begin to pass
in flocks, and late in October and in November are most numerous. ‘They pass again on their
journey northward late in February or early in March, generally about the time of the last
frosts. A few remain there as late as April. Lord Lilford tells us he saw it occasionally near
Lausanne in the winter of 1850-51. Herr von Pelzeln mentions several specimens from Austria
and Hungary as having been shot in the winter season; and Count Wodzicki says it arrives in
the autumn and spring in large flocks, but certainly does not nest in the Carpathians. In Styria,
Seidensacher writes, “it arrives in November, or sometimes late in October, occasionally in small
numbers, but generally in large flocks.”

Lord Lilford informs us that he has received specimens of the Brambling from the province
of Guipuzcoa, North Spain, but is told that it is not a common bird in that locality. Major
Irby says that in Southern Spain it is only seen in winter, and then in limited numbers; but
Mr. Howard Saunders states that “in very hard winters, such as that of January 1868, Bramblings

5

are frequently brought into the market.’ It is rare in Portugal, as stated by Professor Barboza
du Bocage. In Algeria, according to Loche, it arrives early in the winter, and leaves early in
February, in small flocks. In Malta, Mr. C. A. Wright records it as “rather rare; but a few are
taken nearly every year in October and November.” As regards its occurrence in Italy, Dr. Giglioli
remarks that it was very abundant near Pisa in the winter of 1863; and Savi says that some breed
on the mountains of Italy. According to Professor Doderlein it is not very common in Modena.
It passes periodically late in the autumn, and repasses in the spring, remaining a short time in
the woods on the mountains. A few descend on to the plains in severe weather; others pass from
the Apennines towards the Romagna. It does not breed in Modena. In Sicily it is rare,
though more frequent in the interior than on the coast. Von der Miihle states that ‘“‘in severe
winters it has been several times shot near Lamia, in Rumelia.” Lindermayer likewise says that
it is found more numerous in the north of Greece in severe winters, whereas it is not found on
the islands in winter. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley write :—‘‘ Not uncommon in winter in many
parts of Turkey. One was shot in full summer plumage on April Ist at Kustendji.” The late
Mr. Strickland met with it near Smyrna during the winter; and Messrs. Dickson and Ross pro-
cured it at Erzeroom on March 31st. According to Professor von Nordmann, in the south of
Russia it is only found during migration. In October 1837, large flocks of this bird were seen in
the Crimea, in the gardens round Simpheropol, and the woods on the south side. Pallas says
that specimens from the Caucasus and Persia are larger in size. Herr H. Goebel also observes
that he found it in small flocks during migration, in February or March and October, at Uman,
in South Russia.

Messrs. Dybowski and Parvex found it rare at Darasun, in Dauria, during migration; and
the following note is given by Dr. Radde:—‘“In the south of Siberia the Brambling remains
occasionally during the summer, and breeds there. On the 16th of May 1859 I found it not far
from Tunkinsk; and on the 14th of July 1855 I met with a family of them a few versts above the
village of Kotchirikowa, the young birds of which were fledged. The male then killed was in
moult, the crown being almost featherless. Only a few visit the high steppes of Dauria in
spring; thus, for instance, a male was shot in the hedge of the kitchen-garden at Kulussutajefsk.
On the other hand, they were numerous during the autumn migration at the Tarei-Nor. On the
15th of August I only saw a few males, on the 16th only a female; and on the 26th large flocks,
consisting of young birds of both sexes, arrived. On the 30th they increased in numbers, and
frequented the neighbourhood of the kitchen-garden. Later, when the night-frosts set in, they
took refuge at night in the high reeds which grew round the ponds. Here they remained till
the 11th of September; but then the large flocks were wanting, and I only saw stragglers up to
the 15th of September. In the Bureja mountains the Bramblings followed the flocks of Thrushes
from the 7th to the 10th of September.” Dr. von Middendorff says :—‘ I did not find this bird
in the Stanowoi mountains before the 25rd of May. From that time forward it was one of the
commonest songsters, and was also found on the south coast of the Sea of Ochotsk and on the
islands.” Dr. L. von Schrenck states that, “ contrary to what is the case in the western portion
of the Old World, in the far east of Asia the Brambling breeds in comparatively more southern
latitudes. Middendorff found it all through the summer in the Stanowoi mountains from the

23rd of May; in the Amoor country it appears much earlier. I received a couple of males
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through Mr. Maximowicz, which were shot on the 3rd (15th) of May at Dshai, near the
Mariinskisch post. I shot a single old male on the 8th (20th) of May in the mixed (but
chiefly conifer) woods of the Bay of Castries, where the song of the Brambling was often
heard. About the end of August I saw this bird in large flocks near the Nikolaievsk post,
and shot several; one, a male, shot on the 11th of September, had not fully moulted. About
the same time (on the 15th of September) Mr. Maack found the Brambling in flocks at the
mouth of the Ussuri. I did not see this bird in the Lower Amoor country in the late autumn
and winter, and supposed that it migrates southwards at the end of September and in October.”
Mr. H. Whitely, who collected near Hakodadi, in Japan, remarks :—‘‘I have observed this bird
in small parties in the winter. My specimens were obtained in January and February 1865.”
Mr. Swinhoe says that it comes to “ North China in winter, occurs occasionally as far south
as Amoy.” It is also found in India; and Dr. Jerdon gives the following note :—“ It has
occasionally been found in the N.-W. Himalayas during the cold weather. It was sent from
Afghanistan by Griffith; and Blyth has seen specimens from Simla and Cashmere. At
Mussooree Hutton observed it as “a rare winter visitant, though it may be common higher
up. I have only seen it in the flocks of Propasser rhodochrous.”

The late Mr. Wheelwright gives the following account of this species: —‘‘ In some parts of
the north the Brambling is called Harr-sparf, because they say that the Grayling, or Harr, come
up from the deeps as soon as this bird appears. When they first arrived they seemed to be in
full summer dress. We took our first nest on June 2nd. As far’ as I could see, the nest was
always placed in a small fir, generally six to ten feet from the ground, very like that of the
Chaffinch, built outwardly of moss and fine grass, thickly lined with feathers of the Willow-
Grouse, deep and cup-shaped, but hardly so neat and pretty as that of the Chaffinch. Six eggs
appear to be about the full number, though I have often seen seven in one nest. ‘The eggs are
very like those of the Chaffinch, but generally a trifle smaller, darker in the ground-colour, and
the purple lines and dots more coloured. Still the greatest caution is required in identifying the
eggs; for where both birds breed in the same district the nests may be easily confounded ; and
this was a nest which I would always take myself, and see the old bird. Like the Mealy Redpoll,
there was a little mystery regarding the breeding of the Brambling. We took our first nest on
June 2nd; and again as late as August 5rd I took two nests with fresh eggs. Could it be possible
that these birds bred twice in the season?” Dresser can fully confirm the above excellent
remarks respecting the nidification of the Brambling. Near Uleaborg, where he found them
breeding, they were about equally common with the Chaffinch, and great care had to be taken
in identifying the nests to avoid mistake. He procured there a very beautiful nest, which was
outwardly formed chiefly of the white marsh-cotton, and which is now in the possession of the
eminent ornithologist, Mr. John Gould, to whom he gave it some years ago.

Respecting its occurrence in Denmark, Mr. Alfred Benzon, of Copenhagen, writes to us as
follows :—“ The Norske Bogfinke, also called Kuekerfinke (Kveker from its call-note), is not of
rare occurrence in Denmark, during migration, from the middle of April to the end of the same
month. The males leave first, and in the autumn they are also the first to return, and often
remain with us during the winter. In the breeding-season they are never found here. They are
quarrelsome ; and in confinement this is particularly visible, as they often attack and mortally

7

wound birds confined with them. When irritated, they raise the feathers on the neck and head.
I have known them vanquish and nearly kill a stronger bird, such as the Hawfinch (Coccothraustes
vulgaris). I have eggs from Norway and Lapland, in sittings of from five to six eggs. They re-
semble those of the Chaffinch, but are smaller, and vary like these, but are generally more greenish ;
and the spots are less, and more scattered. I consider the normal size to be 20 by 15 millims.”
We translate the following notes on the breeding of the Brambling in Norway, kindly sent us by
Mr. R. Collett :—“ In general it lays a larger number of eggs than any other of the Finches, seldom
less than six, and more generally seven. In the west, where Corvus cornix is a dreaded robber
of the eggs and young of the small birds, I have noticed that, when compelled to leave its nest to
seek food or for any other purpose, it generally hides the eggs (for security probably) amongst the
moss at the bottom of the nest. It generally builds in a birch or spruce, close to the main stem,
and about six or seven ells from the ground. ‘The nest is constructed like that of the Chaffinch,
but generally more of moss, sometimes entirely of Usnea barbata. The eggs closely resemble
those of the Chaffinch ; but in the latter the general colour is grey-brown, not greyish blue, and
the spots are smaller. When near the breeding-place the male’s harsh note is heard; and if one
approaches nearer, the true song becomes audible; this is sweet and melodious, consisting of several
flute-like notes, somewhat resembling those of the Redwing. ‘The song is only heard during the
breeding-season. Several pairs always breed near together; and in exceptional cases I haye found
nests in small juniper bushes. In the conifer growth on the heights near Christiania they breed
in colonies. It has eggs late in May and early in June.” Messrs. F. and P. Godman, who found
the Brambling breeding near Bod, write as follows :—‘ The birds were extremely tame ; in one
instance we touched the hen with a gun before she left the nest. They often would not fly away
till one of us was halfway up the tree where the nest was situated; but when once off, they left
the place altogether, uttering a note of distress. Every nest we found was in a birch tree, and
generally from fifteen to twenty feet from the ground. In no instance did the Chaffinch come
under our notice.”

Messrs. E. R. Alston and J. A. Harvie Brown, who have lately been travelling in Norway,
have sent us the following interesting account of the Brambling :—‘“ In the beginning of May the
snow was lying two or three feet deep in the pine-woods at an elevation of 1760 feet above the
sea; and here the Bramblings were still in large flocks, the males uttering their harsh call-note
from the very top of the fir trees. Birds shot had mostly not yet attained the summer plumage.
The contents of the stomach varied, including insects, small seeds, and young birds.

“ We took the first nest in the west on the 26th May, the eggs having been incubated for
about ten days. Afterwards in the mountains, where we found them in the ‘ birch-belt ’ (Birke-
beltet), nests and fresh eggs were taken from the 12th June onwards. Here, at an elevation of
nearly 3000 feet, we observed no Chaffinches; but when we took nests where the two species
bred together, the birds were watched to the nest in every instance. ‘The nests in the birch trees
were generally about 10 feet from the ground, some few as high as 20 or 30 feet. Perhaps the
most beautifully situated nest which we met with was one placed in a small dead fir tree, nearly
quite concealed by the long drooping tufts of bearded lichens which grow in such abundance in
the Norwegian forests. All nests of F. montifringilla which we took were much larger than any
we have seen of F, cwlebs; and the former had invariably among their materials quantities of

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shreds of the fine white paper-like outer bark of the birch, which was quite absent from any
nests of the Chaffinch which we examined. Nests containing seven eggs were quite common,
and one with no less than e¢ght was taken. These latter were all of precisely the same tint;
but one proved to be much more incubated than the rest. The birds were exceedingly bold,
and a second female appeared, and showed great interest in the proceedings, rendering it very
doubtful that the eggs were all laid by one bird. The eggs of the Brambling seem generally
to possess a strong greenish tint, which is not so common in those of the Chaffinch. There is a
certain character about these eggs, not easily described in words, but which separates them very
clearly from a similar number of Chaffinch’s eggs chosen at random.”

Mr. Gould, in his ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ observes :—‘ All the nests I observed were very
beautifully made, but not so neatly as those of the Chaffinch ; they were also much larger, deeper,
and warmer, and made of coarser materials. The walls were composed of green mosses and fine,
dried benty grass interwoven with cobwebs, and externally decorated with flat pieces of white
lichen and thin glaucous-coloured shreds or peelings of birch-bark, giving the whole a silvery
and extremely pretty appearance; and as they are usually placed near the bole of the white-
barked birch, they are not very easily distinguished. Internally they were lined with fine wool
and some feathers of the White Grouse, the tips of which frequently rose above the edge of the
nest, and curved inwards, so that when the female is sitting she must be almost hidden, the head,
the centre of the back, and the tail being all that could be seen.’ Their external diameter was
about five inches and a half, and their depth three inches and a half; the diameter of the interior
was about two inches and a half. The different nests of eggs varied considerably in colour,—one
set being clear grey-green, irregularly and faintly blotched all over with brown ; in another the
ground-colour was suffused with brown, the blotches or freckles not so distinct, and small
chestnut-coloured dots were also dispersed over the surface. The eggs are generally six in
number.”

Respecting its food, Yarrell writes:—‘“ They frequent thick hedges, and feed on the grain
and seeds to be found on stubble-land, in company with Yellow Buntings, Chaffinches, and
others. Mr. Scales, an agriculturist of Beecham Well, in the county of Norfolk, used to consider
them of service to his land from their devouring in great abundance the seeds of the knot-grass
(Polygonum aviculare). In severe weather flocks of these birds are observed to feed upon beech-
mast.” The beech tree seems to be their favourite haunt; and Lord Lilford tells us that he
notices them feeding on them plentifully on his own estate.

Mr. J. Gatcombe, of Plymouth, kindly sends us the following note :—‘ Fringilia montifrin-
gilla usually appears in Devon during severe winters, mixing with Chaffinches, Greenfinches, and
Sparrows in the farm-yards, among which it might be easily distinguished by its conspicuous
white rump. Many years since, when on a visit with my friend the Rev. G. Robinson at ‘ Elm
Park,’ in the county of Armagh, Ireland, in March, we met with a flock of some thousands in a
beech-wood feeding on the beech-mast, where they remained more than a week. They were
almost all in magnificent plumage; and many that we shot were so fat that they could hardly be
skimmed. Their note, when disturbed, was a peculiarly harsh kind of scream. When in Milan
last autumn I observed in a compartment of an aviary in the Public Gardens full thirty Mountain-
Finches (a// varieties) more or less mottled with white and yellow, some of which were very

9

beautiful.” Mr. John Henry Gurney, jun., has lent us a specimen with a black throat; and
Mr. Bond has one which belonged to Mr. Doubleday. Latham, in his ‘Synopsis,’ likewise says,
“In some the, throat is black.”

Mr. Stevenson also gives some interesting particulars respecting the flocks of Bramblings in
Norfolk, as follows :—‘ The late long and severe winter (1864-65) has been also remarkable for
the abundance of this sprightly and attractive species, whose southward migration in extraordinary
quantities was witnessed under the following singular circumstances:—Mr. Samuel Blyth, whose
local observations as a thoroughly practical naturalist I have often referred to, assures me that,
just prior to the very sharp weather that set in about the middle of January, he noticed at
Framlingham, near Norwich, for several successive days large flights of birds passing low over the
fields in a southerly direction. They appeared always at the same time, from about half-past
three until nearly dusk, flying for the most part level with the fences, occasionally having to rise
at them when higher than usual. After noticing them for several days, he at last shot into one
large flock at about sixty yards, and dropped one bird, which proved to be a Brambling; and the
same result followed on two subsequent occasions. In order to ascertain if they were really
making a continuous flight, or merely returning to some favourite roosting-place after a foraging
expedition during the day, he watched for them, on one occasion, from the early morning; but
not one was seen to come from the contrary direction. At the usual time, however, in the
in the afternoon large flights again appeared in their accustomed line, keeping straight on with
a sort of settled purpose, so noticeable in other species on their migratory course.” The following
equally curious statement, respecting the migration of this species, appeared in a letter to ‘ The
Times’ (March 23rd, 1865) from Mr. A. E. Atkins, of Farnham Court, Slough :—“ Some of your
readers may be interested by the mention of a fact which, in this neighbourhood at least, is
without parallel in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. A large flock of Bramble-Finches have
taken up their residence in Stoke Park. Their numbers may be estimated when I state that the
flight, which was seen starting from their roosting-place one morning, continued streaming on
without intermission for thirty-five minutes. The person who noted this killed forty-five at one
shot. I may mention that before they came to their new quarters thousands of Starlings
congregated there nightly, but since this invasion of northerners the ancient inhabitants have
been dispossessed: but they have not forgotten their former homes; and now that returning
spring has warned our new friends to seek more quiet quarters before pairing and building-time
comes upon them, the Starlings are again making their appearance in great numbers.”

The eggs of the Brambling much resemble those of the Common Chaffinch, but have a greener
tinge. We have before us a series of these eggs from Dresser’s collection, obtained by himself
in Finland, and by Wheelwright in Sweden, amongst which are two peculiar varieties taken at
Uleaborg, Finland, quite pale blue, with two or three pale purplish underlying shell-markings,
and a few straggling blackish dots chiefly at the larger end. In size these eggs vary from 3} by
+6 inch to 35 by jj inch. Dr. E. Rey writes to us that he has measured fifty-six eggs of this bird
in his collection, from Lapland and Sweden, and finds the average size to be 19:3 by 14:6, the
largest measuring 25:5 by 14-5, and the smallest 16°75 by 13-75 millimetres respectively. He
further states that a short time ago birds he possesses in confinement laid quite normal eggs.

The Brambling has bred in England in captivity, the fact being noticed by Mr. Stevenson as

10

follows :— Hewitson gives an account of some birds in the possession of Mr. Dashwood, of
Beccles, Suffolk, which bred in captivity, on one occasion making their nest on the ground; and
another instance is given by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, which occurred in the aviary of Mr.

Charles Barnard.”
The figure and description of the breeding male are taken from a beautiful skin in our

collection, killed on the 24th of June 1869, and sent to us by Mr. Meves. The male in winter
dress and the female bird are from English skins also in our own cabinet.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.

a. Cookham, Berkshire, March 1867 (W. Briggs). 6.3. Sweden, June 24th, 1869 (W. Meves). c. Drammen,
Norway, June 9th, 1867 (R. Collett). d. Bodd, Norway, May 15th, 1857 (P. Godman). e. Piedmont
(Salvadori). jf. Cordova, October 22nd, 1870 (Irby). g. Crimea (Whitely). h. Hakodadi, March Ist,
1865 (H. Whitely, jun.). 7%. Tientsin, China (Whitely).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a-m. From various parts of England (J. H. G.). m, France (J. H.G,). 0. Genoa market (J. H. G.). p.
Moscow (J. H. G.).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a.3. Norway (P. Godman). 6. Lilford, Northamptonshire, January 1861 (L.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders,
a. Malaga, January 1868 (#7. S.),

185

TEYDEAN CHAFFINCH

FRINGILLA TEYDEA

162

FRINGILLA TEYDEA,

(TEYDEAN CHAFFINCH.)

Fringilla teydea, Webb & Berth. Ornithologie Canarienne, p. 20 (1841).

Figura unica.
Webb & Berthelot, tom. cit. pl. 1, d & 9.

$ ad. saturaté ceruleus, subtus pallidior: fronte et loris nigricante lavatis: remigibus nigricantibus, extts
cerulescente schistaceo limbatis: tectricibus alarum eodem colore marginatis et conspicué apicatis :
rectricibus nigris, vix czrulescente schistaceo marginatis, rectricibus duabus centralibus schistaceo
limbatis: abdomine imo cerulescenti-albido :. subcaudalibus albis: rostro corneo, ad basin mandibule
albido: pedibus pallidé corneis : iride brunnea.

2 ad. supra schistaceo-brunnea: remigibus saturaté brunneis extus pallidé brunneo marginatis: tectricibus
alarum conspicué brunnescente apicatis: rectricibus saturaté brunneis, vix pallidiore marginatis :
subtus pallidé brunnea, pectore et hypochondriis schistaceo lavatis: abdomine brunnescenti-albido :
subcaudalibus saturaté albidis flavicanti-cervino lavatis.

Adult Male (Teneriffe, 6th May). Entire upper parts rich dark blue; forehead and lores washed with
black; quills black, broadly edged with dark slaty blue; wing-coverts edged and broadly tipped with
slaty blue; tail black, narrowly edged with dull slate-blue, the two central feathers being washed with
that colour; underparts blue, much paler than the upper parts, and on the abdomen fading off into
dull bluish white; under tail-coverts white; beak horn-colour, almost white at the base of the under
mandible ; legs pale horn-colour; iris dull brown. Total length 6:6 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3°9,
tail 3°3, tarsus 0:9.

Adult Female (Teneriffe, 25th April). Upper parts dark greyish brown, this colour everywhere replacing
the blue in the male; quills dark brown, edged with dull light brown; wing-coverts broadly tipped
with dirty brown; tail dark brown, narrowly edged with light brown; underparts dull light brown,
washed with slate-colour, especially on the breast and flanks ; abdomen and under tail-coverts dirty
white, the latter washed with buff.

THIS, again, is one of those insular species, respecting which comparatively little is known, the
bird having so very restricted a range that, until lately, specimens have been extremely rare in
the cabinets of collectors. It is, indeed, only known from Teneriffe, where it was first discovered
by Messrs. Webb and Berthelot, who obtained a pair at las Palmas, near Chasna, early in the
month of January, when they were driven down by the snow which had fallen heavily in the
more elevated portion of the mountain. These gentlemen write that its note is plaintive, and
often repeated, and bears some resemblance to the call-note of the Serin Finch. They also speak
of it as extremely shy, and most difficult of approach. When they first visited the plateau of the

26

2

Cafiadas in 1825 they saw this bird, but did not succeed in procuring one; nor were any obtained
until 1829, when the pair above referred to were shot. According to Dr. Carl Bolle it “inhabits
the dreary heights of the Teyde, or Peak of Teneriffe, and the plateaux which surround the
highest point, called the Pan de Azucar or ‘Sugarloaf, at an altitude of 7000-8000 feet, and
which are covered with brush-wood, consisting of the so-called Retama blanca (Spartocytisus
nubigenus). ‘The ground is there covered with yellowish pumice-stone rubble, intermixed with
lava and shining lumps of obsidian; and for miles no spring is found. Deep below this tract
are the clouds, and lower still the ocean-girt island, while above all smokes the crater of the
Teyde. The absence of rain and cold nights, together with the glowing heat of the midday,
make the climate of these high ‘Canadas’ most peculiar; and even the Raptores seldom
straggle into this wilderness. Half-wild goats and bees appear to be the only inhabitants of
these districts, but little known to the islanders, who with doubt watch the curious stranger as
he climbs upwards to explore them. ‘This is the habitat of the Teydean Chaffinch; and hence
the obscurity that envelops its habits and nidification, of which latter we know nothing. The
goatherds, whom I questioned, say these birds are but few in number, and feed principally on
the seeds of the Retama and the Codeso (Adenocarpus frankenoides) plants, which give a cha-
racter to the vegetation of the ‘Cafadas.’ Neither Berthelot nor I ever heard any song uttered
by this bird. I only saw one, a male, in October 1853, when climbing the peak, near the Estancia
de los Alemanos.” Mr. F. DuCane Godman writes that “ soon after landing at ‘Teneriffe I made
inquiries about this bird, but found the people knew little or nothing about it. They also told
me that strange birds killed in the mountain-forests did not belong to the island, but were
“Pajaros de Africa, and it would be of no use to search for it there. However, I determined
to look for it in the pine-forests, high up the mountain, where Webb and Berthelot procured the
pair from which the species was described. Accordingly I made an early start one morning from
La Guanche, with a guide who knew the forest-paths, and at daylight I found myself in a dense
wood of young pines (Pinus canariensis). ‘Through this we ascended for about an hour, when
the trees became larger. We had got nearly through this belt of trees, and were coming to the
open space at the foot of the volcanic cone, where only a few retama bushes are to be found,
when I suddenly heard a loud note of a strange bird at some distance to the left of the track.
I immediately went in pursuit, gun in hand, and returned in about five minutes, having killed a
fine specimen of the bird I was in search of. I spent the whole day wandering about in the
upper part of this forest, and killed some seven or eight. Even here it is not very common; and
I believe it seldom or never goes lower down. It feeds on the seeds of the pine, and breaks up
the cone with its powerful beak in order to get at them, reminding one of the Crossbill. Later
in the year it frequents the Cafadas, where it feeds on the seeds of the retama, which at the
time I was there was only in bloom. I afterwards saw more of them in the pine-forests above
Chasna, and procured other specimens. Mr. Crotch tells me that when he was encamped on
the Cafadas collecting coleoptera, he procured a nest with eggs; the latter, he says, more
resemble those of a Shrike than any of the Finches’. The nest, I believe he told me, was built
in aretama bush. It is known to the goatherds, who tend their flocks in the highest parts of
the mountain, by the name of ‘ Pajaro de la cumbre.’”

Beyond the above particulars, nothing is known respecting the habits and nidification of the

2
9)

present species; and I have never seen its eggs, which do not appear to be in the collection of any
European oologist.

The specimens figured are in my collection, and were collected by Mr. F. DuCane Godman,
to whom I am indebted for them, as also for the loan of all the other specimens I have been
enabled to examine, they being as follows :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 3. Pinal de la Guanche, Teneriffe, April 25th, 1871. 6, 2. Villa Flora, Teneriffe, May 6th, 1871
(F. D. Godman).
E Mus. Salvin and Godman.

a, 3,6, S,¢, 2,d, 2. Pinal de la Guanche, Teneriffe, April 25th, 1871 3 6, 3,f, 6. Teneriffe, May 6th,
1871 (F. D. G.).

pay

Genus LINOTA.

Passer apud Brisson, Orn. iii. p. 131 (1760).

Fringilla apud Linneeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 322 (1766).

Linaria apud Bechstein, Gemeinn. Naturg. Vog. Deutschl. ii. p. 141 (1807).
Passer apud Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 25 (1811).

Ligurinus apud Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 231 (1816).

Spinus apud Koch, tom. cit. p. 253 (1816).

Cannabina apud C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1277.

Linota, Bonaparte, Comp. List, p. 34 (1838).

Acanthis apud Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 540 (1850).

Aegiothus apud Cabanis, Mus. Hein. i. p. 161 (1850-51).

Linacanthus apud Des Murs, fide J. E. Gray, Cat. of Gen. & Subg. p. 78 (1855).

Tue Linnets and Redpolls, though closely allied to Carduelis, Fringilla, Chrysomitris, and
Ligurinus, constitute a very fairly distinct group, and with Carpodacus, to which genus Linota
is also somewhat allied, link, as it were, the Fringillinee and Loxiine. When I wrote the
article on the Linnet, I proposed to separate that genus under the generic title of Linaria;
but further investigation has shown me that this cannot be done. Nor can Linaria be used, as
it has been preoccupied in botany since 1789. Cannabina is the next title in order of date;
but in proposing this name Brehm separated the Linnets from the Redpolls, calling the former
Cannabina, and the latter Linaria; and therefore it cannot be used. Thus Linota, which title
was proposed by Bonaparte to embrace the entire group, and which comes next, must be
adopted, and the Linnet should stand as Linota cannabina.

The genus Linota is represented in the Palzearctic and Nearctic Regions, and straggles also
to the northern portion of the Ethiopian Region. All the species, seven in number, are found
within the limits of the Western Palearctic Region, where they are resident, breeding chiefly in
the northern districts, and migrating south in the winter.

In habits the Linnets and Redpolls assimilate closely to their allies the Goldfinches,
Siskins, &c. They are lively, active birds, inhabiting forests, groves, and gardens during the
summer, collecting together in flocks in the winter, and ranging over the fields and open places
in search of food. They feed on insects, seeds, fruits, &c., but chiefly on seeds, build neat cup-
shaped nests, which they place in a tree or bush, and lay bluish white eggs marked with purplish
grey and reddish brown or dark brown. ‘Their flight is rapid and undulating, and their song
varied and very sweet.

Linota linaria, the type of the genus, has the bill moderately short, straight, conical, the
point slender and acute; nostrils round, basal, nearly hidden by stiff, recurved feathers; wings
long, rather broad, the first quill obsolete, the next three nearly equal, the second being usually
longest; tail moderate, emarginate; legs short, the tarsus covered in front with four large and
three inferior scutelle; toes slender, compressed, claws long, acute, laterally grooved, curved ;
plumage soft; the crown and rump, and in some species the breast, marked with red.

56

30

186

LINNET.
LINARIA GANNABINA.

LINARIA CANNABINA.

(LINNET.)

Passer linaria, Briss. Orn. ili. p. 131 (1760).

Passer linaria rubra major, Briss. tom. cit. p. 1385 (1760).

Passer linaria argentoratensis, Briss. tom. cit. p. 146 (1760).
Fringilla cannabina, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 322 (1766).

La Linotte, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iv. p. 58 (1778).

Gyntel de Strasbourg, Montb. tom. cit. p. 73 (1778).

Fringilla linota, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 916 (1788).

Fringilla argentoratensis, Gmel. tom. cit. p. 918 (1788, ex Briss.).
Linaria, Bechst. (Fringilla linota, Gm.), Gemeinn. Naturg. Vog. Deutschl. ii. p. 141 (1807).
Passer cannabina (L.), Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 26 (1811).
Passer papaverina, Pall. tom. cit. p. 27 (1811).

Ligurinus cannabinus (L.), Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 231 (1816).
Linaria cannabina (L.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 554.

Cannabina pinetorum, C. L. Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 276 (1831).
Cannabina arbustorum, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 277 (1831).
Linota cannabina (1..), Bp. Comp. List, p. 34 (1838).

Cannabina linota (Gm.), G. R. Gray, Gen. of Birds, p. 45 (1840).
Cannabina major, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 106 (1855).
Cannabina minor, C. J.. Brehm, op. cit. p. 106 (1855).

Gealan-lin, Gaelic; Linotte, French; Pintarroxo, Portuguese; Camacho, Jamas, Spanish ;
Fanello, Italian; Goin, Maltese; Bluthiénfling, Blutfink, German; Knew, Viasvink,
Dutch; Tornirisk, Danish; Tornirisk, Norwegian; Hdmpling, Swedish; Hamppuvar-
punen, Finnish; Konoplianka, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 151, 485; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 45; Kjerb. Orn. Dan.
taf. 27; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 26. figs. 17, 18; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 121;
Sundevall, Svensk. Fog]. pl. iii. figs. 1, 2; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 191; id. B. of G. Brit.
i. pl. 49; Bonap. & Schlegel, Monogr. Loxiin. pl. 48.

g ad. fronte sanguinea: pileo, nuchd et colli lateribus fusco-griseis, pileo pallidé fusco striato, et regione
circa oculos fuscescenti-albida: dorso, scapularibus et tectricibus alarum fusco-rufescentibus : uropygio
pallidiore et vix albido notato: supracaudalibus nigro-fuscis albido marginatis : cauda nigra, rectricibus
utrinque albo marginatis: remigibus nigricantibus, primariis extis fere ad apicem albo marginatis,
secundariis ad apicem vix albo marginatis: mento et guld albidis griseo-fusco striatis: pectore san-

372

co
femal

a2

2

guineo, corpore reliquo subtts albo, hypochondriis fusco lavatis: rostro corneo, mandibula griseo-
incarnata, ad apicem corned: pedibus pallidé brunneis: iride fusca.

2 ad. mari similis, sed fronte et pectore haud sanguineis: pileo fusco-griseo, fusco striato: corpore supra,
pectore et hypochondriis fusco striatis, et primariis minus albo marginatis.

Adult Male in summer (Twyford, 10th May). Forehead blood-red; crown, hind neck, and sides of the neck
otherwise brownish grey, the hind crown with darker striations, and the region immediately round the
eye brownish white; back, rump, scapulars, and wing-coverts warm chestnut-brown, the feathers with
slightly darker centres, rump lighter and slightly varied with white; upper tail-coverts blackish brown,
with broad whitish margins; quills blackish, the primaries margined on the outer web from the base to
nearly the tip with white, these margins being very narrow on the outer quills and much broader on
the inner ones; secondaries slightly tipped with white, the inner secondaries like the back, but darker
and browner; chin and throat dull white striped with greyish brown, breast rich carmine-red ; rest of
the underparts white, the flanks washed with brown; beak horn, the under mandible at the base
brown ; legs pale reddish brown; iris brown. Total length about 54-6 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 3:15,
tail 2:0, tarsus 0°7.

Adult Female (Pagham, Sussex, 23rd April). Resembles the male, but lacks the red on the forehead and
on the breast, the upper parts are browner and more striped, the breast and flanks are striped with
dark brown, and the white edgings to the primaries are less developed.

Adult Male in winter. The plumage is a trifle duller than in the summer, and the red on the crown and
breast is much paler and obscured by light edgings to the feathers, which, however, wear off in the
spring, and permit the full richness of the red to be exhibited. It is not always that the male loses his
rich red breast and head in the winter; and I should think that it is retaimed by the very old males.
We frequently see here in England males in the late autumn with the red richly developed; and
Mr. Godman remarks that in the Canaries and at Madeira the Linnets retain the red in the plumage
all the year round.

Young of the year. Resembles the female, but has both the upper and underparts much more distinctly
striped with dark brown.

Obs. So far as I can ascertain, it is long before the male attains the full beauty of its plumage. After the
first moult the young male has the breast red, though not to any great extent ; but it takes much longer
before it assumes the red on the forehead, and before the red on the breast attains its full brilliancy ;
and instances are cited by several authors of the male breeding before it has attained its full dress.
When in confinement, so soon as it moults, it loses the red, which is then replaced by yellow; and some-
times wild birds are obtained which have the breast and forehead orange-yellow instead of red, probably
owing to some want of vigour.

THRouGHOoUT Europe the Linnet is a common and widely distributed species, being met with up
to about 64° N. lat.; and during the winter season it visits North Africa, some few remaining to
breed on the western side.

In Great Britain it is generally distributed, and common throughout England, but becomes
rarer in the north of Scotland. Mr. Cecil Smith informs me that it is even commoner in the
Channel Islands than in the south of England. Except in the north of Scotland, it appears to be

3

by no means uncommon, and is generally distributed. Mr. Robert Gray says that it is also found
on the Outer Hebrides, and that it inhabits the islands of Lewis and Harris, and also North Uist
and Benbecula. Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown says that he has met with Linnets on several occasions
in the west of Sutherlandshire, but that it is by no means a common species there, and it does
not occur in Shetland. In Ireland it is resident, and is stated by Thompson to be one of the
commonest of the small birds inhabiting that island.

In Scandinavia it is common, and is, Mr. Collett informs me, numerous in the lower portions
of Norway from Christiansand to the Trondhjems fiord, but has not been with certainty known
to occur above 64° N. lat. It is especially common along the coast, where it inhabits dry shores
overgrown with juniper bushes and a dense growth of Berberis, Crategus, and Rosa; but in the
interior it is very rare, or else wanting. It arrives in Norway late in March or about the Ist of
April; and in mild winters a few individuals remain on the open portions of the fiords, but most
leave the country in October.

Nilsson says that it is a common species in the south of Sweden, but does not range above
Gestrikland. Most of those which breed in Sweden leave in the winter; but a few remain and
spend the cold season in the south of Sweden. In Finland it is also a southern species, being
found, Von Wright says, as far north only as St. Michel, and occasionally up to Kuopio; as in
Sweden, it is,as a rule, only a summer visitant ; but some few remain over winter. Mr. Sabandeff
informs me that it is common in Central Russia, especially in the Smolensk and Tula Govern-
ments. Bogdanoff says that it only ranges into the southern portions of the Simbirsk Govern-
ment; but I am assured on good authority that it is occasionally found as far north as Archangel.
Sabandeff also says that it breeds in the Orloff Government. In the Ural he met with it on the
western slope commonly, but is uncertain if it breeds in the Shadrinsk district. On the Kama,
Teplouhoff found it common in 583° N. lat.

Throughout the whole of North Germany it is found in some abundance, being, Borggreve
states, a summer visitant in the north-eastern portions of the territory, and a partial migrant in
the west. Kjzrbdlling states that it is common and resident in Denmark, migrating southward
only in very cold winters; and in Holland it is found, Mr. H. M. Labouchere informs me, in
the southern provinces, as well as on the dunes, but does not breed in the low-lying portions of
the country. In Belgium also it breeds only in the hilly portions of the country, but vast flocks
visit the plains in the autumn and the commencement of the winter; and in France it is found
during the spring and autumn migrations in the greater part of the country, and breeds in
Lorraine, Anjou, Provence, Brittany, and other provinces. Professor Barboza du Bocage speaks
of it as being common in Portugal; and in Spain, Colonel Irby says (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 121), “it
is plentiful, especially during the winter months; great numbers remain to breed, nesting in
April, mostly in scrub on the sides of the hills.” In Savoy it is common and resident, nesting
high up in the mountains: and in Italy it is, to some extent, resident; for some few remain to
breed, whereas the larger number arrive in the autumn. Mr. A. B. Brooke says (Ibis, 1873,
p. 247) that in Sardinia he found it “common at all times, but more numerous during winter.”
Mr. C. Bygrave Wharton gives the same information respecting its occurrence in Corsica; and
it is also said by Mr. C. A. Wright to occur frequently in Malta. In Southern Germany it is
common and generally distributed, and is found throughout the Danubian Principalities and

34

4

Lower Austria. The late Mr. E. Seidensacher informed me that it arrives in Styria in flocks in
the autumn, and winters there also, but he has not known it to breed there. Dr. Kriiper says
that it is common in Greece in the autumn and winter, and it is not uncommon during the
breeding-season in the mountains. It is numerous in Turkey, and is resident in Southern
Russia and the countries bordering the Black Sea, collecting (as elsewhere) in vast flocks in the
winter, at which season they wander over the steppes. According to Dr. Kriiper it is numerous
in winter in Asia Minor, and some remain to breed in the mountains; and Lord Lilford sends
me the following note respecting its occurrence in the Archipelago :—‘‘ This was one of the very
few species of birds met with in a short ramble on the east coast of the island of Scarpanto, off
which we lay wind-bound in my yacht for two days, May 25th and 26th, 1875. I have no
doubt that it occurs in Cyprus; but we did not obtain any specimens in that island.” Canon
Tristram, who met with it in Palestine, says that there it ‘“‘ consorts with the Snow-Finch in
great numbers in summer, building its nest on the ground in tufts of alpine plants on Hermon,
where we found its eggs in June, but descending in winter to the hills of Central Palestine,
where it roams through the open country in large flocks as in England.” It is found in North-
east Africa, being, Captain Shelley writes (B. of Egypt, p. 154), ““a common winter visitant to
Lower Egypt, where it remains until the end of February.” He adds, “I have never met-with
it above Cairo; but it probably ranges into Nubia, as it is mentioned by Blasius as occurring in
Abyssinia.” In North-west Africa, however, it is resident; for Loche says that it is very
abundant in Algeria in winter, and that many remain to breed. Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt-Drake
includes it in his list of the birds of Tangier and Eastern Morocco; and, according to Colonel
Irby, Favier says that it is “abundant around Tangier, many being resident and nesting (from
March to June). They are mostly migratory, and cross to Europe in March and April, returning
in large flocks during September and October.” It also inhabits the Canaries and Madeira,
where it is, Mr. Godman says, abundant; but it is not found in the Azores. Dr. C. Bolle also
writes (J. f. O. 1857, p. 317) that it is extremely numerous on Fuerteventura, Teneriffe, and
Canaria, and breeds there.

To the eastward it is found as far as Turkestan. De Filippi observed it in the plains
around Demavend; and Mr..Blanford says that it is ‘‘ very common at high elevations on the
Elburz, and less so on the higher hills in Southern Persia, apparently descending to lower eleva-
tions in winter. On the Elburz Mountains in August I found the young birds by themselves in
large flocks.”

I do not find it recorded from anywhere in Western India; but it is stated by Dr. Severtzoff
to be resident in the north-eastern, south-eastern, and north-western portions of Turkestan, but
is only found in the south-western portion in winter. It breeds there up to an altitude of
10,000 feet. According to Pallas it is never met with in Siberia. Bonaparte describes a bird
under the name of Linota fringillirostris (Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 539) as found in Central Asia,
which appears to me to be nothing but the present species.

This, one of our most beautiful and. lively birds, is at all seasons fond of the society of
others of its own species, with which it usually lives in the greatest harmony; and one frequently
finds several pairs breeding close to each other. ‘Though peaceable and quiet, it is by no means
stupid, but sprightly and active in its movements; and when in the vicinity of man, it is wary and

5

shy, clearly understanding the necessity for caution. During the autumn and winter months the
Linnets collect in flocks, and are then more shy than at any other season; but when breeding,
love for its mate or young renders it more bold and less wary.

It is not a forest-bird, but frequents during the breeding-season the outskirts of the woods
where there is young growth, gardens, orchards, groves, and hedges, and I have most frequently
found it on the bush-covered hill-sides. During the winter, however, it is found in flocks on the
fields and stubbles far from the wooded or bush-covered localities, and frequently in company
with Mountain-Finches, Greenfinches, Tree-Sparrows, &c. &c. Its call-note is a short, harsh
geck, gecker, much harsher and deeper than the call-note of the Twite, which it resembles; and
this note is most frequently heard when the bird is on the wing. The song of the male is sweet
and flute-like; and this bird is a very steady songster: commencing as early as March, it is
in full song until July, singing at all hours of the day, though more industriously in the forenoon.
Even late in the year Linnets may be heard singing, though their song is then not so good; these
songsters are probably young males. Asa cage-bird it is exceedingly tractable, can be taught
almost any thing that a Canary or any other small bird will learn, and is an excellent songster in
confinement. Naumann says that not only will it learn to whistle tunes, but has been known to
articulate words like a Parrot.

It feeds chiefly, and almost exclusively, on seeds, of various kinds, especially those which are
of an oily nature; and though it frequently makes free with the seeds sown in the gardens, yet it
consumes the seeds of many noxious weeds. The young are also fed with seeds, which have been
shelled and softened in the parent bird; and Naumann states that “the young of the first brood
are fed chiefly with the seeds of Alsine media, Stellaria alsine, Leontodon taraxacum, &c.” Karly
in March they take possession of their breeding-places; and late in the same month the nest is
being built. The positions selected for this latter differ exceedingly; for it may be found in a
low bush, in a hedge, or in a tree at from 2 to 25 feet above the ground, and instances are on
record of the nest being on the ground itself: for instance, it is said to breed in holes in the
ground on the banks of the Elbe; and Canon Tristram found it nesting on the ground. The
nest resembles that of the Greenfinch, being constructed of the same materials; but it is smaller,
the materials rather finer, and seldom contains any moss in its structure. It is composed of
straws and bents and rootlets, intermixed with a little wool &c., and lined with wool and fine
roots or horsehair. Both male and female assist in the construction of the nest; but the latter
does the chief portion of the work. Two broods are usually raised in the season, the first eggs
being deposited in April, and the second in June—the first clutch consisting of five or six, and
the second of only four. The eggs closely resemble those of the Goldfinch, being pale sea-
green or blue-greenish white, finely spotted and marked with small blotches of violet-grey, pale
red, and dull blood-red, some being much more marked than others; and in most the larger
markings are collected so as to form a sort of wreath round the larger end. In size the eggs of
the Linnet are a little larger than those of the Goldfinch.

The specimens figured are the adult male and female in summer plumage above described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

ie)

a,

i}

2

a,

6
E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

$. Hampstead, April 16th, 1869 (Davy). 6,3. Twyford, May 10th, 1870. c,3g,d,9. Pagham, April
23rd, 1870. e,¢,f,?. Pagham, April 26th, 1872. g,Qjuv. Pagham, June 20th, 1870. h, i, 7.
Pagham, July 8th, 1870 (R. B. Sharpe). k, 2. Piedmont (J. Salvadori). 1,3. From the Hemprich
& Ehrenberg collection, labelled by Ehrenberg Fringilla bella.

E Mus. C. A. Wright.

, o. Malta, March 17th, 1864 (C. A. W.). 6. Malta, spring (C. A. W.). c,2. April 24th, 1869 (C. A. W.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

$. Granada, January 1871. 6,3. Sierra Nevada, April 1871 (Sanchez). c, 3. Malaga, July 20th, 1873
(Rios). d,e,f, 3. Valencia, April 6th to 11th. g,¢. Valencia, April 15th (white-headed variety).
h,i, 2. Valencia, April 4th,

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.

3. England, August 19th, 1870 (G. #.S.). 6,3. Tangier, March 18th, 1873. c, 2?. Nile delta, February
14th, 1870 (G. E. S.).

187

J GKeulemans lith M& N.Hanhart imp

MEALY REDPOLL.
LINOTA LINARIA.

to
aj

LINOTA LINARIA.

(MEALY REDPOLL.)

Passer linaria rubra minor, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 138 (1760).

Fringilla linaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 322 (1766).

tFringilla flammea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 322 (1766).

tFringilla vitis, P. L. 8. Miller, Natursyst. Suppl. p. 165 (1776).

Le Sizerin, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iv. p. 216 (1778).

Passer linaria (Linn.), Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 25 (1811).

Spinus linaria (Linn.), Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 233 (1816).

Linaria borealis, Vieill. Mem. Real. Accad. Se. Tor. xxiii. Sc. Fis. p. 199 (1816-1818).
Fringilla borealis (Vieill.), Roux, Orn. Prov. i. p. 165, pls. 101, 102 (1825).
Linaria holboelli, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 280 (1831).
Linaria alnorum, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 281 (1831).

Linaria agrorum, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit. (1831).

LInnaria betularum, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 282 (1831).

Linaria canescens, Gould, B. of Eur. part xi. pl. 195 (1834).

Linaria vulgaris, Riipp. Neue Wirbelth. p. 101 (1835).

Linota canescens (Gould), Bp. Comp. List, p. 34 (1838).

Linota borealis (Vieill.), Bp. ut supra (1838).

Cannabina linaria (Linn.), Riipp. Syst. Uebers. p. 77 (1845).
Acanthis linaria (Linn.), Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 541 (1850).
Acanthis holbélli (Br.), Bp. ut supra (1850).

Aegiothus linarius (Linn.), Cab. Mus. Hein. 1. p. 161 (1850-51).
Aegiothus holboellii (Br.), Cab. ut supra (1850-51).

Linaria robusta, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 107 (1855).

Linaria rufescens, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855, nec Vieill.).

Tinaria canigularis, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Linaria dubia, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Linaria assimilis, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Linaria leuconotos, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Linaria septentrionalis, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Linaria flavirostris, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Linaria pusilla, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Aigiothus fuscescens, Coues, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1861, p. 222.
Cannabina canescens (Gould), Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 335.

Aigiothus canescens (Gould), Blakiston, Ibis, 1863, p. 71.

Fringilla rufescens, Elwes & Buckley, Ibis, 1870, p. 193 (nec Vieill.).
Aigiothus rufescens, Alston & Harvie-Brown, Ibis, 1873, p. 64 (nec Vieill.).

2

Aigiothus borealis (Vieill.), Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 160.
Linota linaria (1.), Newton, Yarr. Brit. Birds, ed. 4, ii. p. 133 (1876).

Stone-Redpoll, Mealy Redpoll, English; Sizerin boréal, French; Birkenzeisiqg, Flachszeisig,
Bergzeisig, German; Barmsijsje, Dutch; Graasidsken, Danish; Orpingmiutak, Anarak,
Greenlandic; Rédkop, Sisserénnike, Moirisk, Norwegian; Grasiska, Swedish; Urpovar-
punen, Finnish; Sljepuschka, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 49; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. 27; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 26.
figs. 15, 16; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 126; Sundevall, Svensk. Fogl. pl. 3. figs. 4,
5,6; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 193; id. B. of G. Brit. i. pl. 51; Schlegel, Vog. Neder].
pl. 171; Audub. B. of Am. pl. 179; Wilson, Am. Orn. pl. 30. fig. 4; Bp. & Schlegel,
Mon. Lox. pls. 52, 53.

3 ad. ptil. est. fronte et pileo antico sanguineo-rubris: corpore supra nigro-fusco, plumis conspicué pallidé
fusco vel fusco-albido marginatis: uropygio pallidiore et rubro lavato: remigibus nigricantibus, pri-
marlis angusté et secundariis latius albido marginatis et apicatis: tectricibus alarum majoribus albo
terminatis: caudd nigro-fusca, rectricibus centralibus albo marginatis: loris et mento nigris: regione
parotica fusca albo lavata: gutture et pectore supremo pallidé sanguineo-rubris: corpore reliquo subtus
albo, hypochondriis nigro-fusco striatis: rostro fusco-corneo, ad basin flavido: iride fuscd: pedibus
brunneis.

2 ad. mari similis sed minor, nec pectore, gutture et uropygio rubris, et corpore supra saturatiore.

Ad. ptil. hiem. plumis in corpore supra latits pallidé fusco-albido marginatis, plagé frontali rubra minore, et
plumis ad basin maxille cervino-griseis: uropygio haud rubro: corpore subtis albo, gutture fusco-
cervino lavato: rostro flavido, fusco apicato.

Adult Male in spring (Stockholm, 14th April). Upper parts blackish brown, the feathers tolerably broadly
margined with pale brown or brownish white; forehead and fore part of the crown deep blood-red ;
rump paler than the rest of the upper parts and washed with red; quills blackish, the primaries very
narrowly and the inner secondaries more broadly margined and tipped with white, larger wing-coverts
tipped with white, the lesser coverts coloured like the back; tail blackish, the central rectrices mar-
gined with white; lores and chin black; ear-coverts brown, marked with dull white ; throat and upper
breast pinkish red; rest of the underparts white, the flanks streaked with blackish brown; bill dark
brownish horn, yellowish at the base; iris dark brown; legs dark brown. ‘Total length about 5 inches,
culmen 0°38, wing 3°08, tail 2°58, tarsus 0°58.

Adult Female in summer. Differs from the male in lacking the red on the breast and rump, in having the
upper parts rather darker, and in being smaller in size.

Adult in winter dress (Sweden, December). Differs from the bird above described in lacking the red on the
throat, breast, and rump, in having the margins to the feathers on the upper parts broader and lighter ;
the red cap is smaller, and the feathers at the base of the upper mandible are yellowish grey; the black
patch on the chin is larger, and the underparts of the body are white, the throat and upper breast
washed with brownish buff, and the flanks streaked with dark brown; bill yellow, tipped with brown;
iris and legs dark brown. ;

3

Young in nestling dress (Stockholm, 16th June). Head and nape blackish brown, the feathers margined

Obs.

with buffy grey; back similarly coloured, but the feathers are tinged with reddish brown; wings and
tail as in the adult bird, but the margins are warm rufous buff, not white; entire underparts buffy
white streaked with blackish brown; bill brown; legs brownish flesh.

After the autumnal moult the plumage is much lighter than in the summer, owing to the long light
fringes to the feathers; and this dress is retained throughout the winter. When spring advances the
plumage gradually changes, not, it would seem, by a moult, but by the gradual abrasion of the light
fringes ; and by degrees the red appears on the breast and rump, and the red cap increases in size and
in intensity of colour. The spring plumage above described is that worn at the commencement of the
breeding-season ; but as the summer advances the upper parts become much darker, and the feathers
worn and abraded, and the red colour becomes much more intense; thus in a specimen in my collec-
tion, shot at Quickjock in July 1867, the light markings on the upper parts are reduced to a few streaks,
the red cap extends over half the crown, and the red on the breast extends over the whole breast and
on the upper part of the flanks. In this plumage it is Agiothus fuscescens of Coues. The same change
in plumage also takes place in the other Redpolls; but the difference in the coloration of the upper
parts in L. rufescens, between the summer and winter dress, is not so great as in the other allied species.
There is some dissimilarity in size; but this is, so far as I can see, chiefly individual. The following
table will show how far the variation in size ranges in individuals from different localities :—

Wing. Tail. Tarsus.
inches. inches. inch.

Linota linaria. . . Great Britain . -0) 2:99 2:5 0:58

Ss Seniniece 45 5 oD 5 BAKO eis 2:40-2°5 0:52-0:55

ee . . . Central and 8.Sweden.g 2:90-3:02 2°50-2°65 0°54-0°58

5 Se a % .2 2°85-2:96 2°50-2°54. 0:52-0:56

oa . . . West Finmark -d 2 90-2:°95 2°45-2°65 0°58-0°62

a aR 9; ne 72 2:8 2°5 0°52

. . . Hast Finmark . .6 2°94-2:95 2°56-2°59 0:-60-0°64

4 Pe sna Ai : 2 2°80-2°85 2°30-2°52 0:55-0°58

3 . . . North Bothnia .d 2:90-2:96 2:50-2:69 0:57-0'6

3 .. . European Russia. .6 2:85-2:98 2:45—2°65 0:57-0°6

55 Seo ae -2 2:82-2:92 2:42-2°6 0:55-0°6

FF . . . SS. E. Siberia . .S 285-295 2:35-2:55 0:60-0:62

5 . . . North America ~d 2°85-2°95 2°50-2°62 0:54-0:62
Linota rufescens . . Great Britain . .o 2°65-2°8 2:40-2°5 0:53-0°58

iF ad he .2 2:50-2:65 2:40-2:45 0:50-0:55
Linota hornemanni . Greenland . .6 oo 3:0 0°62

a ; a5 -@ 3 10-3:15 2°62-2°75 0:65

%) . Spitsbergen ¢ 33 2°75 0-7
Linota exilipes . . ‘Tromso, Norway . .¢ 30 2°68 0°64

i ef We 53 y sO Be 2:48 0:55

a . . European Russia. .3 2 90-3:0 2°45-2°62 0°55-0° 62

5s Sts Fe ~2 2°65-2°94 2°30-2°52 0°51-0°58

55 . . Darasun 0 o 0G PSY) 2:5 0:56

Me . - North America... 2:90-2:98 2:60=2°65 0:58-0°6

The measurements of the bill are not given, as they are most variable—not only in different individuals,

but, according to the nature of the food, at different seasons in the same individual.

a9

40

4

Mr. Wolley appears to have been the first to notice this circumstance; but his observations remained
unpublished, and Gloger, who subsequently made a suggestion to the same effect, was the first to publish
(J. f. O. 1856, pp. 433-440) an account of the variation in the bills of seed-eating birds, in which the
present species is cited as an example. Professor Newton, referring to this, writes (/. c.) as follows :—
“But another and yet more remarkable seasonal change occurs in these birds, of which Wolley, during
his long residence in Lapland, seems to have been the first observer, though his full explanation of it
has not been made public. It had long been known that examples differed greatly in the size, and
especially in the length, of the bill; and many naturalists were inclined to believe that this difference
indicated two races, if not species, of Redpoll. A certain amount of it, indeed, was obviously rather
apparent than real, being due to the length of the feathers on the bird’s face; thus the bill of a
specimen obtained in winter always seemed much shorter than that of one procured in the summer ;
but from repeated examination of birds killed out of the same flock he satisfied himself that during the
latter season the horny covering of the mandibles was constantly growing longer, and attributed the
fact to the softer nature of the food then eaten, observing that when winter really set in, and the birds
were living solely on hard seeds, the edges and tip of the mandibles were rapidly worn down, so that the
bill at the beginning of spring had become considerably shorter than it was at the end of the preceding
summer, If this mode of accounting for the change be the true one, we can well understand that there
should be cases in which the waning and waxing of the bill may go on independently of the season,
provided only that the bird’s food varies in places or at times sufficiently to produce the effects as
observed by Wolley at Muonioniska with reference only to the season.”

lew groups present more difficulty in working out than do the Redpolls. When first I took this group
in hand I found that a far larger series of specimens than I then had at my disposal was indispen-
sable; but since that time, thanks to my friends, I have been able to make use of a considerable
series, and have found my views materially modified after having examined these examples. I am also
indebted to Professor Newton for much valuable cooperation. This gentleman was just preparing his
articles on Linota linaria and Linota rufescens for the new edition of Yarrell on which he is engaged,
and proposed that he and I should work conjointly, an offer which I gladly accepted. I was at first
inclined to treat them all as one species; for they certainly do run into each other in a most perplexing
manner: but I am now convinced that Professor Newton is correct in keeping them separate ; for they
certainly do range into four races or forms, which it is more convenient to treat as distinct species than
to unite together into one. As may be imagined, owing to the confusion which has existed amongst
these forms, owing chiefly, it would seem, to the lack of an adequate number of specimens for exami-
nation by those who have hitherto worked at this group, the synonymy of the Redpolls has been in a
rather tangled condition. Dr. E. Coues (i. c.) did good work in trying to bring the synonymy into
some order; but it appears to me that he erred on the side of subdividing too much, though one, at
least, of the species differentiated by him will, in my opinion, stand ; and Professor Newton seems now to
have reduced the number of really distinguishable European forms to their legitimate limit. There can
be no doubt that the present form (or species, as it will perhaps be the most convenient to term it) is, as
stated by Professor Newton, the true Fringilla linaria of Linnzeus, though, as this gentleman remarks
(Yarr. Brit. B. ed. 4, i. p. 134), “authors, through imperfect knowledge, have very generally mis-
applied it to the other. The difference between the two was first clearly shown by Vieillot, who, in an
admirable paper read before the Academy of Sciences of Turin, July 7th, 1816, very accurately described
them under the respective names of Linaria borealis and L. rufescens, and rightly identified the former
with the Linnean F. linaria (Mem. Accad. Se. Torino, xxiii. p. 199). This communication, perhaps
from the discredit cast upon it by Temminck, has been much neglected ; and to the zoologist last named
is certainly due the confusion that long existed on this subject; for he at first refused to recognize the
distinctness of the two forms; and when at last compelled by evidence to do so, he wrongly identified

5

the smaller, and to him best-known, with the Linnean Jinaria. 'Temminck’s faulty course was unfor-
tunately followed by nearly all his contemporaries; and matters were further complicated by a third
form of Redpoll being confounded by him with the larger of the two that inhabited Western Europe.”

TuHE range of this species is much more extensive than that of any of the other three Redpolls;
for it inhabits the northern portions of both the Old and New continents, straggling southward
during winter in Kurope to the shores of the Mediterranean, and in Asia to Japan. It visits
Great Britain at irregular intervals during the seasons of passage and in winter, but has not been
known to breed with us. It is far more frequently seen on the eastern than on the western
side of our island; and it appears probable that the flocks which visit our island are migrants
from Norway or Sweden. To begin from the most northern portions of Great Britain, I find it
recorded by Saxby (B. of Shetl. Isl. p. 104) as “a regular winter visitant to Shetland, appearing
first in the north of Unst, and gradually, though very slowly, proceeding southwards.” He “ first
met with it on the 25th of September, 1860. The name of Stone-Redpoll has been very appro-
priately bestowed upon it, bare stony hillsides being its favourite haunts.” Mr. Robert Gray also
says (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 148), on the west side of Scotland “it is of irregular and uncertain
occurrence only. Some seasons pass without any being seen, while in others they are frequently
obtained. The winter of 1863-64 may be noted as one in which this species was comparatively
common, numbers having been taken by the birdcatchers even in the neighbourhood of Glasgow.
Six specimens were seen in the outskirts of the city in 1861, two of which were caught with
bird-lime. The season was a very severe one. Mr. Tottenham Lee found several specimens in
Kirkcudbrightshire in 1854; and in 1868 Mealy Redpolls were again taken in that county and
in Dumfriesshire, and sent to the Glasgow bird-market. I have seen several specimens that were
taken near Forfar; and it has frequently occurred in Midlothian.” -In Northumberland and
Durham it is stated to be a common winter visitant, and occasionally seen in large flocks; and
Professor Newton writes (/.c.) as follows:—‘“It is not recorded from Lincolnshire. In Norfolk
and Suffolk it cannot be called an annual visitor, yet flocks of greater or less size may be met
with in several consecutive seasons; it sometimes arrives so early as the middle of October, and
in the years 1847, 1855, 1861, and 1873 it was extremely plentiful. From those counties it
seems to pursue its way through Essex to the London district, where the author has been told it
was abundant about the year 1815 (in which season the Lesser Redpoll is said to have been
scarcely got by the birdcatchers), and again in 1829; but though it continues to show itself at
times, there is no evidence of its having since occurred in any great numbers. In some seasons
it also appears commonly near Brighton, especially, says Mr. Knox, about 1834, but, according
to the same authority, less frequently of late years, though a few are almost always taken by the
birdeatchers in winter. Further to the westward its occurrence is open to doubt; for, though
Mr. Cocks has mentioned (Nat. 1851, p. 112) its appearance near Penzance, and the statement
is confirmed by Dr. Bullmore, Mr. Rodd expressly says of it ‘not Cornish.’ It is comparatively
seldom noticed in spring; but the Museum of Saffron-Walden contained a male that was killed
in that neighbourhood in May 1836, while one shot at Oundle by the late Mr. Pelerin was
sufficiently advanced in its plumage to have acquired a considerable portion of red colour on the
breast. The Editor saw a cock, in full breeding-dress, which was obtained at Riddlesworth, in
Norfolk, in July 1848 (Zool. p. 2382). Mr, Stevenson also mentions the occurrence of a flock of
3H

41

6

twenty or thirty so late as the middle of April 1862 in the same county, and (Zool. s.s. p. 871)
a male netted near Norwich, May 25th, 1867. The only known instance of this bird’s appear-
ance in Ireland has been kindly communicated by Mr. Harting, who received for identification
the remains of one shot by Mr. W. J. Haughton at Levitstown, near Athy, February 9th, 1876.”
In Greenland the present species is stated to be a migrant; but it breeds in the southern
parts of the country. It does not, however, appear to be found in Iceland, being there replaced
by Linota hornemanni; and it is only a rare visitant to the Feroes. Captain Feilden says that
in September 1861 Mr. Miiller saw ten in his garden; one was brought to Captain Feilden in
the island of Sandoe on the 23rd May, 1872; and another obtained about the same time near
Thorshavn was given to him. In Scandinavia the present species is common, breeding on the
elevated fells in the southern districts, or in the more northern districts, and never in the
lowlands of the southern portions of the country, which it visits during passage and in the
winter. Mr. Robert Collett informs me that in Norway it is a true alpine species, frequenting
the elevated fells, but never the valleys or lowlands in Southern Norway; but in the north it
inhabits the birch-woods of Nordland and Finmark down to the sea-level. In the fall of the
year large flocks come down from the fells and wander about in the lowlands all through the
winter; some, however, migrate further south, and return in March or April. In May all have
disappeared from their winter quarters. Professor Sundevall says that during the breeding-
season it is common in the northern districts of Sweden, migrating southwards in the autumn,
some remaining throughout the winter in the country, and others passing on to Continental
Europe. According to Magnus von Wright it is common in Finland on passage and during
winter in the southern districts, and at least as far north as Kuopio. In the northern portion
of the country from Kuopio upwards it is found breeding in considerable numbers. Throughout
Northern Russia it is very common up to the coasts of the Arctic Ocean. In the Archangel
Government it is very common; and Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie-Brown state (Ibis, 1876,
p. 116) that both the present species and Linota exilipes are “very abundant along the Petchora
valley. They remained in the town of Ust Zylma in flocks up to the second week in May, and
then dispersed to their breeding-quarters in the woods. The first eggs were found on the 10th
June; and the young of the latter species were seen in the nest on the 15th June. Both the
common and Mealy Redpolls are found as far north as Stanavoialachta.” Mr. Sabandeff informs
me that it breeds but rarely in the Jaroslaf and Moscow Governments and in Novgorod, but is
very common further north. During passage he met with it commonly in the Ural; but it nests
only in the northern portion of that range. Throughout the whole of North Germany the
present species is a tolerably common winter visitant, appearing early in November and leaving
again in January or February. Bechstein says that some few remain to breed in Thuringia.
Professor Kjeerbolling states that during passage it is often very numerous in Denmark; and it
visits Belgium, Holland, and Northern France at the same season; but its appearances are,
though not unfrequent, very irregular. Mr. Adrien Lacroix says that it occurs in the French
Pyrenees as a rare winter straggler at irregular intervals of one or two years, during severe
weather; and the same may be said respecting its occurrence elsewhere in the south of France.
It is stated to have bred near the lake of Como; but this statement may reasonably be doubted,
and Salvadori says that it does not pass beyond the middle of the peninsula of Italy, though

7

Malherbe states that it is “‘of accidental occurrence during passage in Italy and Sicily.” In
Southern Germany it is also a winter visitant. Dr. Anton Fritsch says that it sometimes visits
Bohemia in large flocks, remaining until March; the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen states that
it has occurred near Hallein, in Austria, and Herr Hanf that it breeds annually in Styria.
Count Casimir Wodzicki writes (J. f. O. 1853, p. 439) that it visits the Carpathians in large
flocks, and a few pairs remain to breed, though only in exceptional instances. Messrs. Danford
and Harvie-Brown say that in Transylvania it is “‘common in harvest-time in large flocks, and
nests not unfrequently in bushes among the lower mountains ;” and, according to Messrs. Elwes
and Buckley, it has been obtained in Turkey during the winter by Mr. Robson. Dr. Kriiper
says that during severe winters it straggles as far south as Greece; but I find no instance of its
occurrence in Asia Minor; and though Riippell states that it occurs during winter in Egypt, later
travellers in that country have not met with it.

To the eastward it is found right across the continent of Asia; but as the Siberian travellers
have, to some extent, confused the present species and Linota exilipes, it is difficult to decide to
which their remarks refer. Von Middendorff met with the Redpoll on the Jenisei (60° N. lat.)
in February, on the 12th March at Turuchansk (66° N. lat.), and on the 29th April on the
Boganida (in 71° N. lat.). At Jakutsk he first saw them on the 7th March, and in Manchuria
again on the 25th December, after having lost sight of them in the autumn. Von Schrenck
found the present species common in the Amoor country throughout the winter, from the 28th
October (O. 8.) to the early part of May; and he also observed it in Saghalien. Dr. Radde
appears to have obtained both L. exilipes and L. linaria, the former at Irkutsk in October; for
he describes the specimen with tolerable accuracy. He says that the Redpolls were common at
Irkutsk in October, and he saw them in the Bureja Mountains in September. In the elevated
steppes of Dauria they remained over the winter. He observed a few in the Bureja Mountains
as late as the 10th April (O.S.), but not later. It has been obtained in Japan; and Mr. Swinhoe
says that it winters in North China. I must not omit to mention that, according to Dr. Severtzoff,
it straggles as far south as Turkestan during the winter; but, he adds, it is a rare visitant to that
country.

On the American continent the present species is found in the northern portions of the
country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, straggling south during the winter as far as the State
of New York. Mr. Bannister found it common at St. Michael’s, in Alaska, both in summer and
winter; and at Nulato Mr. Dall met with it commonly in winter, and very little less numerous
in summer. Mr. J. K. Lord observed it in British Columbia, where it is rare; and Dr. Cooper
only found it as far south as Washington Territory. During the winter my brother Arthur
met with it commonly in Manitoba; and the Indians who accompanied him assured him that it
bred there. In the Hudson’s-Bay Territory, Canada, and Labrador it is said to be common; and
when in New Brunswick I found it common there during the autumn, winter, and spring.
During the winter it is said to migrate as far south as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and the
State of New York.

In habits this Redpoll does not differ from its ally Linota rufescens; but the notes of the
two species are somewhat different, that of the present species being sharper and very closely
resembling the call-note of the Canary. I have met with the Mealy Redpoll in different parts

3H 2

4

8

of Scandinavia, Finland, and Russia, as well as in the lonely forests of North America, and have
observed no difference in its actions and general habits from those of the common British species.
When living in the dense forests of North America, where during the dreary long winter animal
life is comparatively so scarce, the Redpoll and the Titmice were frequently almost the only
birds we saw; and on bright days, when the sun shining on the birches used to make them
look as if covered with thousands of diamonds, the Redpolls would enliven the scene by their
clear lively call-notes and sprightly movements as they flitted from tree to tree, or climbed about
amongst the branches in eyery variety of attitude, now hanging head downwards like a Titmouse,
and now fluttering at the end of a twig, trying to extract the seed. It seems to be able to bear
intense cold; for we used to see small flocks in the birch-woods during the most severe weather,
especially when the atmosphere was clear and the sun shining. We generally found them at the
edges of the birch-woods, near a clearing or small open place, and but seldom deep in the forest ;
and, unlike the Crossbills (which used to visit our camps to pick up any food that might be
thrown out), the Redpolls were but seldom seen close to the camp-clearing, and I never recollect
seeing any pecking about amongst the refuse thrown out. Usually they were seen in straggling
flocks, very frequently in company with Titmice, and but seldom in very large flocks.

When the snow commences to melt and the streams to thaw up, the Redpolls commenced
to take possession of their breeding-quarters. I never found them breeding when in North
America, but had ample opportunities of watching them during the breeding-season when in
the north of Finland and Sweden. ‘They usually select an open place in the forest, not far from
water, where the birch- or alder-growth predominates; and the nest is placed in a bush or ona
birch tree, sometimes near the ground, and seldom at any great altitude. A nest of the present
species from Norway differs considerably in size from, being much larger than, the nest of
L. rufescens. It is cup-shaped, neatly and closely constructed of fine bents and green moss
intermixed with a few dark grey lichens and a few hairs, and is neatly lined first with fine bents,
and then with white Ptarmigan’s feathers. It measures 3:55 inches in outside diameter, and 2°45
in height ; and the cup measures 2:0 in diameter by 1:4 in depth.

The eggs of three at least of the four forms of Redpolls which inhabit Europe differ
appreciably from each other in size, though not in coloration. I possess eges of Linota
hornemanni from North Greenland, of Linota linaria from Southern Greenland, Norway, and
Finland, and of Linota rufescens from North England and Scotland. All these eggs are pale
greenish blue, somewhat sparingly marked and blurred with dull rufous; and in some specimens
there is here and there a dark reddish brown spot. ~Some are more closely marked than others;
but the variation is, on the whole, not very great. In size eggs of this species from Greenland
and North Finland are larger than those from Scandinavia; but it is possible that those from
Greenland may be referable to L. hornemannt. Thus eggs from Greenland measure from $4
by 4 to 3% by 3 inch, those from Finland, obtained by myself when at Uleaborg, 33 by 4 to 38
by 4 inch, whereas those from Norway average only 33 by 23 inch; on the other hand, the
eggs of Linota hornemanni in my collection vary from $§ by $> to $6 by 4 inch, and eggs of
Linota rufescens vary from $§ by 33 to $3 by $3 inch. Unfortunately I do not possess eggs of
Linota exilipes.

Mr. Collett, writing from Christiania, informs me that the male sings diligently during the

9

breeding-season, usually whilst flying high over the tops of the trees from one part of the forest
to the other. The song, which is only heard at this season of the year, consists of a prolonged
trill and a soft twitter uttered several times in succession. In some seasons it is much more
numerous than in others at its breeding-haunts in Norway. In 1872 it was very common every-
where in the vicinity of Tromso and in Lapland, and the song of the males was heard everywhere ;
but in 1874 and 1876 it was comparatively scarce in the same localities. The same can be said
of the Brambling, which was also unusually common in 1872. ‘The nests Mr. Collett found in
Finmark contained eggs about the middle of June, the usual number being five. Both the male
and the female incubated in turn, the male keeping watch for hours together by the side of his
mate. ‘The nests, he writes, ‘‘ were almost invariably placed in the fork of a birch tree, between
the stem and one of the main branches, and at some distance from the ground, often upwards of
ten feet, and seldom lower down when on trees; but in brushwood it is frequently placed less
than a foot from the ground. The nest is constructed externally of lichens and the stalks of a
Poa, the base being frequently a layer of fine dry birch twigs; and the inside is well lined with
feathers of the Ptarmigan and the down of Salix lanata and Eriophorum. WNestling birds,
scarcely three days old, were invariably found to have sand in their stomachs, which were
crammed full of insects, or the green-coloured larve of a Geometra very numerous on birch-
leaves.”

The specimens figured are both adult males, one in full summer dress and the other in
winter plumage, both being from Sweden, and belonging to my own collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,g. Stockholm, April 14th, 1872. 6,¢. Stockholm, October 19th. c,¢. Stockholm, Junel6th. d,d,e,9.
Stockholm. f,9. Wermland, January Ist. g,d. West Gothland, December 24th. h, ¢. Wermland
(Meves). i. Norway, June 27th, 1871 (Alston). j, 6. Quickjock, July 1867 (7. HE. Buckley). k, 3.
Archangel, April 21st. 1,36, m,Q. Petchora, N. Russia (H. Seebohm). n. Philadelphia (Krider). 0, 3.
Bitterroot valley, U.S. (HZ. Coues). p, 3. Musquash, New Brunswick, April 5th. g,d,7, 2. Musquash,
April 4th (A. R. Dresser). s. Labrador, 13th August, 1871 (Dodge).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.

a, 3, 6, c,2, d. Cambridge, March 1856 (O. Salvin). e, 2. Cambridge, November 10th, 1866 (0. 8.). f. 2,
g, 2%. Borregaard, Norway, April 12th, 1859 (F. D. Godman). h,3,%,9,k. Bodo, Norway, June 1857
(Godman). Jl. Greenland (Holbdll).

E Mus. Cantabr.
a, b,c. N.W. America (Hepburn).

E Mus. P. L. Sclater.

a. N. America. 0. Simiahmoo, N. America (Kennerley). c. Red River (Gunn). d. Bear Lake (B. H. Ross).
e. Fort George (Drezler). jf. New Brunswick (Osburn).

10

E Mus. H. Seebohm.

a, $. Tromsé, June 13th, 1874 (H.S.). 6,3, c¢,d,e,f. Vadso, Hast Finmark, June 1874 (H.S.). 9, h, d,
i,2. Petchora, N. Russia. &,35,1,9. Ust Zylma, Petchora river, May 22nd, 1875 (4. S.). m. Arch-
angel, March 28th, 1875. n,3g,0,2. Ust Zylma, April28th. p,?. Ust Zylma, April 15th, 1875 (H. S.).

E Mus. Feilden and Harvie-Brown.

a,Q. Archangel, June 18th, 1872 (H.-B.). 6. Archangel, March 27th, 1875 (H.-B.). c. Ust Zylma,
Petchora, April 17th, 1875 (H.-B.).

E Mus. Norv.

a, 6. Muonioniska, Lapland, September 29th, 1853 (J. Wolley). 6. Muonioniska, April 7th, 1855 (J. W.).
ec. Quickjock, Lapland, July 6th, 1872 (Wheelwright).

E Mus. A. Newton.
a, 6,2. Nyborg, Varangerfiord, June 1855 (A. N.). c,d. Lapland, June (J. Wolley).

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.
a, b, 3, c,2. Amoor, November (Schrenck). d,&d. Hakodadi, Japan, March. e, 2. Hakodadi, January.

E Mus. J. Hancock.
a, b, c, d. Yorkshire, 1848 (Mark Booth). c. Durham (Proctor).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. N. America (Arider). 6,35. Musquash, New Brunswick, 1864 (4. R. Dresser).

aay
Cay

186

M& N Hanhart imp.

LESSER REDPOLL.
LINOTA RUFESCENS.

LINOTA RUFESCENS.

(LESSER REDPOLL.)

Passer linaria minima, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 142 (1760).

Le Cabaret, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iv. p. 76 (1778).

Fringilla linaria, var. 3, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 459 (1790).

’ Fringilla cabaret, P. L. S. Miller, Natursyst. Suppl. p. 165 (1776).

Linaria rufescens, Vieill. Mem. Real. Accad. Sc. Tor. xxiii. Sc. Fis. p. 202 (1816-1818).

Linaria minor, Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 320 (1833).

Acanthis rufescens (Vieill.), Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 540 (1850).

LHigiothus rufescens (Vieill.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 161 (1850-1851).

Linacanthis rufescens (Vieill.), Des Murs, Encycl. d’Hist. Nat. v. p. 304, fide Deg]. & Gerbe,
Orn. Eur. i. p. 297 (1867).

Linota linaria, auctt. Britt. (excipe Newton), nec Linn.

Linota rufescens (Vieill.), Newton, Yarr. Brit. Birds, ed. 4, ii. p. 146 (1876).

Figure notabiles.

Selby, Ill. Brit. Orn. pl. 54. fig. 10; Bp. & Schlegel, Mon. des Lox. pl. 54; Gould, B. of
G. Brit. iii. pl. 52.

Ad. piil. est. Linote linarie similis sed minor, corpore supra magis rufescenti-fusco, tectricibus alarum supe-
rioribus pallidé brunnescente cervino nec albo terminatis.

Ad. ptil. hiem. corpore supra sicut in Linotd linarid colorato, sed plumis pallidé rufescente fusco nec albido

marginatis.

Adult Male in spring (Hampstead). Resembles Linota linaria, but is smaller in size; the upper parts are
darker and more rufous in tinge of colour; rump more strongly marked with dark colour than in
L. linaria; and the bands on the wing are pale reddish buff, not white; soft parts as in L. linaria,
Total length about 4°25 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2°75, tail 2°4, tarsus 0°55.

Adult Female. Differs from the male in being rather smaller in size, in lacking the pink on the rump and
breast ; underparts dull white with a brownish tinge; breast, sides of body, and flanks streaked with
dull brown. Wing 2°65, tail 2:4, tarsus 0°54.

Adult Male in winter. Upper parts as in summer dress; but the edgings to the feathers are longer, making
the general coloration of the upper parts more rufescent; underparts white; throat and breast washed
with brownish buff; flanks streaked with dark brown; bill yellow, tipped with brown; iris and legs
dark brown.

Young. Resembles the young of L. linaria, but is rather more rufescent brown in general tone of colour,

Owine to the confusion that has hitherto existed in the determination of the various forms of
36

48

2

Redpolls, and the difficulty in obtaining specimens for examination from the various localities
on the outskirts of their range, it is difficult to determine, with any degree of accuracy, the
precise limits of the area inhabited by the present species; but, so far as I can at present
state, with the materials at my command, it appears to be restricted in the breeding-season to
the British isles, whence later in the year it wanders southward into Western Europe. As
regards its range in England, I cannot do better than quote Professor Newton, who writes
(Yarr. Brit. B. ed. 4, ii. p. 147) as follows:—“In some English counties, particularly in the
south, this Redpoll is known only or chiefly as a winter visitor, appearing in flocks from Michael-
mas till April, though in others it breeds more or less regularly; and the nest has been found,
according to the late Mr. Bury, so far to the southward as the Isle of Wight (Zool. p. 643).
Towards the north, and in Scotland especially, it is resident all the year, changing its haunts,
however, according to the season. Information collected by Mr. More shows that of English
counties it occasionally breeds in Dorset, Hampshire, Oxford, Warwick (where, indeed, Mr. Rake
says, Zool. p. 9248, he has repeatedly taken its nest), and Salop (where Mr. Rocke, Zool. p. 9781,
believes it breeds regularly). ‘To these Middlesex must be added, on the authority of Mr. Harting,
Kent on that of Mr. Wharton (Zool. p. 8951), Surrey on that of Newman (Zool. s. s. p. 3235),
Cambridgeshire on that of the Editor, and Worcestershire on that of Mr. J. A. Drake, as cited
by Mr. Morris. Mr. More further states that it breeds annually in Gloucestershire; and it
certainly does so in Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, and
thence in every county lying to the northward throughout the island. But the places it fre-
quents vary year by year, and, without our being able to account for the fact, otherwise than on
the general supposition that its choice is influenced by the supply of food, it may be found in a
locality abundantly during one season and during the next may be altogether wanting. Mr. F.
Norgate has known of thirty or more nests in one year at one locality in Norfolk, and in the
next year scarcely any.” To this I may add that the Rev. Murray A. Mathew, of Bishops
Lydeard, Taunton, informs me that there this species ‘‘is a common winter visitant, generally
met with in company wtih Siskins, on alders by the side of streams, or in damp bottoms in woods.
Last year and the year before a little party of six or eight frequented the vicarage garden for a
fortnight in the spring, and were extremely tame, allowing a very close inspection. In North
Devon, towards the end of March, I shot from a willow bush overhanging a stream a very mealy
example of this pretty little bird. I have never known an instance of Linota rufescens having
nested in the south-western counties.”

In Scotland it is generally distributed where woods and thickets of brushwood are found ;
but Mr. R. Gray says that he has not traced it in districts where such shelter is absent. It
visits Iona, and one has been obtained on Islay. On the mainland of Argyleshire, this gentleman
writes (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 149), ‘it is common enough even in summer, and breeds in that
county as well as in Renfrewshire and Dumbartonshire. It also breeds near Glasgow, and is
sparingly distributed in other parts of Lanarkshire, especially where birch-plantations are
numerous. ‘The same remark, indeed, applies to its occurrence in most Scottish districts. In
Orkney as many as fifty are sometimes seen in a flock.” In Shetland, according to Dr. Saxby, it
is less numerous than the Mealy Redpoll; but, ‘‘ under stress of weather, a few may occasionally
be seen beneath the shelter of walls or in ditches, contenting themselves with such food as may

3

be obtained there until a favourable change enables them to depart.” In Ireland, Thompson
says, though probably resident everywhere, it is more plentiful in the north. It is stated to visit
Cork rarely in the winter, and is very rare in Kerry. It has been observed on the banks of the
Blackwater, in Waterford, late in May or early in June, and is presumed to breed there, as it
does about Clonmel.

In Western continental Europe the present species is found here and there not unfre-
quently, and is in some seasons numerous on passage in Belgium and Holland. In France it is
a regular winter visitant; but it does not appear to breed there. M. Adrien Lacroix states that
it is met with every season on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, and in some years reaches
Southern Spain and Provence; and Colonel Irby writes (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 121), that on the
Spanish side of the Straits of Gibraltar it can only be considered a very rare and irregular winter
visitant. Bailly asserts that it breeds in the Alps of Savoy; but Salvadori considers its occurrence
in Italy very doubtful. It may, and possibly does, occur in Western Germany; but, in spite
of every endeavour, I have not succeeded in obtaining a specimen from there, and am almost
inclined to doubt if it has been procured in that country, and agree with Professor Newton
in suspecting that young examples of one of the other forms have been mistaken for it. In
Scandinavia and Eastern Europe it is replaced by Linota linaria and Linota exilipes; and it
appears very doubtful if it ever crosses the Mediterranean, though MM. Jaubert and Barthélemy
say that it sometimes visits Algeria; but they do not give any authentic instance of its capture,
and Loche does not include it in his work on the avifauna of that.country. Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt
Drake also states (Ibis, 1867, p. 427) that he saw one in Morocco; but he was probably mistaken
in his identification of the bird seen by him.

In general habits the present species is lively and gay; and though a sprightly and restless
bird, it is exceedingly unsuspicious and confiding towards man. It is essentially a woodland
species, frequenting plantations, especially where the birch predominates, and bush-covered
localities; but during the late summer season it may frequently be seen in the open country,
where plantations are not far distant, feeding on groundsel-seeds, or those of the thistle and
other allied plants, which it picks out whilst clinging to the plant, in the same manner as the
Goldfinch. When the autumn draws on they collect in flocks, and many wander away from
their breeding-haunts southwards, frequenting wooded districts, hedgerows, &c., and remain
roving about until the return of spring. During the winter it may often be seen frequenting the
birch and alder trees, sometimes in company with other small birds, clinging to the ends of the
branches in all kinds of attitudes, like the Titmice and Goldcrests. When moving about they
keep up a continuous twittering, and appear to be incessantly fluttering from branch to branch
and tree to tree. So unsuspicious are they that not only can one shoot as many as one pleases,
but they may also be captured with limed rods without any difficulty. arly in the spring, or
even late in the winter, the song of the male may be heard; and though not of a high quality,
yet the song of this bird is clear, rather loud than low, and agreeable.

Not only is the Lesser Redpoll eminently gregarious during the autumn and winter, but
even during the breeding-season several pairs will construct their nests close together—though,
so far as I can ascertain, this is rather the exception than the rule, and may depend on the

locality being a favourite one. The place selected for nidification is where the shelter is good,
3G 2

=

9

4

usually near (but sometimes at some distance from) water; and the nest is generally placed in a
bush or low tree in a coppice or small plantation, or in the hilly districts amongst the brush-
wood that skirts the flanks of the mountains or covers the margins of the streams in the rugged
dells. The nest of this bird is exceedingly neatly and skilfully constructed of dry bents inter-
mixed with wool and moss, lined with wool, vegetable down (chiefly that from the catkins of the
willow), hair, or feathers. Compared with that of Linota linaria it appears very small. One in
my collection, from Scotland, measures 2°8 inches in outside diameter and 1°8 in height, the cup
measuring 1°75 in diameter by 1 inch in depth. It is neatly constructed of dark-coloured bents,
intermixed with wool and a few hairs, and is lined with white wool as well as a few white and
black horsehairs. The eggs, from four to six in number, are usually deposited early in May. In
colour and shape they resemble those of Linota linaria, but are smaller in size, those in my
collection measuring only $& by 25 to 20 by 22 inch.

The specimens figured are an adult male in full summer dress, and a young bird in its first
autumn plumage, both of which are in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6,3. Hampstead, Middlesex, October 14th, 1869. c. Hampstead, October 27th, 1869. d. Hampstead,
November 11th, 1869. e, ¢. Hampstead, April 20th, 1870. f,juv. Hampstead (Davy). g. Woolwich,
February (Whitely). h. Hampstead, October (Davy).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a,3,6,2. Cambridge (O. Salvin).

E Mus. Cantabr.

a. Worcestershire, 1828. 6,¢. Worcestershire, April, 1834. c, 2. Worcestershire, May 12th, 1837
(Strickland) .

E Mus. J. Hancock.
a, 3,6, c,?. Oatlands, December 8th, 1875. d. May 1876, caught at the nest (7. Thompson).

189

alemans Lith. f&N Hanhart imp

|.COUES REDPOLL.
LINOTA EXILIPES.

2.GREENLAND REDPOLL.
LINOTA HORNEMANNI.

LINOTA EXILIPES.

(COUES’S REDPOLL.)

Fringilla borealis, Aud. Orn. Biogr. v. p. 87, pl. 400 (1839, nec Vieill.).
Tinaria borealis, Aud. B. Am. ii. p. 120, pl. 178 (1841, nec Vieill.).

Aigiothus canescens, Ross, Edinb. Phil. Journ. 1861, p. 163, nec Gould.
Aigiothus exilipes, Coues, Pr. Phil. Acad. 1861, p. 385.

Aigiothus linaria, var. exilipes, Coues, Key, p. 131 (1872).

Aigiothus canescens, var. exilipes, Ridgw. B., Br. & R. N.A. B. i. p. 493 (1874).
Linota canescens, Seeb. & H.-Br. Ibis, 1876, p. 116, nec Gould.

Tinota exilipes (Coues), Newton, Zoologist, 1877, p. 6.

Figure notabiles.

Aud. Orn. Biogr. pl. 400; id. B. Am. pl. 178; Elliot, B. N. Am. pl. 9; Coues, Key, pl. 3.

fig. 6; Ridgw. op. cit. pl. 22. fig. 2.

3 ad. Linote hornemanni similis sed minor, corpore supra pallidiore, rostro breviore et angustiore.

@ ad. mari similis sed minor, corpore supra saturatiore, uropygio et pectore albis nec rosaceo lavatis.

Adult Male (Ust Zylma, 17th April). Crown red; lores blackish; sides of the head, hind neck, and back

greyish, tolerably closely striped with blackish grey; rump white with a slight rose tinge; wings and
tail blackish, narrowly margined with white, the inner secondaries and wing-coverts tolerably broadly
tipped with white; chin and a spot on the upper throat black; underparts white, with faint striations
on the flanks, throat, and upper breast washed with rosy red; bill dark horn, yellowish at the base;
iris brown ; legs dark brown. Total length about 5 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 3:0, tail 2:7, tarsus 0°6.

Adult Female (Petchora). Differs from the male in being rather smaller in size, in having the upper parts

Obs.

rather darker, and in lacking the rosy red tinge on the rump and breast.

Examples of this species obtained in May and in June differ merely in having the white margins to
the feathers on the upper parts rather narrower, and the males have the red tinge on the rump and
breast rather brighter, but all have the rump unstriped, white tinged with red. The male specimen
from Darasun, killed in the winter, differs from the male above described in lacking all trace of rosy
red on the rump and breast, and in having the upper parts and sides of the head faintly washed with
buff, the throat being also faintly tinged with this colour.

In some stages of plumage the present species is very difficult to separate from L. linaria; and this I find

especially the case in the series from the- Petchora. In winter dress its extreme whiteness and the
white rump render it easily distinguishable; and from examples of L. linaria from Scandinavia and
North America it is tolerably easily separable at all seasons; but amongst the Redpolls obtained by
Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie-Brown on the Petchora in the summer season are some which it is
difficult to determine as to whether they should be referred to L. linaria or L. exilipes; for they
resemble the latter in form and measurements, but have the rump more or less striped and not white.

31

51

2

TuE present form of Redpoll is but a somewhat doubtful species, and can only be regarded as
one still in the process of differentiation ; yet it is, I consider, sufficiently distinguishable to merit
specific rank. So far as I can judge from the series of Redpolls I have examined, it is a form of
Linota linaria breeding in the north-eastern portion of the Old World and presumably in some
at least of the Arctic portions of America, the great majority migrating southward during the
winter. In general appearance it closely resembles Linota hornemanni, but is considerably
smaller in size, and has a constantly smaller bill. I have examined specimens from North
America, Northern Scandinavia, North Russia, and Siberia; and, so far as I can ascertain, these
are the countries inhabited by this bird. It does not occur in Great Britain, and does not
appear to have been obtained in France, Germany, or in Central or Southern Europe; but in the
series of Redpolls sent to me for examination I find two specimens from Troms6 (in Northern
Norway), two from Muonioniska (in Lapland—where it appears to be an autumnal visitant from
the eastward, as are so many other species in that locality); and amongst the birds collected on
the Petchora, in Northern Russia, are numbers of the present species; but I do not find any
amongst the Redpolls collected near Archangel, where, however, it doubtless occurs. Messrs.
Seebohm and Harvie-Brown inform me that the present species and Linota linaria were amongst
the first birds which arrived in the spring, and remained in the town of Ust Zylma in flocks up
to the second week in May, and then dispersed to their breeding-quarters. ‘They were met with
as far north as Stanavoialachta.

The specimens obtained by Von Middendorff on the Boganida are certainly, judging from
his description, referable to the present species; Dr. Radde obtained it at Irkutsk in October ;
and Von Schrenck met with it on the Amoor. It is, however, rather difficult to define its range
in Siberia, as all three of these travellers unite it with Linota linaria; but they state that they
observed two forms, one of which was undoubtedly the present species. I may add that I possess
one from Darasun, in Dauria, in full winter dress; but it does not appear to range as far as
North China and Japan. Dr. Severtzoff, when he examined my Redpolls, remarked, on seeing
the specimen from Darasun, that he had called this species Aigiothus sibiricus; but he does not
appear to have published this name anywhere; and if he had done so it would only figure as a
synonym, being subsequent to the publication of Dr. Coues’s description.

In North America Linota exilipes appears to be restricted to the more boreal regions; but I
find but meagre data to define its precise range, as it has very generally been confused with
LInnota linaria.

In habits it does not differ from Linota linaria: and doubtless its nest and eggs closely
resemble those of that species; but I have been unable to obtain authentic specimens for
examination and description.

The specimen figured, on the same Plate with Linota hornemanni, is an adult male obtained
on the Petchora in April, for which I am indebted to Mr. H. Seebohm.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

s)

5 e)
3)
9)

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, dé. Ust Zylma, Petchora, N. Russia, April 17th, 1875 (H. Seebohm). 6,9. Petchora, April 1875 (J. A.
Harvie-Brown). c,é. Darasun, Dauria (Dybowski).

E Mus. Norv.
a. Muonioniska, Lapland, October 24th, 1854 (J. Wolley). 6. Muonioniska, September 29th, 1853 (J. Wolley).

E Mus. P. L. Sclater.

a. Red river, N. America (Gunn). 6. Fort Simpson, N. America (Ross).

E Mus. Feilden and Harvie-Brown.

a, 3. Umskaja, Petchora, April 24th, 1875. 6,92. Ust Zylma, April 22nd, 1875. c,d, $. Ust Zylma, May
6th, 1875 (J. A. H.-B.).

E Mus. H. Seebohm.

a, dé. Ust Zylma, April 15th, 1875. 6,2. April 28th,1875. c,d,3,e,2. May 6th, 1875. f, 3. April 19th.
g,h. &. April 22nd. 7. Ust Zylma, May 20th. &. Petchora. /. Umskaja, April 15th, 1875 (H. S.).

312

10

J.GKeulemans del

Mmitern Bros. mp

GREENLAND REDPOLL.
LINOTA HORNEMANNI.

LINOTA HORNEMANNLI

(GREENLAND REDPOLL.)

Fringilla borealis, Temm. Man. d’Orn. iii. p. 264 (1835, nec Vieill.).
tLinota canescens, Bp. Comp. List, p. 34 (1838, nec Gould).

Linota hornemanni, Holb. Naturh. Tidsk. iv. p. 398 (1843).

Linota linaria, Newton, Notes Orn. Icel. p. 11 (1863, nec Linn.).

Ausnutitlingur, Icelandic; Orpingmiutak, Greenlandic.

Figure notabiles.
Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 14; Hancock, Cat. B. North. & Durh. pl. 5.

3 ad. ptil. est. Linote linarie similis sed major, rostro robustiore, coloribus pallidioribus, uropygio et supra-
caudalibus albis vix rosaceo tinctis: colli lateribus et corpore subtus albis, pectore rosaceo tincto,
hypochondriis fere immaculatis: rostro fusco: pedibus nigris: iride fusca.

Ad. ptil. hiem. plumis in corpore supra latits albido et cervino. marginatis, plag4 rubra frontali obscuriore :
uropygio albo: corpore subtus albo, hypochondriis indistincté striatis: gula et capitis lateribus cervino
lavatis: rostro flavo, nigro apicato.

Adult Male in summer (Spitzbergen, 20th July). In general plumage paler than typical Linota linaria; rump
and upper tail-coverts white, unstriped, and tinged with rosy red; sides of the neck nearly white; and
underparts white, without any stripes on the flanks; breast washed with rosy red; legs black ; iris
brown. ‘Total length about 5°5 inches, culmen 0°4, wing 3:3, tail 2°75, tarsus 0°7.

Adult in winter (Greenland). Differs from the specimen above described in having the plumage fresher and
newer; the red on the crown is slightly obscured ; feathers on the upper parts blackish brown, very
broadly margined with white, and washed with brownish buff; rump pure white; underparts white,
the black on the upper throat restricted in area; the throat and sides of the head washed with warm
buff, and the flanks slightly striped; bill yellowish, tipped with black.

Obs. An autumn-killed female, obtained at Lichtenfels, in Greenland, on the 9th September, is much
darker than either of the birds above described, and appears to me to be a bird of the year. It so
closely resembles some examples of L. linaria that I can only distinguish it by its greater size and
large and stout bill. Holbell says that the old female in winter dress and the young bird after its first
moult differ from the old male in winter plumage merely in wanting the rosy red tinge on the breast and
rump, and in being less white, there being a few grey streaks on the flanks. In the nestling-plumage
the young bird is plain grey without any black on the throat.

Iy my article on Linota linaria I enter fully into the question of the various forms of Redpolls

which inhabit the Palearctic Region; and, as there stated, I find it advisable to treat them as

separable though but ill-defined species. ‘The present form (Linota hornemanni) is the largest
2x2

Ot

2

of all, being nearly as large as a Linnet, and is the one that inhabits the highest latitudes.
Being a resident in Greenland and Iceland, it is only known elsewhere as a very rare straggler,
and is, comparatively speaking, a rare bird in collections. It appears to be most common in
Greenland. Mr. Holbell gives (/. c.) a few particulars respecting it, which I translate as
follows:—“Z. hornemanni inhabits during the summer the extreme north, and does not breed
below 69° N. lat. It is therefore much commoner in North Greenland than ZL. linaria, which
becomes rarer towards the north, whereas L. hornemanni is still common in 73° N. lat. Its nest,
like that of L. linaria, is placed on small bushes ; and its eggs resemble those of that species. Its
call-note, which is never responded to by L. Uinaria, is shrill, and is not unlike that of the Wax-
wing. It is decidedly a resident, and during the winter frequents the fells in the interior of the
country, but is commoner north of 66° than south of that latitude. In February 1826 I saw
several flocks on the fells between Ritenbenk and Omanak; and on the journey undertaken by
Mr. Kielsen in 1830 from Holsteensborg in midwinter, an account of which is given by Dr. Pingel
in a Danish weekly journal, it is stated that large flocks of this bird were seen, and that the
Reindeer-hunters also see large flocks when they penetrate far into the interior in the winter. In
Southern Greenland it is never seen in the summer, and is, on the whole, rare; but during very
mild winters it occasionally appears in large numbers at the colonies, as was the case in the
winters of 1828-29 and 1837-38. During the two following winters it was not seen at Godthaab ;
and during severe seasons it never approaches the coast. In the spring and autumn it is some-
times seen singly.” In Iceland, Professor Newton writes, in his notes on the ornithology of that
island, it is “rare. Faber found a nest on the 13th July, 1820, in the north; but the young
had flown from it. It occurred in small flocks at Akureyri in the following winter; and
Mr. Proctor met with a pair near that place, August 10,1837. Dr. Kriiper was more fortunate,
obtaining several nests with eggs at Myvatn. Olafsen is thus entirely justified in his supposition
that it bred in Iceland. He also mentions its appearance on the islands of the Breidifjo6r.” —
Mr. Eaton in 1873 found this bird breeding at Wide Bay, at Spitzbergen, where, long before,
Scoresby asserted that a Redpoll was found; and it possibly occurs as a rare straggler to the
northern portions of Scandinavia and Russia. One example has been obtained in Great Britain ;
and I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. J. Hancock for an opportunity of examining this and
other rarities in his collection. This specimen, which is in very full and white winter dress, was
knocked down with a clod of earth on the 24th April, 1855, on the sea-banks near Whitburn,
where it had been seen flying about for several days. ‘The only authentic instance of its occur-
rence on the continent of Kurope appears to be that mentioned by Degland, who says (Orn. Eur.
i. p. 242) that he saw one in the collection of M. Baillon, which had been taken in a net near
Abbeville. It is probable that it occasionally visits the northern portions of America; but I have
no definite data as regards its occurrence there.

I am indebted to Mr. A. Benzon, of Copenhagen, for the nest and eggs of this species,
obtained in Greenland in 1862. The nest is a tolerably closely felted structure of wool anda
sort of marsh-cotton, intermixed with lichens and a few straws, and sparingly lined with feathers ;
the eggs resemble those of our British Redpoll in coloration and markings, but are larger in size,
averaging 73 by 44 inch.

The specimens figured are, on the first Plate, an adult bird in early winter dress and a bird

Od

3

of the year in its first autumnal plumage, the latter being the lower figure; and on the Plate
together with Linota exilipes I have figured the adult bird in full breeding-dress obtained in
Spitzbergen by Mr. Eaton.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Cantab.

a. Greenland (Holbell). 6,9. Lichtenfels, Greenland, September 9th, 1873 (Finsch). c, 3. Spitzbergen, '
July 20th, 1873 (Eaton).

E Mus. A. and E. Newton.
a. Greenland (Holbell).

FE Mus. J. Hancock.
a. Whitburn, April 24th, 1855 (J. H.). 6. Iceland (Proctor).

191

J.GKeulemans hth. M&N.Hanhart 1mp.

TWITE.
LINARIA FLAVIROSTRIS.

LINOTA FLAVIROSTRIS.

(TWITE.)

Passer linaria montana, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 145 (1760).

Fringilla flavirostris, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 322 (1766).

Linotte de Montagne, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iv. p. 74 (1778).

Pinson brun, Montb. tom. cit. p. 121 (1778).

Fringilla montium, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 917 (1788, ex Briss.).
Linaria montium (Gm.), Leach, Syst. Cat. M. & B. Brit. Mus. p. 15 (1816).
Cannabina montium (Gm.), C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 278 (1831).
Cannabina flavirostris (L.), C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 278 (1831).
Cannabina media, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 279 (1851).

Linaria flavirostris (L.), Macg. Hist. Brit. B. i. p. 879 (1837).

Linota montium (Gm.), Bp. Comp. List, p. 34 (1838).

Acanthis montium, Blyth, fide Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 540 (1850).
Cannabina microrhynchos, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 106 (1855).
Linota flavirostris (L.), Saunders, Ibis, 1869, p. 172.

Bigean-baintighcarna, Gaelic; Linotte a bec jaune, French; Fanello-riska, Italian; Berg-
Hinfling, Steinhanfling, Gelbschnabel, German; Fratertje, Dutch; Moirisk, Bjergfinke,
Danish; Gulnebbet-Irisk, Norwegian; Vinterhémpling, Swedish; Keltanokkavarpunen,
Finnish.

Figure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 46; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. 27; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 26..

fig. 19; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 122; Sundevall, Svensk. Fogl. pl. 3. fig. 3; Gould,
B. of Eur. pl. 192; id. B. of G. Brit. iii. pl. 50; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 170; Roux,
Orn. Prov. pl. 93; Schlegel & Bp. Mon. des Lox. pl. 50.

3 ad. capite, collo postico et dorso cum tectricibus alarum superioribus et scapularibus nigro-fuscis fulvido
marginatis: uropygio rosaceo: remigibus nigricantibus, primariis intimis albo marginatis, secundariis
fulvido marginatis: cauda valdé furcata, rectricibus extus albo angusté marginatis et externis in pogonio
interno albo marginatis: strid superciliari, capitis lateribus sub oculis et gula fulvo-cervinis: gutture
imo, pectore et hypochondriis fulvo-cervinis nigro-fusco striatis, corpore reliquo subtus albo: rostro
flavo, ad apicem corneo: iride fuscé: pedibus nigris.

® ad. mari similis sed pallidior, nec uropygio rosaceo, corpore subtus magis fulvo-cervino.

Adult Male (Southend, 20th February). Crown, hind neck, back, scapulars, and upper wing-coverts dark
hair-brown, laterally margined with tawny lighter brown; rump rose-red; quills blackish brown, the
inner primaries externally edged with white, secondaries margined with tawny brown; larger wing-

60

2

coverts tipped with light brown; tail deeply forked, blackish brown, the outer rectrices margined on
the inner web with white, and almost all externally narrowly edged with the same colour; a streak
over the eye, sides of the face below the eye, and throat warm tawny buff; lower throat and sides of
the breast streaked with blackish brown on a warm tawny buff ground; rest of the underparts white ;
bill yellow; iris brown; legs black, Total length about 5:5 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2°95, tail 2°55,
tarsus 0°65.

Adult Female (Hampstead, 13th October). Resembles the male, but has the upper parts lighter, the red on
the rump is wanting, and the underparts are less white.

Young. Resembles the female, but has the margins to the feathers on the upper parts, especially the wing-
coverts, rather more clearly defined.

Tue Twite or Mountain-Finch inhabits Europe generally, breeding in the northern portions, and
wintering in the southern countries.

In Great Britain it is only a visitant to the southern and eastern portions of England, but
breeds in some of the midland counties, and in the west and north. Professor Newton says that
‘in the south-west, Devonshire and Cornwall, it is of very rare occurrence indeed; but it breeds
in some abundance in the more hilly districts of the midland counties—Hereford, Salop, Stafford,
Derby, and Chester, as well as in North Wales and the Isle of Man, and on elevated moorlands
in the higher glens, with increasing frequency northward from Lancashire and the West Riding
of Yorkshire.” Mr. Stevenson states that it is only an occasional visitant to Norfolk during the
seasons of passage, and is decidedly scarce compared with the Siskin and other species of Redpoll;
but Mr. Cordeaux says that it visits the Humber district regularly in the autumn, and during mild
winters small flocks remain throughout the season in the vicinity of the coast. He has shot them
on the Humber marshes as early as the 10th of August.

In Scotland it is very generally distributed, and breeds throughout the country. Mr. Robert
Gray says that the stronghold of this species in the west of Scotland is unquestionably the Outer
Hebrides, but that on the mainland, though not quite so abundant, it is still numerous, extending
from north to south. In the east of Scotland it is much less numerous than in the west, but is
nevertheless a well-known species. Mr. Harvie-Brown says that it is a common species in many
parts of Sutherlandshire, avoiding, however, wooded or cultivated parts, though exceptions may
be found. It affects the neighbourhood of the sea-shore or sheltered localities near the long
arms of the sea so numerous on the west coast. Dr. Saxby states that it is resident and extremely
common on the Shetland Isles. In Ireland, according to Thompson, it is resident, and found
from the north to the south of the island; but Professor Newton adds that the only counties in
which he knows it to breed are Donegal, Tyrone, Armagh, and Antrim in the north, Sligo and
Mayo in the west, Dublin and Wicklow in the east, and Tipperary and Cork in the south.

It does not occur in Iceland; nor do I find it recorded from the Feroes; but it is not
uncommon in Scandinavia. Mr. Collett informs me, “it breeds here and there along the
entire west coast of Norway up to Finmark, but it is scattered, and on the whole nowhere
common. I found it most numerous on the islands of Bergen Stift, and on the Trondhjemsfiord
and on Hitteren. North of the arctic circle it was met with by Godman at Bodo, by Boie in the

3

Lofoten Islands, and at Tromsé by Liljeborg. In the interior it also occurs here and there
during the summer, but only as a straggler in the subalpine and alpine districts, as, for instance,
on the Fillefjeld, in the upper part of the Gudbrandsdale, and on the Dovre. In the autumn
and spring it is often very numerous in the southern lowlands.” Professor Sundevall says that it
is only met with during passage in Southern and- Central Sweden, and is never numerous. It is
somewhat rare in Finland. Von Wright says that it is sometimes met with near Helsingfors in
the spring and autumn and in the winter. He adds that he thinks it possibly breeds on the
islands off Uleaborg; but when I was collecting eggs there I never met with it.

_ Mr. Sabandeff informs me that it is not uncommon in Central Russia; but he does not appear
to have met with it in the Ural. Throughout the whole of North Germany it is an irregular
winter visitant, but does not breed there; and Mr. Benzon informs me that it is only met with in
Denmark during winter and on passage, sometimes occurring in tolerably large flocks, but not
seen every year.

In Belgium it only occurs sparingly and at irregular intervals on the spring and autumn
passage; and the same may be said respecting its occurrence in Holland. Mr. Labouchere
writes to me, it “seems, however, to avoid the low-lying parts of the country, and the bird-
catchers in this province (North Holland) tell me they hardly ever catch one; numbers,
however, are annually brought to the Amsterdam cage-bird market from the province of
Gelderland, where they are caught near the town of Harderwijk.” In the northern depart-
ments of France it occurs regularly on passage; but in the south it appears to be either rare
or else overlooked; for Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye state that they have only once
obtained it. Professor Barboza du Bocage includes it in his list of the birds of Portugal with a
query; but it is found in Spain, and is, according to Colonel Irby, a rare winter straggler to
Andalucia. Mr. Howard Saunders obtained a specimen at Murcia in November, but did not
meet with it in Spain on any other occasion. In Savoy it appears to be only an irregular
visitant on passage; and Bailly mentions that some of the bird-catchers look on it as a hybrid
between the Goldfinch and the Linnet, and call it Cardinalin bdétard. Salvadori states that it is
decidedly rare in Italy, and has only occurred in winter in the provinces of Lombardy, Venetia,
and Modena; and Doderlein says that he has not obtained it in Sicily. Throughout the whole
of Southern Europe it appears to be rare. Dr. Fritsch says that it is but seldom met with during
the winter in Bohemia; and I do not find it recorded from Greece or ‘Turkey; but Professor von
Nordmann cites one instance of its occurrence near Odessa, in Southern Russia, in the winter
of 1837, and adds that he considers it a very rare bird there. In Asia the Twite appears to be
replaced by a tolerably closely allied species (Linota brevirostris, Gould), which differs in being
very much paler in general coloration, and the wings, quills, and especially the tail-feathers are
much more broadly margined with white. Of this eastern species I have a tolerably large series
from Turkestan; and it occurs also in Persia and in Yarkand, and westward as far at least as
Erzeroum, whence it was obtained by Messrs. Dickson and Ross.

In habits the Twite has much in common with the Lesser Redpoll, except that it frequents
the moors and open places in preference to the woods and groves. In the heather-covered
localities in Scotland it is common during the summer season, and in the winter collects in small
flocks and ranges about the country. It is a rather shy and wild bird, jealous.of intruders, and

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f=!

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¢

4

even somewhat cautious and shy in out-of-the-way places where it is not molested. Its call-note
is not so harsh as that of the Linnet, but rather more so than that of the Redpoll; and its song,
which is cheerful and pleasant, is rather better than the song of the latter species, which it some-
what resembles. The male is a very industrious songster, and may be heard uttering his song
during fine, bright weather in the winter; and when caged it sings throughout the year.

It breeds early in May, selecting for the purpose of nidification open moors or rocky and
stony localities. Mr. Collett says that in June he met with it numerous on the sterile treeless
islands off the Trondhjemsfjord, in Norway, where it seeks for food on the grass-grown
mountain-ledges.

Dr. Saxby, writing respecting the nidification of the Twite in the Shetland Isles, says :—“ One
very favourite situation for the nest is under a long strip of turf which has been nearly reversed
by the plough. In such a situation I once found the commencement of a nest, and derived much
interest from watching the progress of the work. When one of the birds disclosed to me the site
chosen for its future habitation by flying out suddenly at my feet, I could perceive nothing more
than a slight hollow which had been scraped beneath the turf; and although I frequently visited
the spot in the course of the day, nothing more was seen of the bird until about twenty hours
afterwards, when the pair began placing a number of fibrous roots in front in the form of a half-
circle, the back part of the cavity being left untouched. In a few hours’ time some stalks of
plants were added, and from four o'clock in the afternoon until noon next day the birds disap-
peared. They next laid the foundation of the other half of the circle, continuing steadily at
their task until the structure was equal in height all round. They now appeared more eager to
proceed, working so diligently that by the evening of the fourth day the mass of roots, grass, and
stalks of plants formed a perfectly circular wall, an inch and a half in height and about two
inches in thickness, somewhat loose and irregular upon the outside, but with the inside neatly
interwoven, and sloping rather suddenly to the bare patch of ground enclosed. On the morning
of the fifth day I observed a few feathers upon the ground in the centre, and the number rapidly
increased until the sides were covered more than halfway towards the brim; in the evening the
feathers were almost concealed by a quantity of cow’s hair, among which a little wool was inter-
mingled. More work was done upon that day than any other. Having often found rabbit’s fur
in the nest of the Twite, I now procured a quantity of that material, and strewed it over the
ground not too near, lest it might cause suspicion. Although it was soon discovered, the birds
were not quite contented, using it rather sparingly, and working it into a felt-like mass with
wool and the hair of cows and ponies. This process appeared to be one of difficulty and to
require great care; for it was not before the evening of the eighth day that the task was com-
pleted, the brim of the cavity being by that time neatly finished off with a few long black
horsehairs, and measuring exactly two inches and a quarter in diameter. On the ninth day
the birds were not to be seen; but by the morning of the tenth day the first egg was laid.
Every succeeding morning I found an additional egg, until five had been laid, and the female
began to sit. It is seldom that the lining of the nest touches the ground, as it did in this
instance, a layer of fibrous roots &c. being generally interposed. I observed that the thickness
of the lower part of the nest is greatest in those specimens which have been found in bushes far
above the ground. On another occasion, in August 1865, my attention being attracted by the

5

peculiar notes of a pair of Twites, I searched among some tall shrubs, and found three newly-
fledged young ones, and soon afterwards a nest with one addled egg, near the top of an elder,
about nine feet from the ground. ‘The nest was very large and clumsily made, and altogether
different in appearance from the neat little structures one finds in walls or upon hill-sides.
These in the latter situations usually have very little beneath the lining, sometimes nothing at
all; but in this one there was a mass, about three inches and a half in thickness, of coarse roots
and pieces of dried brittle elder twigs, entirely filling the fork of the branch. The outer portion
of the nest itself was composed of coarse roots and stalks of plants; and next to this was a layer
of very fine roots; then came a layer of curved white Ducks’ feathers, and lastly a thick layer
of wool intermixed with hair of cows and ponies. The straggling appearance of the nest was
partly due to the very unusual addition of large quill feathers above the upper edge, the longest
measuring eight inches in length. ‘The inside diameter of the nest was about three inches.” ~-

I am indebted to Mr. Macdonald, of Lochmaddy, for a nest containing five eggs of the Twite,
together with another clutch of eggs, all taken this year. The nest is rather a neat and well-
formed structure, composed of fine roots and bents intermixed with a little wool and a good
many heads of the down of a small thistle, and is lined with fine hair and rootlets. It measures
2 inches in height, 3-2 in outside and 1°5 in inside diameter, the cup being 1°5 in depth. The
eggs are pale blue, marked chiefly at the larger end with dark red, and measure 73 by {> inch
in size.

The specimens figured are an adult male in early spring plumage and one in autumn dress,
the latter being the upper figure on the Plate. ~

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—
E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,b, g. Hampstead, October 13th, 1869. c,2. Hampstead, October 14th, 1869 (Davy). d,e, f, ¢. Southend-
on-the-Thames, February 20th, 1870 (Davy). g,¢. Dovre, Norway, June 15th, 1871 (Collett).

oe
”*

LMetnpRae paces: P

Te i we * oa Fe) 5 eee >
L

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Sai

ie a Same:
. 1% *
BTR Gn, ,
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ace

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ints 2
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LZ

Hanhart ump.

EASTERN TWITE.
LINOTA BREVIROSTRIS.

LINOTA BREVIROSTRIS.

(EASTERN TWITE.)

Linaria montana, Dickson & Ross, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1832, p. 121, nec Linn.
“ Linota brevirostris, Gould,’ Bp. Comp. List, p. 34 (1838).

Acanthis flavirostris, Severtz. Turk. Jevotnie, p. 64 (1873, nec Linn.).
Acanthis brevirostris (Gould), Severtz. J. f. Orn. 1874, p. 438.

Aigiothus brevirostris (Gould), Oustalet, Ois. de la Chine, p. 547 (1877).

Figura unica.
Henderson & Hume, Lahore to Yarkand, pl. 26.

3 ad. ptil. est. Linote flavirostri similis sed pallidior, plumis in corpore supra pallidé fusco et cervino-albido
marginatis: uropygio rosaceo: supracaudalibus albis fusco-cervino notatis: rectricibus albo margi-
natis: remigibus pallidé cervino marginatis, secundariis et tectricibus alarum majoribus cervino-albido
apicatis: corpore subtus pallidiore quam in Linotd flavirostri: subalaribus albis.

Ad. ptil. hiem. precedenti similis sed uropygio haud rosaceo, plumis in corpore supra latits cervino marginatis,
mento et gula ochraceo-cervinis. S

Adult Male in summer (Leh, 1st July). Differs from Linota flavirostris in being very much paler, the upper
parts having the feathers margined with pale brownish buff or buffy white; rump rosy red; upper tail-
coverts white, tinged with brownish buff; tail-feathers margined with white, these margins being
broader at the base; quills margined with buff, the secondaries and larger wing-coverts tipped with
buffy white; underparts much paler than in Linota flavirostris; under wing-coverts white. Total
length about 5 inches, culmen 0°33, wing 3°15, tail 2°7, tarsus 0°7.

Adult Female. Resembles the male, but lacks the red rump.

Adult in winter (Turkestan, 17th October). Differs from the above in lacking the red on the rump, in
having the pale margins to the feathers broader and rather more of a fawn-buff tinge, chin and upper
throat pale fawn-buff.

Tue present species bears the same relation to Linota flavirostris as Linota exilipes does to
Linota rufescens, being in fact a pale-mealy eastern representative of our common Twite, which
it replaces in Asia. Its range is but limited; for, so far as we know at present, it is only found
from Asia Minor eastward to Northern Thibet. First described by Mr. Gould (/. c.) as distinct,
from examples obtained near Erzeroom, it was noticed there by Messrs. Dickson and Ross in
companies from the 20th September to the 18th November; and Mr. Zohrab informs me that
he found it very numerous there. According to Dr. Severtzoff, to whom I am indebted for
several specimens, this Twite occurs in Turkestan in winter; but it is rare in Persia, for Major
St. John only obtained one pair on the high plateau between Shiraz and Isfahan. Mr. J. Scully
4K

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writes (Stray Feathers, iv. p. 171) :—‘‘ This species was fairly numerous in the hills on the south
side of Eastern Turkestan, at elevations of from 8000 to 13,000 feet. It was first observed near
the Chuchu Pass, and was quite common near Gulgun Shah, in the Karakash valley, where a
young nestling was obtained, thus proving that the bird breeds in that locality—probably in July
and August. The birds flew about in pairs or in small flocks, perpetually twittering, generally
perching on the small bushes, but sometimes running among the stones and efflorescent ground
in a very similar manner to Calandrella brachydactyla. Only one of the specimens I obtained (a
male shot near the Chuchu Pass on the 16th August) has the pink colour on the rump; and the
bird I shot between Balakchi and Gulgun Shah, if it be correctly referred to this species, seems
to be abnormally large: length (in the flesh) 5°65, tail 2:8.” Dr. G. Henderson obtained three
examples on the banks of the Arpalak river, in Hill Yarkand, a short distance from where the
plains commence ; and Mr. Hume adds that it is occasionally found in Ladak, and he possesses
one procured somewhere in Northern Sikkim. Von Pelzeln records it from Lake Gyagar, in
Rupshu ; and Colonel Przevalsky, who obtained it in Mongolia, says that he first met with it in
Kan-su, where, though it principally frequents the bare mountains, it descends also to the plains,
not particularly avoiding inhabited places. In Northern Thibet he found it wintering on the
southern slope of the Burham-Bud, and on passage, about the middle of February, in Tsaidam.

How far north this Twite ranges Iam unable to say; but it is not included by any of the
Siberian travellers as occurring in that country. Dr. Severtzoff says that he observed it throughout
the Irtysch district, southward to Ajagus; but in Turkestan it is, as a rule, not found further
south than Dschulek and Vernoé.

Respecting the breeding-habits of this bird I find no record; but it probably approaches
closely to its western ally Linota flavirostris.

The specimens figured are the adult male in summer and the adult in winter above
described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,d,6, 2. Erzeroom (J. Zohrab). c,3,d,e,f,2. Jany Darya, Turkestan, October 15th (27th) and 17th
(29th) (Severtzoff). g, 3. Leh, Yarkand, July Ist, 1874 (J. Biddulph).

E Mus. J. Zohrab.
a, b,c, d, e, f, g, h. Erzeroom (J. Z.).

Subfamily LOXIINAL.

Genus CARPODACUS.

Pyrrhula apud Pallas, Nov. Com. Petrop. xiv. p. 587 (1770).
Loxia apud Gildenstadt, Nov. Com. Petrop. xix. p. 464 (1775).
Coccothraustes apud Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 13 (1811).
Fringilla apud Meyer, Voég. Livl. p. 77 (1815).

Linaria apud Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552.

Pyrrhula apud Temminck, Pl. Col. 375 (1825).

Erythrina apud C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1276.

Carpodacus, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 161 (1829).

Erythrothorax apud C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 249 (1831).
Chlorospiza apud Bonaparte, Faun. Ital. Ucc. pl. 38 (1832).
Lrythrospiza apud Bonaparte, Comp. List, p. 35 (1838).
Hemorrhous apud Jerdon, Madr. Journ. 1840, p. 36.
Strobilophaga apud G. R. Gray, Gen. of B. ii. p. 887 (1844).
Pyrrhulinota apud Hodgson in Gray’s Zool. Misc. p. 85 (1844).
Propasser apud Hodgson, ut supra (1844).

Bucanetes apud Cabanis, Mus. Hein. i. p. 164 (1850-51).

THE Rose Finches are, on the one side, tolerably closely allied to the Linnets and Redpolls, and
on the other to the Bullfinches; and, indeed, some authors have united them with the former
in the same genus. They inhabit the Palearctic, Oriental, and Nearctic, as well as the extreme
northern portions of the Neotropical and Ethiopian Regions, three species only being found
within the limits of the Western Palearctic Region. They frequent groves, gardens, and well-
wooded marshy places, as also hilly country. They are sprightly active birds, and good
songsters, having a clear musical note. They build a rather loose, slight nest, resembling a
Bullfinch’s rather than a Linnet’s, placing it on a tree or bush, and deposit deep-greenish-blue
eggs marked with blackish-brown spots, chiefly at the larger end. They feed principally on
buds and seeds of various kinds.

Carpodacus erythrinus, the type of the genus, has the bill rather short, stout, thick at the
base, culmen rather rounded; nostrils round, basal, hidden by recurved feathers; gape nearly
straight; wings moderately long, first quill finely attenuated, very small, second, third, and
fourth nearly equal, the third longest; tail rather long, slightly forked; tarsus and toes rather
slender than stout, the latter long, tarsus covered in front with four large and three inferior
scutelle; claws moderate, curved, laterally grooved, acute; plumage rather close, the males
much marked with red, the females with greenish.

Carpodacus roseus (Pall.), an inhabitant of the Eastern Palearctic Region, has been
included in the European list, but, so far as I can ascertain, without valid reason; and I have
therefore not admitted it.

57

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195

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CAUCASIAN ROSE-FINCH.
CARPODACUS RUBICILLUS.

CARPODACUS RUBICILLUS.

(CAUCASIAN ROSE FINCH.)

Loxia rubicilla, Gild. Nov. Com. Petr. xix. p. 464, pl. 22 (1775).

Coccothraustes caucasicus, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 13 (1811).

Pyrrhula caucasica (Pall.), Keys. & Blas. Wirbelth. Eur. p- 40 (1840).

Strobilophaga caucasica (Pall.), Gray, Gen. of B. ii. p. 387 (1844).

Carpodacus rubicillus (Gild.), Bp. & Schl. Mon. Lox. p. 25, pl. 26 (1850).
Propasser rubicillus (Giild.), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. E.1. Co. Mus. ii. p. 457 (1856).

Figure notabiles.
Grilles; bp: Sc Schila lc:

g ad. pileo, capitis lateribus, gula, gutture et corpore subtis sanguineis argentaceo-albo guttatis: faciei
lateribus argentaceo lavatis, plumis ad basin rostri nigricantibus: collo postico, dorso, scapularibus et
tectricibus alarum fuscis saturaté rosaceo tinctis, dorso indistincté nigro-fusco striato: uropygio et
supracaudalibus saturaté rosaceo-coccineis: alis fuscis rosaceo tinctis et pallidiore marginatis: cauda
saturaté fusca, vix pallidiore marginaté: abdomine imo et subcaudalibus rosaceis, his fusco striatis :
hypochondriis fusco-griseo tinctis: rostro flavo-corneo: iride et pedibus saturaté fuscis.

@ ad. mari dissimilis: capite et corpore supra sordidé fusco-cinereis, plumis centraliter fusco striatis, fronte
flavo-cervino tincté: remigibus et tectricibus fuscis, cinereo-fusco marginatis : corpore subtts cervino-
cinereo, plumis centraliter saturatiore striatis: subcaudalibus cervino-albidis.

Adult Male (Caucasus). Crown, sides of the head, throat, and underparts to the lower abdomen rich scarlet-
red spotted with silvery white, the feathers on the ear-coverts tipped and glossed with silvery grey ;
feathers all round the base of the bill blackish; hind neck, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts dusty
brown tinged with deep rose-red, the back indistinctly striped with blackish brown; rump and upper
tail-coverts deep rose-red ; wings dark brown with light margins to the feathers and tinged with rose-
red; tail dark brown with imperceptibly lighter edges; lower abdomen and under tail-coverts rosy red,
the latter striped with dark brown; flanks tinged with brownish grey; bill light horn-yellowish ; iris
and legs dark brown. Total length about 8 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 4:6, tail 3°95, tarsus 0:92.

Adult Female (Thibet). Upper parts dusty ashy or pale earthy brown, pale in general coloration, the fore-
head tinged with yellowish buff, all the feathers with dark central lines; wings and tail dark brown,
the feathers with light-ashy-brown margins; underparts ashy buff with a faint yellowish tinge, the
feathers with dark central stripes; under tail-coverts buffy white.

Young (Pangong, fide A.O. Hume). Entire head, neck, breast, back, and scapulars dull pale earthy brown,
more or less yellowish in places, the feathers very lax and showing everywhere a great deal of the
basal three fourths, which is of a pale blue-grey; abdomen similar but paler; lower tail-coverts
brownish white, the shafts brown; the wings are pale hair-brown, most of the quills and coverts

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more or less broadly margined with dull pale yellowish earthy brown, only the earlier primaries
excessively narrowly margined at and near their tips with brownish white; tail pale hair-brown,
exterior web of outer laterals fawny white, other feathers margined on their outer webs with pale
yellowish brown.

But very little is known respecting the present species, and especially respecting its habits and
nidification. It is only met with in South-eastern Europe, in the Caucasus; but it ranges east-
ward into the Himalayas, and it is more especially an Asiatic species whose range extends west-
ward into Europe than a European bird which straggles eastward into Asia. According to
Giildenstadt it inhabits the more elevated portions of the Caucasus and the Altai, frequenting
the banks of mountain-torrents, and feeding principally on the berries of Hypophea rhamnordes,
which grows plentifully there. It is, he adds, usually seen in large flocks, and its call-note
resembles that of a Bullfinch.

Dr. Severtzoff met with this bird in Turkestan, but gives no particnlars respecting its habits.
Referring to its range in India, Dr. Jerdon writes (B. of India, ii. p. 398) as follows :—<It has
only been obtained, in India, in the far N.W. Himalayas, Mr. Blyth having received one from
the neighbourhood of Pind Dadun-khan; and it has also been found in Cashmere. It varies
much in the brightness of its plumage, according to the season. It is probably this species
which Adams alludes to in his ‘ Birds of Cashmere,’ No. 68, as being like Carpodacus erythrinus,
but larger, and of a brighter red, and only seen in flocks, high up near the snow.”

Dr. Henderson writes (Lahore to Yarkand, p. 258) :—‘‘ One fine specimen, marked a female
at the time, but obviously, I think, a male in full summer plumage, with a wing 4°75 inches in
length, was obtained on the 9th October near the Pangong lake. ‘Two young birds of the same
species, clearly fledged but recently, were obtained on the 13th and 15th August at the Arpalak
river. It is therefore probable that we have here one at least of the breeding-places of this rare
species.” Captain Biddulph had several examples of this rare Rose Finch in the collection he
recently brought over to England from Yarkand, which I compared with my single specimen
from the Caucasus, and cannot find any difference, except that the latter is deeper in colour, the
red being more of a blood-red than a deep rose-red.

Mr. A. von Pelzeln, in his notes on the ornithology of Thibet and the Himalayas (Ibis,
1868, p. 318), states that it occurs “below the Parang Pass, Ankhang;” but it does not appear
to range into Mongolia, as it is not included by Colonel Prjevalsky.

Beyond what is cited above, I find nothing on record respecting the habits of this rare
species; and, so far as I can ascertain, nothing is on record respecting its nidification.

Iam indebted to Mr. Gould for the loan of three specimens (a male and two females) of this
rare bird from Thibet. The male differs from the male from the Caucasus in having the back
scarcely tinged with red, but more as in the female; and the red portions of the plumage are
paler, the red being more of a rose-red than blood-red, the white spots being more distinct; and
it is also rather smaller in size, the wing measuring only 4:1 inches. I do not, however, see that
there is any specific difference between these two birds. I have no female or young bird from
the Caucasus, and therefore cannot say if they differ from eastern examples.

a
ov

The specimen figured is an old male from the Caucasus, for which I am indebted to my
friend Dr. G. Radde of Tiflis.

In the preparation of the above article 1 have examined (besides those in the collection of
Captain J. Biddulph) the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 5 ad. Caucasus (Radde).

E Mus. John Gould.
a, 3, b,c, 2. Thibet.

3) Ib

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194

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SINAITIC ROSE-FINCH.
CARPODACUS ' SINAITICUS,

CARPODACUS SINAITICUS,

(SINAITIC ROSE FINCH.)

Fringilla sinaitica, Licht. in litt.

Pyrrhula synoica, Temm. Pl. Col. 375. figs. 1, 2 (1825).

Pyrrhula sinaica (Temm.), Riipp. Neue Wirbelth. p. 101 (1835).
Carpodacus synoica (Temm.), Gray, Gen. of B. ii. p. 384 (1844).
Carpodacus sinaiticus (Licht.), Bp. & Schl. Mon. Lox. p. 17 (1850).
Carpodacus sinaicus (Licht.), Bp. & Schl. op. cit. pl. 18 (1850).
Lrythrospiza sinaitica (Licht.), Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 534 (1850).
Bucanetes sinaiticus (Licht.), G. R. Gray, Hand-list, ii. p. 102 (1870).

Figure notabiles.
Temminck, J. c.; Bp. & Schl. J. ¢.

¢ ad. plumis ad basin rostri saturaté rubro-roseis: fronte, capitis lateribus et gula rubro-roscis, plumis acumi-
natis et versus apicem albo argenteo nitentibus: pileo postico et dorso fusco-cinereis rubro lavatis:
uropygio rubro-roseo: remigibus et rectricibus fuscis, pallidé fusco-cinereo marginatis et vix roseo
limbatis: corpore subtts rubro-roseo, abdomine et subcaudalibus fere albis: rostro corneo vix .roseo
tincto: iride fusca: pedibus pallidé brunneis.

@ ad. pallidé fusco-isabellina, supra saturatiore et fusco striata: subttis magis albescens.

Adult Male (Rahah, Sinai). Feathers round the base of the bill deep rosy carmine; fore part of the crown,
sides of the head, and the entire throat rose-carmine, the feathers pointed, and on the terminal portions
glossed with silvery white, giving these portions of the plumage a silvery appearance in certain lights ;
central and hind crown rather duller red, and tinged with brownish grey ; back smoky brownish grey,
washed with red and indistinctly striped with darker brown; rump rose-carmine; wings and tail dull
brown, the feathers with lighter edges, the lesser wing-coverts washed with red; underparts, except as
above stated, rather paler rose-carmine, becoming nearly white on the centre of the abdomen and under
tail-coverts; bill light horn with a faint red tinge; iris dark brown; legs light brown. Total length
about 5°5 inches, culmen 0°42, wing 3°5, tail 2°72, tarsus 0°8.

Adult Female (fide Bonap.). Greyish isabelline brown, darker on the upper parts, and striped with rather
darker brown; underparts whiter.

TuIs, one of the rarest of the Rose Finches, inhabits the Sinaitic peninsula and Arabia Petrea,
and is only known as an occasional straggler within the limits of the Western Palearctic Region.
Count von der Miihle, it is true, includes it as having been met with in Greece; but his
description agrees far more closely with the Trumpeter Bullfinch, and in all probability the bird
obtained by him near Lamia is referable to that species. Canon Tristram states (Ibis, 1868,
p. 208) that he saw it several times in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, in Palestine, but did not

2

obtain a specimen; and he assures me that he is quite convinced that he was not mistaken as to
the bird observed by him being really the Sinaitic Rose Finch. It appears to be tolerably
common in Mount Sinai, where it was first discovered by Hemprich and Ehrenberg; and
Mr. C. W. Wyatt, who obtained in the Sinaitic peninsula the specimen I have figured, says (Ibis,
1870, p. 16) that it is “local, frequenting the higher parts of the mountains, the plains of Er
Rahah, and Wadys Lejah and Tah,” and he also met with it in Wady Aleiyat, at the foot of
Mount Serbal.

Von Heuglin says (Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 654), the present species “lives in pairs and small
flocks in Arabia Petreea, frequenting rocks, sunny places in the precipices, pastures, and places
where the rain collects. It is a very lively and somewhat shy species, feeds on small seeds, and
probably migrates during the winter. I never saw it on bushes. When disturbed it flies off
uttering its call-note, flying close to the ground, and generally settles again amongst stones.”
Beyond the above meagre data I find no information respecting the present species.

In habits it is stated to assimilate more closely to the Trumpeter Bullfinch than to any
other of the Carpodacus group, and to be a frequenter of arid, stony localities, seldom found
amongst bushes, and never on trees, whereas the other species of Carpodacus are frequenters of
trees and woodlands. Judging, however, from an examination of the feet of the specimen I have
before me, I should say that it does perch not unfrequently.

I purposed to figure this species, however, seated on a stone ; but my artist has in error put
it on the branch of a bush, a position far less suited to its general habits—a mistake I discovered
only when too late to have any alteration made.

In the specific name of this bird I have followed Bonaparte and other later authorities in
reverting to the name given, but not published, by Lichtenstein (who forwarded to Temminck
the specimens figured in the ‘ Planches Coloriées’), as being more correct than the name given
by Temminck.

The specimen figured, the only one I have had an opportunity of examining, is an adult
male obtained by Mr. C. W. Wyatt on the plain of Er Rahah, in the peninsula of Sinai, on the
29th March, 1869, and is now in the collection of Canon Tristram.

19

SCARLET GROSBEAK.
CARPODACUS ERYTHRINUS

43

CARPODACUS ERYTHRINUS.

(SCARLET GROSBEAK.)

Pyrrhula erythrina, Pall. N. Comm. Acad. Sci. Imp. Petrop. xiv. p. 587, tab. 23. fig. 1 (1770).

Loxia cardinalis, Beseke, Vog. Kurlands, p. 77 (1792, nec Linn.).

Lo«ia rosea, Vieill. Ois. Chant. pl. Ixy. (1805).

Louia erythrea, Endler & Scholtz, Schlesische Naturf. i. p. 17, pl. 5; ii. p. 185, pl. 77
(1809-10).

Fringilla erythrina, Meyer, Vog. Lif- und Esthl. p. 77 (1815).

Coccothraustes rosea, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat. xiii. p. 539 (1817).

Linaria erythrina, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552.

Coccothraustes erythrina, Bonn. et Vieill. Ene. Méth. p. 1003 (1823).

Fringilla incerta, Risso, Hist. Nat. Europ. Mérid. iii. p. 52 (1826).

Carpodacus erythrinus, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 161 (1829).

Erythrothoraz rubrifrons, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 249 (1831).

Chlorospiza incerta, Bonap. Faun. Ital. Uce. pl. 38 (1832).

Erythrospiza erythrina, Bonap. Comp. List of B. of Eur. and N. Am. p. 35 ( He)

Hemorrhous roseus, Jerd. Madr. Journ. Lit. & Sci. p. 36 (1840).

Erythrospiza rosea, Blyth, J. A. 8. B. xi. p. 461 (1842).

Pyrrhulinota rosecolor v. P. rosea, Hodgs. in Gray’s Zool. Mise. p. 85 (1844).

Propasser sordida, id. tom. cit. p. 85 (1844).

Pyrrhulinota roseata, id. P. Z. 8. 1845, p. 36.

Figure notabiles.

Vieill. Ois. Chant. pl. Ixv.; Meyer, Vog. Liv- und Esthl. p. 77; Kittl. Kupf. Vog. t. 32. fig. 1;
Naum. Vog. Deutschl. iv. Taf. 113. figs. 1,2; Gould, B. of Eur. ii. pl. 206; Bonap. Faun.
Ital. Uce. pl. 38; Bonap. & Schl. Monogr. Lox. pl. 14; Jaub. & Barth.-Lapom. Rich. Orn.
pl. to p. 118; Sundev. Svensk. Fogl. pl. Ixy. fig. 1; Bree, B. of Eur. i. p. 69; Fritsch,
Vog. Eur. tab. 22. figs. 12,13; Gould, B. of Gt. Br. part xix.

3 est. supra rosaceus vix coccineus, pileo et uropygio letioribus, plumarum basibus einerascenti-brunneis :
pilei plumis acutiusculis: facie laterali rosacea, regione auriculari albido striolata: tectricibus alarum
brunneis, roseo lavatis et majoribus eodem colore terminatis fasciam duplicem alarem formantibus:
remigibus brunneis, pogonio interno albido, extus angusté rosaceo marginatis: cauda brunned, rec-
tricibus cum tectricibus supracaudalibus imis rosaceo aut flavicante marginatis: gutture leté coccimeo,
pectore magis rosascente versus abdomen albicante: abdomine et crisso albis, paullo roseo tinctis :
subalaribus albicanti-brunneis, roseo paullulum lavatis: rostro flavicanti-brunneo: pedibus brunneis:
iride brunnea.

3 vern. cinerascenti-brunneus, ubique rosaceo lavatus, pileo et uropygio letioribus : subtus rosaeeus, abdomine
albo, pectore coccineo notato.

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2 cinerascenti-brunnea, dorso postico minime olivascenti lavato: plumarum omnium parte basali plus minusye
conspicud maculas brunneas formante: loris et strigé malari indistincta albicantibus: facie laterali
reliqui brunned, regione auriculari albicante obscure striolaté: tectricibus alarum brunneis, mediamis
et majoribus albo terminatis, fascias duas alares conspicuas formantibus: remigibus brunneis extus
albicante marginatis: caud4 brunned, obscuré olivaceo marginataé: subtus albicans, pectore summo et
corpore laterali olivaceo tinctis: gule lateribus punctulis brunneis notatis, vix fasciam mystacalem
formantibus: gul4 media brunneo sparsim notat&é: pectoris summi et hypochondriorum plumis parte
median’ brunned strias longitudinales plus minusve distinctas formante: abdomine medio crissoque
puré albis: subalaribus albis, fulvescente tinctis.

Male in spring plumage. Above ashy brown, with a rosy tinge to all the feathers of the back; the head and
rump much brighter-coloured and inclining to carmine; lores brown; sides of the face rosy, tinged
with carmine; wing-coverts brown, washed with rosy, the median and greater coverts tipped with pale
rose-colour, forming a double alar bar; quills and tail brown, all the feathers narrowly edged with
rosy ; under surface of the body clear rose-colour, with feathers of bright carmine becoming apparent
on the throat and gorget; lower abdomen and under tail-coverts white, with the faintest tinge of rose-
colour; under wing-coverts brownish white, slightly tinged with rosy, especially along the edge of the
wing; bill yellowish brown; feet horny brown; iris brown. ‘Total length 5-8 inches, culmen 0°5,
wing 3°3, tail 2°5, tarsus 0°75.

Male in summer plumage. Brighter than in spring, all the feathers of the head and rump exceedingly rich
carmine, this colour being also suffused all over the breast; the feathers of the back and the margins of
the quills and tail deep carmine.

Female. Ashy brown, with a very slight tinge of olive on the upper surface, the centres of the feathers a
very little darker on the back, producing a slightly mottled appearance; on the head the centres of the
feathers very distinctly marked, giving the appearance of being scaled; wing-coverts brown hke the
back, the median and greater coverts tipped with yellowish white, forming two distinct alar bars; quills
and tail dark brown, externally edged with dull olive, the secondaries with whitish; sides of the head
brown, the lores and malar stripe buffy white; under surface of the body whitish, becoming pure white
in the centre of the abdomen; the throat, upper part of the breast, flanks, and under wing- and tail-
coverts tinged with brown, the centres of the feathers darker, producing on the flanks a slightly mottled
appearance, but on the throat and chest the semblance of longitudinal streaks. Total length 5:8 inches,
culmen 0°45, wing 3°4, tail 2°5, tarsus 0°75.

Young. The immature birds resemble the adult female, being brown in colour, but are washed with yellowish
olive above, and the head is very distinctly mottled; the edges to the wing-coverts and innermost
secondaries are very broad, white in colour, with a distinct tinge of olive; sides of the face pale brown;
under surface of the body whitish, with very broad and distinct brown streaks all over the throat
and breast.

THE present bird is by no means rare in Russia, where it breeds; and during the autumn
migrations it wanders into the more western countries of Europe, but has rarely been known to
breed out of Russia and Poland. In the east it is widely distributed, being found in Siberia, as
well as China, and, in the winter season, also occurs plentifully in India.

Under its true name of Carpodacus erythrinus it has been twice recorded in Great Britain,
though it is quite possible that more examples have really occurred. Mr. F. Bond writes to

3

us :—‘‘I believe the only specimens of this bird that have occurred in this country are the one in
Mr. Monk’s collection at Lewes, in Sussex, taken near Brighton in September 1869, and my own
specimen caught near Hampstead, October 5th, 1870; both birds are females.” Naumann once
found the Scarlet Grosbeak nesting on the Danish island of Sylt; and Mr. A. Benzon, of
Copenhagen, writes that “since it bred on Sylt in 1819, it has not been observed in Denmark.”
According to Nilsson a female was caught on Gottland in the autumn, and is now in the
Stockholm Museum. In Finland Von Wright states that is found only in summer, being not
uncommon in the south-eastern part of that country. It arrives early in June, and leaves before
the end of August. _A pair or two are found every year as high up as Kuopio. Dresser
observed it at Helsingfors, and procured a nest and eggs in the Botanical Gardens of that town,
where it is now found annually, although some years ago the bird was scarcely known in the
neighbourhood; it appears to be extending its migration westward every year. The fact of its
breeding in. Finland was first noticed by Herr von Nordmann, who observed that it nests every
year in the Botanical Gardens at Helsingfors, in the tops of the maple and the Carangana
sibirica. Shortly after, Pastor Sommerfeldt stated that Nordvi and Schrader saw this bird near
Nyborg, on the Varanger Fiord; and he has eggs from Polmak, which he has good reason to
believe are those of the Scarlet Grosbeak; and Mr. R. Collett mentions that Herr Nordvi wrote
to him in 1867 and 1868 to the effect that this bird is not uncommon in Kast Finmark, along
the Tana river, and has been found breeding at Polmak and Skugge. Commenting on the
above, Professor Newton remarks, “The fact that Carpodacus erythrinus has now been found
breeding at Polmak, on the Tana, is particularly interesting when taken in connexion with the
recent increase of its range in Finland, as observed by Nordmann.” Meyer says that in the
Baltic provinces it was first observed at the end of August 1805 by Germann, when several
were caught near Dorpat. ‘The Rey. Mr. Stoll found it several times near Riga and Jiirgensburg.
Naumann himself saw it during the summer in Silesia, but he states that in Central Germany it
is of rare occurrence, but has been seen in Hesse, on the Rhine.

Concerning its capture in Germany, Dr. O. Finsch writes to us as follows :—‘ Tobias states
that this rare bird breeds in the deep valleys, as for instance in the Queissthal, near Flinsberg.
According to this, one would expect that it occurs here regularly ; this, however, is not the case,
as it has only once been found breeding in the valley of the Queiss river, at Flinsberg, in the
Iser mountains. I have seen the old birds, as also the young taken from the nest, in the
collection of Mr. Heydrich, of Flinsberg, a most excellent field naturalist, who discovered it.”
Herr A. Von Homeyer, in his notes on Borggreve’s ‘ Birds of N. Germany,’ says, “ R. Tobias
goes too far when he says it ‘ breeds in the deep valleys of the Silesian mountains. The truth
is that Tobias procured a nest once from the Queiss valley, once, and only once. I can state
most decidedly that it does not now breed at Queiss.”

De Selys-Longchamps, in his ‘ Faune Belge,’ writes:—‘‘ A single specimen was killed near
Tournay, another near Abbeville. It has also been found in the valley of the Rhine.” Degland
and Gerbe say that it “appears more or less regularly on migration in Italy and Southern France.
In Lombardy, Liguria, Nice, and Provence its occurrence is not unfrequent. It is sometimes
even found in the north of France, as is shown by the capture of a young male in the suburbs of
Lille, on the 17th of September 1849.” According to Baron J. von Miiller it is met with

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annually in Provence in pairs during the months of August and September. Respecting its
occurrence in Spain, our friend Mr. Howard Saunders sends us the following note :—“ Lopez-
Seoane states that it is ‘rare in Sierra Nevada in February,’ which is certainly possible, though I
have never succeeded in finding it in any part of Spain, dead or alive, nor have any of my
collectors during the last four years been more fortunate.” Mr. C. A. Wright chronicles its
appearance in Malta in these words :—‘“Schembri records the capture of two examples on the
25th of December 1839, under the name of Fringilla incerta, a pseudo-species, now recognized
as the young of P. erythrina.” Italy, likewise, is visited in the autumn by this species; and it was
here that Risso obtained the birds he named Fringilla incerta, of which more anon. It has also
been included in the avifauna of Greece by those authors who suppose the Pyrrhula sinaica of
Von der Miihle to be referable to the present species; but of the correctness of this identification
we are by no means certain, and should prefer waiting for further evidence before merging the
above-named bird into a synonym of C. erythrinus. In Southern Russia, Professor von Nordmann
says 1t appears regularly on the spring migration, singly or in pairs, in the Botanical Gardens of
Odessa. It calls incessantly from the tops of high trees, its note sounding like /i-w-ti-w hi-u-ti-u,
which may be heard at some distance. It is common in the provinces to the east of the Black
Sea. Ménétriés says :—‘‘ It is common enough on the Caucasian Alps, and affects the top of the
high grasses, whence it utters a song very similar to that of the Common Chaffinch, only at a
height of six or seven thousand feet. The female is rather rare, and does not sing at all.”
Dr. E. Eversmann writes as follows :—‘‘ Very common on the Central Volga, in Kazan, and the
Southern Ural. Towards the autumn they collect in flocks, and wander through the scattered
groves for a time, leaving us in September and October, returning again early in April.”
Lehmann says it was “ observed at Orenburg and on the east coast of the Caspian Sea in May.”
In Dauria, according to MM. Dybowski and Parrex, it is common during passage, but rare in
the summer. Dr. L. von Schrenck says that is found in all Siberia to Kamschatka, and nests on
the Amoor, in the willow thickets on the low and marshy islands. Radde states that the first of
these birds arrived at the Tarei-Nor in the night of the 25th to 26th March, and says they breed
there. In the Baikal mountains he saw small flocks on the 14th of April 1859; the males were
then in full song. On the 13th of June 1856, in ascending the Sochondo he observed a pair at
an altitude of 8000 feet above the sea-level. Middendorff found it all through the Stanowoj
mountains, on the Uda, and south coast of the Sea of Ochotsk, common and breeding. In the
middle of April it arrived at Udskoj-Ostrog. From Kamschatka Kittlitz brought specimens,
which were remarkable for brilliancy, and which might, so thought Bonaparte and Schlegel,
constitute a distinct race.

Mr. Swinhoe records it as a winter visitant to China; and Pére David says it “‘ abounds during
the spring passage, but does not repass here in autumn.”

We copy the following notes from Dr. Jerdon’s most excellent work on the Birds of India :—
“The Rosefinch is found as a cold-weather visitant throughout the greater part of India, more
rare towards the south, common in Central and Northern India, and in the Himalayas, chiefly,
however, at the foot of the hills and in the valleys; and it extends into Assam and Arracan.
Out of India it is found over a great part of Central and Northern Asia and Europe. It visits
the plains during October, and leaves in April. In March many are taken in fine breeding-

5

livery. In the extreme south I have chiefly seen it in bamboo jungle; and so much is this its
habitat that the Telugu name signifies ‘ Bamboo-Sparrow.’” Herr von Pelzeln (J. f. O. 1868,
p. 34) gives the following localities where the present bird was obtained by Dr. Stoliczka :—
“Kotegurh only in winter, Pangi in summer, Chamba, Serahan, Sisu, in Lahul, in June.”
Captain Beavan procured it at Darjeeling, and writes :—‘‘I observed it abundantly about Simla,
but was unable to procure any specimens.” Mr. W. E. Brooks writes as follows :—“ Common at
Almorah in the beginning of April, when I arrived there; early in May they all disappeared,
having, I suppose, gone further north to breed. Seeing the birds in pairs everywhere, gave me
great hopes of obtaining the eggs;” and, again, in a letter from Etawah he says:—“ Mr. Buck
found Carpodacus erythrinus close under the snows.” ‘The Rey. P. Phillips, in his paper on the
birds observed by him in the plains of North-western India, says:—“ This comes from the hills
in the spring, and feeds on the mulberries. It is caught by the natives in nets, before which
two or three decoys are tied.” Dr. Leith Adams’s list of localities and notes are as follows:—
“Scinde, not common; lower ranges of the Himalayas, districts of Cashmere, pretty common;
seen generally solitary or in small flocks. Habits resemble Linnets’.”

Wherever this bird occurs it is not difficult to be seen, as the male generally perches quite
in the open when singing, and does not appear to be at all shy. In its habits it much resembles
its American congener Carpodacus purpureus, to which both in song, nest, and eggs it also bears
great affinity. We doubt, however, if it is anywhere so common as that bird appears to be in
some portions of North America. As a cage-bird it would doubtless thrive excellently, and its
pleasant song would certainly render it a favourite; its rarity, however, prevents its being found
as a cage-bird in this country at least, and we have seen very few in confinement. Respecting its
habits we give the following excellent notes sent us by Dr. Taczanowski, of Warsaw :—

“Only comes to us to breed. The first appear generally about the 15th of May; and after a
few days they are found at their regular nesting-places. They arrive singly, and take up their
habitation in the bushes: near water, in the middle of fields and marshes. Nowhere numerous,
they are generally rather rare. The males announce their arrival by a characteristic song, which
is easily recognized even at a great distance. They are very restless, whereas the female, on the
other hand, is quiet. When singing, the male generally perches on the top of a tree or bush,
always in full view, and during the short intervals of the song utters a deep clear whistle, which
may be rendered as follows :—tia tin fi tit, tit, tit fr tits tit; after having repeated this about
ten times, it descends amongst the branches and searches after food. While thus engaged it
sometimes warbles in a very low tone. After about a quarter of an hour of repose, it reappears
in full view and recommences its song. In singing it raises the feathers of its crown and throat,
and in the sun looks much more beautiful than it really is. The food consists chiefly of the
various seeds of trees and bushes, tender buds, &c. They seldom feed on seeds of plants; but
sometimes they resort to the fields to pick up hempseed. They are not often seen on the ground,
and only go there in search of materials for their nest. The latter is placed on small bushes,
generally on thorns (Prunus spinosa), wild rose-trees, hawthorns, and amongst hops. In form it
resembles that of Sylvia cinered, and is constructed of fine elastic dry bents, particularly those of
ranunculus and hops, clover, and umbelliferous plants. The interior is formed of delicate dry
shoots of plants, often interlaced with a few horsehairs or other coarse hairs. The nest is loosely

3 C

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6

constructed, and the exterior almost carelessly; but it is regular and neat in the inside, and in
form is almost semicircular. It is placed in a fork of the bush without being fastened to the
branches, and is always well hidden in the foliage. The total diameter is ten centimetres, depth
four centimetres.

“The general complement of eggs is five, rarely four or six. They are slightly elongated,
slender, oval, or sometimes almost pyriform. In colour they are of a beautiful blue-green, almost
like the eggs of the Song-Thrush, and are marked with spots of reddish black, more numerous at
the larger end, and but few on the rest of the surface. These spots are often mixed with a few
streaks of different shapes. ‘These markings can be easily washed off, and leave then only reddish-
coloured spots. The shell is delicate, fragile, and transparent. In size the eggs measure 20
millimetres by 16 mm., 21 by 153, 20 by 15, 20 by 143. Im general character they resemble
those of the Common Bullfinch, but are less in size, and the ground-colour is more intense and
pure, while at the same time the spots are deeper. During the period of incubation, and when
the young are still small, the male sings continually, but in different places, and often far off,
but it frequently returns to the vicinity of the nest. When any person approaches, it calls
exactly like a Canary; and the female uses the same alarm-note. As soon as the young com-
mence to be feathered, the male ceases his song, and becomes as shy as the female. When they
leave the nest, the whole family conceal themselves in the foliage, and it is very difficult to get
sight of them; and they remain thus until they leave. Owing to their shy habits, then, I cannot
say when they do leave, but suppose it is as soon as the young birds can travel. In Siberia they
are common, and remain longer there than they do here. ‘They nest there on young conifers.”

Von Nordmann gives the following account of its breeding in Finland :—“ The nest consists
of thin twigs loosely put together. The eggs are white, with a few blackish red spots at the
large end. ‘The bird arrives in Helsingfors in the middle of May, and in 1857 had fledged
young on the 25th of June. After having once heard the loud flute-like voice of this bird, there
will be no difficulty in recognizing it a second time, as it conceals itself in the tree-tops. It has
a Finch-like call-cry resembling that of Fringilla chloris.”

In India, Dr. Jerdon says :—“ It frequents alike groves, gardens, and jungles, feeding on
various seeds and grain, also not unfrequently on flower-buds and young leaves. Adams states
that in Cashmere it feeds much on the seeds of a cultivated vetch. Now and then it is seen in
large flocks, but in general it associates in small parties. It breeds in Northern Asia. It is
frequently caught and caged, and has rather a pleasing song. Blyth says, ‘the Tuti has a feeble
twittering song, but soft and pleasing, being intermediate to that of the Goldfinch and that of
the small Redpoll Linnet ; the call-note much resembling that of a Canary-bird.’”

The following account of a caged specimen is given by Ménétriés:—‘A male of this species,
taken in the neighbourhood of St. Petersburg, was kept in a cage for nearly two years. At first
it was of a beautiful rose-colour; but in the following spring it moulted, and became altogether
grey (that is to say, like the female); and at the different seasons the moulting was effected with-
out returning to the first colour. It was easily tamed, did not sing, and was rather stupid; and
when the other birds, especially the Titmice, attacked it, it contented itself with merely opening
its beak and shaking its wings; and this was generally sufficient to drive away its assailants.”

In Dresser’s collection are three eggs, obtained by himself at Helsingfors, Finland, on the

(s

ard July, 1858, and several from Darasun, Dauria, collected by Messrs. Dybowski and Parrex.
These eggs vary in size from $8 by 23 inch to 32 by 34 inch, and are rich blue in colour, darker
in tinge than any Bullfinch eggs we have ever seen, sparingly dotted at the larger end with dark-
red and blackish-brown spots, which sometimes form an irregular ring round the larger end. In
shape they resemble the eggs of the Common Bullfinch, but are, if any thing, slightly more taper
at the smaller end.

We cannot conclude the account of the present species without one word on that much
vexed question of the identity of the Fringilla incerta of Risso; and we feel this to be the more
necessary as neither Dr. Bree, in his ‘ Birds of Europe, nor Mr. Gould, in the lately published
part of the ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ has said a word on the subject. This doubtful species was
first described by Risso (J.c.), who says that it occurs in Italy in the month of November in
passage. Some years afterwards Prince Bonaparte figured a supposed male and female in his
‘Fauna Italica;’ and we have little doubt that he was right in his identification of the sexes.
But at the same time we firmly believe that his figures were taken from birds that had lived in
confinement, the female being fairly represented, but the male, on the other hand, defying
identification, unless allowance be made for the changes produced by its being kept in a cage
(see Ménétriés, supra). Every one is aware that Linnets and Redpolls, not to mention other
Finches, after having been caged for some time, lose the rose-colour on the head and breast,
which turns to saffron-yellow, and never regains its pristine hue. Instances of birds having been
shot in a wild state in this dress are not rare; and the Scarlet Grosbeak forms no exception; for
Radde records a curious specimen of a male bird he procured in which the red colour was
replaced by yellow. It is therefore not difficult to imagine that the bird figured by Prince
Bonaparte as the male of Chlorospiza incerta is nothing more than a specimen of C. erythrinus
which had been confined in a cage. Many interesting notices upon the supposed occurrence of
Fringilla incerta in England have been published, chief among which may be mentioned a paper
by Professor Newton (P. Z. S. 1862, p. 128), a letter by Mr. G. Dawson Rowley in ‘ The Ibis’ for
the same year (p. 385), and, again, a notice by Mr. J. Jenner Weir in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1867
(p. 877). The birds about which Professor Newton wrote are in the collection of Mr. T. J.
Monk, of Lewes; and that gentleman most kindly sent them up to us for inspection. He has
kindly sent us the following information in answer to our inquiries :—‘ Swaysland, of Brighton,
has had, he believes, eight specimens of this Finch (which, with me, has always gone by the
name of Fringilla incerta), the first being brought to him about twenty years ago. The two
birds in my collection were taken at somewhat long intervals; the male bird was caught near
Shoreham on the 28th of October 1864, and the hen bird near Brighton race-course on
November 20th, 1869. Major Spicer, of Esher Place, Surrey, has, I believe, two specimens;
Mr. H. Byne, of Taunton, has one; and Mr. Bond, I think, has two,—which will account for seven
out of Swaysland’s eight birds. All of them were captured near Brighton, and all, with one
exception, in the months of October and November, the exception being a hen bird in full
plumage taken in April.- To me these birds savour strongly of a cross between the Linnet and
Greenfinch.” ‘This last suggestion of Mr. Monk’s is undoubtedly correct; for the birds are
undoubtedly hybrids between these last-named species, and are not C. erythrinus.

Our friend Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., has very kindly given us references to all the supposed

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occurrences of this pseudo-species in England ; but it is impossible to identify the greater part of
them. We trust, however, that, now that the adult female has been carefully figured by us, and
the young of the same sex by Mr. Gould, there will henceforth be less difficulty in recognizing its
occurrence in this country. Mr. Louis Fraser, writing to the Huddersfield ‘ Naturalist, says, in
a letter dated the 13th of July, 1864:—‘“ Your readers will be pleased to learn that I have a
living specimen of that exceedingly rare and doubtful British bird, Fringilla incerta of Risso. I
at first mistook it for a hen Greenfinch.” It will be noticed that Mr. Fraser does not say that the
bird had been captured in England; but we presume from his writing the above to an English
periodical, that such was the case. We ourselves have not the least hesitation in saying that the
Fringilla incerta of Risso is nothing but C. erythrinus, and is not a hybrid, as has been often
supposed. On the Continent this fact has long been recognized, and a very spirited controversy
was carried on between Dr. Degland and Prince Bonaparte as to whom was due the credit of
this identification.

The figures of the adult pair of birds represented in the Plate are drawn from specimens
sent to us by Mr. Karl Sachse, who received them direct from Moscow. ‘The description of the
adult male in spring dress is taken from one of Mr. Dode’s Turkestan skins, procured by him at
Temscken on the 20th of April, 1866, and now in the collection of Mr. Howard Saunders. The
female is also described from a skin belonging to the last-named gentleman, as it is a bird in
fully adult breeding-dress, having been procured at Darasun in June 1868, and four eggs taken
at the same time. The male in summer plumage is described from an example in Lord Walden’s
collection, shot at Umballah by the late Dr. Scott, and the young bird from a skin procured in
Turkestan by Dode, on the 9th of August, 1860, and marked a female, which is now in the
cabinet of Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.
a, b, c. Moscow (C. Sachse). d, e. Crimea (W. Schliiter). jf. Etawah (W. E. Brooks).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 6, Himalayas.

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.
a, b. W. Siberia (mus. Petrop.). c. Peking (Fleming). d. Amoy (R.8.). e. Canton (R. S.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. Turkestan (Dode). 6. Darasun, Dauria (Verdier).

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a, 6. Candeish. c. Darjeeling. e. Umballah (Scof?).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a, b. Turkestan (Dode).

Genus ERYTHROSPIZA.

Fringilla apud Gould, P. Z. 8. 1837, p. 27.

Pyrrhula apud Audouin, Expl. Pl. Ois. d’ Egypte, p. 286 (1825).
Erythrospiza, Bonaparte, Comp. List, p. 34 (1838).

Carpodacus apud Blyth, J. As. Soc. Beng. xvi. p. 476 (1847).

Montifringilla apud Gould, fide Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 535 (1850).
Bucanetes apud Cabanis, Mus. Hein. i. p. 164 (1850-51).

Rhodopechys apud Bonaparte, Cat. Parzud. p. 4 (1856).

Serinus apud Gloger, fide Bolle, Naumannia, 1858, p. 393.

Erythrothoraz apud Brehm, fide Bolle, ut supra.

Tue Scarlet winged Bullfinches are closely allied on the one side to Carpodacus, and on the other
to Pyrrhula. ‘They inhabit the southern parts of the Palearctic and northern portions of the
Oriental and Ethiopian Regions, two species only being found in the Western Palearctic Region.
They frequent wild, sterile localities in preference to cultivated places, and are usually found in
rocky or else in sparsely bush-covered spots, either in the mountains or in the plains. As a
rule, they are shy and wild. ‘Their flight is tolerably strong, and their note pleasing. They
make a tolerably well-constructed cup-shaped nest, which they place either in a hole or on a
tree, and deposit pale greenish eggs marked with reddish brown or greyish.

Erythrospiza sanguinea, the type of the genus, has the bill stout, strong, nearly as broad as
high at the base, compressed towards the tip, which is acute; upper mandible overhanging the
lower at the tip; nostrils basal, concealed by recurved stiff feathers; wings rather long, pointed,
the quills externally margined with red, first quill attenuated and very small, the second longest,
the third scarcely shorter; tail moderately long, slightly forked; tarsus moderately slender,
covered in front with four large and three inferior scutelle; toes rather long and slender; claws
moderately curved, laterally grooved.

EG

TRUMPETER BULLFINCH.

ERYTHROSPIZA GITHAGINEA

a7g

BERYTHROSPIZA GITHAGINEA.

(TRUMPETER BULLFINCH.)

Fringilla githaginea, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 24 (1823).
Pyrrhula payraudei, Aud. Expl. des Pl. d’Oiseaux de lEgypte, p. 286, pl. 5. fig. 8 (1825).
Pyrrhula githaginea (Licht.), Temm. Man. d’Orn. iii. p. 249 (1835).
Erythrospiza githaginea (Licht.), Bp. Comp. List, p. 34 (1838).
tPyrrhula sinaica, Von der Miihle, Orn. Griechenl. p. 45 (1844).
Carpodacus crassirostris, Blyth, J. A. Soc. Beng. xvi. p. 476 (1847).
Carpodacus payraudwi (Aud.), G. R. Gray, Gen. of B. ii. (1849).
_ Bucanetes githagineus (Licht.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 164 (1850).
Carpodacus githagineus (Licht.), C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 91 (1855).
“ Fringilla thebaica, Hempr. in sched. Mus. Berol.,” Bolle, Naumannia, 1858, p. 393.
“ Serinus githagineus, Gloger,” Bolle, ut supra.
“ Erythrothorax githagineus, C. LL. Brehm” (ubi?), Bolle, ut supra.

Trumpeter Bullfinch, Vinous Bullfinch, English ; Trombettiere, Italian ; Trombettier, Maltese ;
Pispo, Gorrion colorado, Pajaro moro, Pajaro majorero, in the Canaries.

Figure notabiles.

Temminck, Pl. Col. 400; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, Suppl. pls. 7, 8; Gould, B. of Eur.
pl. 208; Roux, Orn. Prov. pl. 74 bis; Bonap. Faun. Ital. pl. 35. fig. 3; Bp. & Schl.
Monogr. Lox. pl. 33; Shelley, B. of Egypt, pl. v.; Bree, B. of Eur. pl. to p. 81.

3 ad. pileo et capitis lateribus pallidé cinereis, versus dorsum brunneo lavatis, plumis ad basin rostri roseis:
dorso cum scapularibus pallidé brunneis vix rosaceo lavatis: uropygio et supracaudalibus fuscescenti-
roseis, his sanguineo marginatis: remigibus saturaté fuscis, secundariis et tectricibus alarum grisescente
rosaceo marginatis, remigibus omnibus extus sangumeo marginatis: cauda fused, rectricibus versus
apicem sanguineo marginatis: corpore subtus grisescenti-rosaceo: gule, pectoris et abdominis plumis
vix sanguineo apicatis: rostro rubro: iride brunned: pedibus brunnescenti-carneis.

2 ad. mari similis, sed sordidior et multo minus rosaceo et sanguineo colorata.

Adult Male (Egypt, March). Crown and sides of the head delicate ashy grey, on the nape gradually
becoming brown; feathers at the base of the bill rosy red; back and scapulars soft, pale brown, faintly
washed with pink; rump and upper tail-coverts brownish pink, the feathers on the latter edged with
carmine, quills dark brown; secondaries and wing-coverts margined with pinkish grey, all the wing-
feathers having an external narrow carmine border, and some of the inner primaries and the secondaries
being slightly tipped with light brown; tail dark brown, the feathers having carmine edges towards the
tip; underparts pinkish grey, the feathers on the throat, breast, and abdomen slightly tipped with
carmine; under tail-coverts pinkish buff; flanks pale buffy grey; beak bright red; iris brown; legs
brownish flesh. Total length about 5 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 3:4, tail 2:15, tarsus 0:7.

32Z

36

2

Adult Female (Shiraz, Persia, June). Differs from the male in being much duller and in haying scarcely

any red in the plumage; upper parts dull dust-brown, underparts similar, but lighter; wings paler

_ than in the male, the quills with only the faintest wash of pink on the edge of the outer web ; tail dull
brown, the feathers edged with pale red at the base; upper tail-coverts slightly tipped with rosy red.

Young (Algeria). Upper parts dull sandy fulvous brown; underparts warm brownish buff, no trace of red
in the plumage; wings and tail dark brown, primaries slightly edged and tipped with light sandy
brown ; secondaries, wing-coverts, and tail-feathers more broadly edged with pale fulvous brow.

Male in winter (Malta, 15th November). Resembles the female above described, but has no trace of pink
in the plumage.

Tus little Bullfinch inhabits Northern Africa, being but seldom found in Europe proper, and
has been met with as far east as Sindh.

It is said by Roux to have been met with in Southern France; but there appears to be great
doubt respecting the truth of this statement, which Baron J. W. von Miiller and Messrs. Jaubert
and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye strongly doubt.

According to Salvadori (Ucc. d’'Ital. p. 160) it is an extremely rare straggler to Italy. Savi
records the capture of a male specimen not far from Pisa in the spring of 1839, and it subse-
quently lived five years in confinement. A similar occurrence is recorded by Perini from the
Venetian district in 1850. It is, however, somewhat singular that there should not be as yet a
single authentic record of its occurrence in the island of Sicily, so much closer to the African
coast. In Malta, according to Mr. C. A. Wright (Ibis, 1864, p. 51), “a few of these birds are
taken annually, generally from October to March. One was caught in the last week of October
1860, and another in November 1862. It soon becomes very tame in captivity. Its note is like
the sound of a penny trumpet, from which it derives its Maltese name;” and he further says
(Ibis, 1870, p. 489) that several young birds were taken during the summer of 1869, and he
found one amongst some Finches exposed for sale in the market in October in that year. It
probably occurs as a rare straggler in Greece; for Von der Miihle describes a bird obtained near
Lamia in the summer season, which appears to be the present species. I do not find any further
record of its occurrence in Europe proper; nor does it appear to have been met with in Asia
Minor; but Canon Tristram records it from Palestine, where, he says (Ibis, 1859, p. 34), it is
found in the most desert portions of the rocky wilderness between Bethlehem and Hebron; and
he further adds (Ibis, 1868, p. 208) that it was not uncommon near Beersheba, in the desert
country.

In North-east Africa it is common in the desert country, according to Von Heuglin in the
vicinity of the Nile, between 27° and 30° N. lat.; and Chalihl Effendi, in a few notes on this
species (J. f. O. 1859, p. 469), says that it “is a resident in all portions of North-east Africa,
where the desert reaches to the banks of the Nile, being met with in Upper Egypt, Nubia, the
oases, and even in Arabia Petrea. The Egyptains know it well under the name of ‘Asfir e/
hadjar’ (Little Stonebird); but I do not know the Nubian name. In North and Central Nubia
and Egypt it lives in large flocks of about eighty individuals, visits the fields like our Finches,
and wanders about between the river and the mountains. The wilder and more rugged rocks
are places where it is sure to be met with. Not being pursued, it is very tame, but keeps apart

3

from other species, even at the desert wells, at which it appears to be found in every oasis. At
the wells of Bahiuda it was the commonest bird, being even more numerous than the Desert-
Larks and Emberiza striolata. Near the confines of the desert it becomes rarer. I never saw it
in Central and Lower Egypt, and only once in Arabia Petrea.” Dr. Leith Adams also writes
(Ibis, 1864, p. 23) as follows :—‘“ Along the confines of cultivation and rocky situations bordering
on the desert, the clear tinkling call of the Trumpeter Bullfinch is heard, where often the colour
of its plumage prevents its being seen. It breeds among the old tombs at Thebes, associating
there with the Domestic Sparrow. In Nubia the Sparrow-Hawk may be often observed sweeping
around a cliff, with one of these birds in its talons, pursued by the loud lamentations of the whole
flock, uttered in their characteristic clear and musical notes. They begin to pair about the end
of January.”

In North-west Africa it is also tolerably common. Loche says that “it is only found in the
Sahara and the K’sours, being especially numerous in the M’zab from Ras Nili to Ouaregla;”
and Canon Tristram writes (Ibis, 1859, p. 294) that it is “found generally dispersed on the
gravelly steppes in the north of the Sahara, but not in the sandy districts. In winter it is
gregarious, and may be seen in small flocks industriously searching under every stone or picking
the buds of the desert plants. In spring these flocks disperse, and retire to pair among the
lonely ‘ weds’ and cliffs.” Mr. L. Taczanowski also met with it in the barren hills of Algeria or
amongst the bushes in the desert, and observes that it picks up its food on the ground under the
bushes, and that flocks frequently disperse and reassemble. Mr. Chambers-Hodgetts records it
(Ibis, 1867, p. 103) from Tripoli, where he saw a pair. It is found in the Canaries, where,
according to Messrs. Webb and Berthelot and Dr. C. Bolle, it is not uncommon in Lanzarote,
Canaria, and Fuerteventura; but Mr. Godman did not meet with it. Dr. Bolle writes (Nau-
mannia, 1858, p. 379), “it is to some extent found breeding at Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and
Gran Canaria. I found it distributed over the whole eastern half of Canaria, and think it may
extend further west. I observed the first in April 1856, on the road which leads from Ciudad
de las Palmas to the interior. I further observed it at Jinamar, Carrizal, and Juan grande, and
I found it nowhere more common than at Arguineguin. It avoids the western islands, and has
not yet been observed on Teneriffe, Gomera, Palma, and Ferro.”

To the eastward it is found as far as Sindh. Mr. Blanford informs me that he met with it
here and there in Persia, but did not observe it in Baluchistan near the coast, and only once shot
specimens on the higher plains of Persian Baluchistan. Mr. A. O. Hume, who obtained it in
Sindh, writes (Stray Feathers, i. p. 210) that “it was met with only at comparatively short
distances from the lower slopes of the hills which divide Sindh from Khelat. They were seen
exclusively on small patches of cultivation which here and there occur, oases in the barren waste
which fringes the skirts of the mountains. ‘They were always in small flocks, feeding on a kind
of mustard; very tame, but difficult to shoot, because, invariably, when in the least disturbed,
they run in amongst the mustard plants along the ground, with which their upper surfaces are
almost absolutely unicolorous.”

In its habits this elegantly coloured little Bullfinch is essentially an inhabitant of the desert
and of sterile rocky localities, where its beauty tends to enliven the dreary landscape; and
whereyer it is found it must be looked for, not in the green flower-bestrewn gardens, but in the

322

88

4

most desolate localities that can be found. Dr. Carl Bolle, in an excellent monograph of this
species (Naumannia, 1858, pp. 369-393) remarks that in the Canaries it likewise affects the
treeless, stony, and hot localities, where the stillness is only broken by its low trumpet-note,
which Dr. Bolle describes as “‘ vox clamantis in deserto.” It does not frequent the sand-country,
nor yet the bolder mountain-rocks, but prefers the more level but rugged lava-covered districts,
where it can at any moment find a hiding-place amongst the fissures, or amongst the loose masses
of lava; and here it lives a peaceable life, being subject to no persecution, either from man or
beast. In Africa it likewise frequents the borders of the desert, but seldom visiting the culti-
vated districts. Though not a true migrant, still, like all the Finches, when collected together
during the autumn and winter, it wanders about, frequently straggling some distance from its
breeding-haunts; and at this season of the year it is when it has been met with in other localities
than those where it remains to breed.

In the Canaries, as also in North Africa, its breeding-season commences in March; and its
nest is so carefully concealed that it has seldom been met with. He describes the nest as being
rather roughly and loosely built of coarse bents of desert-grass, and lined with feathers, generally
those of the Sand-Grouse or the Houbara, or with a little camel’s or goat’s hair, and says that
it is carefully concealed in a fissure in the rocks or on the ground under a large stone. Canon
Tristram says (Ibis, 1859, p. 294) that it “‘ breeds in holes, laying an egg resembling that of the
Bullfinch, but the ground is of a much deeper blue. The nest is slight, composed entirely of
fine roots and fibrous grasses.” Dr. Bolle, who succeeded in getting a pair to breed in an aviary,
describes the eggs as being “large for the size of the bird, in colour pale sea-green, and dotted
with reddish brown spots and blotches, which are very scattered at the smaller end, but collect
and form a wreath round the larger one.’ I possess one egg, obtained in Algeria by Major
Loche, which agrees closely with Dr. Bolle’s description above given, and not with that of
Dr. Tristram, being very pale sea-green, spotted with light and dark reddish brown, the spots
being principally collected round the larger end, and in size measures 36 by $} inch.

It feeds on seeds of various kinds of plants which grow in the dreary districts it frequents ;
and in spite of its love for desert places, it must have water at least so near within reach that it
can visit it once in the day: hence in the deserts of North Africa it is generally found near the
oases.

The song of the male is by Dr. Bolle said to closely resemble the low note of a small penny
trumpet, sometimes loud and clear, and at others long drawn out and harsh. A note frequently
used is a rather harsh kd, kad, ki; and they frequently call to each other using a cackling note
like kekek, kekeek; and the alarm-note, or note of astonishment at any thing unusual, is a loud
schak, schak. Von Heuglin says that “its call-note is a wooden fer, ter; and its song is very
poor, resembling the sound produced by blowing into a child’s wooden trumpet.”

The specimens figured are an adult male, in full breeding-plumage, from Egypt, and a
female from Persia, both in my own collection, these being the specimens described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

89
5

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,3. Malta, November 15th, 1862 (C. A. Wright). 6. Egypt, March 27th, 1870 (G. E. Shelley). c¢,¢.
Upper Egypt, March 1850 (Baron J. W. von Miiller). d, 3. Egypt (Rogers). e, juv. Algeria (Verreauz).
f, $. Near Regan, Narmanshir, 8.E. Persia, April 15th (W. T. Blanford). gy, 2. Shiraz, Persia, June
(Major St. John).

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.
a, 3,6. Egypt, April 20th, 1870. c,¢. Egypt, May 7th, 1870. d,3. Egypt, February 15th, 1868 (G. EL. S.).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a,@. Laghouat, Sahara, November 18th, 1856 (H. B. T.). 6,3. Laghouat, April 4th, 1870. c¢. Sahara.
d,d. Biskra, Algeria, January 22nd, 1857 (H. B. T.).

LSS

CRIMSON-WINGED FINCH.

ERYTHROSPIZA SANGUINEA

ERYTHROSPIZA SANGUINEA.,

(CRIMSON-WINGED FINCH.)

Fringilla sanguinea, Gould, P. Z. 8. 1837, p. 127.

Carpodacus rhodopterus, Licht. Nomencl. Av. p. 48 (1854).
Erythrospiza phenicoptera, Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 535 (1850).
Fringilla rhodoptera, Licht. Mus. Lugd. fide Bp. ut supra (1850).
Montifringilla sanguinea, Gould (ubi?), fide Bp. ut supra (1850).
Ehodopechys phenicoptera, Bp. Cat. Parzud. p. 4 (1856).

Fringilla coccothraustes phenicoptera, Bree, B. of Kur. iii. p. 95 (1867).
Carpodacus phenicopterus (Bp.), Tristram, Ibis, 1868, p. 208.

Figure notabiles.
Schlegel & Bonap. Monogr. des Lox. pls. 30, 31; Bree, B. of Eur. iii. pl. to p. 95.

é ad. fronte et pileo centrali nigro-fuscis, plumis indistincté pallidiore marginatis: corpore supra cum tectri-
cibus alarum minoribus umbrinis, plumis vix pallidiore marginatis: remigibus et tectricibus alarum
majoribus saturaté fuscis, extus fere ad apicem conspicué sanguineo-rosaceo marginatis, secundariis
intimis albo apicatis: supracaudalibus rosaceis: rectrice extima utrinque alba rhachi fusca, reliquis
saturaté fuscis vix albo apicatis: loris et plumis ad basin rostri lateralibus sanguineo-rosaceis: gula,
capitis lateribus et collo postico cum pilei lateribus arenaceo-ochraceis, regione parotica fusco notata :
gutture et hypochondriis dorso concoloribus sed valdé pallidioribus, plumis centraliter saturatioribus :
pectore centraliter, abdomine et subcaudalibus albis vix rosaceo lavatis: rostro fusco-flavo: pedibus

fulvis: iride saturate fusca.
Q ad. mari similis sed sordidior et pallidior: pileo fusco, plumis brunnescente ochraceo marginatis.

Adult Male (Chodjent, April). Forehead and centre of the crown to the nape dull blackish, the feathers
with slightly lighter margins, sides of the crown, throat, and hind neck sandy buff; back, scapulars,
and lesser wing-coverts umber- earth-brown, the feathers with lighter edges; quills and larger wing-
coverts dark brown externally, except at the tip, broadly margined with rich rose-red tinged with
carmine; inner secondaries tipped with white; upper tail-coverts rose-pink ; outer rectrices white with
brown shafts, remaining tail-feathers dark brown slightly tipped and marked with white; lores and
feathers on the side of the head at the base of the bill carmine-red, auriculars coloured like the sides of
the neck, but marked with dark brown; throat and flanks like the back, but paler, the feathers with
dark centres; centre of the breast, abdomen, under tail-coverts, and under wing-coverts white slightly
tinged with rose-colour; bill brownish yellow; legs light brown; iris dark brown. Total length about
5°75 inches, culmen 0°52, wing 4:15, tail 2:5, tarsus 0°78.

Adult Female (Chodjent, April). Differs from the male in being duller in colour, the red portions of the
plumage much paler, the feathers on the crown having much broader sandy buff margins, and the
white on the underparts covering a rather larger area. Culmen 0:5, wing 3°8, tail 2°35, tarsus 0°75.

91

2

Tuis rare and beautiful bird seems to be met with only in the south-eastern portion of the region
of the ornithology of which I am treating, being found in the Caucasus and Palestine, ranging
eastward into Turkestan. It is, however, somewhat remarkable that Loche records its occurrence
in Algeria, and states that it is only met with in the northern portions of the province. He says
that he has seen one from the frontier of Tunis, obtained through Dr. Buvry, and another, in
very bad condition, from near Zaatcha. I may, however, here remark that none of the later
travellers has ever met with it in North-west Africa; and it seems possible that there may be
some mistake as regards the true localities whence the specimens recorded by Loche were
obtained. It was first described by Gould (/.c.) from a specimen obtained at Erzeroom, and
has since been met with by Canon Tristram and Mr. Cochrane on Mount Lebanon. The former
of these gentlemen writes (Ibis, 1868, p. 208) as follows:—‘ On the north side of Hermon occurs
also Carpodacus phenicopterus, Bp. It is not only local, but very scarce, yet unquestionably
sedentary, concealing itself after the manner of our Bullfinch. We never could detect its nest,
and very rarely caught a glimpse of it. It does not appear to descend as low as the villages of
Lebanon, excepting in winter.” Von Heuglin says that there is a specimen in the Mergentheim
collection which is stated to have come from Arabia; and Mr. Blanford informs me that he only
once met with it on his last expedition to Persia. A flock was sitting on some steep rocks by
the side of the road in a high valley of the Elburz, and he had the good fortune to bag three.
Dr. Severtzoff, who met with it in Turkestan, says it is resident in that country, but is rather
sporadic in its distribution. Beyond the above data I find no information on record respecting
its range; and, indeed, it appears to be nowhere common. Canon Tristram, who was fortunate
enough to see this bird alive, gives me the following note:—“I never met with Hrythrospiza
sanguinea but twice in the Lebanon. On the first occasion I had a good view of a brilliantly
plumaged male (I presumed), towards the end of May. It was flitting restlessly from tree to
tree in an open space on the mountain-side, where the trees were sparse and isolated. There
being no cover I was unable to secure it. A few days afterwards I shot a specimen among scrub
and dwarf cedars, a female, but saw no others with it. There were many Emberiza cia, with
whom it was on sociable terms. Mr. Cochrane shot a bird from the nest the same week, and
brought the nest to camp, containing one egg. He kindly gave me the bird shot from the nest,
which I have in my collection. He told me he found the nest in a tree. My impressson is that
the nest was an ordinary Finch-nest, of the character of that of the Greenfinch. The bird
appears to affect the open spaces. with scrub and a tree here and there, and to avoid the thicker
forest.” The egg above referred to by Canon Tristram is in my collection, and is, I believe, the
only authentic specimen known. I received it from Mr. Cochrane, who informs me that he found
the nest, which contained but one egg, near the celebrated grove of cedars on Lebanon, on the
24th May, 1864, and he succeeded in shooting the parent bird, which he gave to Canon Tristram.
Unfortunately he did not keep the nest, and has supplied me with no further data respecting its
structure, or, indeed, respecting the nidification of this rare bird. The egg is white with a faint
greyish sea-green tinge, very minutely (almost imperceptibly) dotted with grey, chiefly at the
larger end, and measures 3? by 24 inch.

The specimens figured are an adult pair from Chodjent, Turkestan, and are those above
described.

3

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 6 ad., b, 9 ad. Chodjent, Turkestan, April (Dr. Severtzoff).

E Mus. Ind. Cale.
a, b,3,c,@. Karij valley, Elburz Mountains, north of Tehran, August (W. T. Blanford).

Pao

|

Genus PYRRHULA.

Pyrrhula, Brisson, Orn. iii. p. 308 (1760).
Loxia apud Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 500 (1766).
Fringilla apud Meyer, Vog. Livl. p. 81 (1815).

THe Bullfinches form, as it were, a connecting-link between Carpodacus and Loaia, through
Pinicola; and I have therefore thought them best placed between the first and last of these
genera. The genus Pyrrhula is represented in the Palearctic, northern portions of the Oriental
and Ethiopian Regions, as also in the extreme north-western portion of the Nearctic Region.
Three species are resident in the Western Palearctic Region.

The Bullfinches inhabit wooded and cultivated districts, especially large orchards, greenwood
groves where there is plenty of underwood and the trees do not stand too close, bush-covered
districts, &c. They are active, sprightly birds, shy and retiring in their habits, seldom consorting
with other allied species. They have a soft plaintive whistle, and a sweet and plaintive song.
Their flight is quick and undulating; and their food consists chiefly of buds and seeds, and only
to a small extent of insects. They construct a neatly and artistically formed cup-shaped nest of
twigs lined with fine roots, and deposit several greenish blue eggs spotted and blotched with
purplish grey and dark brown.

Pyrrhula europea, the type of the genus, has the bill very short, strong, bulging at the
sides, as high as broad at the base, the upper mandible considerably longer than and overhanging
the lower one; nostrils basal, nearly hidden by recurved stiff feathers; wings moderately long,
the first quill finely attenuated and scarcely discernible, the fourth longest; tail rather long,
slightly forked; tarsus and toes short, the former covered in front with four large and three
inferior scutelle; claws somewhat long, arched, laterally grooved, acute; plumage soft and
blended.

5)

phe

198

eulemans lth M&N.Hanhart imp

NORTHERN BULLFINCH.
PYRRHULA MAJOR

PYRRHULA MAJOR.

(NORTHERN BULLFINCH.)

Loxia pyrrhula, Linn. Syst. Nat. p. 300 (1766).

{ Pyrrhula rubicilla, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 7 (1811).
Fringilla pyrrhula (1.), Meyer, Vog. Liv- u. Esthl. p. 81 (1815).
Pyrrhula major, C. 1. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 252 (1831).
Pyrrhula coccinea, De Selys, Faune Belge, p. 79 (1842).

Dompap, Norwegian and Danish; Domherre, Swedish; Punatulkku-Leivonen, Finnish ;
Snigir, Russian.

Figure notabiles.
Sundevall, Svensk. Fog]. pl. 11. figs. 4,5; Kjzrb. Orn. Dan. taf. 28.
3 ad. Pyrrhule europee similis sed major, rostro robustiore, corpore subtus colore clariore et letiore.
2 ad. Pyrrhule europee similis sed major.

Adult Male (Uima, Archangel). Resembles P. europea, but is larger, has a larger and stouter bill, and the
red portion of the plumage is richer and brighter in tinge of colour. Total length about 6:25 inches,
culmen 0°45, wing 3°8, tail 3:1, tarsus 0:8.

Adult Female (Uima). Resembles the female of P. europea, but is larger, measuring—culmen 0°45, wing

3°75, tail 2°95, tarsus 0:7. :

THE present species, which is a larger and more richly coloured form of our British and West-
European species, inhabits Northern and Eastern Europe, breeding in the north and visiting the
southern countries during the winter.

It does not appear to have with certainty been known to occur in Great Britain, but is the
common Bullfinch of Scandinavia. Mr. Collett says that it breeds commonly in Norway, both in
the eastern districts, from Smaalehnene and the districts about the Christiania fiord, as also in all
probability along the entire west coast. Northward it passes above the Polar circle. In the
autumn and winter it visits the plains, and especially inhabited places. On the fells it scarcely
ranges above the limit of conifer-growth.

Sundevall says that it is found throughout Sweden, and even occurs in Skane in the summer
season, as well as high up in Lapland, at Gellivara and Quickjock. In the winter it is found in
Central and Southern Sweden. In Finland it is very generally distributed, but breeds chiefly in
the northern districts, visiting the southern portions of that country in the cold season.

Throughout the whole of Northern Russia it is common during the breeding-season ; and,
judging from the collections I have received from Archangel, it would seem to be very numerous

R

D7

98

2

in that Government. Mr. L. Sabanaeff states that it breeds commonly in the Jaroslaf Govern-
ment, and less numerously in that of Moscow. According to Daniloff it breeds in the Orloff and
Charkoff Governments. In the Perm Government Sabandeff met with it only on passage, and it
was observed almost exclusively in the conifer-woods on the eastern slope. In the Kaslinsky and
Keshtemsky Ural it was rare.

So far as I can ascertain, the present species is the Bullfinch found in Poland and the Baltic
Provinces; but it would be interesting to obtain a series from there for examination, especially
as, according to Mr. H. Goebel (J. f. O. 1875, p. 9), it is resident in Courland. During the
winter season it is met with here and there in Germany, and is stated to straggle also to Holland
and Belgium; and, according to Messrs. Degland and Gerbe, numbers appeared near Lille in
December 1830. It probably occurs in Heligoland; for Mr. Cordeaux says that specimens from
there are more richly coloured than our bird; and Kjerbolling says that it visits Denmark, but
only in the winter season on its wanderings, appearing soon after the first frost. Ido not find
any instance of its occurrence in France and Italy; but Dr. A. Fritsch says (J. f. O. 1871, p. 309)
that it visits Bohemia during the winter. All the specimens I have examined from Greece
belong to the present species; and Dr. Kriiper states that it is a rare winter visitant to that
country, and is not met with every season. Colonel Drummond-Hay speaks of it, however, as
being common in Macedonia in winter; and Lord Lilford writes (Ibis, 1860, p. 138) that it is
‘“‘a rare winter visitor to Corfu and Epirus, common in December in Albania proper, about the
mouth of the river Drin,” where he observed it feeding on the berries of the privet. In Southern
Russia it appears to be common; and Professor von Nordmann states that it is abundant near
Odessa from the autumn to the spring, and breeds in the mountains of Ghouriel. In the Uman
district, in Southern Russia, it is, Mr. Goebel states, a regular winter visitor, appearing about the
end of October and remaining until the end of March, when it migrates northwards.

It is somewhat difficult to trace the range of the present species in Asia, owing to the lack
of reliable information; but I have examined specimens from Onon and the Ussuri river, which
prove that it is met with thus far to the east; and I may add that I have also examined examples
of Pyrrhula cineracea, the eastern representative of the present species, from Onon.

In habits, mode of nidification, and song the present species does not differ from the
common European Bullfinch. I have received its nest and eggs from Sweden; and, except that
the latter are a trifle large compared with the eggs of Pyrrhula europea, 1 can detect no dif-
ference. Like that species it feeds on seeds and berries, and to some extent also on the tender
buds of trees and bushes; and Mr. R. Collett informs me that in winter “‘it feeds on the seeds
of Sorbus aucuparia, Acer platanoides, Fraxinus, Symphoricarpus, Rubus ideus, Syringa, and of
other bushes and trees.” In Norway it has eggs late in May; and about the end of June, when
the young have left the nest, they wander about with the old females, the old males being
usually found apart.

Like the common species the Northern Bullfinch is subject to melanism; and Mr. Collett
says that there are four black specimens in the Christiania Museum.

The present species being the last of the European Bullfinches of which I shall have to
treat, it may be of some use to working ornithologists to give a short review of the various allied
species that are known to exist, taking, as usual, Gray’s well-known ‘ Hand-list’ as a basis.

3

7477. Pyrrhula europea, Vieill., the type of the genus, is our common European Bullfinch, and inhabits
Western and Central Europe. Full particulars respecting this species are given in the present work.
I may here remark that Pyrrhula rubicilla, Pall. (Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 7), is certainly not referable
to the present species, and it is very doubtful if it is referable to Pyrrhula major, Brehm. Pallas
certainly gives Lowxia pyrrhula, Linn., as a synonym; but he evidently had not our European bird
before him, though he appears to have had specimens of Pyrrhula cineracea, Cab., which he looked on as
being females of the common European bird; for in a note he writes as follows :—‘‘ Foemine in Siberia
seepius tote plumbeo-canescentis, subtus dilutioris sunt coloris, uropygio tamen niveo, vertice cerule-
scenti-aterrimo. Vulgo autem ibidem sunt vinacei subtus coloris, fere palumbi ut in Russia et Europa
reliqua.””

7478. Pyrrhula erythrocephala, Vig. (P. Z. 8. 1830, p. 174). This is a somewhat smaller bird than Pyrrhula
europea, has the head dull crimson (continued round the sides of the neck), forehead and feathers round
the base of the bill black; upper parts dull reddish ashy; rump white; wings and tail glossy black;
underparts dull red, tinged with orange, becoming pale greyish fawn on the abdomen, and white on the
under tail-coverts. Wings 3:0, tail 2°45, tarsus 0:62. The female has the head and neck dull greenish
yellow, the back browner than in the male, and the underparts pale dull brown with an orange tinge.
It inhabits the Himalayas, bemg commoner in the north-west than in the south-west. It is figured by
Gould (Cent. Himal. B. pl. 32. and B. of Asia, pt. v. pl. 14).

7479. Pyrrhula aurantiaca, Gould (P. Z. 8. 1857, p. 222). This very distinct and well-marked species is
accurately figured by Gould (B. of Asia, part x.). I have not had an opportunity of examining a
specimen of this rare Bullfinch, the male of which is recognizable in having the entire plumage
reddish orange, except the face, wings, and tail, which are deep purplish black. The female has the
back ashy, tinged with orange-red, and the underparts duller than in the male. Mr. Gould (J. c.) gives
the measurements as follows—Total length 54 inches, wing 33, tail 23, tarsus 3. It has hitherto only
been found in Cashmere.

7480. Pyrrhula nipalensis, Hodgs. (As. Res. xix. p. 155, 1836), has some affinity with P. cineracea and
P. murina, as the sexes differ but very slightly. The male is cinereous brown above, and similarly
coloured but rather paler below, the under tail-coverts white ; crown marked with blackish brown ;
upper tail-coverts black, tipped with white; outer web of innermost secondary crimson; a band round
the base of the bill black ; wings and tail glossy purplish black, the former crossed by a pale greyish
brown band. The female has the outer web of the innermost secondary saffron-yellow, and not red.
Wing (in a male in Captain Elwes’s collection) 8°83 inches, tail 3:1 (and much forked), tarsus 0-7. It
inhabits the South-east Himalayas, Nepal, and Sikkim. It is figured by Gould (B. of Asia, part v.).

7481. Pyrrhula major, Brehm. Full particulars of this species are given above. I may, however, add that
the name P. coccinea, by which it has very generally been known, cannot stand, and must give place
to P. major of Brehm. De Selys’s name seems to be taken from Emberiza coccinea, Gmel. ex Sander
(Syst. Nat. i. p. 873, 1788). Fortunately I possess the ‘ Naturforscher’ where (xii. p. 199, 1779)
Sander describes that species; but he gives it no name, and certainly nothing can be made out of his
description, which was taken from a caged bird; and this, though said to have been caught in Germany,
may have been some foreign bird.

7482. Pyrrhula griseiventris, Lafresnaye (Rev. Zool. 1841, p. 241). The male of this species differs from
Pyrrhula europea in having only the throat red, this colour being pinker and not so brick-like in tinge
as in the common Bullfinch,—the rest of the underparts being dull ashy grey, tinged with pinky
vinous in summer. It also lacks the red colour on the innermost secondary that is always found in
our European bird. The female resembles the female of P. europea. A male from Hakodadi, in
Mr. Swinhoe’s collection, measures—wing 3°25, tail 2°6, tarsus 0°68. It inhabits Japan, and is figured
im the ‘ Fauna Japonica’ (pl. 53) under the name of Pyrrhula orientalis.

R22

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LOO

4

7483. Pyrrhula erythaca, Blyth (Ibis, 1862, p. 389), is perhaps the rarest of the known species of Bullfinch ;
and I am fortunate in being able to examine a specimen belonging to Captain Elwes, a male obtained
in Sikkim in April 1864. It has the wings, tail, and a band round the base of the bill glossy black,
the larger coverts broadly tipped with ashy grey, the feathers bordering the band round the bill pale
ashy white; upper parts dull dark ashy; the feathers on the lower rump tipped with black, below which
is a white patch ; upper throat ashy grey; breast brick-red with an orange tinge, fading into grey on
the abdomen; under tail-coverts white. Wing 3:1 inches, tail 2°9, tarsus 0°68. It inhabits Sikkim, at
great altitudes. A good figure of this species is given, Ibis, 1863, pl. 10.

7484. Pyrrhula murina, Godman, inhabits the Azores. Full particulars and a plate of this species are given
in the present work.

Besides the above, there are two species of Bullfinch known which will very probably have
to be united. ‘These are as follows :—

Pyrrhula cassinii, Baird (Trans. Chic. Acad. Sc. i. p. 316, pl. 29. fig. 1). This species, of which only one
specimen (from the Yukon river, Alaska) is known, appears, so far as I can judge from the description
and figure, to differ from the next species (P. cineracea) in having the outer tail-feathers with an
elongated patch of white in the terminal half, along the shaft, but not reaching to the tip; and as I
find indications of this patch in some of my specimens of P. major, I think this may not be of specific
value; but before uniting these two species it would be necessary to compare the type of P. cassinii
with examples from Eastern Siberia and Japan.

Pyrrhula cineracea, Cab. (J. f. O. 1872, p. 315, 1874, pl. 1). The female of this species very closely resembles
the female of Pyrrhula major, differing only in having the outer web of the innermost primary grey and
not red. The male resembles the female, but is much clearer grey on the upper as well as the under-
parts, the latter being very clear, almost silvery ash-grey. An adult male from Onon in my collection
measures—wing 3°45 inches, tail 2:9, tarsus 0°7. It inhabits Eastern Siberia and Japan, from which
latter country I have examined several specimens in the collection of Mr. R. Swinhoe, which are, as a
rule, a little more dull in general coloration than those from Siberia.

Pyrrhula cineracea appears to meet the species of which I am now treating (P. major) at
Onon, as I have examples before me of both species from that locality.

The specimen figured is an adult male from Sweden in my own collection, and is the same
as that above described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. EH. Dresser.

a,Q. Stehag, Sweden, January 28th, 1875 (W. Meves). 6, 3 jun. Christiania, October 3rd, 1866 (Collezt).
_¢,d. Uima, Archangel, May 16th, 1873 (Piottuch). d,d3,e,?. Uima, November 18th, 1873 (C. Craemers).
f, S. Moscow (Dode). g,d,h, 2. Olympus, Macedonia, December 4th, 1869 (Dr. Kriiper).

E Mus. Brit. Req.

a,3,6,9. Stehag, Sweden, February and March 1869 (W. Meves). c,é,d, 2. Denmark, winter. e, ¢.
St. Petersburg (Dode).
E Mus. R. Swinhoe.

a,3 ad, Onon, January 8th, 1873 (Dr. Dybowski). 6,3. Ussuririver, Siberia, November 8th, 1872 (Dybowski).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
4,3,6,2. Helsingér, Denmark, October 14th, 1870 (A. Benzon). c,d ad. Tiflis, Caucasus, 1873 (F. Smith).

COMMON BULLFINCH.
PYRRHULA EUROPAEA.

3 ad.

3 ad.

PYRRHULA EUROPA.

(COMMON BULLFINCH.)

Pyrrhula, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 308 (1760).

Pyrrhula nigra, Briss. tom. cit. p. 313 (1760).

Pyrrhula candida, Briss. tom. cit. p. 313 (1760).

Le Bouvreuil, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iv. p. 372, pl. 17 (1778).
Loxia pyrrhula, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 387 (1790).

LFringitla pyrrhula (Lath.), Temm. Man. d’Orn. p. 200 (1815).
Pyrrhula europea, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. iv. p. 286 (1816).
Pyrrhula rufa, Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 227 (1816).

Pyrrhula vulgaris, Temm. Man. d’Orn. i. p. 338 (1820).
Pyrrhula germanica, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 252 (1831).
Pyrrhula peregrina, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 253 (1831).
Pyrrhula pileata, Macgill. Hist. Brit. Birds, i. p. 407 (1837).

Corcan-coille, Deargan-fraoich, Gaelic; Bouvreuil commun, French; Dom-Fafe, Portuguese ;
Ciuffolotto, Italian; Rothgimpel, Dompfaffe, Blutfink, German; Goudvink, Dutch.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 145; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 33; Frisch, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 2;
Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 22. figs. 1,2; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 111; Gould, B. of
Eur. pl. 209; id. B. of G. Brit. ii. pl. 42; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 174; Susemihl, Voég.
Eur. v. taf. 2.

pileo, genis et mento nitidé nigris: dorso, scapularibus et tectricibus alarum minoribus cerulescenti-
cinereis: uropygio albo: remigibus nigris, interioribus atro-violaceo nitentibus, intimo latere exteriore
rubro: tectricibus alarum majoribus nigris, pallidé cinereo apicatis: caudd et supracaudalibus nigris,
atro-ceruleo nitentibus: gula, gutture et corpore subttis miniato-rubro, abdomine imo et subcaudalibus
albis: rostro nigro, iride fuscd, pedibus saturaté fuscis.

mari dissimilis: dorso fusco-cinereo, corpore subtts rufescenti-cimereo vix vinaceo tincto, rostro
pallidiore.

Adult Male (near London, 10th February). Crown, nape, space round the eye, chin, and a narrow space all

round the base of the bill glossy black with a purplish gloss; back, lesser wing-coverts, and scapulars
bluish ashy, the feathers on the rump broadly terminated with white, forming a conspicuous white
patch; quills black, the primarics externally slightly glossed and the secondaries richly glossed with
bluish or purplish black, the innermost secondary with the outer web nearly all red; larger wing-
coverts black tipped with cinerous; tail and upper tail-coverts black glossed with bluish purple; wnder-
parts generally brick-red, becoming white on the lower abdomen, the under tail-coverts being pure

101

10

2

white; bill black; iris and legs dark brown. ‘Total length about 6:25 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 3:2,
tail 2°6, tarsus 0°7.

Adult Female (Hampstead). Differs from the male in having the head, wings, and tail a trifle less richly
glossed, the blue-grey on the upper parts being replaced by ashy brown; and the underparts, instead of
being red, are warm brown with a faint tinge of vinous; the bill, especially at the base of the under
mandible, is also lighter in colour; and the outer web of the innermost secondary is reddish grey.

Young (Hampstead). Resembles the female, but lacks the black on the head, the upper parts of the body
are browner, the underparts have a warm ochreous tinge, and the larger wing-coverts are tipped with
warm brownish ochreous.

Ir is somewhat difficult to define the exact range of this bird, owing to the fact that it has been
so frequently confused with its larger ally, the Northern Bullfinch; but, so far as I can ascertain,
it appears to be a resident in Central and Western Europe, ranging as far north as the British
Isles, whereas the Northern Bullfinch inhabits Northern and Eastern Europe, migrating south-
ward in the winter season.

In Great Britain the present species is very generally distributed in the wooded districts,
and is resident, occurring, so far as I can ascertain, in every county of England; and Mr. Robert
Gray writes (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 151) that on the western mainland of Scotland it ‘is common

- from Inverness-shire to the south of Wigtownshire. Mr. Sinclair has seen numbers at Loch

Sunart, old and young frequenting birch trees and tangled hedges. In Ayrshire, Dumbarton-
shire, and Renfrewshire it breeds in considerable numbers; and Mr. Alston informs me that it
appears to be on the increase in Lanarkshire as the county becomes better wooded and enclosed.”
Mr. Saxby records but one instance of its occurrence in Shetland, viz. that of a female, obtained
at Halligarth in October 1863. In Ireland, according to Thompson, it probably occurs in every
county, being very generally distributed; but it is somewhat scarce. It does not appear to occur
in Scandinavia, being there, as well as in Finland and in Northern Russia, replaced by its larger
ally. Mr. Sabanaeff certainly informs me that the common Bullfinch breeds near Moscow; but
he seems to be unaware that there are two species, and examples from Moscow are all referable
to the Northern Bullfinch, which is, I believe, the species which has been met with in Poland;
but I have not the materials to enable me to decide this question, nor to state with any degree
ot certainty how far east the present species ranges. It certainly seems to be the only one
which passes the summer in Germany, where it is a partial migrant, leaving its nesting-haunts in
the winter to wander about, but it cannot be looked on as being a true or regular migrant.
Borggreve writes (Vogelf. Nordd. p. 74) that ‘‘it appears to breed only in the mountains of
North Germany and in the plains of the western and central portions, but during the winter it is
met with everywhere. According to Brahts it breeds at Neuwied; according to Schafer, on the
Mosel; and I found it breeding in Minsterland; Von Negelein found it nesting in Oldenburg,
E. von Homeyer in Pomerania, Baldamus in Anhalt, and Gloger in the mountains of Silesia. It
occurs in winter only in the plains of Silesia, at Coslin (fide Hintz), and at Neustadt-Eberswalde.”
When collecting in the countries bordering the Rhine, I found the present species breeding
commonly, especially in the districts near Altenkirchen, where it is one of the commonest of the

2
oO

Finches. It is tolerably common in Belgium; but Schlegel says nothing respecting its presence
during the summer in Holland, except that, according to Nozeman, it is stated to breed in
Gelderland. In France it is generally distributed as far south as the Pyrenees; and according
to Professor Barboza du Bocage it inhabits the northern portion of Portugal, being met with
chiefly in the wooded mountainous districts; but it is not included by Colonel Irby in his
‘Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar,’ and Mr. Saunders informs me that he never met with
jt in Spain. In Savoy it is numerous in the wooded mountains: and the large species is also
stated to occur there; but I cannot indorse this statement, and think it must be founded on error.
In Italy it inhabits the mountains as high up as the birch-region, and ranges as far south as
Naples, visiting Sicily but rarely ; and it has not been recorded from Sardinia. Mr. C. A. Wright
records it (Ibis, 1864, p. 50) as a very rare visitant to Malta; and only four instances have come
to his knowledge, viz. two caught in March 1835, one in 1840, and a fourth some years after-
wards. In Southern Germany it is tolerably widely distributed ; and Mr. Seidensacher informed
me that a few breed in Styria, but in the winter season it is rather rare, at least near Cilli.
Dr. Anton Fritsch states (J. f. O. 1871, p. 309) that it breeds in the mountains of Bohemia and
wanders about the country during the winter season. He also remarks that during passage the
Northern Bullfinch also visits Bohemia. All the specimens I have seen from Greece are referable
to the Northern Bullfinch, and not to the present species; and probably this latter takes the
place of Pyrrhula europea entirely in Eastern Europe. Neither species has been met with in
North-eastern Africa; but Loche states that it is a rare visitant to Algeria, and makes mention
of two examples exposed for sale in the market of Algiers.

Essentially an inhabitant of the woodlands, the Bullfinch is found only in groves, gardens,
and woods both in the mountains and plains, but in places where the undergrowth is tolerably
dense, or in localities where bushes are thickly scattered around; and I have often met with it
in such places where open fields or meadows are in the immediate vicinity. Though wary and
cautious, it is not a shy bird, and is harmless and good-tempered towards others of its own
species, being tolerably fond of companionship, and in the autumn and winter is frequently seen
in small companies or flocks. It is lively and cheerful in its general habits, and is active and
agile in its movements through the foliage and bushes; but on the ground it is heavy and
somewhat awkward, moving by short, somewhat crooked, hops. Its flight is tolerably swift and
undulating; but though it can and does occasionally fly considerable distances, yet, as a rule, it
is generally seen flitting from bush to bush or tree to tree. Its call-note is a soft, plaintive
whistle resembling the syllables hoop, hoop, or dyou, dyow; and by imitating this note it may often
be enticed within gunshot-range. Its song is mellow, but not remarkable for either power or
variety ; and both male and female sing, though the former has a far better song than the latter
and sings more frequently. ‘The song consists of a series of short broken notes intermixed with
a few more prolonged ones, and some few rather harsh notes. Bechstein not inaptly describes
it by the following syllables :—=si, iit, iit, iit, tit, si, re, iit, iit, iit, iit, iit, tit, st, re, iit, la, iit, me,
iit, la, amongst which harsh notes dretschei aahi are always intermixed. It sings at almost all
seasons of the year, though chiefly in the spring. When singing, the male usually sits erect on
an elevated perch, jerks his wings, and twitches the tail and hinder portion of his body, first to
one and then to the other side, every now and then quickly spreading and closing his tail. It is

M

10:

ed

104

4

a well-known and favourite cage-bird, and can be taught to whistle tunes with great accuracy ;
and sometimes one can be brought to learn three or even four tunes; but, so far as I can ascertain,
it is an exception to find a bird that can whistle several tunes with accuracy.

It commences nidification early in May, and builds a tolerably neat nest, which it places on
a bush or a low tree, usually not high up, but sometimes as high as 15 to 20 feet above the
ground. ‘The outer portion of the nest is composed of thin, dry twigs of the birch, fir, &c., inside
which are fine roots, bents, and sometimes a few leaves, the cup, which is usually rather carefully
constructed, being lined with fine roots, hair, and occasionally with a little wool, though, so far
as my own experience goes, the lining most frequently consists of fine roots. The eggs, usually
four or five in number, are somewhat small for the size of the bird, measuring on an average
about 7% by 7@ inch; but I have one that measures 23 by 23 inch. In colour they are pale
greenish blue, spotted with a few dark brownish red dots, which are sparingly scattered about
the surface of the shell; but at or round the larger end there are larger spots and blotches of a
dull reddish or dark reddish brown colour, and a few pale purplish red or violet-grey shell-
markings.

The female alone incubates; but whilst sitting she is well supplied with food by her mate.
The term of incubation extends over about two weeks; and when hatched the young are most
carefully tended by both parents, and fed with husked seeds which have been softened in the
crops of the old birds. ‘Two broods appear usually to be raised in the season.

The food of the present species appears to consist almost exclusively of seeds, berries, and,
to some extent, of tender buds, insects forming no part of its diet. In the spring it does some
damage in the gardens, owing to its partiality to the tender buds of the fruit-trees; but on the
other hand it is eminently beneficial in consuming vast quantities of the seeds of various weeds,
especially those of the thistle; and Mr. Stevenson remarks that one individual in confinement
was known to eat two hundred and thirty-eight seeds of the spear-plume thistle (Cnicus lanceo-
latus) in about twenty minutes, though at the same time it was plentifully supplied with
hempseed.

Dark varieties of the Bullfinch are occasionally met with ; and sometimes a specimen is to be
met with black, this being caused in caged birds by feeding them on hempseed ; but not only do
birds in confinement assume this dark colour, but this variety has been met with in a wild state.
Naumann remarks that he never knew of a wild melanistic specimen having been obtained; but
Mr. J. H. Gurney writes (Zool. 1854, p. 4252) as follows :—‘ Last autumn a gentleman presented
me with a Bullfinch entirely black, which had been found of that colour in a nest containing
three other young birds all of the ordinary colour. This bird has subsequently moulted, and in
doing so has totally lost its black colouring, and has assumed the ordinary plumage of the female
Bullfinch.” Pure white varieties appear to be the rarest; but partial albinoes and pale greyish
varieties sometimes occur.

The specimens figured are a very fine British-killed pair, male and female, being those above
described. Asa rule, our British specimens are rather duller in tint of red than those from the
continent; but this is not always the case; I have therefore deemed it best to figure a rather

bright-coloured British-killed male.

105

5

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6. Near London, February 10th, 1870. 6,9. Hampstead, Middlesex. c¢,2,d,?9. Hampstead, October
27th, 1869 (Davy). e, 2. Wolsingham, August 17th, 1866 (J. H. Gurney, jun.). f, 3,9, 2. Westphalia,
April. h, ¢. Westphalia, February (Schiliiter). i, 2. Piedmont (Count Salvadori).

E Mus. Brit. Req.

a, b,c,d,d,9. Avington, Hants (EZ. Shelley). e, 3. Preston Hall, February (J. Gould). f, 3. Belgium,
May (Dubois).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a,3. Palermo, Sicily, December 1867. 6,9. Naples, April 1870. c, 2. Galicia (W. Schliiter).

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200

J.GKeulemans lith

Mé&NHanhart imp

AZOREAN BULLFINCH.
PYRRHULA MURINA.

PYRRHULA MURINA,

(AZOREAN BULLFINCH.)

Pyrrhula coccinea, Pucheran, Rev. Zool. 1859, p. 413, nec Sélys.
Pyrrhula murina, Godman, Ibis, 1866, p. 97.

Priola, Prior, in the Azores.

Figura unica.
Godman, Ibis, 1866, pl. 3.

capite, alis et cauda ut in Pyrrhuld europed coloratis: dorso cinereo-murino vix fusco-aurantiaco lavato :
uropygio dorso concolori sed magis cinereo: corpore subtis ut in feemind Pyrrhule europee sed pallidé
fusco-aurantiaco tincto: rostro, iride et pedibus ut in P. europed coloratis.

9 mari similis sed pectore magis cinereo et colore aurantiaco carente.

Adult Male (St. Michael’s, Azores, April). In general appearance resembling the female of Pyrrhula
europea, but has a larger and stouter bill, the upperparts are washed with dull orange-brown,
especially towards the rump, which is the same colour as the back, and not white as in P. europea;
underparts brownish ashy with an orange-brown tinge; bill, iris, and feet as in P. europea. Total
length about 6°25, culmen 0°5, wing 3°45, tail 3-0, tarsus 0:9.

Adult Female (Azores). Resembles the male, but is rather smaller in size, and less tinged with orange-
brown, especially on the underparts, which are greyer and paler than in the male.

Tuts island form of our Bullfinch, having some affinity to the Siberian Pyrrhula cineracea,
inasmuch as the sexes differ but slightly in appearance, is only known to inhabit the island of
St. Michael’s, in the Azores, and appears to be confined to the mountainous parts of that island.
By M. Pucheran, who examined a single example obtained by M. Morelet, it was referred to
Pyrrhula coccinea, De Sélys, as being the female of that species, which it certainly resembles,
but is easily distinguishable by the absence of white on the rump, besides a slight difference in
coloration; it is indeed a most excellent and undoubtedly good species. Exceedingly little is
known respecting this bird; and it is one of the rarest of the Bullfinches in collections. I find
nothing on record respecting its habits beyond what is stated by Mr. Godman, who writes (J. c.)
as follows :—“In habits the Bullfinch of the Azores resembles our P. vulgaris, feeding principally
upon insects and the buds of trees. I believe that it is confined to the mountainous parts of St.
Michael’s, where it is tolerably abundant. It is so tame that it takes but little notice of the
report of a gun, and I shot thirteen individuals in the same poplar tree in a few minutes. I
know nothing of its breeding-habits, as I was not on the island at the right time of year, and it
is difficult to obtain accurate information from the inhabitants.”
The specimens figured are an adult male and female from the Azores, in my own collection.

2

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :-—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a,3,6,2. St. Michael’s, Azores, April 1865 (F. D. Godman).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.

a, 3, 6, c, 2. St. Michael’s, Azores, March 1865.

d, e,f,3,9, 2. St. Michael’s, April 1865 (F. D. Godman).

Genus PINICOLA.

Loxia apud Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 299 (1766).

Pinicola, Vieillot, Ois. d’Amér. Sept. i. p. 4 (1807).

Fringilla apud Meyer, Vog. Livl. p. 74 (1815).

Strobilophaga apud Vieillot, Analyse, p. 29 (1816).

Corythus apud Cuvier, Régne Anim. i. p. 391 (1817).

Pyrrhula apud Temminck, Man. d’Orn. i. p. 333 (1820).
Coccothraustes apud Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Ay. i. p. 528 (1850).
Enucleator apud C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 89 (1855).

CLosELY allied on the one hand to Lowia, and on the other to Pyrrhula and Carpodacua, this
genus cannot well be placed elsewhere than between the two former genera. By some authors,
amongst whom I may mention Professor Newton, it is included in the genus Pyrrhula; but it
appears to me well worthy of generic rank.

Only one species belongs to this genus, Pinicola enucleator, the range and habits of which
are given in the following article. This species, which is consequently the type of the genus,
has the bill like Pyrrhula, but longer, the upper mandible acute, declinate; nostrils basal,
round, concealed by recurved bristly feathers; wings moderately long, the first quill attenuate,
scarcely visible, the third or fourth the longest; tail rather long, rather deeply forked; tarsus
short, compressed, with four large and three inferior scutellz ; toes stout ; claws moderately long,
curved, acute, laterally grooved; plumage soft and full.

60

109

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201

J.G.Keulemans del. - Mintern Bros .imp -

PINE GROSBEAK
PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR

lil

PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR.

(PINE-GROSBEAK.)

The Greatest Bullfinch, Edwards, Nat. Hist. Birds, pls. 123, 124 (1751).
Le Gros-bec de Canada, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 250, pl. xii. fig. 3 (1760).
Loxia enucleator, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 299 (1766).

Le Dur-bec, Buffon, Hist. Nat. Ois. iii. p. 457 (1775).

Loxia flamingo, Sparrm. Mus. Carls. no. 17 (1786).

Pinicola rubra, Vieill. Ois. d’Am. Sept. i. p. 4 (1807).

Fringilla enucleator (1..), Meyer, Vég. Livl. & Esthl. p. 74 (1815).
Strobilophaga (le Dur-bec, Buff.), Vieill. Analyse, p. 29 (1816).
Strobilophaga enucleator (L.), Vieill. Nouv. Dict. ix. p. 609 (1817).
Corythus, Cuy. (Loxia enucleator, L.), Regne Anim. i. p. 391 (1817).
Pyrrhula enucleator (L.), Temm. Man. d’Orn. i. p. 333 (1820).
Corythus enucleator (L.), Flem. Brit. Anim. p. 76 (1828).

Loxia psittacea, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 5 (1831).

Corythus angustirostris, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 247 (1831).
Pinicola enucleator (L.), Cab. in Ersch. & Grub. Encyel. 1. p. 219 (1849).
“Coccothraustes enucleator auct.,” Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 528 (1850).
“Corythus canadensis, Brehm,” Bp. tom. cit. p. 528 (1850).

“ Pinicola americana, Cab.,” Bp. tom. cit. p. 528 (1850).

Enucleator angustirostris, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 89 (1855).
Enucleator minor, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 89 (1855).

Corythus splendens, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 89 (1855).

Corythus minor, C. L. Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p. 276.

Corythus enucleator splendens, A. EK. Brehm, Verz. Samml. C. L. Brehm, p. 10 (1866).
Corythus enucleator latirostris, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corythus enucleator angustirostris, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).
Corythus enucleator macrorhynchos, A. EK. Brehm, ut supra (1866).
Corythus enucleator microrhynchos, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Pine-Grosbeak, Pine-Bullfinch, English ; Dur-bec vulgaire, French; Hichten-Gimpel, Haken-
Gimpel, German; Krogneb, Svensk-Papegoie, Danish; Tallbit, Nattvaka, Dumsnut,
Swedish; Konglebid, Norwegian; Taviokuurna, Finnish; Shur, Russian; Letpiainen,
Lapp.

Figure notabiles.

Sparrm. /. c.; Edw. 7. ¢.; D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 135. fig. 1; Werner, Atlas, Granivores,
pl. 31; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. 288; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 19. fig. 13; Naumann, Vog.
Deutschl. taf. 112; Sundevall, Sv. Fog]. pl. 2. figs. 2, 3; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 204; id.

3 Q

2

B. of G. B. iii. pl. xliv.; Bp. & Schl. Mon. Lox. pls. 11,12; Wils. Am. Orn. pl. 5; Aud.
B. of Am. pl. 358; Richards. Faun. Bor.-Am. pl. 53; Vieillot, Galerie, pl. 53.

3 ad. capite, collo, pectore, hypochondriis, dorso et uropygio leté coccineis: uropygio et capite letioribus et
clarioribus, plumis omnibus ad basin plumbescenti-schistaceis: dorsi plumis versus apicem brun-
nescenti-schistaceis et coccineo marginatis: remigibus nigricantibus, primariis in pogonio externo
pallidé rubro, et secundariis albido marginatis: tectricibus alarum majoribus et medianis valdé albo
apicatis: tectricibus alarum minoribus nigricanti-schistaceis czerulescente schistaceo apicatis et coccineo
lavatis: caudé nigro-fusca, rectricibus fere omnibus vix sordidé rubro marginatis: pennis setosis ad
basin rostri, loris et regione oculari nigricantibus: abdomine centrali, tectricibus alarum inferioribus et
subcaudalibus ceerulescenti-schistaceis, his albido apicatis: rostro corneo, ad basin mandibule inferioris
pallidiore: pedibus nigro-fuscis: iride fusca.

9 ad. mari dissimilis: capite, nucha, uropygio et pectore aurantiacis vix virescente tinctis nec coccineis: dorsi
plumis aurantiaco terminatis: alis, cauda et corpore imo subtus ut in mare coloratis sed aurantiaco nec
coccineo notatis.

Adult Male (Stockholm, 16th January). Head, neck, breast, back, and rump rich light carmine-red, the
feathers being slaty blue on the basal portion, this colour showing through here and there; the head,
neck, and rump much the richer-coloured; the dorsal feathers slaty brown towards the tip, and only
edged with red, which gives the back the appearance of being marked with semilunar dark patches ;
quills blackish brown, the primaries edged on the outer web with pale red, and the secondaries margined
with white; larger and median wing-coverts broadly tipped with white; smaller wing-coverts and
scapulars dark slaty black, edged with slaty blue and slightly washed with red; upper tail-coverts
blackish slate, tipped with white, washed with red; tail blackish brown, the major portion of the
feathers narrowly edged with dull red; the short stiff feathers on the forehead, at the base of the bill,
lores, and space round the eye dull blackish; centre of the abdomen, under wing-coverts, and under
tail-coverts slate-blue; the under wing-coverts slightly washed with red; flanks like the breast rich
carmine ; under tail-coverts tipped with white; bill dull horn, the under mandible light-coloured at
the base; legs blackish brown; iris dark brown. Total length about 9 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 4°35,
tail 3°7, tarsus 0°9.

Adult Female (Christiania, November). Resembles the male, except that, wherever in the male the plumage
is red, it is rich golden yellow with an apple-green tinge in the female; but this colour is but slightly
present on the rump or lower flanks.

Young Female (Musquash, New Brunswick, December). Resembles the old female; but the yellow portion
of the plumage is duller in colour, is almost confined to the crown, nape, and rump, being but very
slightly scattered over the back and the breast, and is just washed with dull apple-green.

Young Male (Nerepis Valley, New Brunswick, December 14). Resembles the young female, but is rather
more tinged with yellow on the underparts, and on the crown and rump one or two red feathers are
just appearing.

Nestling (fide Meves). Resembles the female, but is of a more dirty greenish grey; head and rump washed
with greenish yellow; larger wing-coverts and the three innermost secondaries with a narrow whitish
border, the median coverts tipped with grey; quills and tail-feathers not fully developed.

Tuis, one of the most strikingly beautiful of the Arctic birds, inhabits the high northern portions
of both the Old and New World, only migrating southward when driven down by the rigours of

3

the Arctic winter. It has occurred in Great Britain, but must be looked on as one of the rarest
of the stragglers that occasionally visit our shores.

Yarrell (B. Birds, i. p. 609) speaks of it as having been obtained in Hulston fir trees,
Lancashire; and a female in his own collection was, he says, shot some years previously at
Harrow, in Middlesex. Knox records two from Ashdown Forest, and one from Petworth,
Sussex; and Stevenson, writing respecting its occurrence in Norfolk, says (B. of Norf. i.
p- 235) that “the brief records respecting it seem to consist of a statement by Messrs. Paget
in their ‘Sketch of the Natural History of Yarmouth, ‘that a flight of these birds were
observed on Yarmouth Denes in November 1822,’ and the fact of a pair having been shot at
Raveningham, in the act of building, as noticed by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher in their ‘ Birds of
Norfolk’ (Zoologist, p.1313).” It is said to have bred at Bungay (in Suffolk) and at Yarmouth ;
but these statements are very doubtful. Besides these records of its occurrence, Mr. Harting, in
his ‘ Handbook of British Birds,’ gives the following, viz.:—one, Bill Quay, Newcastle; several,
Pembrokeshire (Fox, Syn. Newcast. Mus. p. 65); one, Worcestershire, prior to 1834 (Hastings,
Nat. Hist. Worc. p. 65); one or more, Eccles, Berwickshire, prior to 1835 (Thomps. Stat. Acc.
Eccl.); one or more, Kent (Pemberton Bartlett, Zool. 1844, p. 621); one, Rochdale, Lancashire,
Feb. 1845 (Clarke, Zool. 1845, p. 1025); one, Somersetshire (Baker, Somersets. Arch. Proc. 1851,
p. 144); and one, Taunton (Prideaux, Zool. 1862, p. 3474).

Pennant observed it in Aberdeenshire in 1769; and, according to Mr. Robert Gray (B. of
W. of Scotl. p. 152), it is included by Dr. Burgess about twenty years afterwards in his list of
the birds of the parish of Kirkmichael, in Dumfriesshire; and it is likewise mentioned in the
Statistical Account of the parish of Eccles, in Berwickshire, as a rare visitor about thirty-five years
ago. It is included in a catalogue of the animals and plants of the Esk valley, in Midlothian,
published in 1808; and Don includes it in his fauna of Forfarshire; but Mr. Gray adds that he
can find no reliable record of its occurrence in Scotland since 1833; but Macgillivray (Nat. Hist.
Deeside, p. 403) records one from Braemar, in August 1850; and Mr. Harting refers to one
having been seen at Dunkeld, his informant being Colonel Drummond-Hay.

According to Mr. Thompson (B. of Ireland, i. p. 276) one was shot on the 20th December,
1819, at the Cave-hill, near Belfast, but it does not appear to have been preserved.

I may remark that many of the above-recorded occurrences are open to great doubt.

In Scandinavia it is common, breeding in the high north, and wandering southward during
the winter. In Norway it breeds, Mr. Collett informs me, “ in the vicinity of the Arctic Circle,
in the Saltdalen, near Bodo, and in autumn and winter visits the southern lowlands, often in
large numbers. Along the west coast of Norway it is only seldom met with; but in the interior,
in Hamar and Christiania Stifts, it occurs regularly from October to March. It does not appear
to haye as yet with certainty been known to occur north of the Arctic Circle; but it may possibly
breed in South Varanger, as Nordvi obtained its eggs from Enare.” On the Swedish side it is
found in the summer in Lapland; and, according to Professor Sundevall, it does not at that
season come as far south as Dalecarlia or Wermland, but in winter is found as far south as
Skane, though it is only a rare straggler in that part of Sweden. Mr. Collett informs me that
“it first appears near Christiania in flocks in the last days of October, when the cold weather
sets in; and the last are seen about the end of March. It is almost always common near

8Q2

1135

114

4

Christiania in winter, especially when the mountain-ash berries are plentiful; and large numbers
are brought into the markets for sale. It is usually seen in flocks of from 20 to 100 individuals.”
I frequently saw it in Northern and Central Sweden during the winter, and also met with it on
several occasions in Finland, where, as elsewhere, it is sometimes numerous, and at others only
a few are seen; but it never breeds in Finland proper. In Northern Russia it is very common,
and breeds near Archangel, as I have had its eggs sent to me from there. Messrs. Harvie Brown
and Alston (Ibis, 1873, p. 64) record it as a very abundant species in some localities in the
Archangel Government, but they only obtained it at Sujma. Sabandeff only speaks of it as seen
during the winter migration in the Government of Moscow; but it must be very common in
Northern Russia during winter, as I have seen large baskets filled with them in the frozen-
market at St. Petersburg, and have frequently found them served up as “ortolans,” and eaten
them; but I cannot say that they are as good for the table as many of the other small birds.
Throughout the whole of North Germany it occurs during the winter, but seldom in large
numbers. Mr. H. Goebel says (J. f. O. 1873, p. 9) that in severe seasons it is met with in
Courland; and Meyer (Vég. Liv. & Kurl. p. 74) writes that “it visits Livonia annually, some-
times in very large flocks, as was the case in 1790, 1795, 1798, and 1803. It usually arrives
early in the winter, and frequently remains till the spring. In 1790 it arrived in October in
vast numbers, and remained until the middle of December; and in the neighbourhood of Riga
thousands were caught daily.” Herr von Homeyer speaks of it (J. f. O. 1872, p. 308) as being
an annual but rare winter visitant to Kast Prussia, and sometimes occurring in large numbers.
Borggreve (Vogelf. Nord-D. p. 74) speaks of it as occurring in the eastern portion of North
Germany at irregular intervals during winter, and says that, according to Boeck, it has often
occurred in Prussia; Gloger records it as occurring periodically in Silesia; Tobias and Schwartzer
as an irregular visitant to Lausitz and Posen; Ratzeburg states that large numbers were snared
at Neustadt-Eberswald in about 1830; and Dr. E. Rey, in his notes on the ornis of Halle, says
that Nitzsch examined two caught near Schlieben in November 1861. In Denmark it only
occurs during severe winters; and I do not find it recorded from Holland; but it appears to have
occurred in Belgium, as Degland (Orn. Eur. i. p. 184) speaks of it as having been killed near
Charleville; and Buffon says that it has been seen in Alsatia.

It is, according to Degland and Gerbe, an accidental and rare visitant to France, where, how-
ever, it has been killed several times, both in Champagne and Provence; and Roux (Orn. Prov.
p. 117) says that he has heard from trustworthy sources that it occurred in Provence in the
severe winter of 1820. Ido not find any record of its having been met with in Spain or Por-
tugal; and it appears doubtful if it has ever really occurred in Italy. Salvadori remarks (Uce.
d’ Ital. p. 162) that, though Bonelli speaks of it as occurring in Piedmont, he knows of no
authentic instance of its capture there, nor is there any Piedmontese-killed specimen in the
Turin Museum. It has, however, been met with in Southern Germany; and Dr. A. Fritsch
records it (J. f. O. 1871, p. 309) as “ a rare winter visitant to Bohemia. Koblik obtained three
old males on the 8th December, 1845, near Hohenelbe; and in 1846 it was common in the
months of September and October. According to Palliardi, numbers were met with at the foot
of the Riesengebirge in 1847; and Mr. Lokaj once found a specimen amongst Crossbills exposed

5

for sale on the Prague market.’ Professor von Nordmann says that it never straggles as far
south as the Black Sea.

To the eastward its range extends right across the continent of Asia, and has been met with
as far south as the Amoor country. Von Middendorff obtained it in October at Udskoj-Ostrog ;
Dr. G. Radde did not meet with it in the Central Amoor, but found it numerous in the wooded
portions of the Transbaikal country, in the Baikal districts, and in the Eastern Sajan, more
especially near some of the isolated settlements. Dr. von Schrenck only obtained a single
specimen in the Amoor district, a female, which was shot on the 6th April, a short distance
above the Nikolaieffsk Post; and Dr. Dybowski says (J. f. O. 1873, p. 92) that it is tolerably
common at Darasun, in Dauria, during the winter, and breeds in small numbers in the Chamar-
daban mountains, where he met with it in the summer. In the Himalayas it is replaced by
a smaller and slightly differently coloured form, Pinicola subhemachalana, Hodgs.

In North America it is, according to Professor Baird (N. Am. Birds, i. p. 454), “a resident of
the portions of North America north from the United States. In the northern parts of New
York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, as well as in Western America, it is found
throughout the year in the dark evergreen forests. In the winter it is an irregular visitor as far
south as Philadelphia, being in some seasons very abundant, and again for several winters quite
rare. Mr. Boardman mentions it as abundant in the winter about Calais; and Mr. Verrill gives
it as quite common in the vicinity of Norway. It is found every winter, more or less frequently,
in Eastern Massachusetts, though Mr. Allen regards it as rare in the vicinity of Springfield. It
is not cited by Dr. Cooper as a bird of Washington Territory; but he mentions it as not
uncommon near the summits of the Sierra Nevada, in 39° N. lat., in September.” To this I may
add that I frequently met with it in New Brunswick, and saw several flocks at Musquash in
January, February, and March 1860, and shot several, but only once obtained a male in the red
plumage; and that was, unfortunately, stolen by a Canada Jay, who picked it up and carried it
off from my immediate vicinity, I having laid it down for a moment. I recovered it; but it was
torn and half eaten, and quite useless as a specimen. Dr. Elliott Coues met with it along the
coast of Labrador, where it is, he says, not at all rare; and it was obtained by Sir John Richardson
in the Hudson’s Bay Territory, but he did not observe it higher than the 60th parallel, but
mentions an instance of its wintering at York Factory, on Hudson’s Bay. Captain Blakiston
(Ibis, 1862, p. 6) observed and obtained it in the Forks of the Saskatchewan on the 7th of May,
1858; Mr. Dall says that it was ‘collected at Sitka and Kadiak by Bischoff, and is extremely
common near Nulato, and, in fact, wherever there are trees, throughout the Yukon Territory.
Frequents groves of willow and poplar near open places, and especially the water-side, in winter.
In summer they go into more retired thickets to breed.” Mr. R. Brown (Ibis, 1568, p. 423) says
that ‘“‘during the winter of 1866, whilst the snow was on the ground, two pairs were shot at
Fort Rupert, Vancouver's Island ;” and I subsequently obtained, through Mr. P. N. Compton, of
Fort Rupert, one of these two pairs—a fine red male and an old female. The above being the
only records of its occurrence on the Pacific coast, it does not appear to range so far south there
as it does on the eastern side of the Nearctic continent. Professor Baird speaks of the American
bird being richer-coloured than specimens from Europe; but I have found the reverse as far as

ll

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6

the series I have examined is concerned. Probably he had a finer series of American specimens,
and I better examples from Europe than from America.

As the breeding haunts of the Pine-Grosbeak are so far removed from any except most
sparsely inhabited localities (for it breeds only in the extreme high north), but little is known of
its habits during the summer season. I have never found it breeding, and can only speak from
personal observation of its habits during the winter season, when it visits the neighbourhood of
houses, and is eminently unsuspicious and easy to obtain; but my friend Mr. Robert Collett, of
Christiania, writes to me that “no one who has visited their breeding-haunts would ever venture
to indorse the usual verdict (based on their habits during winter), that it is a stupid bird. When
breeding they are, on the contrary, eminently cautious and wary; and I know from personal
experience how difficult it is to find its nest in the vast conifer-forests of the north, where this
species and the Waxwing breed. What has been termed stupidity must rather be set down as
extreme trustfulness and an utter ignorance of any danger in the vicinity of man. In their
forest-homes food is scarce; and in the lonely wilderness they have not learned to suspect danger
on the part of men; but on the approach of winter they find, near human habitations, a super-
fluity of food, and their usual cautiousness is exchanged for a carelessness and a desire to make
the best of the feast spread before them, which, however, only lasts a comparatively short time;
for they soon learn to know that man is their natural enemy. I may name, as a proof of how
little they can measure or judge of danger, a circumstance that happened to myself when
catching a pair, which I kept alive for some time, and finally sent them to the Zoological
Society’s Gardens, Regent’s Park, in 1866. I was in a grove near Christiania in November 1864,
where a lot of snares were set; and whilst there a flock of Pine-Grosbeaks flew down to the
grove, and within the space of a few minutes all were snared but two, which kept hopping about
close to their unfortunate companions. I wanted to get them alive, and withdrew a short
distance; and the next moment one of them was fast in a snare, whilst the other was fruitlessly
endeavouring to get into a snare in which one of his deceased companions was hanging dead.
I proceeded to take out the dead bird in order to allow him to follow the bent of his inclinations ;
and whilst thus employed, he took the opportunity of getting into a spare snare not two paces
from me. I took him out and took the two birds home, finding them so tame that as I fed them
the same day with rowan berries they sat quietly on my hand and made no attempt to fly away;
but after a few days’ time they became much more shy.”

I have frequently met with the Pine-Grosbeak during the winter, and can fully confirm all
that Mr. Collett says respecting their extreme tameness; in fact, they are frequently caught by
the boys in Sweden with a noose at the end of a stick, whilst they are busy feeding greedily on
the berries of the mountain-ash, of which they are extremely fond. I observed that those I met
with in the forests of New Brunswick during the winter were much more shy than those I used
to see near habitations, and I frequently found them by no means so easy to shoot. Whilst
flying from tree to tree they uttered a low, plaintive, and rather melancholy whistle. Mr. Collett
informs me that the song, which is uttered by both sexes, but more frequently by the male, is
feeble, but pleasing, somewhat resembling that of the Bullfinch, but sweeter and more varied.

The mode of nidification of this bird was unknown until discovered in 1855 by the late
Mr. Wolley; and the particulars were first published by Mr. Hewitson in the following year

7

(Eges of Brit. Birds, 2nd ed. i. p. 210*, pl. liii*). Quoting Mr. Wolley, Mr. Hewitson says,
“As the days grew longer I eagerly listened to the beautiful clear music of the bird in more
than one locality; and one snowy morning I saw a hen watching me so very unconcernedly from
a tree, that I climbed up to try to catch her in my hand. It was not until I nearly touched her
that she flew off, as though she thought I was carrying the joke too far, but in a way that con-
vinced me she had no nest. I had made arrangements for working another part of the country ;
but I left a trusty Lap in strict charge to visit a spot in Finland where I had ascertained that
in previous years the bird had bred. On my return to that neighbourhood at the end of summer
I watched day after day for the arrival of my faithful Lapp. The nights were already becoming
dark, when one evening I saw the well-known figure in a boat approaching our strand. I had
scarcely shouted welcome before his wallet was in my hand, and my English friends and myself
were in triumphal procession to the house. First made its appearance a grim wolf's head; then
came forth some reindeer gadflies; next there was extracted an unknown nest, then a skinned
Pine-Grosbeak ; and at last were carefully unwrapped from a little case the wished-for eggs,
and there they lay in all their fresh-discovered beauty before us. At midsummer a nest was
found with four fully fledged young about a hundred yards from the spot where the former nest
had been. It is now in the British Museum. Externally it is made of remarkably open work
of twigs and roots, generally in very long pieces. In the centre of the platform there is an inner
bedding of barkless fibrous roots, with a little of the hair-like lichen which grows so abundantly
on the trees in Lapland forests.”

I am indebted to Professor Newton for the loan of a copy of the late Mr. Wolley’s notes
on the breeding of this species, from which I extract the following description of the first nest
obtained by him :—‘“'The nest was found by Piety, the trustworthy Lapp, in company with Mikel
Sadio. It was in the evening of the Second Heluntai (7. e. 27th May) that they went to Kotta
Mello, a little above Yli-Kyr6, on the same side of the river. ‘The place was a little kind of
dell where there were groups of small spruces. Piety first saw the bird fly up from the ground
with some sticks or nest-lining in its mouth. It remained quite quiet and still; and they were
some time before they found the nest, apparently completed, but still without eggs, and placed
about two fathoms from the ground in a young spruce three fathoms high. ‘The branches near
the nest, which was not quite touching the bole, were thin, short, and open. Several days
afterwards the nest contained one egg; at the next visit there were two; and several days later
there were four. ‘The nest and eggs were now taken, and it was found that the eggs were
slightly sat upon. But first the old bird was snared, horsehair nooses being fixed into the bole
of the tree so as to stand out over the nest. The skin, now before me, has been examined by
my companions (Messrs. W. H. Simpson and A. Newton); and we are without doubt as to its
being that of a Pine-Grosbeak. The Sadio lad says that he saw at least ten old nests there-
abouts; and Piety says that he has also seen nests in similar situations, but never anywhere
else; 7. ¢€. there is always some favourite corner where they are placed year after year. At mid-
summer the lad found another nest, about a hundred yards off, containing four young birds
scarcely ready to fly. He took it; and it is now in my possession. ‘The nest which contained
the eggs was pulled to pieces by the children in his house at Sadio. The one before me is made
externally of an extremely light network of thin trailing twigs laced into each other; one of

117

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8
these twigs completely encircles the nest and goes halfway round it again, appearing to be
about twenty-eight inches in length. This network of twigs is suddenly changed into a compact
bedding of fine bare roots mixed with a few sprigs of hair-lichen, which form together almost a
separate nest inside the outer network.”

Several other nests are described in Mr. Wolley’s notes, one of which is said to have been
lined with fine grass and hair-lichen; and another was entirely made of fine trailing branches or
runners, principally of Linnea borealis, and lined with tree-hair. Nearly all the nests appear
to have been in spruce trees, about twelve feet from the ground. ‘The number of eggs deposited
appears to be generally four.

I have in my collection several clutches of eggs of this bird, all from Muonioniska, which
are pale blue, with the faintest greenish tinge, rather darker in shade than those of the common
Bullfinch, and are spotted and blotched with faint purplish underlying shell-markings and dark
brown surface-spots. In size they average about 125 by {3 inch. I have eggs, said to be of this
species, taken by my brother Arthur in New Brunswick, which resemble those from Lapland,
but are less marked, the spots being rather duller, and are smaller in size, measuring only 26 by
46 inch. My brother (who, though a capital backwoodsman, and able to skin and preserve birds
as well as to snare or shoot them, has but little technical knowledge as an ornithologist, and
had, moreover, never seen the bird previously to having found the nest in question) wrote to me
that he “took the nest at Musquash, New Brunswick, on the 6th July, 1863, and saw both the
old birds; the female was coloured like a female Crossbill; and the male was red, like a male
Crossbill; but both had bills like a Parrot, and were as large as a Thrush. The nest was placed
in a tree, and contained six eggs.” ‘The nest he did not send; but I have the eggs yet in my
American collection.

The specimens figured are an adult male, obtained at Stockholm, and a female from Calmar
Lan, in Sweden, these being also the specimens described; and the young birds described were
shot by myself in New Brunswick, all being in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens —

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 9. Christiania, November 1868 (R. Collett). 6, 3. Stockholm, January 1862 (Meves). c,d, d, 6. Stock-
holm, December 1871 (Meves). e, $. Stockholm, December 1867 (Meves). f, ¢. Quickjock, Sweden,
April 17th. g,@. Calmar Lin, Sweden, November 9th (Wetterberg). h, 3. St. Petersburg, November
12th, 1867 (H. E. Dresser). i. Moscow (C. Sachse). k,3,1,3,m,3. Mezen, Russia (J. Piottuch).
n, 3. St.-John River, North America, December 14th, i861 (H. E. D.). 0. Musquash, New Brunswick
(A. E.D.). p,2,9,d. Fort Rupert, Vancouver’s Island (P. N. Compton).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. Sweden. 6,9,¢, 3. Carlstad, Sweden (H. Wheelwright). d, 2. North America (Buckley). e, ¢. Niagara
(Buckley). f. Nova Scotia (Wedderburn).

E Mus. E. Hargitt.

a,d, 6,2. Stockholm, December 12th and 16th, 1871. c, 2. Carlstadt, Sweden (Wheelwright). d, 3. Carl-
stadt, December 1864 (Wheelwright). , f, g. Red-River Territory, N. America (Dallas).

Genus LOXIA.

Lowia, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 299 (1766).
Crucirostra apud Leach, Cat. Mamm. & B. Brit. Mus. p. 12 (1816).
Curvirostra apud C. L. Brehm, Ornis, iii. p. 85 (1827).

Tus genus, though allied to Pinicola and Carpodacus in habits and plumage, differs from all
allied genera in having the bill peculiarly formed, the upper and lower mandibles being crossed
towards the tip. The Crossbills inhabit the Palearctic and Nearctic Regions, ranging south
jnto the northern portions of the Ethiopian and Neotropical Regions, being almost everywhere
sporadic wanderers rather than regular migrants. Four species inhabit the Western Palearctic
Region, one of which, however, is only a straggler from North America. They are inhabitants
of groves, forests, and gardens, being most frequently met with in conifer-woods, where they
find their favourite food, the seeds of the pine and fir. They are habitually tame and confiding,
and, as a rule, unsuspicious to a degree—unless subjected to persecution, when they become
more wary. ‘They frequent the tops of trees, and, except in the spring of the year, when they
utter a warbling note, are comparatively silent, merely uttering a low call-note to each other
now and again. ‘They are usually seen in flocks or in family parties, and not unfrequently in
very large companies. ‘They are active and restless, climbing about amongst the branches like
parrots, and have a strong flight. ‘They breed very early in the season, placing their nest, which
is cup-shaped, built of twigs and moss lined with roots, moss, and wool, on a conifer tree, and
deposit eggs closely resembling those of the Greenfinch, but rather larger. Their song consists
of a pleasant warble; and Lowia bifasciata is said to have a sweet and varied song. They feed
chiefly on seeds, fruits, and berries, but also, to some extent, on insects.

Loxia curvirostra, the type of the genus, has the bill hard, strong, rather higher than long
at the base, compressed towards the end, with the tip laterally deflected and curved in opposite
directions, the lower mandible crossing the upper one; nostrils round, basal, concealed by
recurved bristly feathers; wings rather long, pointed, the first quill attenuate, obscure, the next
three nearly equal, the second being the longest; tail short, forked; legs strong and stout, the
tarsus covered in front with four larger and three inferior scutelle; claws stout, arched laterally,
grooved, acute.

61

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PARROT CROSSBILL.
LOXIA PYTIOPSITTAGA

LOXIA PITYOPSITTACUS.

(PARROT CROSSBILL.)

Loxia curvirostra, var. 7, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 843 (1788).

Loxia pityopsittacus, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 106 (1802).
Crucirostra pinetorum, Meyer, Vog. Liv- und Esthl. p. 71 (1815).
Crucirostra pityopsittacus, Brehm, Vog. Eur. p. 241 (1831).
Crucirostra subpityopsittacus, id. op. cit. p. 242 (1831).
Crucirostra brachyrhynchos, Brehm, Naumannia, 1853, p. 185.
Crucirostra pseudopityopsittacus, id. tom. cit. p. 185.

Crucirostra intercedens, id. tom. cit. p. 187.

Crucirostra major, id. tom. cit. 1855, p. 275.

Bee-croisé Perroquet, French; Kiefern-Kreuzschnabel, German; Stor Korsneb, Danish ;
Furukorsneb, Norwegian; Storre Korsnadbb, Swedish; Iso Kdpylintu, Finnish; Klest
sosnowik, Russian; Krzyzodzi6b-sosnowy, Polish.

Figure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 31; Naum. Vog. Deutschl. taf. 109. figs. 1-3; Gould, B. of
Eur. iii. pl. 201; Yarr. Brit. B. ii. p. 34; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. afb. xxiii. b. fig. 3, Suppl.
pl. 11. figs. 6, 7; Schl. Vog. Nederl. pl. 75; Bonap. & Schl. Monog. Lox. pl. 1; Gould,
B. Gt. Br. part 5; Sundev. Sy. Fogl. pl. 1. figs. 1, 2.

3 miniato-ruber, uropygio letiore et clariore: loris et regione supraparotica fuscescenti-brunneis: tectricibus
alarum cinerascenti-brunneis, sordidé rubro angusté limbatis: remigibus saturaté brunneis, eodem modo
rubro limbatis, secundariis exterioribus vix albido angusté terminatis: rectricibus saturaté brunneis, sub
certé luce obsoleté transfasciatis, extus rubro limbatis: subtus letits miniatus, abdomine medio yix
aurantiaco tincto, pectore summo lateraliter cineraceo lavato: subcaudalibus cinerascenti-brunneis, late
albido terminatis : subalaribus diluté cinerascentibus, albido lavatis.

2 mari dissimilis: cinerascens, pileo et uropygio flavicante lavatis, hdc multo letiore: loris et regione supra-
paroticé cinerascenti-brunneis: remigibus et rectricibus ut in mari coloratis, sed flavido nec rubro
angusté limbatis: subtus cinerascens, pectore olivascenti-flavido lavato.

Juv. brunneus, pilei, nuchz, uropygiique plumis fulvescenti-albo utrinque marginatis, quasi striolatis: tectri-
cibus alarum saturaté brunneis, pallidiore brunneo limbatis: remigibus et rectricibus brunneis, extus
albido angusté limbatis: subtts albidus, plumis laté medialiter brunneis, distincté striolatis.

Pull. supra ochrascenti-brunneus, plumis medialiter nigricantibus, quasi striolatis: pileo summo et collo postico
albicantibus: facie laterali fulvescente, brunneo minutissimé lineaté, regione paroticé cinerascente :
subtus albicans, ochrascente lavatus, plumis medialiter brunneo striolatis versus apicem dilatatis.

Xe)

122

fe Fed
2

Adult Male (Wermland, March 1868). Above dark vermilion-red, brighter on the head and on the rump,
the colour in the latter part tinged with carmine; scapulars tinged with dull brick-red; quills dark
brown, narrowly edged on the outer web with reddish; the inner secondaries and wing-coverts slightly
washed with red; tail dark brown, the outer web of each feather slightly edged with red; loral space
and auriculars marked with brown; throat, sides of head, and entire underparts bright-, almost blood-,
red, inclining in some parts to pale vermilion; lower part of the abdomen in the centre ashy white ;
under tail-coverts also ashy white, the centre of each feather being dull brown; under wing-coverts
dirty white ; beak, with the mandibles scarcely so much crossed as in L. curvirostra, dark horn-brown,
lighter on the edges; legs brown; iris chestnut-brown. ‘Total length 7 inches, wing 4:2, tail 2-8,
tarsus 0:75, culmen 1:0, height of bill at base 0°6, width of lower mandible at base 0:5.

Adult Female (Wermland, 10th of March, 1870, from the nest). Head dark grey, washed with greenish
yellow, many of the feathers with dark centres ; nape, back, and scapulars dark ashy grey, the margins
of the feathers tinged with pale yellow ; feathers on the rump grey, broadly margined with pale greenish
yellow ; upper tail-coyerts dark grey, margined with ashy grey ; tail dark brown, each feather narrowly
edged on the outer web with yellowish grey; quills similar in colour to the tail, the innermost
secondaries being more broadly edged with yellowish grey; wing-coverts somewhat lighter in colour,
and washed with yellowish grey; sides of head, throat, and entire underparts ashy grey, on the breast
and abdomen tinged with pale greenish yellow; under tail-coverts greyish white, each feather with a
brown centre; under wing-coverts pale grey ; beak, legs, and iris as in the adult male.

Young (Wyburg, June 1856). Head, neck, and back dark brown, each feather being edged with grey, giving
the appearance of stripes, the head being darkest and the rump lightest, the feathers having broad grey
margins; wings and tail dark brown, the outer web of the feathers edged with light greyish brown ;
throat dirty white, marked. with dark brown, the centres of the feathers being narrowly marked with
that colour; entire underparts otherwise dark brown, each feather broadly margined with dirty greyish
white; under wing-coverts dirty greyish white ; beak blackish brown, the under mandible much lighter ;
legs greyish brown; iris brown; mandibles less crossed than in the adult bird.

Nestling (Wermland, 12th of April, 1871). Head and nape dark brown, each feather edged with greyish
white, washed with pale yellowish buff; back and scapulars dark brown, broadly edged and tipped with
dull rufous; rump yellowish buff, each feather with a central line of dark brown; upper tail-coverts
dull brown, broadly edged and tipped with rufous-buff; tail very short, dark brown, narrowly edged
with light brown; quills dark brown, margined with light rufous: inner secondaries and wing-coverts
broadly margined with reddish buff; entire underparts white, each feather with a central line of dark
brown, excepting on the throat; lower part of the breast and abdomen washed with yellowish buff;
beak thick and stout, the mandibles not crossed; upper mandible dark brown, lighter along the edge;
under mandible light brown, dark along the edge; legs flesh-grey ; iris brown.

THE range of the present species is much more restricted than that of the Common Crossbill,
being confined to Europe, north of the Mediterranean, and west of the Ural Mountains, nor
does it wander so far north as LZ. curvirostra. In Great Britain it is a rare bird. Harting, in
his list of British Birds, records over twenty instances of the occurrence of this Crossbill in the
United Kingdom, amongst which are some from Shropshire, Notts, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk,
Hants, Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, and Yorkshire. Some of these occurrences will, however,
we think, prove to refer to large examples of the Common Crossbill. In this, Mr. J. H. Gurney,

3

jun., agrees with us, and writes that he himself has no doubt that several of the recorded British
specimens have been only large varieties of the Common Crossbill.

Our friend, the well-known British ornithologist, Mr. F. Bond informs us that he possesses
three British-killed examples of this species: the first, an old female, was one of five shot in
March 1842, by a policeman, out of a flock of eleven, in a fir plantation near Lymington, Hants;
and the other two were procured near Christchurch in March 1862. He also had a fine male
killed at Southgate in 1862, which is now in the possession of Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun. Mr. R.
Gray gives four instances of its having been met with in Scotland—at Wemyss Bay, in Ross-
shire, near Lyth, in Caithness, and near Lochend, Inverness; and Mr. J. A. Harvie Brown writes
to us that “two specimens were procured from Ross-shire by Sir W. Jardine in 1833: ‘one was
obtained by Mr. G. Auld from some fishermen, in whose boat it alighted whilst at sea, and was
kept in confinement for a considerable time’ (P. R.S. Edin. vol. ii. p. 336); and another was
found dead near Lyth, in the same county (Caithness) (ibid. p. 342).”

In Scandinavia it is numerous, though not so frequently met with or in such large numbers as
the Common Crossbill. With regard to its range in Norway, Mr. R. Collett writes as follows :—
“It is distributed over the southern portion of our country up to Trondhjemsfiord in general,
but sparingly ; still it periodically appears in large numbers everywhere, or in certain districts, as
for instance near Christiania in 1837 (teste Rasch), near Porsgrund in 1840 (Sch.), and at Land
in 1862 (Printz). It is found here and there along the west coast, at Bergen (Horen), Molde
(Rasch), and out at Grip in the summer of 1843 (Hasch). Conservator Siebke observed it on the
fell-sides of the Dovre in the summer of 1861 above the limits of conifer growth. In July 1870
Mr. Friele observed it on Stord6, outside Hardanger, where it is supposed to have bred. Near
Christiania it is, on the whole, rare; but in certain seasons it occurs even more numerously than
the Common Crossbill. It generally frequents the woods where conifers and non-evergreen trees
are intermixed. It generally appears at intervals of some years at each place, and but rarely
remains several successive years in one locality. Of latter years there has not been such an
influx all over the country as in 1830; and I may state that scarcely a single individual has been
procured during the last ten years, excepting a couple of individuals, obtained in July 1870, on
Stord6en, outside Stavanger; at least there have been none recorded in any collection in Norway,
though small flocks may have occurred. As a proof of its gipsy-like habits, I may mention that
Professor Rasch met with a flock in 1843 on the small fishing-station of Grip, several miles out
at sea, off the coast of Romsdal, a place which is free from trees; indeed scarcely a bush grows
there.” It inhabits Northern and Central Sweden, where, according to Nilsson, it is sometimes
as numerous as the Common Crossbill. In families or in large flocks it ranges through the pine-
woods of northern Skane, Blekinge, Smaland, Upland, &c. In the pine-woods of Central and
Northern Sweden it is found at all seasons of the year, and occurs in large flocks as early as July
or August. When large flocks visit Sodermanland they invariably arrive in October or November.
In March or April the larger portion leave, probably for the north, to breed. M. von Wright
says that in Finland ‘“‘it is common throughout the country in the conifer woods. ‘Their call-
note is similar to that of the Common Crossbill, but is louder; and the song also resembles that
of that species, except that it is richer.” Dresser also met with it in several parts of Finland,
especially in the neighbourhood of Wyburg, where he often saw small flocks of them. It

124

4

probably breeds not far from there, as he shot some very young birds on the borders of the
Saima canal in the early summer.

It is found in Northern and Central Russia; but Mr. Sabandaeff writes that he is not aware if
it breeds in the interior of that country. He met with it in the Vologda Government, but does
not record it as observed as far east as the Ural; and its range probably does not extend so far as
that mountain-range. Professor Kessler records it as rare near Kieff, though occurring almost
every year at various seasons, generally in the spring; but Professor Bogdanoff does not include
it in his list of the birds of Kazan. Regarding its occurrence in Poland, Dr. L. Taczanowski
writes us from Warsaw as follows :—‘“ This Crossbill comes to Poland for the winter, but not every
year. It arrives in September, and remains until February. In its habits it exactly resembles the
Common Crossbill, and differs chiefly in always frequenting pine (Pinus sylvestris) forests, and
feeding almost exclusively on the seeds of this conifer, whereas the other species frequents spruce
and larch woods. It is more phlegmatic and less wary than the Common Crossbill; and when a
flock are busy searching for food on a pine tree, one can easily shoot down several in succession,
and the rest remain quietly, taking no notice of the reports of the gun.”

It is common in Esthonia and Livonia in the large pine-forests; but throughout the North-
German Empire it is, according to Borggreve, very unequally distributed, and but seldom appears
in the western portion, except in the breeding-season. It has been found breeding in Thuringia,
whence Dr. Rey has procured eggs; and that gentleman informs us that large flocks are annually
met with near Halle A. S., in October, frequenting the pine-woods.

It is found in Denmark, and, according to Kjerbdélling, it is often taken by the bird-catcher
near Copenhagen. In the spring of 1849 he shot twelve at Thyrsbek. Boje says that it occurs
regularly in Zeeland in August.

De la Fontaine records it as accidental in Luxemburg, Professor Schlegel as very rare in
Holland; and Mr. Labouchere writes to us that he can find but very few instances of its having
been seen in that country. Baron de Selys-Longchamps has not observed it in Belgium; but
Degland and Gerbe record the occurrence of an adult male in the forest of Bersée, about twenty-
three kilometres from Lille, this bird having been killed out of a flock of five or six individuals.
These gentlemen further state that it occurs but accidentally in France, though found more or
less regularly in Italy during the autumn. Savi records it from Padovano; but otherwise we have
but meagre details respecting its occurrence in Italy. Neither Lindermayer nor Von der Muhle
records it from Greece, though Erhard speaks of it as found on the Cyclades in winter; he may,
however, have mistaken large specimens of L. curvirostra for this species, as we have obtained
very large examples of the Common Crossbill from Greece through Dr. Kriiper. In Southern
Germany the Parrot Crossbill is occasionally found; and Count Casimir Wodzicki met with it in
the Carpathians. Professor von Nordmann states that it breeds numerously in the mountains of
Ghouriel, in Southern Russia; but we have been unable to examine specimens obtained so far to
the south-east. So far as we know, it has never been obtained in Asia Minor or south of the
Mediterranean.

Like the Common Crossbill this bird is both resident and migratory, its absence or presence
depending on the scarcity or abundance of its chief food. It is a much heavier and slower bird
than the Common Crossbill, which it closely resembles in its habits, climbing about the pine

5

trees parrot-like, often with the head downwards, using its crooked bill both to assist it in
climbing and to extract the seeds out of the cones. ‘They are by no means shy, and exhibit at
times a fearlessness which proves fatal to them, as several may often be shot down before the
survivors seek safety in flight. Dresser, who met with them in Finland, found them generally
frequenting the tops of the large pine and spruce trees, feeding very silently, their presence
being only observable by the cones which from time to time they detached and allowed to fall on
the ground. Sometimes a low note might be heard, but only when close to the tree on which
the birds were sitting.

Their note is similar to that of the Common Crossbill, but is deeper and louder. It feeds
almost exclusively on the seeds of the pine, spruce, and larch, the former of which it appears to
prefer when they are to be had. If it feeds on other seeds in a wild state we cannot say, but
doubtless it does so when the seeds of the conifers are scarce. Mr. C. W. von Negelin met with
it near Oldenburg in July, feeding on the leaf-lice which infest the poplars.

In its mode of nidification this species does not differ from LZ. curvirostra; in Dresser’s
collection are a nest and four eggs of this species, which were sent to him by Mr. W. Meves,
together with the two old birds, which latter are also in his collection. This nest was taken in
Wermland, Sweden, on the 10th of March, 1870, and was placed in a fir tree, about twenty-
two feet above the ground. In general structure it much resembles the nest of the Common
Crossbill; but, compared with the nest of the latter taken in Scotland, and sent to Dresser
by our friend Mr. Harvie Brown, it is much larger and heavier, measuring inside fully three
quarters of an inch more in diameter. The eggs are in colour and shane oe like those of
the Common Crossbiil, but are larger in size, measuring 2% by 33, 33 by 22, 26 by #4, and
2% by 76 of an inch respectively. Two other nests, one containing three and the other four
egos, were also sent, which we do not describe, as they closely resemble the one above referred
to, except that the eggs in the one are rather elongated in form, and marked peculiarly with
irregular lines and spots. Dr. KE. Rey informs us that he possesses an egg, procured in Thuringia»
which measures 23°25 by 16°50 millimetres.

The specimens figured and described are in Dresser’s collection; and full particulars as to

locality are given above.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6. Wermland, March 1868. 6, 9. Wermland, March 10th, 1870. c,juv. Wyburg, Finland, June 1856
(HZ. E. D.). d, pullus. Wermland, April 12th, 1871. e,f,9,A,i,d6. Wermland. 7, 4,1, 6. Stock-
holm. m,n, 3. Gottland. o,p, , 2. Darmstadt (Moschler). g,r, 2. Wermland. s, 2. Stockholm.
t, u, juv. Wermland.

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a, b. Sweden (Wheelwright).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a, b, c. Sarpsborg, Norway (P. Godman).

On

126
6

E Mus. C. R. Bree.

a,b,c, 6,2, @. Near Colchester, February 21st, 1862. d, ¢. Wermland, April 8th, 1860 (Wheelwright).
e, f, juv. Wermland, Sweden. g, pullus. Wermland (Wheelwright).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. Darmstadt. 06. Wermland (Wheelwright). c. Silesia (Schiliiter).

E Mus. H. J. Elwes.
a, 6. Sweden (Wheelwright).

E Mus. E. Hargitt.
a, 6, c. Sweden (Moschler).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a, 2. Darmstadt (Schliiter).

E Mus. T. E. Buckley.
a, 6. Sweden, September 16th, 1868.

20

ed

COMMON CROSSBILL.
LOXIA CURVIROSTRA.
al

LOXIA CURVIROSTRA.

(COMMON CROSSBILL.)

Loxia curvirostra, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 299 (1766).

Crucirostra europea, Leach, Cat. Mamm &c. Brit. Mus. p. 12 (1816).
Crucirostra abietina, Meyer, Vg. Liev- und Ehstl. p. 72 (1815).
Crucirostra media, Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 242 (1831).

Crucirostra montana, id. op. cit. p. 243 (1831).

Crucirostra pinetorum, id. op. cit. p. 244 (1831).

Loxia europea, Macgill. Hist. Brit. B. i. p. 417 (1837).

Crucirostra paradoxa, Brehm, Naumannia, 1853, p. 190.

Curvirostra macrorhynchos, id. tom. cit. p. 192.

Crucirostra longirostris, id. tom. cit. 1855, p. 275.

Crucirostra curvirostra, var. balearica, Von Homeyer, J. f. O. 1862, p. 257.
Crucirostra balearica, Von Homeyer, J. f. O. 1864, p. 224.

Lowtia balearica, Newton, Zool. Record, 1864, p. 84.

Loxia albiventris, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 437.

Bec-croisé, French; gemeiner Kreuzschnabel, German; Pico-tuerto, Spanish (in Majorca
Trenca-pinons); Trinca nozes, Cruza-bico, Portuguese; Crociere, Crocione, Italian ;
mindre Korsnébb, Swedish; mindre Korsneb, Danish; Grankorsneb, Norwegian; Klest
Velovik, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Montb. Pl. Enl. iv. pl. 218; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 52; Naum. Vog. Deutschl.
taf. 110. figs. 1-4; Gould, B. of Eur. iii. pl. 202; Yarr. Brit. B. ii. p. 14; Kjerb. Orn. Dan.
Afb. xxiii. b. fig. 4, Suppl. pl. 11. figs. 7, 8; Schl. Vog. Nederl. pl. 76; Bonap. & Schl.
Monogr. Lox. pls. 23, 24; Gould, B. Gt. Br. part 5; Sundev. Sv. Fogl. pl. 1. figs. 3, 4.

3 ad. supra laté miniato-ruber, dorso vix cinerascente lavato, uropygio unicolori letiore: tectricibus alarum
brunneis sordidé coccineo lavatis, majoribus et remigibus brunneis extus angusté rubro limbatis,
secundariis exterioribus fulvescente marginatis: tectricibus alarum saturaté brunneis, coccineo lavatis :
caudaé brunnea, rectricibus extis angusté miniato limbatis: facie laterali miniatd, regione parotica
‘superiore cinerascenti-brunned: subtis miniatus, abdomine imo albo: subcaudalibus albis, medialiter
maculis sagittiformibus cinerascenti-brunneis notatis: subalaribus brunneis, miniato paullo lavatis:
rostro sordidé brunneo : pedibus saturaté brunneis: iride saturaté brunnea.

2 ad. supra olivascenti-flavicans, plumis celaté medialiter brunneis, collo postico et interscapulio cinerascente
lavatis, uropygio clarits flavo, unicolori: tectricibus alarum brunneis, olivaceo lavatis, majoribus et
rectricibus extus angusté olivaceo limbatis: supracaudalibus sordidé olivascenti-flavis: rectricibus
brunneis, extts angusté olivascenti-flavo limbatis: subtus flavicans, gula, pectore medio et abdomine
cinerascentibus : subcaudalibus pallidé cinerascentibus, medialiter brunneo notatis.

03D
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3

2

Juv. supra cinerascenti-brunneus, plumis medialiter nigricantibus, pileo et collo postico albicante vario:
uropygio et supracaudalibus ochrascenti-brunneis, medialiter saturatius brunneis: remigibus et rec-
tricibus brunneis, extts pallidé ochrascenti-brunneo limbatis: subtus albicans, cinerascente lavatus,
plumis medialiter brunneo lineatis.

Adult Male. ead, back, and rump bright tile-red, the back and nape being tinged with brown, and the
rump much brighter than the other parts, and washed with carmine-red; quills dark brown, wing-
coverts brown, tinged with dull red; tail slightly forked, dark brown, imperceptibly edged with dull
reddish brown; auriculars the same colour as the head, but washed with brown; entire underparts rich
tile-red; abdomen paler, the centre being greyish white, with a reddish tinge; under wing-coverts
grey, washed with pale red; under tail-coverts white, with central brown markings to the feathers ;
bill strongly curved, the mandibles crossing each other, dull brown, darkest towards the tip of the
upper mandible; legs dark brown; irides dark hazel-brown. ‘Total length 5°5 inches, culmen 0°75,
breadth of lower mandible at base 0:4, wing 3:9, tail 2°6, tarsus 0°65.

Adult Female. Differs from the male in having no trace of red in the plumage, the prevailing colour being
greyish brown, washed with light greenish yellow, this latter colour being most vivid on the rump,
which in some examples is almost wax-yellow, with a greenish tinge; the head and underparts are also
washed with greenish yellow.

Young. Upper parts dull greyish white, streaked longitudinally with dark brown; scapulars, back, and
rump washed with pale green, which on the rump becomes almost yellow; tail, wings, and wing-
coverts dark brown, edged with dull greenish ; entire underparts dull greyish-white, with longitudinal
streaks of dark brown, and washed with pale green; on the lower part of the throat a few yellowish
feathers are just appearing; mandibles crossed, as in the adult.

Nestling. Similar to the above, but much paler, and not having the mandibles crossed, the beak being
short, stout, and blunt.

Our friend Mr. Meves has kindly given to us the specimens examined by him in his paper on the orni-
thology of Jemtland (Gify. Kongl. Vet. Ak. Forh. 1860, p. 212), in which he treats of the changes of plumage
which this species undergoes ; and from these we observe, in confirmation of his views, that the male, after the
brown-striped nestling-plumage, sometimes assumes a red dress, and sometimes one of a yellowish colour,
more or less tinged with red. The young male we describe above has a few yellow feathers appearing on the
underparts, and is Just commencing to assume the yellow plumage; and another, obtained near Stockholm on
the 2nd of November, has nearly cast off the nestling-plumage, but has still remains of it on the breast and
back; the rump is bright red, and on the head, neck, and breast are scattered red feathers, showing that it
is assuming the red plumage directly after the brown nestling-dress. This bird nas no appearance of any
yellow feathers showing themselves. A third young male, in the plumage after the first moult, resembles the
female, but is strongly marked with rich golden yellow on the head and rump, this colour pervading the entire
underparts; another young male has remains of the nestling-plumage all over the breast, throat, and head,
but is otherwise like the last-named specimens.

Specimens we have now before us from various parts of Europe vary but little, those from Scotland being,
as a rule, larger and possessing stouter bills, approaching very closely to Lowxia pityopsittaca. We do not
possess one of Mr. von Homeyer’s specimens from which he described his Crucirostra balearica; but Mr.
Howard Saunders has kindly placed two examples from Mallorca at our disposal, which differ in no way from
Swedish specimens. Nor does the bird which occurs in Asia Minor, of which we have two specimens now
before us, differ in any respect from the northern bird, From Algeria we have two skins of this species

9)
)

collected by Canon Tristram, and two from Tunis, all of which, on comparison, agree precisely with specimens
obtained in Sweden by the late Mr. Wheelwright. One of these, from Algeria, is quite a young bird, scarcely
out of the nestling plumage, and having the mandibles but very slightly curved at the tip.

From Asia we have seen examples obtained in Siberia, China, and Japan. One of these, a male, obtained
on the Amoor by Dr. von Schrenck, and labelled by Mr. Swinhoe Lowxia albiventris, has the bill quite as small
as that of L. americana; but a female obtained from the same locality is similar to ordinary specimens of
L. curvirostra. 'The measurements of these specimens are :—Male: total length 5:8 inches, wing 3°5, tail 2°3,
tarsus 0°60, culmen 0°55, height of beak at base 0°4, width of lower mandible at base 0°3. Female: total
length 6°5 inches, wing 3°55, tail 2°4, tarsus 0°65, culmen 0°7 height of beak at base 0:48, width of mandible
at base 0-42. A male obtained at Darasun, in Dauria, by Dr. Dybowski is larger than either of the former ;
and its wing measures 3°85, the lower mandible of the bill 0:45 at the base.

From China we have before us five specimens, types of Mr. Swinhoe’s Lowia albiventris; and we are
indebted to that gentleman for the use of these birds in working out the present article. We have carefully
compared these Chinese birds with typical examples from Sweden, and fail to detect any difference ; indeed we
have some Swedish specimens with quite as much, if not more, white on the abdomen. From Japan we have a
male collected by Mr. Whitely which most nearly resembles the specimen from Dauria above referred to. Its
measurements are :—Total length 5°65 inches, wing 3°75, tail 2°5, tarsus 0°65, culmen 0°75, width of mandible
at base 0-4.

Thinking that it may be useful to our readers if we point out the most salient distinctions between the
different species, we give the characteristics of the various known species of Crossbills with plain wings as
follows, and shall do the same as regards those with banded wings later on, when we write the history of
Lowxia bifasciata.

Loxia pityopsittaca is the largest of the Crossbills ; but occasionally specimens of the next species approach
rather closely to it. It may generally be distinguished by its larger and stouter bill, and greater length of
wing; besides, the red in the male approaches rather to vermilion, occasionally washed with pale carmine.
The measurements are as follows :—Total length 6-3-7 inches, wing 4-43, tail 2°7-2°8, tarsus 0°75, culmen 0:9,
height of bill at base 0-6, width of lower mandible at base 0:5.

Loxia curvirostra may generally be distinguished from the preceding species by its smaller size, shorter
wing, and smaller beak, as also by the red in the adult male being darker, in fully adult specimens dark tile-
or brick-red. The measurements of a large series of adult males are as follows :—Total length 5-7-6 inches,
wing 3°7-3°9, tail 8°5—2-7, tarsus 0-6-0°65, culmen 0°75-0°85, height of bill at base 0:5, width of lower mandible
at base 0°37 to 0-4.

Loxia rubrifasciata is merely an accidental variety of this species, or, it may be, of L. bifasciata. We
have not had an opportunity of examining a specimen; but Mr. Meves writes that one was caught at Stockholm
in November 1858, which he describes as rich cinnabar-red in colour, with two tolerably broad reddish bands
on the blackish brown wings. ‘Total length 176 millims., extent 295 millims.

Loxia mexicana. This is a very distinct species, and bears somewhat the same relation to L. americana,
as L. pityopsittaca does to L. curvirostra. We have before us a male and female, locality not given, and two
males obtained by Mr. John Keast Lord on the western side of the rocky mountains, all belonging to the
British-Museum collection. Compared with males of L. americana, these birds are much richer in colour, the
red being almost blood-red. This species is characterized by the large and powerful bill, the mandible almost
equalling the maxilla, and by having the wing longer than in L. americana. The measurements of the
specimens we have examined are as follows :—Total length 5-457 inches, wing 3°65—4:1, tail 2°5-2°9, tarsus
0:58-0°6, culmen 0°75-0°8, height of bill at base 0:4-0:5, width of lower mandible at base 0.85-0:4.

Loxia americana. "This species is in size and general characters intermediate between L. curvirostra and
L. himalayana. In colour the adult male is generally duller than L. curvirostra, the red approaching to dirty
orange. We have had the opportunity of examining a series in the British Museum, collected on the western

L

129

130

4

side of the Rocky Mountains and in Vancouver’s Island by Mr. J. K. Lord; and we have also before us a
series from the collections of Canon Tristram, Mr. R. Swinhoe, and Dresser. The measurements of these are
as follows :—Total length 5:5-5:75 inches, wing 3°3-3°5, tail 2°25, tarsus 0°5, culmen 0°6, height of bill at base
0°35, width of lower mandible at base 0°3.

Loxia himalayana is the smallest of the Crossbills. In colour it approaches nearer to the L. americana
than to L. curvirostra. In the British Museum there are three females, one adult male, and a young bird, all
collected in Nepal by Mr. B. H. Hodgson, which we have had an opportunity of examining and measuring.
The measurements of the adult male are as follows:—Total length 5 inches, wing 3:1, tail 2, tarsus 0°5,
culmen 0°52, height of bill at base 0°37, width of lower mandible at base 0:3.

Tuer range of this species extends over the whole of the Palearctic Region, being replaced in
the Nearctic Region by a closely allied species, Loxia americana. To Great Britain it comes
periodically, in some seasons in large flocks; but in Scotland it is a resident in several counties.
Yarrell refers to some curious records of the appearance of large flocks in 1254 and in 1593, and
copies some interesting details from an old MS. respecting the latter occurrence. ‘There are
few, if any, counties in England whence the Crossbill has not been recorded; and, as stated by
Mr. More, its nest has been found in Devonshire, Somerset, Hants, Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Essex,
Herts, Norfolk, Gloucester, East York, West York, Durham, Northumberland, and Cumberland.
Mr. Gurney informs us that “ Mr. Gunn, of Norwich, has a male which was shot at Westwick on
the 28th of September, 1871, having dull white tips to the feathers of both sets of wing-coyerts,
like Mr. Doubleday’s varieties described in Yarrell (B. B. ii. 25). It was at first supposed to
have been a White-winged Crossbill; and Mr. Stevenson mentions a specimen in which the
upper mandible, instead of merely crossing the lower, grew straight downwards to more than
half its natural length. I saw a very similar one at M. Buchillot’s, at Metz.’ In Ireland,
according to Thompson, it is an occasional visitant; and he refers to a supposed instance of its
having bred near Cahir in 1838. Mr. A. B. Brooke informs us that they appeared at Colebrooke,
co. Fermanagh, in considerable numbers during the winter of 1867, and a few pair remained to
breed ; but unfortunately, in spite of a close watch, no nest was found, though a young bird was
shot early in the summer of 1868. With regard to its range and nidification in Scotland we are
indebted to Mr. J. A. Harvie Brown for the following notes :—‘<‘ Mr. A. G. More writes, ‘ The
Crossbill appears to be an increasing species in Scotland ;’ and Mr. Robert Gray says, ‘ Throughout
Scotland generally the Crossbill is widely distributed, having been taken in every county, though
not, as far as I am aware, in any of the outer islands.’ In Caithness, though the bird has been
procured, we are not aware that it has been found nesting. In-Sutherland, since the extensive
fir plantations have grown up, they have increased in numbers, and breed rather plentifully in
the east of the county; and this was predicted by the late Mr. St. John as long ago as 1849 (Tour
in Sutherland, i.). We have also reliable information that the nest has been once at least pro-
cured in the north of the county. In Kast Ross it nests annually. In Inverness the Crossbill
breeds in the forest of Rothiemurchus and on the banks of the river Spey. It was here that
Mr. Hancock saw a nest ‘at so great a height that it could not be procured.’” There is evidence
also of its nesting in Nairn and Moray; and Mr. A. G. More includes it also as breeding in Banff.
In Aberdeen it breeds on the banks of the Dee, as also in other parts of the county. Southwards
it is found in Perthshire and Forfarshire; and in Stirlingshire it has bred in the east of the

5

county. Mr. R. Gray informs us that the young have been observed near the south end of Loch
Lomond. He also makes mention of it as breeding plentifully in Lanarkshire, Dumfriesshire,
and of late years in Ayrshire; and mention is made in the ‘ Birds of Ayrshire and Wigtonshire’
that a record dated as far back as 1792 states that it was then known to breed in Kirkcudbright.
Besides the above-named counties, we have evidence of its having bred in Linlithgow from
Macgillivray ; and Mr. A. G. More mentions it as nesting in Selkirk.

It has been obtained as far north as Bear Island, Spitsbergen, by Dr. Malmgren, and
throughout Scandinavia is a common bird, Mr. R. Collett recording it as “breeding tolerably
abundantly in the conifer-woods of Norway, about as high as the polar circle—less numerously,
though by no means rare, in Bergen. In June 1859 Sommerfeldt observed two individuals in
East Finmark. In certain localities it appears periodically in vast numbers, and breeds abun-
dantly as at Christiania in 1863, but disappears again, and the next year shows itself in equal
numbers at another place. In 1866 it was found as high as Cirkedal (Lundgren). It seldom
goes above the range of conifer growth, and is found on the fells as high as the spruce trees
srow. In July 1870 it was seen in the most elevated spruce-wood at Ciilo, in Valders.” He
further states that near Christiania they are common, but their numbers depend on the abundance
of the fir seeds, on which this bird chiefly feeds. Many breed in that locality; but, owing to the
nest being placed far in the woods, and their time for breeding differing from that of other birds,
it is but seldom found. During the whole summer these birds range through the forests in flocks,
and in the autumn and winter approach inhabited places.

Nilsson records it as common throughout Sweden; and Wheelwright found it numerous
both in Wermland and in Lapland. Dresser when travelling through Sweden in the depth of
the winter observed it almost daily along the road-sides frequenting the firs and larches, and
found it equally common in Finland. Meves met with it here and there in the Archangel
Government, at Kargopol, Cholmogory, and other places. Sabandeff speaks of it as observed in
the Governments of Jaroslaf and Moscow, and states that its range in Russia is the same as that
of the common Bullfinch. He met with it in the conifer-woods on the Kaslinsky and Kesh-
temsky Ural, and, during migration, on the western slope and in the districts to the north of
Ekaterinburg. It is seen annually in all suitable localities in the countries bordering the Baltic,
but is everywhere a wanderer, appearing at uncertain intervals. It has been met with breeding
in the mountains in Northern Germany; and Borggreve mentions the Harz, the mountains of
Thuringia, and Silesia amongst other localities; but almost every part of Germany where there
is conifer growth is at times visited by this bird. Mr. Carl Sachse shot several in July, near
Coblentz, and informs us that he often sees them in the autumn in the mountain-ash trees on the
banks of the Rhine. Mr. Benzon writes that “it occurs in Denmark in flocks during severe
winters, but at irregular periods. Now and then flocks are seen in the summer months; but it
has not been known to breed there. Mr. Benzon possesses examples from the Feroes, where it
occasionally occurs; and where, according to Mr. H. C. Muller, several were seen in September
1861.” In Belgium, according to Baron De Selys-Longchamps, it “‘ occurs annually; but irre-
eularly, and not at any fixed season. I have seen flocks of about fourteen individuals in the
middle of the summer, which remained till the winter in the gardens where conifers grew; and
at other times they only pass through, sometimes appearing in large numbers during the first

L2

we)

6

frosts, and repassing in March; and I may further state that the only months when I have not
observed them are May and June.” To Holland it also comes at irregular periods, sometimes
appearing in the winter, and at others in the summer season; and in France it appears in the
same manner, usually in large flocks, in the northern and central departments; but, according
to Degland and Gerbe, it breeds in the High Pyrenees and in the French Alps, and is sedentary
in those localities. Lord Lilford, Mr. Howard Saunders, and Major Irby all record this species
from Spain; the last-named gentleman never personally observed it, but states that it has been
once procured near Seville; and Lord Lilford writes as follows:—“I was shown a Crossbill
(Loxia curvirostra) alive in a cage in the village—the story about this species here being that
Carlos III. kept a great many of these birds in an aviary at Rio Frio, a shooting-lodge at a few
miles’ distance, of which several pairs escaped, and established themselves in the pinar, where
they are now common.” Mr. Saunders further writes that “on the mainland the Crossbill seems
principally confined to the forests of Segura, but in Majorca it is tolerably abundant. I have
carefully compared specimens from that island with a large series from all parts of Europe, and
cannot find any difference either in shape of bill or length of wing to justify Von Homeyer in
considering the Balearic bird a permanent variety; on the contrary, the bill is not larger than
that of average specimens, nor is the grey colour, upon which he lays stress, a constant charac-
teristic.” We have examined Mr. Saunders’s birds, and fully agree with his views as to the
species found on the Balearic Isles being the true L. curvirostra. In Portugal the common
Crossbill was found numerously by the Rev. A. C. Smith; and passing eastward again through
Spain and Southern France (in which latter country we may mention that, though generally only
an occasional visitant, it appeared in large flocks in 1857, 1838, and 1855) into Switzerland we
find that, according to Bailly, it is in that country and Savoy common in some localities during
the breeding-season. Sometimes during the migrations, particularly from the middle of the
summer to the autumn, it is extraordinarily numerous. Many passed in 1856 and 1837; the
oldest bird-catchers assured him that never were such remarkable migrations as in July, August,
and September 1822, 1825, and 1826. On consulting the works of contemporary ornithologists
it appears that these migrations extended from the centre to the south of Europe. ‘They are
owing to accidental causes; and it is certain that a scarcity of seeds and berries on which this
bird feeds causes it to leave its favourite localities, and search for food in other localities. It
nests in preference in the conifer-forests in our mountains, rarely in those that grow on the
hillocks. It breeds at Nivolet, Margériaz, Montmayeur, and Saint Hugon, Chamounix, and
Tarantaise, particularly at Allues, Fesson-sur-Salins, Hautecourt, and Notre Dame-du-Pré—also
in the Haute Savoie, Maurienne, and on the southern slope of the Mont Cenis, especially in the
vicinity of La Ferriere, Bard, and Mollaret. Salvadori says that this species visits Italy, Sicily,
and Sardinia in the same irregular manner as it does most southern countries, although there
is even some suspicion of its having bred in Modena; naturally its visits become rarer in the
south. Mr. A. B. Brooke saw a pair in the Museum at Cagliari, said to have been killed in
Sardinia; and Malherbe states that it has occurred several times near Palermo; and after a
heavy storm in July 1838 large numbers appeared on the shore of Messina, and allowed
themselves to be taken without trying to escape. To Malta, Mr. Wright says it is ‘only an
accidental visitor. It has generally been seen in September or October. I have a male which

7

was shot with another (supposed to be a female) in October 1861, and another obtained in
October of this year (1863).”

Lord Lilford observed one in a cage at Corfu, and was assured that it came from the pine-
forests of the Black Mountains, in Cephalonia; and Dr. Kriiper informs us that during the
winter months it is common on all the mountains of Greece; he also found a nest on Mount
Parnassus. Neither Lindermayer nor Count von der Miihle observed it in the Peloponnesus or
the southern provinces of Roumelia; but, on the other hand, Erhard records it as a winter
visitant to the Cyclades. It appears in Southern Germany and Austria in flocks in the autumn
and winter, and, according to Seidensacher, is annually seen in Styria. Count Casimir Wodzicki
found it on the Carpathians as high up as the forest extended; and it is probably to be found
throughout the Balkan range. During migration it is tolerably numerous near Constantinople ;
while Mr. Robson informs us it frequents the cypress trees in the Turkish graveyards. A few
are also occasionally seen in the summer season. Mr. Robson writes that in the autumn the
Turkish bird-catchers take them by flying small Hawks at them as they are feeding in the cypress
trees. In the gardens of Odessa so soon as the fir-cones are ripe the Crossbills appear, but are
not found anywhere else on the steppe. In the Caucasus it has not been recorded by Ménétries ;
but it is found in Asia Minor, as we have specimens obtained there, and Dr. Kriiper pro
cured it near Smyrna in July. It has not been noticed in N.-E. Africa, probably owing to the
absence of conifers; but in Algeria the Crossbill not only occurs, but is sedentary. Loche states
that it seldom visits that country, though it has occurred on several occasions in large numbers ;
but Mr. Salvin met with two old birds on the 26th of March on a ridge near Kef, which were
feeding their young. We have also examined a very young bird procured in Algeria, and now
in Canon Tristram’s collection. Favier includes it in his MS. list of the birds of Tangiers, one
having been picked up in a dying state near Cape Spartel in 1855.

As regards its eastern range, it is found throughout the whole of Asia as far south as the
Palearctic range extends. Middendorff observed it along the Jenesei to above 62° N. lat.
Dr. Gustaf Radde writes that, “as a true inhabitant of the conifer-woods, I found this species in
the Bureja mountains, but did not observe it when we left this growth, and in the mixed woods
of the mountains or the banks it is, I suppose, only a rare visitor. Early in October we found it
in flocks near Irkutsk. On the 20th of July, 1859, I found wandering flocks in the dense fir-
woods on the upper Irkut. Except that the beaks of my specimens are somewhat longer, they
do not differ from the European birds with which I have compared them.” Messrs. Dybowski
and Parvex have sent numerous specimens from Dauria; and Dr. von Schrenck states that it is
“common in the Amoor wherever conifer-growth is found. Near the Nikolajevsk Post I obtained
it nearly every month during my stay from August to April; and on my winter journeys I observed
it southwards to Garin. In the autumn of 1854 they appeared singly or in small flocks in the
pine-woods near Nikolajevsk. arly in March 1895, I saw them near the village of Ssamahagdu,
near the mouth of the Chelasso, in large mixed flocks of females and males, which for two days
consecutively visited the larch trees in front of the houses, and even perched on the roofs.”
Dr. von Schrenck thinks that they breed in Siberia late in February, old style.

Professor Siebold records it as tolerably common in Japan; and we have examined a
specimen from there collected by Mr. Whitely. Mr. Swinhoe observed it on the island of

13

cp)

134

§

Formosa, and also in Northern China, between Takoo and Pekin, where it was kept as a cage-
bird. In the Himalayas this bird is replaced by a closely allied species (L. himalayana); but the
true L. eurvirostra occurs, according to Hutton, in Afghanistan.

The Crossbill is a true gipsy amongst birds, roving about and settling for a season just
where there is the best supply of suitable food, and disappearing again as suddenly as it arrived.
In their habits they are very parrot-like, especially to the non-scientific observer; they are very
tame and unsuspicious, and when busy, employed in extracting the seeds from the fir-cones, can
be easily approached; and often several of a flock can be shot down before the rest fly off. It
breeds in the very first days of spring, pairing as early as January; and eggs are to be found early
in March, or even before that. We are indebted to Mr. J. A. Harvie Brown for the following
notes respecting the breeding of the Crossbill in Scotland :—

‘The Crossbill is found breeding in East Ross-shire, perhaps more plentifully than in any
other locality in Scotland, but in some seasons more abundantly than in others. Hard winters,
according to our correspondent, who has procured us the nests and eggs from there, do not seem
to affect the birds much, though in 1871 he considered that they laid somewhat earlier than
usual. He obtained nests and eggs, considerably incubated, on the 14th, 15th, 21st, 25rd, and
24th of March. The following is a desciption of a nest in our possession, received in 1870,
which, in the main, will answer for all other nests received from that locality. It is copied,
nearly verbatim, from our ‘ Egg-Book.’

“Nest 100 d is a very perfect specimen. The outside, or framework, is composed of twigs
of Scotch fir, which seem to have been used when fresh, as they still retain a good deal of their
original elasticity. These twigs are loosely put together, forming the groundwork whereon the -
nest proper is built. The latter is composed of a quantity of fine moss and lichens, bound with
long flat-leaved grass, which last encircles the whole of the fabric. A great quantity of a small
black or dark olive-green lichen is conspicuous amongst the materials, also fronds of a coarser
kind of moss; and inside is a considerable quantity of fine wool. The measurements of this nest
are :—outside (including the loose framework) 8 inches from side to side, inside 3 inches, and
inside depth 1} inch. Other nests, though invariably smaller, have a greater depth; but this
may be perhaps partially accounted for by the fact that the bird of this nest had been incubating
for some days previous to the date on which it was taken, and its weight had pressed down the
edges of the nest. The average size of Crossbill’s nests, as far as we can judge from specimens
in our possession, is quite two inches less than the one we have just described. The eggs of this
nest also are quite 4 inch larger each way than the average size of sixteen other eggs measured
by us. The.average of these sixteen is $ inch by 3 inch, whilst that of this particular nest is
1 inch by $ inch.

“The nests, our correspondent informs us, are generally placed in the cups formed by the
forking of the branches at or near the tops of Scotch firs, but sometimes are built out upon the
horizontal branches, 8 or 10 feet from the trunk. These last, I have observed, are usually more
perfect, and have a larger platform of twigs than those which are naturally supported by the
forking branches.

“When fresh and unblown, the eggs of the Common Crossbill often exhibit a lovely
salmon-pink tinge; and some, even after being emptied of their contents, retain this colour;

S)

in most, however, it fades away to a delicate pale green. Considerable variety is apparent as
regards the size and distribution of the markings, which are sometimes large and comet-shaped,
like those often observed in eggs of the Chaffinch, and in those of some of the Buntings. The
markings are generally lilac and dark brown, but in one lovely laying in our possession they are
rich reddish-brown.

‘Our correspondent writes to us that he usually found the nests in the early morning—that
the female, whilst incubation is proceeding, is always on the nest, and is fed constantly by the
male—that after once commencing to build, the birds get on rapidly—and that young birds are
found sometimes as early as the 10th of March.”

In Dresser’s collection are eggs of this bird from Switzerland and Scotland, the latter a
sitting of four lovely eggs, with a nest which we should have been glad to figure, had we room
on our Plate. These latter eggs were procured from Mr. Harvie Brown, who kindly sent full
particulars as to the exact locality where they were taken; but for obvious reasons we refrain
from publishing this information. These eggs much resemble those of the Common Green-
finch, being pale bluish-white, spotted with small red and purple spots and dashes, chiefly at the
larger end. In size the Scotch eggs measure $6 by #4, and those from Switzerland from $3 by
33 to 24 by 32 inch respectively.

The call-note of the Crossbill is a low, not unmelodious whistle, which, during the breeding-
season, is said to be modulated into a sort of song, which Wheelwright states is musical and
pretty. Their food consists usually of the seeds of Abies excelsa, Pinus sylvestris, and of the
larch (Larix); but it also occasionally feeds on insects. Mr. Meves writes that he met with large
' flocks at Stehag, in Southern Sweden, which were busy feeding on the pup and larvee of Tortrix
viridana, and again at Horn Borgholm and Ottenby, also engaged in destroying these noxious
insects. Ten to a dozen birds he shot had their stomachs filled with the larvee and pupze of this

insect.

The mandibles of the Crossbill are not always crossed in a similar manner; for out of the
same flock specimens have been obtained with the mandibles crossed on the one side, and others
crossed in the contrary direction. The beak also differs greatly in size; and we have seen some
birds from Scotland which have almost as stout a beak as some specimens of L. pityopsittaca, and
again others in which the beak is nearly as slender as that of L. americana.

The specimens figured and described are in Dresser’s collection—the adult male and immature
birds being from Sweden, and the female from Denmark.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, b,c, 6. Wermland. d,Q. Borgholm. e,f,9,h, i, ¢ juv. Stockholm. 7, %, ¢, 9. Margaard, Denmark,
October 23rd, 1871 (Benzon). 1, m,n, 0. Waremme, Belgium (Baron De Selys-Longchamps). p, q, r.
Macedonia (Kriiper). s, 3. Bergamasca (Count Salvadori). t, 6. Darasun, Dauria, October 25th, 1869
(Dybowski). u, juv. Sweden.

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a, b,c. Sweden (Wheelwright). d,e. Highgate (Davy). jf. Asia Minor (Robson). g. Hakodadi (Whitely).

1356
10

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.
a, b,c, d,e. Pekin (R. S.). f,g. Amoor (Von Schrenk). h, 7. Plumstead (Whitely).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 6. Wolsingham. c. Aberdeen. d,e. Boghar, Algeria(H. B. T.). fg. Forest of Waregra, Tunis (H. B. T.).
h. Asia Minor (Robson). 7. Pekin (Swinhoe).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, b. Macedonia (Kriiper). c,d. Usern. e, f. Mallorca (H. S.).

E Mus. W. Schliiter.
a-k. Mahren. J. Halle (W.8.). m. Macedonia (Kriiper).

E Mus. E. Hargitt.
a, b, c,d, 3, e, f, g. Drumnadrochit, Scotland (H. H.). h. Lochend. 7,7. Highgate (Davy).

E Mus. Feilden and Harvie Brown.
a,b, 3,c,d,e, 9. Hast Ross-shire (A. Macdonald).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a,b. Norwich. , d, e, f. Norway (P. Godman).

EH Mus. H. J. Elwes.
a, b. Sweden (Wheelwright). c. Colesborne (H. J. E.).

E Mus. A. B. Brooke.
a, 3,6, 2. Riviera (A. B. B.).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

a, 6, Faversham, Kent. c,d. St. Johns. e. Wolsingham, Norfolk (Backhouse). jf. Great Coates, Yorkshire
(Cordeaux). g. Northrepps, Norfolk (J. H. G.).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a, b, Sweden (Wheelwright).

Tess

ot

204

Hanhart imp

1.TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL.
LOXIA BIFASCIATA. .

2.WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL.
LOXIA LEUCOPTERA.

137

LOXIA LEUCOPTERA

(WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL.)

Whate-winged Crossbill, Lath. Syn. ii. pt. i. p. 108 (1783).

Loxia leucoptera, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 845 (1788, ex Lath.).

Loxia falcirostra, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 871 (1790).

Curvirostra leucoptera (Gm.), Wils. Am. Orn. iv. p. 48, pl. 31. fig. 3 (1811).
Crucirostra leucoptera (Gm.), C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1837, p. 720.

Figure notabiles.
Wils. Am. Orn. pl. 31. fig. 3; Audubon, B. Am. pl. 201; Bp. & Schl. Mon. Lox. pl. 9;
Gould, B. of G. Brit. ii. pl. 48.

g ad. Loxie bifasciate similis sed magis punicé rufus, dorsi plumis et tectricibus alarum superioribus nigris
vix rufescenti marginatis: alis et cauda sicut in Loxid bifasciatd picturatis sed hac indistincté margi-

nata, rostro graciliore.
9 ad. Loxie bifasciate similis sed rostro graciliore.

Adult Male (Wisconsin). Resembles the male of Lovia bifasciata; but the red coloration is more of a pome-
granite-red, the dorsal feathers and the lesser wing-coverts are black with but slight reddish edgings,
tail a trifle less forked ; wings and tail coloured as in Lovia bifasciata, but the latter has scarcely any
light margins; bill much slighter. Total length about 6 inches, culmen 0°8, height of bill at base 0°3,
wing 3°4, tail 2°55, tarsus 0-6, hind toe with claw 0°58.

Adult Female. Resembles the female of L. bifasciata in coloration.

Obs. As the changes of plumage are similar in the present species to what they are in L. bifasciata, I have
not deemed it necessary to describe them. The female and young of the two species are only to be

recognized by difference in measurements.

Tus form of White-winged Crossbill, which has been so frequently confused with Lowxia bifasciata,
inhabits North America, and is only known as a rare straggler to Great Britain, never having, so
far as I can ascertain, been known to occur elsewhere in Kurope, except perhaps in Heligoland.
The earliest recorded instance of its capture in Great Britain is that recorded by Strickland
of a female which was killed near Worcester in 1838, and is still in the Strickland collection in
Cambridge. The second occurrence was that of a male in red plumage exhibited at a meeting
of the Zoological Society on the 23rd September, 1845, by Mr. E. B. Fitton, who said he had
found it dead and partly covered with wet sand in a crevice of some loose rocks on the shore at
Exmouth on the 17th September, the wind being at the time south-west, and westerly gales
having prevailed for some days. Professor Newton mentions that he examined this bird in the
flesh. A third was bought alive in October 1872 by Mr. J. H. Gurney of a man at Great

2

Yarmouth, who said that it had been caught on the rigging of a vessel which arrived at that
port in October 1870. ‘This bird, a female, was kept alive by Mr. H. Stevenson until December
1874, and was more than once seen by Professor Newton. Mr. Robert Gray writes (B. of W. of
Scotl. pp. 155, 156) that “in February 1841 a specimen of this straggling visitant to Britain was
shot near Jedburgh, and came under the notice of Mr. Jerdon, whose name appears in connexion
with the preceding species; and Mr. Thomas Edward, of Banff, has recorded that a large flock
appeared near that town in 1859. ‘The birds, in this case, seemed to be in a state of great
exhaustion, many of them being even unable to cling to the trees on which they perched.
About twelve or fifteen years ago my friend Dr. Dewar, when sailing from America to this
country, observed great numbers of this species crossing the Atlantic before a stiff westerly
breeze. Many of the flocks alighted on the rigging and deck of the steamer, which, at the time,
was about six hundred miles east of the Newfoundland coast. He secured ten or twelve
specimens of the bird, and put them in confinement: one or two escaped as the ship approached
the Irish coast, and made direct for land; two others flew out of their cage when being con-
veyed in a cab through the streets of Liverpool; and five birds were sent to myself.” I do not
find any other instance of its occurrence in Great Britain, except that Dr. Saxby says (B. of
Shetl. Isl. p. 115) that he shot two at Halligarth on the 4th of September 1859, and adds that
he is sure that they are the American species. Professor Newton says that an adult specimen
was procured about 1831 from the east coast of Greenland by an Esquimaux, and that subse-
quently another adult and three young were obtained in South Greenland. According to
Mr. Reeks this Crossbill is common throughout the year in Newfoundland, being most abundant
in winter, when it collects in flocks of from five to twenty individuals, and feeds chiefly on the
seeds of Abies alba; and it is found right across the American continent from Labrador to
Alaska. Dr. Elliott Coues gives its range (B. of N.W. p. 110) as ‘“‘ Northern North America,
from ocean to ocean; south in winter into the United States, as far west as the Rocky Moun-
tains (no United-States Pacific-coast record); resident in Northern New England, breeding in
winter, and, according to Audubon, breeding in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; Wyoming in
summer; south ordinarily to Philadelphia.” When off the coast of Labrador many years ago in
June several specimens flew on board the steamer, two of which I caught and preserved; and it
is stated by Mr. Weiz to breed there at Okkak. Richardson met with it in 62° N. lat., and
believes that it ranges as far north as the dense spruce-forests extend. Mr. Murray records it
from Hudson’s Bay; and Mr. Ross states that it winters in the pine-woods of the Mackenzie, but
is scarce on the Upper Saskatchewan. I found it extremely numerous in New Brunswick during
the two years I lived there ; and it certainly breeds in that province. I tried hard to find its nest,
but without success, but have seen fragments of its eggs. During the time it was breeding large
numbers visited one of our lumber-camps; but the men failed to find its nest. At last the
camp-cook hit on an expedient to obtain eggs. He caught several females and kept them alive;
and in the course of a few days they deposited three eggs in the cage. ‘These he sent to me
unblown and badly packed; and consequently they arrived so broken that I could not preserve
one, and threw all away. Mr. Boardman says that it is as common in Maine as in New Bruns-
wick; and Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway say that ‘its appearance in Eastern Massachusetts
is much more irregular both as to numbers and time than that of LZ. americana. In the fall and

3

winter of 1868 and 1869 they were uncommonly abundant, appearing early in the fall, and
remaining until quite late in the spring. In Pennsylvania it is much more rare than L. ame-
ricana, and Wilson only met with a few specimens. Since his day it has been found more
abundantly, occasionally in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia.”

Mr. Ridgway says that he saw this Crossbill more frequently than any other species among
the East Humboldt Mountains, and in June 1860 met with it on the Wind-River Mountains.
It is found also in North-west America. Mr. Dall says that it was not uncommon in winter near
Nulato, and several were obtained on the 8th of February and 8th and 9th of April 1867; but
on the west side of the Rocky Mountains it has not been known to occur south of British
Columbia. é

When in the lumber-woods of New Brunswick I used to see this Crossbill almost daily
throughout the winter until May, when we left the forests and returned to the settlements. In
general habits it does not differ from its allies, but appears to be much tamer than Lowxia curvi-
rostra and Loxia americana. Almost all the larger camps used to be frequented by flocks of the
present species, whith was called by the lumbermen the “camp bird;” and where not molested
they were very tame. ‘They were certainly breeding there; for, as above stated, its eggs were
procured ; but I never heard the males utter any song like that said to be uttered during the
pairing-season by its European congeners, and the only note I ever heard them use was a low
one not unlike that of Loaia americana. But it seems that the present species does sing; for
Dr. Brewer, writing respecting its habits in confinement, says (N. Am. Birds, i. p. 490) :—“ In the
spring of 1869 Mr. Jillson, of Hudson, Mass., sent me a pair of these birds, which he had captured
the preceding autumn. ‘They were very tame, and were exceedingly interesting little pets. Their
movements in the cage were like those of caged Parrots in every respect, except that they were
far more easy and rapid. ‘They clung to the sides and upper wires of the cage with their feet,
hung down from them, and seemed to enjoy the practice of walking with their heads downward.
They were in full song; and both the male and the female were quite good singers. ‘Their songs
were irregular and varied, but sweet and musical. ‘They ate almost every kind of food, but were
especially eager for slices of raw apples. An occasional larch-cone was also a great treat to them.
Although while they lived they were continually bickering over their food, yet when the female
was accidentally choked by a bit of egg-shell her mate was inconsolable, ceased to sing, refused
his food, and died of grief in a very few days.”

According to Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, Dr. A. Adams obtained a nest and egg in
1868 at Fredericton, in New Brunswick, the latter of which they describe as being “ pale blue,
the large end rather thickly spotted with fine dots of black and ashy lilac,’ which description
agrees with the fragments of eggs I obtained; and the nest they describe as being “deeply
saucer-shaped, and composed of a rather thin wall of fibrous pale-green lichens, encased on the
outside with spruce-twigs, and thinly lined with coarse hairs and fine shreds of inner bark. Its
external diameter is a little less than four inches, the rim being almost perfectly circular; the
cavity is an inch and a half deep by two and a half broad.”

The specimen figured, on the same Plate with the male of Loaia bifasciata, is an adult male
from North America, and is the bird above described. Both these males are selected as being

(0)

Vso

140

4

the most different in coloration of any I have seen. As the female and young agree closely in
plumage with Loaia bifasciata, and differ merely in measurements, I have not deemed it neces-
sary to figure them..

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6 ad. Off the coast of Labrador, June 1859 (H. H. D.). 6, 3 ad. Musquash, New Brunswick (H. EL. D.).
c, 2. Musquash, March 9th, 1865. d, 3. Musquash, March 31st, 1865 (A. Dunn). e, 3, f, 2. Massa-
chusetts, U.S. (Dr. Brewer). g, 3. Wisconsin, November 12th, 1868 (Dr. Brewer).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a,3d, 6,2. Musquash, New Brunswick, March 1865 (4. Dunn). c, 2. Near Philadelphia, U.S. (J. Krider).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram. ae

a,Q. Niagara, 1849 (H. B.T.). 6,¢. Maine, U.S. (A. HE. D.). c,d. New Brunswick. — d, e, 3. North
America. f, d. Bermuda, 1849 (Wedderburn).

20

cD)

<eulemans hth.

TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL.
LOXIA BIFASCIATA.

Hanhart imp

LOXIA BIFASCIATA.

(TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL.)

Curvirostra bifasciatas C. L. Brehm, Ornis, iii. p. 85 (1827).
Loxia taenioptera, Gloger, Isis, 1827, p. 411.

Crucirostra bifasciata, C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1827, p. 714.
Crucirostra taentoptera (Glog.), C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1827, p. 717.
Loxia bifasciata (Br.), De Selys, Faun. Belge, p. 76 (1842).
Crucirostra rubrifasciata, L. Brehm, Naumannia, 1853, p. 194.
Crucirostra erythroptera, LL. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 199.
Crucirostra trifasciata, L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 241.

Cructrostra bifasciata, L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 245.

Crucirostra orientalis, L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 251.

Crucirostra assimilis, L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 253.

Bec-croisé bifascié, French; weissbindiger Kreutzschnabel, German; witbandige Kruisbek,
Dutch ; Hvidvinget Korsneb, Danish; Hvidvinget Korsneb, Norwegian; Bdndel Korsndbb,
Swedish ; Kirjasiipi-kieronokka, Finnish ; Klest-balokruilout, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. 2883; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 19. fig. 11, taf. 22. fig. 7; Naumann,
Vog. Deutschl. taf. 385. figs. 1, 3; Sundevall, Svensk. Fogl. pl. 1. fig. 5, pl. 2. fig. 1;
Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 203; id. B. of G. Brit. ii. pl. 47; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 178;
Bonap. & Schl. Mon. Lox. pl. 8.

3 ad. capite, collo, dorso et corpore subtis miniatis inconspicué fusco notatis: uropygio letiore et clariore :
supracaudalibus nigricantibus miniato-albo marginatis et vix sulfureo tinctis: alis nigricantibus, remi-
gibus pallidiore marginatis, secundariis intimis albo apicatis: tectricibus alarum majoribus et medianis
conspicué albo terminatis, tectricibus minoribus miniato tinctis: caudé nigra, rectricibus vix miniato-
albo marginatis: abdomine centraliter et subcaudalibus cinereo-albis miniato tinctis: rostro robusto,
corneo, versus apicem nigro-corneo: pedibus fuscis: iride fusca.

9 ad. mare dissimilis: capite, collo, dorso et tectricibus alarum minoribus cinerascentibus, plumis ad basin
nigro-fuscis: pileo et dorso viridi-flavo tinctis : uropygio pallidé flavo: alis et caudd sicut in mare
picturatis, sed flavo nec miniato tinctis: corpore subtus pallidé cinereo, abdomine centraliter albo:
pectore et hypochondriis pallidé viridi-flavo lavatis, his fusco-cinereo striatis: subcaudalibus nigricanti-
cinereis, conspicué albo marginatis.

Juv. sordidé albus, nigro-fusco striatus: dorso, uropygio, pectore et hypochondriis flavido-cervino lavatis : alis
et cauda sicut in femina picturatis, sed magis conspicué marginatis.
@

141

2

Adult Male (near Archangel, 8th May). Head, neck, and back carmine-red with a vermilion tinge, the
dark bases of the feathers showing through here and there; rump clear light carmine, upper tail-
coverts black, broadly margined with reddish white and slightly tinged with sulphur-yellow; wings
black, the quills with narrow light edgings, the inner secondaries broadly tipped with white; larger
and median wing-coverts with broad white tips, forming two conspicuous alar bars; lesser wing-coverts
tinged with red; tail black, the feathers narrrowly edged with reddish white; underparts carmine-red,
on the centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts fading into greyish white with a reddish tinge ;
bill stout, light horn-colour, darker at the tip; legs brownish ; iris dark brown. ‘Total length about
6°25 inches, culmen 0°85, height of bill at the base 0°43, wing 3°8, tail 2°75, tarsus 0°62, hind toe with
claw 0:6.

Adult Female (Siberia). Head, neck, back, and lesser wing-coverts blackish brown, the feathers margined
with grey, and crown and back tinged with apple-yellow; rump light yellow; wings and tail as in the
male, but the reddish tinge is replaced by yellow; chin, throat, and breast greyish white, the darker
bases of the feathers showing through; flanks dark grey striped with brownish grey, these and the
breast washed with apple-yellow; centre of the abdomen white; under tail-coverts blackish grey
broadly margined with white.

Young (Archangel, June). General plumage, except the wings and tail, dull white broadly striped with
blackish brown, the underparts much more narrowly striped than the upper parts; back, rump, breast,
and flanks washed with buffy yellow ; wings and tail as in the adult, but with broader margins.

For long the present species and Lowxia leucoptera were considered to be specifically identical ;
and some doubt exists as to who first discovered and recorded the differences between them. So
far as Professor Newton and myself can ascertain, after a careful examination of the literature of
the subject, it appears that both C. L. Brehm and Gloger published a description of it almost
simultaneously in 1827; but we have failed to ascertain which of these descriptions was first
published. Under these circumstances I have deemed it advisable to choose Brehm’s name, as
being the one by which the bird is most generally known.

The Two-barred Crossbill inhabits North-eastern Europe and Northern Asia, whence it
straggles into Central and Western Europe, and has been obtained also in Great Britain; but as
both this and the American species have on several occasions been met with in our isles, without
a careful examination having been made to ascertain to which species they belong, it is most
difficult to determine whether the records refer to this species or to Loaia leucoptera. Iam
indebted tc Professor Newton for the use of his notes on this species, he having most carefully
examined all available data on the subject ; and from these and information I have also gathered,
it seems that out of the many recorded occurrences only the following can with safety be relied
on as referring to Loxia bifasciata, viz.:—One is recorded by Mr. Rodd in 1843 (Zool. p. 142) as
obtained a few years previously at Larrigan, in Cornwall, the specimen being still in his collection.
Mr. Hancock states (B. of North. and Durh. p. 50) “a female was shot, out of a flock of about
fifteen, near Brampton, Cumberland, November 1845: this specimen is in my possession. ‘Two or
three others were killed at the same time and place. This species ought not in strictness to be
included in our list; but its place of capture is so close to the borders of Northumberland that

3

it would scarcely be right to exclude all notice of it. The flock, in all probability, may have
just passed out of the county, and in a few minutes afterwards might have returned to it again.”
In May 1846 several were killed from a flock at Drinkstone, near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk ;
and one of these is now in the possession of Mr. J. H. Gurney. In 1845 a considerable number
appeared in Cumberland; and nine or more were obtained in the same locality, either at the
same time or in the following year. Of these, two were lent to Mr. Yarrell by Captain Johnson,
of Walton House, while a third, obtained at the same time, was sent, together with one of the
Suffolk specimens, by Heysham to Doubleday, from whose collection it has passed to Mr. Steven-
son's. Professor Newton informs me that another of the Suffolk specimens is also in Mr. Gurney’s
possession; and about the same time, it is believed, Doubleday shot a young bird in his own
garden at Epping. ‘There does not appear to be any authentic instance of its occurrence in
Scotland; but it was recorded as having been obtained in Ireland as early as January 11th, 1802,
when, according to Templeton, in a letter to Dawson Turner (Trans. Linn. Soe. vii. p. 309), one
was shot at Grenville, near Belfast. Mr. Blake-Knox also more recently records (Zool. s. s. p. 1376)
a female or young bird obtained by him in Ireland.

I am indebted to Professor Newton for a list, compiled by him for publication in the edition
of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ on which he is now engaged, of instances in which ‘‘ White-winged
Crossbills” are said to have occurred without the distinction between the Nearctic and Palearctic
forms being observed or capable of later determination, which I give as follows:—“1. Latham,
in a contribution to the posthumous edition (1812) of Pennant’s ‘ British Zoology’ (i. p. 428),
says that, before knowing of the Irish specimen mentioned in the text, he had been informed of
the bird having been met with in Scotland, but the report was too uncertain for him to notice.
2. Mr. Edward, writing in 1859 (Zool. p. 6651), declared that one stormy winter, about fifty
years before, a large flock appeared at Banff. 3. Hoy informed the author that, some time prior
to 1839, Mr. Seaman, of Ipswich, had shot one, apparently near that town. 4. Bary, in 1844,
said (Zool. p. 643) he had been told of a pair of Crossbills with white bars on their wings having
been obtained, about six years before, in the-Isle of Wight. 5. The late Archibald Jerdon, as
accurate an observer as his more distinguished brother, stated that he examined one, apparently
a hen, shot in February 1841, near Bonjedward, in Roxburghshire. 6. In March 1845, Mr. J.
Cooper had one alive, which was caught near Birmingham, as Strickland informed the author.
7. Mr. R. J. Bell mentions (Zool. p. 1247) a hen shot, while accompanying Fieldfares, at
Mickleover, near Derby, in November 1845. 8. Salmon, in a contribution to Newman’s ‘ Letters
of Rusticus,’ published in 1849 (p. 158), notices a cock bird shot in Unsted Wood, Surrey, and
then belonging to Mr. Nicholson, of Waverley Abbey. 9. Mr. Sterland says that four were shot
at Edwinstowe, in Nottinghamshire, in the spring of 1849. And, 10. Mr. Prideaux, in 1852,
recorded (Zool. p. 3474) one at Taunton, without giving any date for it. Several of these
particulars having hitherto been erroneously given by various authors, the foregoing list, which
so far as it goes, is believed to be accurate, may be found useful.”

In Scandinavia the present species has occurred now and again, but merely as a straggler.
Mr. Collett says that it is of very rare occurrence in Norway, and has only been observed near

Christiania by Mr. Siebke. One, now in the University Museum, was shot in August 1840, and
@2

144

4

three were seen in October 1852, and three in the autumn of 1858, in the Botanical Garden at
Tojen. One is said to have been taken at Stockholm as early as 1792; and, according to
Sundevall, several were obtained in 1845 in various parts of Sweden, and in the autumn of
1856, again, others were procured near Stockholm. In Finland it occurs now and again in
flocks at irregular intervals. According to Von Wright (Finl. Fogl. i. p. 253) the first were
observed in the Botanical Garden at Helsingfors, in November 1849, and two were caught alive
by the late Mr. Arthur Nordmann, a third was soon after shot by Professor Bonsdorff, and Mr. J.
von Wright shot a female in the autumn of 1857 at Haminanlaks. In the late summer of 1856
I was at Wyburg, where I had been sent, after leaving school, to learn business ; and one evening,
on my return to Hertuala, the country seat of my principal, where I was living, Mr. Wilhelm
Hackman, then a school-boy, told me that he had observed in a fir-wood not far from the house a
large flock of Crossbills. I could then skin birds; and being anxious to obtain a few specimens,
we got up early next morning and visited the wood, where we found a flock of fifty or sixty
individuals. I shot one or two, and finding that they were White-winged Crossbills I asked
Wilhelm to try and get afew more ; and in the evening, on my return from the office, he produced
about two dozen choice examples; but, as the weather was warm and I could only skin very
slowly, I only prepared six, three males and three females. Of these I sent a pair to Von
Wright; and they are now, I believe, in the Helsingfors Museum. A second pair I gave to
Mr. Leadbeater on my return to England in 1857; and the third pair, which I kept, were
accidentally destroyed during my absence in Italy some time afterwards. ‘They were very tame,
and, when fired at, only flew to the next tree, uttering a note like that of the common Crossbill.
In Northern Russia this species is tolerably common, and especially numerous in the vicinity of
Archangel. I first received one or two skins from there through a collector; and Mr. C.
Craemers, a young gentleman from Archangel who has for some time been working for me here,
on being asked about it, assured me that numbers are seen every year not very far from Arch-
angel, and that he was quite sure he could find its nest. In the spring of 1875 he went home for
a holiday, and before he left he promised, if possible, to procure the nest and eggs of this bird;
but he arrived too late, as the young birds were already fully feathered and able to fly. It may,
however, be taken for granted that this Crossbill is common there; for he found four or five nests
in one day, and brought back sixteen skins of young birds, besides several adults. Since then he
has, through a friend, procured for me a fine series of specimens and a nest containing two eggs.
South of the Archangel Government this bird is not common. Mr. Sabandeff informs me that it
is found in the Governments of Jaroslaf and Moscow, and possibly breeds in the former, but it is
rare. He did not meet with it in the Ural, but believes that it may occur there. Count
Casimir Wodzicki says (J. f. O. 1853, p. 440) that it is on the whole a rare bird in Poland, but
is seen some seasons in small flocks; in the Carpathians it is a still rarer visitant. According to
Borggreve it is an accidental and irregular visitant to North Germany; and in 1826 and 1828 it
appeared in many parts of the country, more especially in Silesia, the Harz, Thuringia, &c. ;
and, according to Von Kettner, it appeared on the mountains of the Murg valley, in Baden, in
the winter of 1829. In Denmark, Mr. Collin says (Skand. Fugl. p. 384), there are but few
instances of its occurrence. Hage says that it has been caught at Herlufsholm. Béolling had a

3)

young bird in confinement for six months, which was caught at the lime-kilns outside Copenhagen
early in October 1845; in August 1846 one was caught close to Copenhagen; and on the 29th
December, 1849, a fine old male was caught in a garden at Elsinore, and was presented to the
Copenhagen Museum by Mr. Steenberg. According to Mr. Cordeaux (Ibis, 1875, p. 183) it is
a rather rare visitant to Heligoland, where it usually appears, like the common Crossbill, in
August with stormy weather from the west or north-west. From the end of August to the 20th
of September, in 1868, it was uncommonly numerous, sometimes twenty or thirty together, the
weather being fine, the wind easterly and north-easterly.

In the autumn of 1829, when so large a number visited various parts of Central Europe, it
being then especially numerous in Silesia and Thuringia, it appears also to have visited Antwerp ;
it has been recorded on several occasions from different parts of Belgium, and was seen there
in flocks in September 1842 and November and December 1845. According to Baron De Selys
Longchamps an old male was shot at Longchamps-sur-Geer in 1827, and two females in
November 1845. In February 1846 it was seen near Utrecht, in Holland; and westward it
has been recorded from the vicinity of Caen, in Normandy, where, according to Messrs. Degland
and Gerbe, an adult male was obtained. It does not range so far south as the common
Crossbill; but, according to Meisner and Schinz, there is or was a Swiss specimen in the Bern
Museum ; and it has been recorded from Tyrol and the Bergamasco, but is stated to be very
rare in the upper portions of Venetia and Lombardy, and does not appear to have been observed
in Greece. It is, however, recorded from Southern Germany; and Dr. A. Fritsch says (J. f. O.
1871, p. 310) that it has appeared on several occasions in North-western Bohemia. In 1841
several were caught near Eger, and in March 1845 several at Grasslitz. Palliardi received some
alive from Wildstein in the latter year. According to Mr. KE. F. von Homeyer (J. f. O. 1872,
p- 308) it was very numerous on the frontier mountains between Saxony and Bohemia, in the
winter of 1845-46; and Von Pelzeln says that there are three specimens in the Vienna Museum
which are said to have been obtained in Austria. It has also been observed in Hungary. I
may here refer to a somewhat curious account of a species of Crossbill, probably not the present
species, but Loxia curvirostra, given by an Arabic author, Cazvini, in the early part of the 13th
century. In describing the wonders of Great Bulgaria on the Danube, he says :—“ There is in the
country of the Bulgares a bird which is found nowhere else. The upper part of its beak, which
is very long, turns to the right for six months in the year, and to the left the other six months ;
but when it eats, the two mandibles are applied evenly to one another. It is said that it has a
calculus in its bladder which is useful in medicine, and that if it drops its egg on the ice or snow
it melts it as if it were fire.’ JI am indebted to Mr. H. H. Howorth, of Manchester, for this
interesting, though somewhat peculiar, natural-history extract, he having noticed it whilst pursuing
his ethnological studies.

However, to return to the range of the present species. I find it recorded from Northern
Asia; but it does not straggle very far south. Von Middendorff found it very numerous on the
Jenesei up to above 63° N. lat.; and late in October he observed it in Mantchuria, on the southern
slope of the boundary mountains, and obtained a young bird at Udskoj-Ostrog in June. Von
Schrenck obtained one north of the Nikolaieffsk post on the 15th (27th) February; and Dr. G.

14:

6

Radde met with large flocks on the north-west shores of Lake Baikal on several occasions, and
he names especially the 15th July (O.S.). Dr. Dybowski says that it is very rare in the Kultuk
district, but commoner in Dauria. It frequents the mountains, in the larch-groves, and breeds
there. In Irkutsk the bird-catchers catch it and keep it in cages. It is said to be easily tamed,
and sings well. In the Nearctic Region this species is replaced by a nearly allied but specifically
distinct bird, Loxia leucoptera.

In habits our European White-winged Crossbill much resembles the common Crossbill. I
have only on one occasion, many years ago, seen it alive; and, so far as I can recollect, there was
no perceptible difference in its habits from those of the other species. The birds I saw were
silently and busily engaged in extracting the seeds from the cones of the spruce-trees, and were
exceedingly tame. When disturbed or fired at several times, they would fly from tree to tree
uttering a low note like that of the common Crossbill. One curious circumstance with the
present species is that the male is said to sing excellently. Mr. C. Craemers assures me that he
has kept several for long caged, and that they sang quite as well asa Canary. Von Nordmann
also says (J. f. O. 1864, p. 363) that one he had in confinement sang excellently. Wishing to
convince myself of this by personal observation I asked Mr. Craemers to purchase a tame one for
me; and he procured two, both of which, he assures me, he frequently heard singing; but, unfor-
tunately, a cat which was on board the steamer when they were on their way to England got at
them and killed both.

As above stated, Mr. Craemers obtained, through a friend, a nest and two eggs of this
Crossbill. ‘The nest closely resembles that of Lowxia curvirostra, but is smaller, and somewhat
slighter in structure; and the eggs are rather darker in ground-colour than those of that species,
and smaller in size, but otherwise closely resemble them. I may remark that Meves describes
the eggs as being whiter than those of Loaxia curvirostra, which description does not apply to
those I have examined: and there can be no doubt as to their authenticity ; for both the old birds
were shot and sent with the nest and eggs, and are now in my collection.

The present species and Loxia leucoptera have, as above stated, been very generally confused ;
and even when the differences were pointed out by Brehm and Gloger, they were not generally
recognized as distinct, until Professor Nilsson and Baron De Selys Longchamps undertook careful
investigation into the matter, and finally set it at rest. The main distinctions may be given
curtly as follows, viz.:—Loxia bifasciata has a much stouter bill than Loaia leucoptera, the
scapulars and dorsal feathers are more broadly edged with brown or red, these edgings being
almost absent in Lowia leucoptera; the tail is rather less forked, and the feathers are always
conspicuously margined with reddish white; whereas in L. leucoptera they have scarcely any
light edges, and in old males the red colour is more of a light vermilion tinge in L. bifasciata,
and almost pomegranate-red in JZ. leucoptera; but this last character is not much to be
relied on.

The specimens figured are—on the same Plate with Lowvia leucoptera, an adult male for
comparison with that species, and on a second Plate a male in rather peculiar plumage, the red
being intermixed with yellow, an adult female and a young bird.

147
7
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

6, 3,¢,3. Talagey, Archangel, March 18th, 1876
(Piottuch). d.d. Valdushkey, Archangel, April 19th, 1876 (Piottuch). e,2. Valdushkey, May 2nd,
1875 (Piottuch). f, 3. Juras, Archangel, May 8th, 1873 (Piottuch). g,3,h, 3. Korela, Archangel,
May 26th, 1876 (Piottuch). 1,2, 7,2,4,%,49,m, juv., n, guv. Archangel, June 1875 (Craemers).
0, p,q. Uima, December 1875 (Malina). r,d. Siberia (Méschler). s, 3. Siberia (Dode). ¢,Q. Siberia

(Dybowsk:).

a, 3. Juras, Archangel, March 4th, 1876 (Piottuch).

Subfamily EMBERIZIN 44.

Genus EMBERIZA.

Emberiza, Linneeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 308 (1766).

Tanagra apud Giildenstadt, Nov. Com. Petrop. xix. p. 466 (1775).
Fringilla apud P. L. S. Miller, Natur. Syst. Suppl. p. 164 (1776).
Xanthornis apud Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 428 (1811).
Passerina apud Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. xxv. p. 6 (1817).
Cynchramus apud Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 974.

Miliaria apud C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1278.

Cia apud Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 138 (1829).

Citrinella apud Kaup, op. cit. p. 142 (1829).

Spina apud Kaup, op. cit. p. 153 (1829).

Orospina apud Kaup, ut supra (1829).

Cirlus apud Kaup, ut supra (1829).

Fringillaria apud Swainson, Classit. of B. ii. p. 290 (1837).
Euspiza apud Bonaparte, Comp. List, p. 32 (1838).

Schenicola apud Bonaparte, Rey. Crit. p. 164 (1850).

Glycispina apud Cabanis, Mus. Hein. i. p. 120 (1850-51).
Cryptophaga apud Cabanis, tom. cit. p. 127 (1850-51).
fypocentor apud Cabanis, tom. cit. p. 123 (1850-51).

Polymitra apud Cabanis, tom. cit. p. 129 (1850-51).

Granitivora apud Bonaparte, Cat. Parzud. p. 5 (1856).
Hortulanus apud Bonaparte, op. cit. p. 4 (1856).

Buscarla apud Bonaparte, Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1857, p. 163.
Hylespiza apud Blasius, List B. of Eur. p. 13 (1862).
Spodiospina apud Von Heuglin, Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 660 (1871).

Tuts genus, of which sixteen species occur within the limits of the Western Palearctic Region, is
represented throughout the Palearctic Region, being also met with in the Ethiopian and Oriental
Regions; and, including Huspiza in the genus Hmberiza, one species is also met with in the
Nearctic Region.

The Buntings frequent open places, cultivated fields, groves, gardens, and also, to some
extent, desert places where there are bushes scattered about, marshy districts, &c.; they have a
rapid, rather undulating flight, move on the ground with ease by a succession of short leaps, are
tolerably good songsters, and feed on seeds, fruits, insects, &c. They build cup-shaped nests of
straws, roots, twigs, &c., lined with fine roots, wool, hair, &c., which they place either on the
ground or in a bush or tree, or else in a hole in a wall; and they deposit several reddish white,
greyish white, or buffy grey eggs marked with dark blotches and spots, and usually also with
tortuous or angular lines.

Emberiza miliaria, the type of the genus, has the bill short, stout, conical, tapering to a
point, the upper mandible not wider than the lower, gape-line ascending obliquely for nearly
half its length and then direct; the palate generally furnished with a projecting hard knob;
nostrils oblong, placed in the fore part of the nasal depression; wings moderately long, the first
three quills nearly equal, the second or third the longest ; tail moderately long, emarginate ;
legs strong, the tarsus covered in front with four large and three inferior scutelle; claws arched,
compressed, acute, laterally grooved.

62

149

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206

BLACK-HEADED BUNTING.
EMBERIZA MELANOCEPHALA

72

151

EMBERIZA MELANOCEPHALA.

(BLACK-HEADED BUNTING.)

Emberiza melanocephala, Scop. Aun. i. H. N. p. 148 (1768).

Tanagra melanictera, Giild. N. Comm. Acad. Sci. Imp. Petrop. xix. p. 466 (1775).
Fringilia crocea, Vieill. Ois. Chant. pl. 27 (1805).

Xanthornus caucasicus, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 428 (1811).

Passerina melanocephala, Vieill. N. Dict. d’ Hist. Nat. xxv. p. 28 (1817).
Emberiza granativora, Ménétr. Cat. Rais. p. 40 (1832).

Euspiza melanocephala, Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. & N. Am. p. 32 (1838).
Euspiza simillima, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xviii. p. 811 (1849).

Euspiza atricapilla, Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p. 277.

Granativora melanocephala, Bonap. Cat. Ois. d’Eur. Parzud. p. 5 (1856).

' Bruant crocote, French; Zigolo capinero, Italian; Ortolano, Corfu (Lilford); Kappenammer
German ; Strenatka czerno-golowaia, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Vieill. Ois. Chant. pl. xxvii.; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 20; Roux, Orn. Prov. pl. 104 dis,
105 dis; Naum. Vog. Deutschl. Taf. 101. fig. 2; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 172; St.-Hilaire,
Expl. Scient. Morée, pl. vi. fig. 1; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. tab. 17. fig. 6; Bree, B. of Eur. iii.
p- 24; Gould, B. of Asia, pt. xxii.

3 estiv. pileo summo et laterali nigerrimo: dorso leté castaneo, nucha et uropygio flavo lavatis: scapularibus
dorso concoloribus vix viridi-flavo lavatis: tectricibus alarum brunneis, minimis plus minusve dorsi
colore layatis, interdum omnino ecastaneis dorso concoloribus, medianis conspicué albo terminatis, scapis
rufescentibus, majoribus extus albido marginatis: al& spuriaé et remigibus brunneis, angusté albido
limbatis, secundariis extts latits marginatis et rufescente lavatis: cauda cinerascenti-brunned, rec-
tricibus exterioribus subtis vix versus apicem dilutioribus: corpore toto subtts et colli lateribus
leetissimé flavis, pectore superiore lateraliter leté castaneo, et hypochondriis etiam hdc colore lavatis :
subalaribus albis, flavo lavatis: rostro nigricanti-plumbeo, mandibula paullo flavicante: pedibus flavi-
canti-carneis, unguibus brunneis: iride saturaté brunnea.

3 hiem. similis ptilosi zestivee sed omnind obscurior: plumis ubique cinerascente marginatis: rostro magis
brunnescente, mandibula flavicante.

° ad. mari dissimilis: brunnea, dorso vix castaneo lavato et uropygio paullo flavicante tincto: pilei dorsique
lumis indistincté medialiter saturatiore brunneo striatis: loris cum regione oculari, mento et genis
Pp s
anticis albidis: subtts obscuré flava, plumis plus minusve cinerascente lavatis, hypochondriis paulld
» P i 3 I
brunnescentioribus;: ald brunned, tectricibus remigibusque cinerascenti-albo marginatis,

9 jun. similis preecedenti, sed magis brunnescens, supra nigricante distincté striata: ala cauddque pallidé
OF2

2

cinnamomeo-brunneo marginatis: gulé et abdomine medio albis: capitis lateribus, pectore et corpore
laterali ochrascenti-brunneis, his saturaté brunneo lineatis: subcaudalibus flayidis.

Pull. cmnamomeo-brunneus, pileo angustissimé nigricante striolato, dorso magis distincté maculato: subtis
magis ochrascenti-brunnescens, subcaudalibus pallideé flavis.

Adult Male in breeding-plumage. Top of the head and sides of the face black; entire back and scapulars
rich chestnut, the latter slightly washed with greenish, the nape and rump slightly tinged with orange ;
wing-coverts dark brown, the least ones chestnut, like the back, median ones tipped with whitish, the
greater coverts edged externally with whitish, those nearest the back slightly washed with rufous ;
primary coverts dark brown, with narrow whitish edgings; quills brown, the primaries externally
margined with ashy white, the edges of the secondaries very broad, and distinctly rufous; tail-feathers
ashy brown, with margins of paler brown, greenish near the base, the outer feathers appearing whitish
when viewed from underneath; entire under surface, as well as the sides of the neck, rich canary-
yellow, the sides of the breast and flanks bright chestnut; under wing-coverts white, washed with
yellow; beak blackish grey, the edge of the under mandible yellowish flesh-colour; legs dark yellowish
flesh-colour, the claws brown; iris dark brown. ‘Total length 6°8 inches, culmen 0:65, wing 3:75,
tail 8°15, tarsus 0°85.

Winter plumage. The winter dress of the present bird resembles that of its congeners in being more obscure
than the summer livery; but in no Bunting with which we are acquainted do the colours become so
thoroughly obliterated ; and this is the more remarkable as the coloration of the species in summer is
so very brilliant. The entire upper surface turns to a sort of dull chocolate-brown, the bases of the
feathers on the head being black, and those of the back dark chestnut, with a slight tinge of yellowish,
which is more strongly visible on the rump; there are also indications of dark brown median shaft-
stripes to the dorsal feathers; the edgings to the wing-coverts and quills are buffy brown; on the sides
of the face the black feathers show a little more plainly, while the entire under surface of the body is
yellow, which, however, is much obscured by ashy margins to the feathers of the breast ; bill dark horn-
brown, the lower mandible paler and more yellowish; legs and feet fleshy; irides brown. The above
particulars of the soft parts are taken from an example given to us by our friend Dr. Henderson, from
the North-west Provinces of India.

This winter-plumage is long in disappearing, and for some time after their arrival in Europe traces of the
ashy margins are visible on the upper surface. Few, if any, attain to the absolute perfection of the
summer-dress ; for if the entire head is black, the dorsal feathers retain some traces of the ash-coloured
margins.

Adult Female in breeding-plumage. Above brown, with a slight tinge of chestnut, the crown of the head
slightly washed with yellowish, which colour is much more apparent on the lower back and rump, all
the feathers of the upper surface streaked down the centre with dark brown; wings brown, the least
wing-coverts uniform with the back, all the other coverts and quills broadly margined with brownish
white; tail-feathers ashy brown, greyer on the under surface, margined with whitish, inclining to
greenish near the base of the feather; lores and feathers round the eye whitish; sides of the face pale
ashy brown, the ear-coverts slightly streaked with whitish; chin and lower margin of the cheeks
whitish ; under surface of the body yellow, with obscure ash-coloured margins to the breast-feathers,
and a strong shade of the latter colour on the flanks, where some of the feathers have indistinct
brownish shaft-lines; under wing-coverts yellowish white. Total length 6-8 inches, culmen 0°6,
wing 3°5, tail 2°9, tarsus 0°8.

3

Adult Female in winter-plumage. Similar to the summer dress, but much more obscure, having dull ash-
coloured edgings to all the feathers.

Young Female. Similar to the old female, but much browner, and more resembling a hen Sparrow. The
edges to the wings are much paler and more fulvous, and the central streaks to the feathers of the
upper surface are much more distinct. The breast and flanks are brownish, the throat and abdomen
white, and only the under tail-coverts yellowish. On one specimen now before us there is a slight
tinge of yellow on the abdomen; and another has a few little brown streaks on the upper breast; the
bill is yellowish, inclining to brown on the ridge of the upper mandible.

Nestling. Pale fulvous, inclining to fawn-colour on the top and sides of the head and edgings to the wing-
feathers. The crown is striped and the back spotted with dark brown centres to the feathers; the rest
of the plumage as in the foregoing description.

Tuis beautiful species of Bunting is a native of South-eastern Europe, and visits the countries on
the northern shores of the Mediterranean, though it has not yet been known to occur as far to
the westward as Spain. Indeed it is only a rare visitor to the west of Greece, but sometimes
extends into Southern Austria and even South-eastern France.

Giatke mentions its occurrence in Heligoland once ; and more recently it has been included
in the British list on the strength of a single female example killed at Brighton in November
1868; Mr. Gould sent the following note on its capture to ‘The Ibis’ for that year (p. 128) :—
‘“‘T have now to inform you of the occurrence of H. melanocephala, of which a very fine old
female specimen, in perfect plumage, is now before me. It was brought to me by Mr. Robert
Brazener, of 25 Lewes Road, Brighton, by whom it was shot near Mr. Ballard’s windmill, on
Brighton racecourse, while, as he stated, ‘it was following a flock of Yellow Hammers.’ His two
sons were with him at the time. On an examination of the bird, a number of eggs were found
in the ovarium.” It is, to say the least, a curious fact that this bird, like the Yorkshire Lesser
Kestrel and other rare species, should have seized upon the winter as a fit and proper time to
visit the shores of England, instead of following their usual line of migration to India or Africa:
the solitary individual of the present species appears also to have mistaken the proper season for
breeding, and to have come to Britain for that express purpose. We are not surprised to hear
that no male bird considered it his duty to follow the course of this erratic individual in her
peregrinations, which thus compelled her to consort with Yellow Buntings.

Its occurrences in France are confined to the south-eastern portion. Baron von Miller
notices an example in full breeding-plumage as having been procured in the Camargue, where,
however, he says it is rare. MM. Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye state:—‘‘ We have
verified six or seven instances of its capture near Marseilles, all of which took place in April or
May, excepting one young male procured in the autumn by M. Bossomer.” According to
Naumann it occurs near Trieste, and occasionally in Upper Italy and Southern Germany,
several having been killed near Vienna. Dr. A. Fritsch records a specimen from the Vindler
Thal, in Southern Austria, and says it has once occurred in Bohemia. Count Salvadori gives
a very good account of the species in Italy. He says that it occurs nearly every year in Liguria;
and we have ourselves seen a specimen from the neighbourhood of Genoa in Mr. Basil Brooke’s
collection. It is by no means so rare in Venetia, and has been said to breed in this province.

153

4

Professor Doderlein says that it is extremely rare in Sicily, and only one single example is recorded
by Benoit, obtained in the neighbourhood of Messina in 1847. Count Salvadori doubts its occur-
rence in Sardinia. Mr. C. A. Wright thus notes its-occurrence in Malta:— A specimen was
obtained in 1867, and kept alive in a cage for some months. Drs. Giulia and Delicata also
mention having observed it.” Lord Lilford says it “arrives in Corfu and Epirus in great numbers
in April, and remains to breed, disappearing in September; has an agreeable song. ‘This bird is
known in Corfu by the name of ‘Ortolano.’” Our friend Mr. Hanbury Barclay has also lent us a
pair shot in the same island, by one of his collectors, from the nest. Captain Sperling remarks :—
“T observed lots of these birds in the high reeds at Butrinto; but they were very artful in
dodging out of sight.” Mr. W. H. Hudlestone also, during his residence in Messolonghi and
Southern Aitolia, found them abundant in the gardens and vineyards. Dr. Kriiper writes to us
that this species is very common in Greece and Asia Minor, rarer in Macedonia and on Mount
Olympus. It arrives late in April or early in May. Ina recent paper he remarks as follows :—
“Tt is found in all vineyards and bushes, both on the plains and in the mountains of Naxos,
though not in large numbers. I procured many nests.”

Messrs .Elwes and Buckley did not procure the species themselves in Turkey, but they
published some information respecting it from Mr. Robson, who has also kindly sent us the
following note:—'This species is numerous in Asiatic and European Turkey. A summer
visitant, it arrives in the latter end of April in small flocks, and feeds for a while on open
grounds amongst the grasses on the mountain-sides, and it is found in summer on cultivated and
uncultivated open grounds, but rarely on mountains.” Professor von Nordmann writes as
follows :—‘‘ It is common near the fortified towns of Soukhoum-kaléh and Pizounda, in Abasia,
where I have seen several couples paired. ‘There in its own country it is quite tame, perching on
the tops of small trees, or moving about amongst the herbage without taking notice of passers
by.” Kessler states that Professor Andrzejowski observed it near Kiew in 1837. Meénétries
procured this pretty bird during his expedition to the Caucasus, and says that it is ‘“‘ common
enough not far from the Caspian Sea, from Kizil-Agaz to Lenkoran, and also on the mountains
of Zalyche.” In the same work he describes a new species of Bunting as £. granativora, which
seems to have been rightly referred to the present bird, notwithstanding that he professes to
describe both sexes.

Canon Tristram’s notes on the species in Palestine are as follows:—“ The so-called Black-
headed Bunting (Euspiza melanocephala) has nothing in its habits and appearance to recall the
true Himberizine. It is a very common and conspicuous bird in spring and summer. I was in
error in stating (P. Z. 8. 1864, p. 446) that it returns in April. On reference to my note-book
I find I did not observe it before the first week in May; and its plumage is too brilliant for it
easily to escape notice.”

Jerdon gives the following account of the species in the ‘ Birds of India ’:—“< The Black-
headed Bunting is found in India only in the North-western Provinces, most abundant in the
Deccan, and thence extending to the Upper Provinces of Hindustan. It makes its appearance
in the Deccan usually about the end of November, is found in immense flocks, and is very
destructive to the crops of jowaree and other grains. It leaves early in March, and certainly
does not breed in any part of India.”

5

We translate the following excellent notes from Lindermayer’s most useful work on the
birds of Greece :—‘ This Bunting arrives always in the last five days of April in Greece, and
like other migrants appears everywhere at once, so that the flats near the sea, which are covered
with vines and other creepers, and in places where the olive-trees are scattered about, are alive
with this lovely and melodious bird. It is peculiarly partial to vineyards, where it builds on the
vines, pomegranates, thorns, or almond-trees. Its nest is always formed of dried straws, is
carefully made, and lined with horse-hair. Five eggs are the usual complement; and these are
pale sea-green, covered with scattered dark brown spots, though sometimes quite unspotted.

**] have received hundreds of nests, and often found them myself, as they are not difficult
to discover, the bird not being at all shy, and only leaving the nest when approached within a
distance of about a metre. I have often known the female to lay afresh after her eggs have been
removed. During the breeding-season the male bird sits near the nest, on a branch or a tree-
top, and continually serenades his mate with his sweet song. If scared away, even by a shot, it
retreats to the next tree and continues its song. I cannot at all indorse Von der Miihle’s
statement that he only saw few females. I have observed this Bunting, amongst the many
summer Visitants who breed in Greece, as far as Arachava and Delphi, on the central heights
of the Parnassus at the end of May, and infer that they breed there. Like all birds that breed
here in Greece it is very quick in its breeding-functions: a few days after their arrival they pair
and begin to build; and the first egg is laid about ten days after their arrival. This bird leaves
us early, about the middle of August.”

In his notes on the ornithology of Palestine, Canon Tristram writes :—‘ Its note is varied
and powerful, more like a Linnet’s than a Bunting’s; and it resorts both to scrub, forest, and
cultivated ground, affecting particularly olive-yards, and in the north apricot-orchards, where it
sits pouring fourth its varied song from the topmost twig of some tall tree. The nest is placed
either on the ground in a tuft or in a low bush, sometimes in the clump at the root of a shrub.
The nest is more compact than that of most Buntings, lined with fibres of roots and hair; and
the eggs, often six in number, are of a pale blue, powdered all over their surface, sometimes
thickly, sometimes sparsely, with brown spots. It is strange to find Brehm quoted as stating its
egg to be like those of other Buntings. We may observe that its American congener, Huspiza
americana, lays a plain blue egg. Every thing I have observed in EL. melanocephala disposes me
to believe that Bonaparte is right in removing Huspiza from the Buntings, and classing it with
the subfamily Spizine.”

Mr. Robson, of Ortakeuy, sends us some interesting particulars :—“ Its habits are similar to
those of the Common Bunting, often sitting on the top of a bush or low tree, and pouring forth
its simple notes, or flying from one elevated part to another with its legs hanging down. The
nest is built not far from the ground, in a rose-bush, vine, or bramble; indeed they are often
found in brambles. The gardeners who find their nests in the rows of peas, allow both peas and
sticks to stand until the young are fledged, and anxiously protect them, wondering very much
what Europeans intend to do with small birds’ eggs. They also consider it a cruelty to take the
eggs from the old birds. These birds depart early in the autumn, as none of them are taken,
like many other species of Bunting, by bird-catchers.” Professor von Nordmann states that when
the female takes wing she utters softly “ tchéh.”

156

6

Eges of this species in Dresser’s collection, obtained in Greece and near Smyrna by Dr.
Kriiper, measure from 33 by 33 to 23 by 76 of an inch, and in colour are of a delicate pale blue,
with a slight greenish tinge, spotted all over (though generally more profusely round the larger
end of the egg) with faint purplish underlying spots, and light or dark brown surface spots.
Unlike eggs of other Buntings, those of this species are totally without the hieroglyphic-like
scratchings so characteristic of the eggs of the true Bunting. Dr. E. Rey writes us that fifty eggs
collected in Greece, now in his possession, average in size 22°5 by 16-1 millimetres, the largest
measuring 25:0 by 16-5, and the smallest 19°3 by 15:7 millimetres respectively. He very justly
remarks on the great dissimilarity between the eggs of this species and those of the typical
Buntings, and thinks that this alone shows that it ought to be generically divided from them.

The accompanying account of the habits of the bird is taken from Professor Doderlein’s
work on the avifauna of Modena and Sicily :—“ The Black-headed Ortolan arrives on the coast
of Dalmatia about the middle of April, and takes up its quarters in the wooded plains and the
vicinity of the districts where grain is cultivated. In the beginning of May it makes its nest,
which it places in a tuft or bush, or at the foot of low trees, or amongst the crops and under-
growth, laying four or five eggs of a greyish white with brownish streaks. I think it lays twice,
especially if the first clutch has been taken. During incubation the male takes up his station on
the summit of a neighbouring tree, and thence emits a strong, vibrating, and monotonous note,
which may be expressed by cirririri-ciriri. It has also a querulous note, common to the female,
which is frequently repeated when in fear, and which may be rendered by cid cid. When
disturbed from its post on the tree-top, it skims the fields with a low regular flight, until it
meets with a similar perch, to which it rises suddenly, and there resumes its monotonous song.
This bird does great damage in the fields of grain, where it shucks out the ears when nearly ripe,
and wastes much more than it eats. About the middle of July it begins to take its departure,
and by the beginning of August none remain. It is very impatient of captivity, and even when
taken from the nest rarely survives the time of the autumn migration; still I have seen excep-
tional individuals brought to Genoa and Trieste.”

The descriptions are taken from specimens in our own collection, procured by Dr. Kriper
in Asia Minor. The figures also represent birds in our own possession, and it is to be noted
that the female is a young bird, and therefore the adult hen of the present species would appear
much more yellow underneath, and not so spotted.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :-—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.

a, 3. Asia Minor, May 28th, 1865 (Robson). 6. Ortakeuy hills, May 5th, 1870 (Robson). c. Macedonia,
June 8th, 1869 (Dr. Kriiper). d, 3, pull. Smyrna, June 15th, 1871 (Dr. Kriiper). e, f. Smyrna,
May 9th, 1863 (LZ. Schrader and Dr. Kriiper). g, h, i,j. Smyrna, May 7th, June 19th and 20th, and
July 8th, 1871 (Dr. Kriiper). k. Volga (Moeschler). 1, m,n. N.W. Provinces of India (A. O. Hume).
o. Banias, Palestine, May 5th, 1864 (H. B. Tristram).

E. Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, 6, Smyrna, May 5th and July, 1863 (Dr. Kriiper).

7

E Mus. A. B. Brooke.

a, 3. Genoa (Doria).

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a, b,c. Candeish. d, ¢. Banias, Palestine, May 6th, 1864 (H. B. Tristram).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, b, $, 2. Corfu, 1862 (Lilford). c,d, e, 5. Near Banias, Palestine, May, 1864 (H.B.T7.). f, 6. Merom,
May 19th, 1864 (H.B.T.). g, 2. Palestine, June Ist, 1864 (H.B.T.). h. Candeish (Walden).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a, b, 3. Corfu, May, 1857 (L.). ¢,d,¢é,2. Smyrna, May 7th and 13th, 1863 (L. Schrader and Dr. Kriiper).

E Mus. Hanbury Barclay.
a, 6, 3, 2. Corfu, June 4th, 1871 (Spiro Gallia).

E Mus. W. Schliiter.
a. South Russia. 6,¢, 6,2. Smyrna, May 5th and 17th, 1871 (Kriiper). d, 2. Smyrna, June 21st, 1871
(Kriiper).

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207

Hanhart imp.

STRICKLANDS BUNTING.

EMBERIZA CINEREA.

159

EMBERIZA CINEREA.

(STRICKLAND’S BUNTING.)

Emberiza cinerea, Strickl. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1836, p. 99.

Emberiza cineracea, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 114 (1855).

Hypocentor cinerea (Strickl.), G. R. Gray, Hand-l. of B. ii. p. 112 (1870).
Spodiospina, Heugl. (Emb. cinerea, Strickl.), Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 660 (1871).

Figura unica.

J. Wolf in Mem. of H. E. Strickl. pl. 6.

3 ad. pileo et nucha cinereis flavo tinctis: corpore supra fusco-cinereo, dorsi plumis centraliter saturaté fusco
striatis: remigibus nigro-fuscis cervino-albido angusté marginatis, secundariis et tectricibus alarum
latius cervino marginatis: cauda nigro-fusca, rectricibus duabus externis versus apicem albis: capitis
lateribus pallidé cinereis flavo lavatis: mento et gula leté flavis: gutture imo cinereo, flavido tincto:
corpore reliquo subtus albido, hypochondriis cinereo lavatis: rostro sordidé plumbeo: pedibus carneo-

fuscis: iride fusca.
? ad. sordidior: mento et gula pallidé flavis, fusco striatis.

Juv. corpore supra griseo-fusco saturaté fusco notato, plumis cervino marginatis: remigibus nigro-fuscis,
primariis cervino marginatis, secundariis conspicué rufescenti et tectricibus alarum cervino marginatis :
corpore subtus, gula et gutture albo-cervinis, saturaté fusco conspicué striatis, abdomine centraliter

fere albo.

Adult Male (Smyrna, 14th April). Crown and nape clear ashy grey, tinged with yellow; upper parts pale
brownish ash, the feathers with central dark brown stripes on the back; wings blackish brown, the
primaries narrowly edged with buffy white, and the secondaries and wing-coverts more broadly
margined with warm buff; tail blackish brown, the two outer rectrices broadly terminated with white
on the inner web; sides of the head ashy grey, tinged with yellow; the chin and throat clear canary-
yellow; lower throat and upper breast ashy grey, tinged with yellow; rest of the underparts white, the
flanks washed with grey; bill dull horn-blue; iris dark brown; legs fleshy brown. Total length about

6 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 3°6, tail 3°1, tarsus 0°85.

Adult Female (Smyrna, lst May). Head greyish ashy brown with a slight yellowish tinge, striped with
darker brown; upper parts of the body as in the male, but duller; underparts light buffy white; the
breast and flanks washed with ashy brown, and striped with darker brown; chin and upper throat

yellow, marked with short dark stripes.

Young Male (Smyrna, 12th August). Resembles the female, but has the upper parts darker and much
more striped, especially on the head; the inner secondaries are broadly margined with buffy rufous,
and the remaining secondaries are narrowly tipped with white; throat, breast, and flanks pale brownish
ash, the former marked with blurry stripes and spots of dark brown, and the flanks striped with brown ;
centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; chin and throat tinged with sulphur-yellow.

160
2

Young Male just fledged (Smyrna, 19th June). Upper parts greyish brown marked with dark brown, the
feathers margined with buff; quills blackish brown, the primaries margined with buff, the secondaries
broadly margined with rufous; the wing-coverts edged with warm buff; underparts buffy white, closely
and distinctly striped with dark brown; the centre of the abdomen nearly white, and more sparingly

striped.

Obs. In the autumn plumage the male has a yellowish tinge to the plumage, especially on the underparts,
and the female also has this tmmge, but more greenish in tone of colour.

Tue range of this Bunting is very restricted. First discovered by the late H. E. Strickland, Esq.,
near Smyrna, in April 1836, it was for long lost sight of; and, with one exception, it has, so far
as I can ascertain, been obtained nowhere else but in Asia Minor, whence of later years
Dr. Kriiper has sent many specimens. This gentleman states (J. f. O. 1875, p. 270) that he
fully believes that it occurs in Europe proper, and that it is said to have been observed in
Southern Russia. No specimen has, he adds, been obtained in Greece; but it is not improbable
that it may visit that country. There is one solitary instance of its occurrence in North Africa,
recorded by Dr. Th. von Heuglin, who writes (J. ¢.) as follows:—“ Amongst the skins collected
by us in Africa Dr. Blasius discovered an immature example of Emberiza cinerea, which I see
from my original label was a female, obtained in October near Keren, in the Bogos country.
This specimen, which is now in the Brunswick Museum, is the only known African example of
this exceedingly rare species, which may therefore visit the Abyssinian coastal regions on passage,
or as an accidental straggler.

That the present species is by no means rare near Smyrna is proved by the numbers of
specimens: obtained by Dr. Kriiper; but I find nothing on record respecting its habits beyond
what is given by that gentleman (J. f. O. 1875, pp. 268-270), which I translate as follows:—
“©On the 31st March last year (1865), when in company with Mr. Schrader in search of Emberiza
cesia on the mountains above Burnova (Burnabat), I observed a bird fly up onto a moderate-
sized rock, and on shooting it was not a little surprised to find an unknown Bunting with a rich
yellow throat. I then thought it to belong to anew species; for I had not seen Strickland’s
description for ten years, when I was a student, and had forgotten it. On the 2nd April I shot
a second male; and on the 10th I obtained the first female. Since then I got to know the bird
better, and procured several specimens. ‘This season I observed the first male on the 3rd April,
and the first female on the 15th. As is the case with all the Buntings, the males arrive first,
about ten days before the females; and I also observed that, as with the other Buntings, the
males predominate greatly in numbers... .. Directly the females arrive they pair; so that one
seldom sees a female alone, but in company with her mate. The nest is far more difficult to find
than that of Emberiza cesia; for although I used every exertion, and searched through the
places where they must nest for hours and hours after insects, I never succeeded in finding a
nest with eggs. Above Burnova I observed a pair engaged in building their nest. The female
fetched the materials and was accompanied by the male, who gave warning. After haying seen
the female disappear three times amongst the stones and underbrush, I did not disturb them any
more, but visited the place a week later and found the nest-place forsaken. I subsequently shot
a female and found in her fully developed but shelless eggs; and another had laid all but one.

3

I suppose that its nest and eggs must resemble those of Emberiza cesia; but the eggs must be as
large as those of Emberiza miliaria, and cannot well be mistaken for those of any other Bunting.
In size this bird approaches nearest to H. miliaria; and in general habits, choice of habitat, and
song it closely resembles Hmberiza cesia. It is very shy and cautious, though not so much so
during passage; but when a pair have selected a nesting-place they are very shy, especially old
birds. Near Burnova I observed a pair, and shot the female, wounding it severely, but did not
obtain it; and the widowed male remained the whole summer in the same locality, and I could
easily distinguish it from other males by its voice. I determined to obtain this bird; but in spite
of every endeavour I never succeeded in so doing, owing to its extreme caution.

‘This species affects rocky mountainous districts where vegetation is scanty, and usually rests
on the moderate-sized blocks of stone. It is found from the base of the mountains up high into
the conifer-region. Its call-note is a short ‘kip; and its song is composed of short strophes
resembling the syllables dir dir dir didi di, variously modulated.”

Since the above notes were written in 1864, Dr. Kriiper has repeatedly tried to obtain the
eggs of this species, but without success, and they are still unknown.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6 ad. Smyrna, April 14th, 1871 (Dr. Th. Kriiper). 6, 2 ad. Smyrna, May Ist, 1861 (K.). c,d, 3 jun.
Smyrna, August 12th, 1871. e, ¢juv. Smyrna, June 19th, 1871 (K.).

161

7

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208

2

PTA AEC TIE!
‘ONILNNA NOWNOOD

EMBERIZA MILIARIA.

(COMMON BUNTING.)

Emberiza miliaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 308 (1766).

Fringilla projer, P. L. S. Mill. Syst. Nat. Suppl. p. 164 (1776).

Miliaria septentrionalis, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 291 (1831).

Miliaria germanica, id. tom. cit. p. 292 (1831).

Miliaria peregrina, id. tom. cit. p. 292 (1831).

Miliaria europea, Swains. Classif. of B. ii. p. 290 (1837).

Cynchramus miliaria, Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. & N. Am. p. 35 (1858).
Spinus miliarius, Gray, List of Gen. of B. ii. p. 61 (1841).

Cryptophaga miliaria, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 127 (1850).

Citrinella miliaria, Gray, Hand-l. of B. ii. p. 113 (1870).

Corn-Bunting, Bunting-Lark, English; Golabhigean, Gaelic (H. J. Elwes); le Proyer,
French ; Strilozzo, Italian; Ciciruni, Sicilian; Triguero, Spanish; Trigulirdo, Portuguese ;
Duraisa, Maltese; grauw Ammer, German; de grauwwe Gors, Dutch; Kornsparf, Swedish ;
Kornlerke, Bomlerke, in some places Knijtte and Stritte, Danish (A. Benzon); Prostanka.
Russian ; Potrzyszez, Polish.

Figure notabiles.

Naum. Vog. Deutschl. v. Taf. 101; Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 433; Gould, B. of Eur. iii. p. 171;
Kjerb. Orn. Dan. tab. xxv. fig. 3; Schl. Vog. Nederl. pl. 153; Fritsch, Vog. Europ.
Taf. 19. fig. 21; Gould, B. of Gr. Br. pt. xxvi.; Sundev. Svensk. Fogl. pl. vi. fig. 3.

3 estiv. supra griseo-brunnescens, plumis medialiter nigris: uropygio griseo-brunneo, feré unicolori: tectri-
cibus alarum dorso concoloribus, medianis paulld rufescentioribus, albo marginatis, majoribus fulvescente
limbatis : remigibus saturaté brunneis, extus fulvescente marginatis, secundariis latits: cauda brunneda,
fulvo marginatis et terminatis, rectrice extima pallidiore: loris et supercilio indistincto genisque
fulvescenti-albis, lineis parvis brunneis longitudinaliter striatis: regione auriculari bruunea, striis
nigricantibus notata: subtis fulvescenti-albus, hypochondriis paullo rufescentibus, gutture sparsim,
pectore magis, et hypochondriis distincté brunneo striatis: subalaribus fulvescenti-albis, paullo griseo
variis : rostro rufescenti-corneo, mandibula feré omnino flavicante : pedibus pallidé brunneis.

Juv. autumn. similis adultis sed magis ochraceus, vix rufescens: subtus ochraceus, maculis pectoralibus
obscurioribus, linearibus.

Male in spring plumage. Above greyish brown, the feathers blackish down the centre as ina Lark, those
on the crown more narrowly centred; the rump almost entirely greyish brown, with very faint:
indications of central black markings; scapulars and wing-coverts like the back, the median coverts
tipped with white, and also slightly tinged with rufous, the greater coverts externally edged with
fulvous ; quills blackish brown, externally margined with buffy white, the secondaries far more

164

2

broadly, these latter being also slightly tinged with rufous; tail rather paler brown, with edges and
tips of buffy white ; feathers infront of the eye and an indistinct eyebrow buffy white, with very tiny
longitudinal markings of dark brown; ear-coverts dark brown, with narrow streaks of black; under
surface of the body creamy white; the throat and fore part of the chest streaked with small spots of
blackish brown, these spots being very tiny on the throat, where, however, they collect thickly together
on the malar line, forming a kind of moustachial streak; on the chest the spots are slightly more
triangular, but on the lower part of the breast they take the form of narrow lines; flanks slightly
rufescent, and strongly washed with brown, being at the same time distinctly striped with dark brown;
under tail-coverts buffy white, with slight central streaks of brown; under wing-coverts of the same
colour, varied down the centre of each feather with greyish; bill horn-colour with a slight dash of red,
the edge of the upper mandible and the whole of the lower one yellow; feet pale fleshy brown; iris
dark brown. Total length 7 inches, culmen 0°52, wing 3:9, tail 3:1, tarsus 1-0.

Obs. A great deal of difference is observable in Buntings killed in the spring and summer, some being
almost pure white underneath, with very few and indistinct stripes on the breast, the general shade of
the plumage being a pale greyish brown; others, on the other hand, are very thickly spotted on the
under surface of the body. English examples are slightly darker than the Continental birds, the pale-
coloured ones in our collection being from Smyrna and Turkestan, so that, perhaps, this peculiar
variation is confined to the eastern specimens.

Young. Much darker than the adult, and more ochreous-brown, with a very strong tinge of ochre on the
breast ; the markings on the latter more confused, and not nearly so distinct as in the adult.

Obs. Macgillivray says that the young are “similar to the adult, but with the upper parts paler, and the
dark markings of the lower more elongated.” A specimen sent to us by Mr. Schliiter, from Hanover, as
well as two examples killed by Dr. Sclater in Oxfordshire do not answer to this description, but agree

with that above given by us.

Tue Common Bunting is a resident species in Europe generally, but does not range very far
to the north in Scandinavia. It extends to the eastward in Turkestan and Central Asia. In
the British islands it is everywhere distributed, but is decidedly local in some places; thus
Mr. J. Brooking Rowe writes that it is common in Devonshire, but is scarcer near Exeter. In
the vicinity of London it is often obtained, having been seen in the Zoological Gardens in the
Regent’s Park by Mr. Edward Bartlett. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., sends us a note :—*“ As the
summer draws on, the Corn-Bunting becomes rather abundant at Greatham, in Durham. The
first are generally seen about the 13th of March; and the following month small flocks begin to
appear; but during the winter not a bird is to be seen. I have no doubt they breed there.”

Mr. A. G. More states that it is “less numerous in Scotland, being attached to the corn-fields
and cultivated districts, but reaches to the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland.” Macgillivray
records it as common in the outer Hebrides, where it is called “ Sparrow.” Messrs. Gray and
Anderson state that it is very abundant in both Ayrshire and Wigtownshire, especially near
the coast between Girwan and the borders of Kircudbrightshire. ‘‘ Mr. Gray has observed it to
be particularly common in the southern districts of Wigtownshire, where the pasture lands
are irregularly broken with protruding masses of rock.” For the following interesting note we
are indebted to our friend Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown:—‘ Nowhere in Scotland have I observed
the Common Bunting to be so abundant as in the north-west of the island of North Uist, in the

3

Outer Hebrides, where Captain H. W. Feilden and myself observed large flocks in the middle of
May. In the east of the island I do not remember that we observed a single specimen. In
Stirlingshire it is not an abundant species, and, besides, is very local in its distribution, only being
found at all commonly in the low-lying ‘carse lands’ adjoining the sea. Even in these situations
it does not appear to be so common as it was a few years ago. In Sutherland it is likewise
locally distributed, common in the south and south-west of the county, rare or unknown in the
west, and has been traced to the north coast by Mr. Selby.”

Mr. R. Collett states that Mr. Landmark found this Bunting in colonies at Jederen (in
Norway) in June 1867; it has not yet occurred near Christiania. According to Nilsson it is
common in Skane, but in the eastern part of Sweden does not go further than that province ; in
the west it is found in Halland, up to near Warberg ; near Gothenburg it is rare. Meves found it
common in Skane in July, and distributed throughout Oland. It is said to occur at Skara during
the winter. It occurs in Livonia, according to Meyer, but does not seem to reach Finland.
Mr. Alfred Benzon writes to us from Denmark, as follows:—‘After the Yellow Ammer, it is
one of our commonest birds, and like that Bunting is found all over the country, but not in
the woods. It is common in the country-places, and sits calling on the top of a tree, whence
its name Bomlerke (Tree-Lark). It is common in Germany. Herr A. von Homeyer states :—
“Tt certainly is a resident in Vor-Pommern and Silesia. In winter in Pomerania hundreds
come into the farmyards. In Rastatt (Baden) it is not found in winter, but appears in the
spring (in March) in flocks on the meadows and fields. According to Jackel, the same occurs in
Bavaria. This is peculiar, as Baden and Bavaria lie so much further south than Pomerania.”
We are informed by Mr. H. M. Labouchere that this bird is “‘ not very common in Holland, and
has only been found breeding in some of its provinces; in autumn it visits the country on its
yearly migration, but never in large numbers.” De Selys-Longchamps says that it arrives in
April in Belgium, leaving in the autumn; a few remain over the winter in company with Larks
and Yellow Ammers. Mr. C. Sachse writes to us:—“It is not found in the mountains near
Coblentz, and but rarely occurs in the narrow part of the Rhine valley, though south of Bonn
it is more numerous.” He adds that ‘‘in North Germany it remains over the winter, and ranges
about in small flocks of six or eight individuals.”

In Luxemburg, according to De la Fontaine, it is very rare in the valleys of the Moselle and
Alzette, but common in that of Chiers, from Aubange to Montmédy. Krener says it is
sedentary on the plains of Alsace. Throughout the whole of France it is an abundant resident
species, and is stated by Bailly to be plentiful in Savoy during the nesting-season and a con-
siderable portion of the autumn.

Major Irby says that this species, which is called Triquero (lit. Wheat-bird), is resident and
excessively abundant in Andalucia. This is borne out entirely by Mr. Howard Saunders, who
writes :—‘‘ It is, I think, the most abundant bird in Andalucia, the number brought into the
markets equalling that of all the Larks, Sparrows, and Thrushes, put together. It remains to
breed.” Professor Barboza du Bocage states that it is common in Portugal. Dr. Rey tells us
that in Estremadura he never saw it, but found it tolerably often breeding in Algarve. ‘The
Common Bunting is also found in the Canaries, where Dr. Carl Bolle found it common in the
rich wheat-fields of Rodeos, in the interior of Teneriffe. Major Irby tells us that it was as

3Y

166

4

abundant in Tangiers as in Spain; and Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake procured it in Morocco.
Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., found it common in Algeria; and Loche says that “in Algeria it is
very common, and amongst the Arabs bears the name of Derris; its flight is rapid and noisy,
and it is very shy. It frequents chiefly the plains and marshes, in which it is often observed in
large flocks.” Mr. Osbert Salvin records it as ‘‘ everywhere very abundant in the eastern Atlas.”
Mrs. Strickland also kindly writes us word that Sir William Jardine’s collection contains a
specimen from Tunis. Mr. C. A. Wright, in his list of the birds of Malta, gives the following
note :—‘ This well-known bird is more or less common during the greater part of the year. It
is especially abundant in the breeding-season, in March, April, and May, when its nest is one of
the commonest of the few found here.” Professor Doderlein states that this species is abundant
and resident in Sicily in all seasons, especially during winter in the low districts of the Madonia,
becoming somewhat rarer in the neighbourhood of Palermo. He found it nesting near Syracuse,
along the Anapo. In Sardinia it is very common.” As regards Italy, he adds, “ In the Modena
district it is an annual breeder; and some remain throughout the year, gathering into flocks in
the open country on the approach of cold weather, until the month of March, when they separate
into pairs; others migrate in autumn, returning in spring.” Seidensacher says it is not very
common in Styria. It arrives there in March, and remains to breed.

According to Von der Miihle it breeds in Greece, and is particularly abundant in autumn
and winter. Lindermayer says that it is resident, breeding early in April in the southern
portions of that country, and early in May in the northern parts. On the plains it is numerous
from October to the end of April, and during the summer inhabits the higher mountains.
Lord Lilford observes that it occurs sparingly in Corfu and Epirus in winter. The Strickland
collection has a specimen obtained in Anatolia by the late owner. “In Turkey in Europe
and Asia Minor,” writes our good friend Mr. Robson, “this species is very numerous and is
widely distributed, being principally found in large valleys and open plains, also on cultivated
and uncultivated uplands, never on the dry mountains, and rarely where mountains are covered
with forest or dense shrubbery.” Professor von Nordmann says that it is very numerous through-
out Southern Russia. But few are seen in winter; and it is to be inferred that most of them
migrate further south. Professor Kessler writes respecting this species as follows :—“ It is found
everywhere (in the governments of Volhynia, Podolia, and Kiew), but only lives in certain
places; and it is impossible to give reasons for its local distribution. For instance, I have
met with it in three quite different localities, such as the village of Zorin, near the town of
Kamenka in the district of Czigirinsk in Kiew, and, lastly, near the village of Wychwatince, on
the left bank of the Dniester, in the district of Balta in Podolia. It is not found during the
summer in the districts near Kiew, but only appears in autumn during migration. I do not
know whether it winters with us; but I have never seen it in winter. Professor Bogdanoff says
that he has never seen it on the central Volga, as Rickbeil at Sarepta. According to Eversmann
it is only found on the banks of the southern Volga. Severtzoff found it in the government of
Woronetz, and includes it amongst the common summer residents.”

Our friend Dr. Taczanowski writes to us:—*It is common and sedentary in Poland. Its
northern limits are in the narrowest part of the province of Augustow, exactly at the town of
Szezuczyn, situated in 53° N. lat. and 40° E. long. It appears to observe this frontier most

5

strictly; for I have been assured by the inhabitants of these parts that it is often seen to the
south of this town, and no one has ever seen one on the north side. I myself have had oppor-
tunities of verifying this peculiar fact when passing several times through those parts; every
time I have seen males singing close to the town, and never once have I seen one on the other
side or further on in the province of Augustow.” Pallas says that it is not found in Siberia, and
does not like cold regions at all: it winters in the Crimea. It was not observed to the east of
the Ural by Sabanaeff. Mr. Keith Abbott obtained a specimen near Trebizond; and on that
occasion Mr. Gould remarked that the Common Bunting had never been obtained before so
far to the eastward; but we have now in our collection an example from Turkestan, procured
from M. Dode. De Filippi found it everywhere in Persia on the cultivated plains. Canon
Tristram writes that in Palestine “H. miliaria is as common as the Skylark in England
on all the corn-plains throughout the year.” Captain Shelley has lent us three specimens pro-
cured by himself in Egypt, where, says Dr. Brehm, “ it is a common winter visitant, extending as
far as the frontier of Nubia; it frequents the clover-fields and is shy and difficult of approach.”
Dr. von Heuglin, in his ‘ Birds of North-eastern Africa,’ gives the following account :—‘‘ The
Common Bunting comes every winter into Egypt and Arabia Petreea, being observed more rarely
in Nubia. It is generally found in small, scattered families, which disport themselves shyly in
the meadows and clover-fields.”

As its local name of Corn-Bunting implies, this species affects the flat corn-growing districts,
but at the same time prefers places near corn-fields and meadows where bushes and trees are
scattered about. Naumann remarks that in Germany it often frequents the neighbourhood of
marshes, and especially places where Brassica napus grows; and he adds that wherever there are
fields in which this plant occurs, the Common Bunting is sure to be met with. During the
breeding-season the bird is seen only in pairs; but so soon as the young are fully grown, or at all
events early in the autumn, they congregate together, forming small flocks. ‘They then range
over the country, visiting the stubble-fields as long as they find sufficient food there; but when
the winter sets in, large numbers are to be observed about the farm-buildings, roads, and stack-
yards, in company with Yellow Buntings, Sparrows, and other small birds; and whenever they
can get at wheat-stacks they help themselves freely to the grain. When observed in the fields,
they move about on the ground and along the furrows, much resembling a Lark, to which bird
they closely assimilate in plumage; they also generally roost on the ground in a furrow, amongst
the stubble, or, according to Naumann, in reed-meadows; and sometimes large numbers come
from a distance to pass the night in some favourite resort of this kind, arriving immediately after
sunset, chase each other about for some time, and finally settle down quietly to rest. Owing to
this habit of roosting on the ground, many are taken in nets with Larks, and with these are
brought to market. During the breeding-season the male is restless and quarrelsome, continually
bickering with other small birds. He generally sits on some elevated perch, such as the top
of a tree, bush, or stake, and thence utters his peculiar song, which is not unlike that of the
Common Yellow Bunting, but is scarcely as musical, nor is it as loud. Naumann compares it to
the noise made by a stocking-weaver when he puts his loom in motion, resembling the words,
zich, zick, zick, ter ill ill all it ill, the latter portion being a sort of chirr that cannot well be

expressed in letters. During the pairing-season they use a soft call-note, zk, zik; but the usual
3y2

167

168

6

alarm-note is a deep zee, like that of other Buntings. They call when on the wing, but seldom
when on the ground in search of food, during which operation they remain very quiet and, from
their plain greyish-brown livery, are not easily observed. It is a clumsy bird both on the ground
and on the wing; and its flight is heavy and laboured, more resembling that of the Sparrow than
the Yellow Bunting. When on migration they fly at a considerable altitude, but may be distin-
guished from the other Buntings by their call-note, which they continually utter, and which
somewhat resembles that of the Common Hawfinch. During the spring and summer season they
feed chiefly on insects, devouring many of the caterpillars so destructive to cereals; the young
birds are, indeed, almost entirely fed on insects. In the autumn and winter, when these are not
to be had in any numbers, they feed on grain. Mr. Yarrell gives the following extract from the
‘Journal of a Naturalist :'—‘“‘ It could hardly be supposed that this bird, not larger than a Lark, is
capable of doing serious injury; yet this morning I witnessed a rick of barley, standing in a
detached field, entirely stripped of its thatching, which this Bunting effected by seizing the end
of the straw and deliberately drawing it out, to search for any grain the ear might contain, the
base of the rick being entirely surrounded by the straw, one end resting on the ground the other
against the mow, as it slid down from the summit, and regularly placed as if by the hand; and so
completely was the thatching pulled off that the immediate removal of the corn became necessary.
The Sparrow and other birds burrow into the stack, and pilfer the corn; but the deliberate
operation of unroofing the edifice appears to be the habit of this Bunting alone.”

The nest is placed on the ground, carefully concealed amongst the rough herbage, tangled
brambles, or bushwork, and is constructed of dried grasses, roots, &c., and lined with horsehair.
The eggs, generally from four to five in number, are subject to great variation. The following
account of the nest is given by Hewitson in his ‘ British Birds’ Eggs’ :—‘* The Common Bunting,
perhaps better known by the name of Corn-Bunting or Bunting Lark, builds its loosely con-
structed nest on or near the ground, sometimes in briars, more commonly in a clump of grass,
and occasionally at the root of a low shrub; it is usually in the open fields, and at a distance
from the hedgerows; it is composed of a few sticks, pieces of moss, and dry grass, becoming finer
towards the inside, which is sometimes completed by the addition of a few hairs. The eggs are
four or five in number, and differ a good deal in size, shape, and colour, but always retain the
character of the genus. ‘Their size prevents them from being mistaken for those of any other
Bunting.”

Mr. Robson has sent us a note on the habits of the present bird in Turkey. He writes :—
“In spring they often sit on the top of a tree or bush, uttering their shrill and little-varied note,
often shifting their situation from one elevated post to another. As they fly, their legs hang
down; and they utter their note in flight. The nest is built on the ground, generally close to
some tall plant, on which it is their habit to rest before entering: six eggs are the complement.
They are very numerous during the autumn migration, when they are very fat, and great
quantities of them are taken by bird-catchers on limed twigs; I have known one man take three
hundred in a morning; while great numbers are shot by sportsmen for eating: they are plump
heavy birds, and of all the Bunting family are in most request for the table. Many of them stay
over the winter, when they congregate in flocks. In this country the present species feeds much
on small beetles, which are very plentiful here.” It will be noticed that Mr. Robson’s statement

v

of the species in Turkey laying six eggs differs from the number given by Hewitson and other
observers; Mr. Benzon writes that the eggs are “generally four or five in number.” Our friend
Dr. E. Rey states, in a letter to us, that the average size of one hundred eggs in his possession, all
taken in Germany, is 24:3 by 17:6, the largest measuring 28 by 19, and the smallest 21 by
17 millimetres respectively. In Germany the breeding-season is between the 10th of May and
the 20th of July. In Southern Portugal he found five eggs incubated on the 5th of April, on
the 10th of April five much incubated, and on the 30th of April and 4th of May five nearly fresh
eggs. We mention these facts because the only two examples sent by Mr. Robson, which we
have seen in Lord Walden’s collection, belong to the pale-coloured form which we have already
noticed as occurring in Eastern Europe, and which may not be thoroughly the same species as
the western bird.

The Common Bunting is apparently subject to great variation. Mr. Sterland mentions the
fact of his having seen several which had an admixture of white in the plumage, giving the birds
a dappled appearance. He adds, “I met with one in December 1859, at Clipstone, which was
entirely white, with the exception of two or three slight markings of brown on the back.” Such
a bird is also in Mr. J. H. Gurney’s ccllection. This gentleman likewise possesses one of a
creamy-white colour, as also does Canon Tristram, who obtained his in Algeria. Mr. Benzon tells
us that he has similar examples in his collection. A dusky-white variety was brought home from
Spain by Major Irby, who informs us that in that country similar birds are not uncommonly

met with.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.

a, 6. Leadenhall Market, November 10th, 1871 (R. B. S.). c. Near London (R. B. S.). d,od. Pagham,
Sussex, June 20th, 1870 (R. B. S.). e, f. Oxfordshire, October 1846 (P. L. Sclater). g, h. Cambridge-
shire (H. E. Fox). i. France (EH. Fairmaire). j. Hanover (W. Schiiiter). k, 3. Piedmont, May 25th,
1870 (7. Salvadori). 1,3. Smyrna, May 14th, 1871 (Dr. Kriiper). m. Crimea (H. Whitely). n, 3. Tur-
kestan, May 18th, 1866 (Dode). —

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a, b, 3. Asia Minor, April 17th and 18th, 1866 (7. Robson).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. Granada (H. S.).

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.
a. Egypt, February 20th, 1871 (G. E.8.). 6,2. Egypt, March 25th, 1871 (G. E.S.). c. Fayoom, Egypt,
March 4th, 1871 (G. E. S.).

E Mus. L. H. Irby.
a,9. Seville, February 14th, 1871 (Ruiz).

169

170
8

E Mus. W. Schliiter.
a, b, c, d. Germany (W.S.). e. Halle an Salle (W. S.).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 6,3, . Orkney (H. B. T.). c,d,e. Algiers, April 21st, 1856 (H. B. T.). f, ¢. Hhora, Wilderness of
Judea, February 5th, 1864 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a. Norfolk, var. (7. H. Gunn). 6, 6. Eastbourne, February 26th, 1867 (J. H.G.). ¢. Epworth, var. (Grant).
d,?. Greatham, Durham, February 19th, 1866 (J. H. G.). e,f, 9,2. Seaton, Durham, April 16th and
May 4th, 1866 (J. H. G.).

209

“XX

“WTISNIY LID

VWZIY4AgWa

171

EMBERIZA CITRINELLA.

(YELLOW BUNTING.)

Emberiza citrinella, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 309 (1766).

Emberiza sylvestris, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 294 (1831).
Emberiza septentrionalis, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 294 (1831).
Citrinella citrinella, Gray, Hand-l. of B. ii. p. 113 (1870).

Yellow Ammer, Yellow Hammer, Yellow Bunting, Yellow Yowley, Yellow Yeldring, Yellow
Yoldring, Yellow Vite, Yeldrock, Volkring, Voit, Skite, Goldie, Writing-Lark, English ;
Bruant jaune, French ; Gold-Ammer, German; De Geelgors, Dutch ; Gulsparf, Swedish ;
Gulspurr, Norwegian; Guulspurr, Danish; Strenatka Dvsyanka, Russian; Zigolo giallo,
Italian.

g pileo toto et gutture lete citrinis, vertice et capite laterali paullulum olivaceo-viridi striato: vitta malari
post regionem paroticam producta castanea: collo postico et laterali olivaceo-viridi: interscapulio
scapularibusque rufo-brunneis, parte mediana saturate brunnea, plumis omnibus plus minusve fulvo
marginatis: dorso postico et uropygio cinnamomeis: tectricibus alarum minimis olivaceo-viridibus,
majoribus brunneis extus late cinnamomeo marginatis: remigibus brunneis, primariis anguste olivaceo-
viridi, secundariis cinnamomeo marginatis: cauda brunnea, pennis duabus mediis cinnamomeo, proximis
olivaceo-viridi marginatis, duabus extimis pogonio interno versus apicem albis: corpore subtus lete
citrino, pectore superiore cinnamomeo marmorato : hypochondriis hoc colore striatis, scapis plus minusve
distincte brunneo notatis: subalaribus et subcaudalibus citrinis: rostro plumbescente: pedibus pallide
brunneis: iride saturate brunnea.

@ pileo grisescenti-brunneo, capite summo medio citrino, plumis medialiter brunneo striatis: regione parotica
grisescenti-brunnea, citrino tincta: regione oculari albida: collo postico et laterali cinerascenti-flavo
tincto: dorso superiore brunneo, plumis medialiter saturatius coloratis, marginibus cinerascentibus
paullulum ochraceo layatis: dorso imo, uropygio et supracaudalibus dilute cimnamomeis: alis et cauda
ut in mari coloratis: gula circumscripte citrina, punctulis brunneis longitudinaliter notata: pectore
superiore et corpore laterali olivascenti-brunneis, illo brunneo et cinerascenti marmorato paullo etiam
citrino tincto, hoc distincte brunneo longitudinaliter striato, vix etiam rufo mixto: abdomine medio
pure citrino: subalaribus et subcaudalibus citrinis brunneo variis.

Male in summer plumage. Head bright citron-yellow; the nape and back of the neck greenish olive ; the
forehead, sides, and back of the crown marked with narrow lines of black; a line of dusky black,
behind the ear-coverts dusky greenish ; a moustachial stripe and a few spots on the cheeks chestnut ;
back fulvous brown, the scapulars inclining to rufous, all the feathers distinctly marked with a median
line of dark brown ; rump and upper tail-coverts bay, slightly washed with fulvous; least wing-coverts
rufous brown, with indistinct median shaft-stripes and distinctly washed with greenish yellow; the
greater coverts dark brown, edged with cinnamon; the primary coverts dark brown, narrowly edged
with greenish yellow; quills blackish brown, greyish underneath, the primaries narrowly edged with
greenish yellow, the secondaries very broadly margined with cinnamon; tail dark brown, the middle

2

feathers edged near the base with rufous, the next ones edged with greenish yellow, the two outer
feathers for the most part brown, but white for nearly the apical half of the immer web; throat, sides of
the neck, centre of the breast, and abdomen bright citron-yellow; the upper part of the breast and
flanks mottled with cinnamon, the latter distinctly striped with brown; bill bluish; feet pale brown ;
iris dark brown. ‘Total length 6:7 inches, culm. 0°45, wing 3°25, tail 2°75, tarsus 0°7.

Female. Head greyish brown, strongly tinged in the centre with citron-yellow, of which colour the bases of
the feathers are entirely composed, all of them being marked down the shaft with dark brown; the
lores and a slight eyebrow clear citron-yellow; the eye surrounded by a ring of whitish feathers ;
cheeks and ear-coverts greyish brown, washed with citron-yellow and more or less distinctly tinged
with rufous brown; sides and hinder part of the neck greyish brown, tinged with yellow; back-feathers
dark brown in the centre, the edges fulvescent, and all slightly washed with ochre; lower part of the
back, rump, and upper tail-coverts pale cinnamon ; least wing-coverts brown, broadly edged with olive-
green, the greater ones brown, margined with rufous; quills and tail coloured exactly as in the male;
throat clear citron-yellow, with a few little shaft-markings of brown; rest of the body citron-yellow,
the upper breast strongly mottled with brown and tinged with olive-green, the flanks inclining to grey
and strongly striped with dark brown and washed with rufous brown; centre of abdomen clear yellow ;
under wing- and tail-coverts citron-yellow, the former mottled, the latter more or less striped along the
shaft, with brown ; bill bluish grey ; feet pale brown; iris dark brown.

Male in winter plumage. More clouded than in summer, the feathers of the head especially, beimg marked
longitudinally with broad greenish shaft-stripes, and a generally more dingy appearance being produced
by fulvous edgings to the feathers.

Female in winter plumage. Like the male the winter dress is similar to the summer garb, but very much
more dingy, owing to the edgings on the feathers.

THE Yellow Bunting, or, as it is more generally called, the Yellow Ammer, is a common bird
in the western Palearctic Region. The metropolis of the species is probably in Central Europe,
whence it extends as far north as Lapland, and goes eastward even into Siberia. In Southern
Europe it gradually becomes scarcer and scarcer by degrees, and in South-western Europe is
decidedly a rare bird. As will be seen from the detailed account of its geographical range given
below, it is an unsettled species, migrating in some localities.

As regards its distribution in the United Kingdom, Mr. A. G. More’s useful paper, so often
referred to, informs us that it is found everywhere during the nesting-season, even as far north as
Orkney, where it is said to have bred twice to the knowledge of Messrs. Baikie and Heddle.

On the Continent the present species is equally common, but is generally richer in coloration
than British examples. Specimens received from our friend Count Salvadori are exceedingly
bright, the yellow throat being so intense as almost to amount to orange. In France MM.
Jaubert and Barthélemy de la Pommeraye state that it is a regular breeder all over France,
excepting the southern parts, where it is only observed on the more elevated localities. In
Lorraine it is common and sedentary, according to Godron; and throughout Holland, we are
informed by Mr. Labouchere, is very abundant. De Selys-Longchamps says it is plentiful in
Belgium all the year round, receiving great additions to its numbers in the winter, when a great
many are captured by the villagers. In Luxembourg also De la Fontaine states that is a very
common bird. In Denmark it is generally distributed, and is found likewise all over Germany.

22
v

Mr. R. Collett, in his work on the ‘ Ornithology of Christiania,’ says :—‘‘ Early in March, or
some years late in February, the well-known note of this bird may first be heard here. Although,
generally speaking, it is very common near Christiania, it has happened that some years it is
scarcely to be seen. ‘Thus in 1861 and 1862 it was so rare as almost to appear to have vanished ;
and this was not only the case in this neighbourhood, but also in other parts of Southern
Norway. Whether the explanation of this fact was in an epidemic or in a migration, and where
in the latter case they went to it is hard to say. Those that returned after these years appeared
certainly to be strangers.”

In Finland Von Wright observed it as high as 67° 40' N. lat.; and Pastor Sommerfelt
includes it in his list of the birds of the Varanger Fjord. Messrs. F. and P. Godman observed
only two pairs at Bodo during the spring and summer of 1857. Professor von Nordmann states
that it is common in the centre of Russia, but becomes more rare towards the south and east.
Radde records it as occurring on the Jenesei in winter, as he saw it often at Krasnojarsk in
November.

Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, in their paper on the ‘ Birds of Turkey,’ say that the present
species was seen ‘“‘on the mountains of Macedonia, and also found near Constantinople.”

Mr. Robson gives us the following note :—

‘This species is very numerous in Turkey in Europe and Asia Minor, in the winter; they
arrive in the autumn and depart in the spring, are fond of congregating in flocks, and feed much
in farmyards, in valleys, and on mountain-sides. They are also very partial to feeding in thickets
of brambles &c. Great quantities of them are taken during the autumn migration by bird-
catchers for the table.”

Following the range of the Yellow Bunting in Southern Europe, we learn from Lindermayer
that it is, to the best of his knowledge, not found in Greece, even in winter. In Italy it is
common, and has been observed during the winter near Pisa by Dr. Giglioli; it is included by
Signor Bettoni among the birds that breed in Lombardy.

Malherbe says it is “not common in Sicily, on the Messina side. I have nevertheless seen
it on the hills of Bagharia, near Palermo, and not far from Montreal.”

Bailly writes concerning the present bird as follows :—

“ Sedentary and very common in Switzerland and Savoy, and is met with in the mountains,
both in cultivated places and those covered with brushwood, and fallow ground, particularly
during the summer. It is very rare in the Alps, above the range of tree-growth. I have seen it
once on the Mont Cenis, close to the range of eternal snow at Rivers, during the breeding-season.
Its nest was on the ground amongst a mass of the Rhododendron ferrugineum.” ;

It has likewise been included by Mr. W. Grant among the birds occurring in Malta. The
many errors and misstatements recorded by the last-named author justly raised the indignation of
Mr. Wright, who has resided so long on the island and so carefully elucidated the Maltese Avi-
fauna. In concluding his criticisms on Mr. Grant’s pamphlet, Mr. Wright says, “ this is the last
species I shall quote as an egregious blunder. We are not only told that it is found here, but
that it is common too!” 4

In Southern and Eastern Spain, Mr. Howard Saunders has found it to be only an occasional
visitant, occurring sometimes in winter. Naceyro, indeed, states that near Santiago it is common

Xx

4

and sedentary; but Guirao speaks of it as a very rare bird in the province of Murcia. In
Portugal it has not yet been authentically determined to occur; but Moquin-Tandon has included
it among the birds of the Canaries.

Mr. Gould states that it also inhabits the northern regions of Africa from Tunis to the Nile;
but we cannot find his authority for this latter statement.

Loche says it is not common in Algiers, and found more frequently during the winter
season. He procured it himself on the Zaccar, in the province of Algiers, where he often met
with it.

The Yellow Bunting is a well-known bird, and is to be observed on almost every hedge-row.
Perched on the top of the highest available twig, the male may be heard incessantly pouring out
his monotonous but not disagreeable song; and during the breeding-season these notes fall upon
the ear from the early morn till late into the evening; as twilight sets in, the Yellow Hammer
may still be heard, and is perhaps the last bird to give a parting note to the retiring day, with
the exception of his congener the Corn-Bunting, who sings till it is quite dusk. Country people
imitate the note of the Yellow Hammer by the words, “a little bit of bread and no cheese,” the
accent on the last word; but sometimes the utterance alters in tone, the request being for a
“little bit of bread and no cheese,” the last word being dropped and the accent on the penulti-
mate. In the north they render its note as “del tak’ ye.” These words, however, scarcely
reproduce the true note of the Yellow Hammer, and we may quote the following from
Bechstein :—‘‘ Its song, which it utters from February to August, sitting on the top of a tree or
twig in a conspicuous position, is not disagreeable, and consists of these seven to nine clear notes,
drawn out.” The call-note is sharp, and resembles the word “zeetsch.”

The present species cannot be considered a true migrant, as it merely changes its habitat _on
the approach of winter, when it leaves the more wooded country and collects in flocks in the
fields and in the neighbourhood of habitations. To some extent, when it has located itself in the
high north in inclement situations, it seeks more temperate climes on the approach of the cold
weather.

Its food consists chiefly of seeds, but during the summer season it is to a certain extent
insectivorous, and is of utility to the husbandman from its feeding on the green caterpillar of
Papilio rape, as observed by the Rev. H. F. Snell (J. f. O. 1857, p. 186). Macgillivray also
(B. of Gr. Brit.) gives similar details. Naumann (Vog. D. iv. p. 245) states that during the
summer time they chiefly feed on insects, without, however, despising seeds, on which latter they
subsist principally during the winter. Oil-containing seeds they only feed on when cereals are
unobtainable; rye, however, they do not seem to care for.

The nest is composed of dry grass-straws, roots, moss, and occasionally small twigs, and is
neatly lined with fine roots and hair. Naumann states that it never uses feathers. It is generally
placed near or on the ground, but is occasionally found in a bush some feet above the earth.
Mr. Salmon, according to Hewitson, found a nest at the unusual height of seven feet above the
ground among the thick bushy branches of some broom.

Yarrell remarks :—“' The Yellow Bunting is a late breeder generally, but some exceptions to
this rule have been noticed; and the nest is more frequently placed upon or very near the ground,

5

under shelter of a bush, in a hedge-bottom, or on the grass-grown bank of a deep ditch or brook,
and the moss, roots, and hair of which it forms its nest are usually well put together. Exceptions
to both these points also happen occasionally.” Mr. Blackwall, in some ornithological remarks
printed in the first volume of the ‘ Zoological Journal,’ says :—‘ It is well known that the Yellow
Bunting generally makes a very substantial nest, yet from some internal defect (for there did not
appear to be any in its external configuration), a female of this species, in June last, deposited its
eggs on the bare ground, in which situation it sat upon them till they were hatched. It is
evident that birds of the same species possess the constructive powers in very different degrees of
perfection; for, though the style of architecture is usually adhered to, the nests of some indi-
viduals are finished in a manner greatly superior to those of others.” We have ourselves found
the Yellow Bunting’s egg deposited on the bare ground, but whether by accident or intention we
are unable to say.

The eggs, from four to five in number, are dull white, occasionally with a russet tinge, and
are profusely covered with long hair-like markings, giving the appearance of having been drawn
by a pen. ‘This peculiarity has gained for it in some parts of England the provincial name of
“ Writing-Lark.” Naumann states that the male assists in the incubation, taking the place of
the female several hours in the course of the day, and that the young are hatched in thirteen
days.

Our descriptions and figures are from a pair in our collection, in full summer plumage.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.
a, b,c, d. Hampstead (Davy). e, f, g, 2, i,j. Piedmont (Salvadori). k. Crimea (Whitely).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a, b, c, d, e. Greatham, Durham (J. H.G.). jf. Somersetshire (J. H.G.). g. Northrepps, Norfolk (J. H. G.).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a. Lilford (L.).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.

a, 6. Surrey (F. G.). _c. Cambridge (0. S.). d. Cambridge (Baker). e. Sarpsborg, Norway (Baker).
f. Borregard, Norway (Baker).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. Greatham, Durham (J. H. Gurney).

J

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210

*SNTYI9

IHAXA*

WZINIGWA

EMBERIZA CIRLUS.

(CIRL BUNTING.)

Emberiza cirlus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 311 (1766).

Emberiza eleathorax, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 135 (1802).

Citrinella cirlus, Gray, Hand-l. of B. ii. p. 113 (1870).

Cirl Bunting, English; Bruant zizi, French; Linacero, Ave-tonta, Spanish; Cia, Cicia, Portu-
guese; Zigolo nero, Italian; Zaunammer, German; Strenatka ogorodnaya, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Gould, B. of Eur. iii. pl. 175; Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 448 (1843); Naum. Vég. Deutschl.
Taf. 102; Schl. Vog. Nederl. pl. 156; Gould, B. Gr. Br. pt. x.

3 estiv. pileo toto leté olivascenti-viridi, collo postico paulld griseo tincto, plumarum omnium parte mediana

nigricanti-brunnea : loris et supercilio longo, usque ad regionem paroticam posticam producto, genisque
leté citrinis: lned a basi maxille per oculum ducta et plumis malaribus nigricantibus paullo olivaceo
tinctis: dorso superiore cum scapularibus badiis, parte mediané nigricanti-brunned strias longitudinales
formante, plumis omnibus angustissimé, interdum obsoleté, fulvo marginatis : dorso postico et uropygio
olivascenti-brunneis, striis medianis indistinctis, supracaudalibus magis badio tinctis et scapis brunneo
distinctius indicatis: tectricibus alarum brunneis, minimis claré olivaceo tinctis, medianis albido
marginatis et majoribus fulvescenti-badio laté lavatis: remigibus brunneis extus angusté olivaceo
marginatis, secundariis laté badio marginatis et terminatis: caudd brunnea, pennis duabus centralibus
fulvescenti lavatis, reliquis angusté olivaceo marginatis, rectricibus extimis plerumque albis, plaga
obliqua alba notatis, penultimis versus apicem pogonii interni obliqué albis: gula nigra, gutture imo
leté citrino: pectore summo flavicanti-olivaceo: corporis summi lateribus leté badiis, angusté fulvo
marginatis: abdomine cum subcaudalibus citrinis, hypochondriis fulvescenti-brunneis, lineis angustis
brunneis conspicué notatis: subalaribus albidis, minimé citrino tinctis: rostro saturaté cinerascenti-
plumbeo: pedibus flavidis: iride brunneda.

3 hiem. vix a ptilosi estiva distinguendus, sed obsoletior et magis obscurus: plumis omnibus fulvescenti

marginatis: gula obscuriore, fulvescenti-brunneo marginata.

? estiv. fulvescenti-brunnea, dorsi plumis et scapularibus badio lavatis, scapis laté nigricanti-brunneo indicatis :

Obs.

uropygio magis olivascente: pileo brunnescente, vix flavido lavato, nucha postica clarius flavo lavata :
supercilio distincto sordidé citrino: regione paroticd posticd nigricante: genis pallidé flavicantibus
brunneo notatis: tectricibus alarum brunneis, minimis claré olivascentibus, medianis et majoribus
fulvescenti marginatis, his badio lavatis: remigibus et caud& ut in mari coloratis: gula sordidé albida
vix citrino tincté: gutture imo letits citrino: pectore superiore sordidé olivascente : corporis lateribus
obscuré cinnamomeis: abdomine medio citrino, immaculato: corpore reliquo subtus lineis brunneis
distinctis ubique striolato: subalaribus albidis paullo citrino tinctis: subcaudalibus pallidé citrinis
brunneo medialiter striatis.

E. citrinelle femine simillima, sed saturatior, pilei plumarum basibus grisescenti-brunneis nec flavis,

177

178

2

tectricibus alarum minimis olivaceis nec flavicantibus, et uropygio olivascente nec cinnamomeo
distinguenda.

2 hiem. sordidior, plumis omnibus fulvo marginatis, dorsi plumarum marginibus cinerascentibus.

2 hornot. supra brunnea, dorsi plumis vix cinnamomeo tinctis, marginibus plumarum pallidé fulvescentibus :

tectricibus alarum minimis claré olivaceis, majoribus vix cinnamomeo magis fulvescenti marginatis :
corpore subtus toto pallidé flavicante, ubique lineis parvulis brunneis striato: abdomine paulld magis
citrino tincto, immaculato: aliter ut in femina adulta colorata.

Adult male in summer plumage. Crown of the head, back and sides of the neck clear olive-green, the shafts

Obs.

blackish, giving the appearance of stripes all over the head; back and scapulars dark bay, almost
chestnut, each feather marked with a median blackish stripe; lower part of the back and rump
greenish grey, the shafts obscurely marked, more plainly on the upper tail-coverts, which are faintly
tinged with rufous; wing-coverts brown, the least ones olive-green, the median ones plain brown,
conspicuously edged with fulvous, the greater coverts margined with bay, those nearest the back more
broadly ; quills brown, all but the innermost secondaries washed with olive-green on the outer web;
these latter broadly edged with bay, like the back; all the quills whitish at the base of the inner web;
tail-feathers brown, the two centre ones edged with fulvous bay, all the rest narrowly and obscurely
fringed with dull olive-green, the outermost feather almost entirely white, excepting the shaft and part
of the feather at the tip, and also an oblique narrow line running from the base along the inner web,
penultimate all brown, excepting an oblique patch of white towards the tip of the inner web; lores and
and a very distinct eyebrow, as well as the cheeks, clear lemon-yellow; a line of feathers from the base
of the bill, enclosing the eye, and broadening out over the hinder part of the ear-coverts, which it
encircles before it joins the malar stripe of feathers, blackish with a slight tinge of olive; a malar stripe
dull greenish ; throat black, the lower part crossed with a citron-coloured crescent-like patch ; fore part
of the chest clear yellowish olive; sides of the upper breast rich bay, with slight fulvous markings to
the feathers; flanks greyish brown with a slight fulvous tinge, the shafts indicated by very distinct
brown lines, producing a striped appearance; centre of the breast and abdomen clear citron-yellow,
unstriped ; under tail-coverts pale citron, one or two of the feathers striped with brown down the
centre; under wing-coverts whitish with a very faint tinge of yellow; bill dark ashy; legs yellowish;
iris brown. Total length 6 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 3:15, tail 2°8, tarsus 0°7.

The specimen above described is in very complete spring plumage, but has not altogether lost the
fulvous edgings to the feathers, which are the remains of the winter plumage. A male bird, killed by
Sharpe near Chichester, on the 11th of July 1870, is in the fullest summer dress we have seen; but the
plumage is everywhere worn and abraded ; there are, however, hardly any remains of fulvous margins
to the back-feathers, on which also the median shaft-stripe is excessively narrow. Considerable
variation seems to exist in the colour of the head and green breast-patch ; some are very green in tint,
some, on the other hand, are more grey. One specimen in particular, in Lord Lilford’s collection from
Spain, is wonderfully grey, especially on the nape; but whether this variation is due to age or not, we
are unable yet to discover.

Male in winter plumage. More obscure than in summer, the feathers, as in most Buntings, being plainly

margined with fulvous; the summer plumage being gained by a gradual shedding of these pale margins.
The throat is covered by brownish edgings to the black feathers, but never in such profusion as to
destroy it entirely.

9
0

Female in summer plumage. Above fulvous brown, the back and scapulars, particularly the latter, exhibiting
a strong tinge of bay; rump olive-brown, not striped like the rest of the body with dark blackish shaft-
lines; head brown, with a very faint tinge of olive, a little clearer on the nape, everywhere streaked
with dark shaft-markings ; eyebrow dull yellow tinged with brown; cheeks and ear-coverts dull brown,
the latter inclining to black, the cheeks specked with brown; least wing-coverts olive-green, median
and greater ones edged with light bay; wing and tail as in the male, although on some of the third
tail-feathers a spot of white appears at the tip; throat dull brownish yellow with specks of brown, the
lower part of the throat rather clearer yellow; upper part of the breast dull olive-green with brown
shaft-stripes ; side of the upper part of the breast and flanks obscure bay, with very distinct longitudinal
lines of blackish brown; abdomen dull citron, unspotted ; under tail-coverts pale citron, streaked with
blackish ; under wing-coverts whitish, with a very distinct tinge of yellow. Total length 6 inches,
culmen 0:4, wing 3:0, tail 2°7, tarsus 0:7.

Female in winter plumage. Like the male, more obscure than in summer, owing to the yellowish edgings
to the feathers. Some birds when in full winter dress have a tinge of ash-colour in the centre of
the back.

1

Young female. Pale brown above, with light fulvous edgings to the feathers of the centre of the crown and
back, the latter mesially streaked with dark brown; least wing-coverts olive-green as in the adult, the
edgings to all the other coverts pale fulvous, with scarcely any tinge of bay; the secondaries broadly
edged with the latter colour, and also margined with fulvous towards the tip; rump and upper tail-
coverts olive-brown, the latter with very distinct dark centres; under surface of the body very pale
yellowish, almost white, with a little tinge of brighter yellow on the upper part of the abdomen, all
entirely covered with little brown shaft-stripes, most distinct on the breast, and taking the form of
little spots on the throat and flanks.

Obs. Considerable difficulty is often experienced in distinguishing the female Cirl Bunting from the hen of
the Common Yellow Bunting; but in reality they are very different. Our friend Mr. J. Gatcombe, of
Plymouth, suggests a very crucial test, and one which, we believe, will always be found to answer; this
is by parting the feathers of the head, when the Yellow Bunting at all ages will be found to have the
bases of the feathers yellow. In addition to this character, the colour of the rump is different in the
two birds, that of the hen Yellow Bunting being bright bay, that of the female Cirl Bunting olive-
brown ; whilst one of the best distinguishing characteristics between the two species will be found in the
colour of the least wing-coverts, which in the Cirl Bunting are conspicuous olive-green at all ages.

THIS is a more southern species than the Yellow Bunting, in its habits, however, much resembling
that bird. Throughout the whole of Central and Southern Europe it is plentiful, extending its
range eastward into Asia Minor and Russia in Europe. Its northern habitat does not extend
into Scandinavia; but it is found in Northern Germany, Holland, and France, and is distributed,
though not very common, throughout the southern counties of the United Kingdom.

The Cirl Bunting was first noticed in England by Colonel Montagu, who discovered it near
Kingsbridge, in Devonshire, in the winter of 1800. According to Yarrell it has been found in
Hampshire, Berkshire, Sussex, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall, and is par-
ticularly abundant in the Isle of Wight. It is rare in the northern counties. One was obtained
in 1837 near Doncaster; and he had also heard of its being captured near York and Edinburgh.
Lord Lilford writes to us that on his own estate at Lilford, in Northamptonshire, he ‘once, and

2Q

173

180

4

once only, saw a fine male bird feeding among Sparrows, Greenfinches, &c. in the courtyard where
the Emus are kept.” He adds, “‘I never heard of it before or since in these parts, and never
recognized its note, which I know well.” In the continuation of his paper on the distribution of
birds in Great Britain during the breeding-season, Mr. A. G. More thus writes:—‘‘ Along the
south coast, from Cornwall to Sussex; but does not appear to breed in Kent. Nests occasionally
in Surrey (Ur. F. Godman). Has been seen in Herts, in May, by the Rev. H. H. Crewe, who
has lately found it breeding near Tring (Ibis, 1865, p.114). It has been obtained in Berks by
the Rey. F. O. Morris, and in Bucks (H. H. Crewe). Breeds in Gloucestershire (Rev. F. J. Scott),
in Hereford (Mr. R. M. Lingwood), in Worcester and Warwick (Mr. R. F. Tomes). The few
birds which have been noticed further north were most likely accidental visitors.” In Belgium,
De Selys-Longchamps records it as being rare near Liége, but found nesting in the valley of the
Rhine. De la Fontaine says that in Luxembourg it is probably accidental, as he has never
observed it. Herr von Homeyer writes to us that he found it breeding on the left bank of the
Moselle; he also observed it near Trier, Igel on the Saar, and Metlach.

Mr. H. M. Labouchere informs us that in Holland it is of rare occurrence, and does not
breed there. According to Degland and Gerbe it is a bird of passage in Northern France, but
resident and common in the Pyrenees, Anjou, and Provence. Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapom-
meraye also state that it “seldom breeds in the north of France, but is common and sedentary
in the departments of the Var, Basses-Alpes, and Vaucluse.” Bailly remarks :—‘“ Although com-
mon in Switzerland and Savoy during the summer season, it is less so than the Yellow Ammer,
which it much resembles in its habits. Very few remain with us during the winter, but retreat
to the south to avoid the cold.”

Respecting its distribution in Spain, Mr. Howard Saunders writes to us:—This species is
generally distributed throughout Spain, but is nowhere very numerous. Its favourite haunts are
the sides of hills, preferring more barren and less cultivated ground than E. cia. I found its nest
near Alora, almost within sight of Africa.” We are likewise indebted to Major Irby, who has
paid great attention to the ornithology of Gibraltar and the neighbourhood, for a note, in
which he says that it is a resident in that locality, perhaps more common in spring, when an
influx of individuals from the south appears to take place. In Portugal it is plentiful all the year
round, according to Professor Barboza du Bocage; but Dr. E. Rey tells us that it is very rare in
the southern part of the country. It is found, according to Von Homeyer, on the Balearic Isles,
being the only southern form of Bunting occurring there.

Count Salvadori writes to us :—

“Tn autumn many of these Buntings arrive in Italy from the north and pass on to winter in
the warmer southern regions. In spring they go northwards; but many remain to breed in our
mountains.” Professor Doderlein states that it is a bird of passage, of somewhat unfrequent
occurrence in Modena, and rather more abundant about Bologna. The same author says :—
“Jn Sicily it is common and resident throughout the year, frequenting the gardens and small
hills in the neighbourhood of towns in winter, and retiring to the wooded mountains to breed.
Lord Lilford found it “resident, but not very abundant, in Corfu.’ Lindermayer writes con-
cerning the present species in Greece, as follows :—‘ Arrives in our olive-groves in considerable
numbers, from the north of Europe, about the middle of October, when it loves to sit on the

5

top branches of the olive-trees and twitter a long song from thence. It remains the whole
winter in our parts, and leaves from about the latter end of February to the middle of March.
Many pairs breed here. It does not seem to occur on the islands of the Archipelago, is rarer
in the Peloponnesus than in Rumelia, but I believe that it breeds there on the Taygetus and
Kyllene mountains.” Dr. Kriiper has more recently procured it in Naxos. In Turkey, ac-
cording to Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, it is “common and resident.” The late Mr. Strickland
found it near Smyrna, haunting the vicinity of streams. In Southern Russia Von Nordmann
gives it as “‘rare in the steppes, but much less so in the mountainous country in the southern
portion of the Crimea.” In Palestine it was not met with by Canon Tristram.

Mr. C. A. Wright observes in his list of birds of Malta and Gozo:—“ TI have what appears
to be a female of this species, taken on the 12th November 1862. Signor Schembri possesses a
male, which was captured on the 20th November 1859;” and later on he writes:—“I have
obtained another example, taken alive in 1863.” His latest note is as follows :—“ Since 1863
several examples have been taken; and on the 10th and 11th of November 1869 I picked up
two males in the market.” In Northern Africa, Canon Tristram says:—‘‘ I have found this bird
occasionally in the open plains of K’sour and Oumache. It seems to be only of winter passage
in the Sahara.” Mr. Osbert Salvin also observes, ‘I frequently saw the Cirl Bunting at Khifan
M’sakta and its neighbourhood. We afterwards, in May, obtained nests.” Mr. L. Taczanowski
writes us that “it is common in Algeria all over the coast and the slopes of the Atlas, but I never
met with it in the desert. It always frequents the wooded districts and the bushes, and, like the
Common Yellow Bunting, often comes to habitations to seek for food, and perches on the hedges.
It is, however, much wilder than that bird.”

Naumann states that it is migratory in Germany, leaving its northern habitat in November,
perhaps even much earlier, wintering far to the southward and returning in April. It frequents
the same kind of places as the Yellow Bunting, such as the bushy banks of streams, meadows,
and hedges, small groves in mountainous districts, in the neighbourhood of fields and gardens.
In many other respects the Cirl Bunting resembles the Yellow Bunting. It prefers to take up its
position in a high and open place, on the tops of trees; but later in the season it is found lower
down, and likes to hide in the dense thickets. It hops a good deal on the ground, and is by no
means shy. When frightened up, it soon settles on the nearest low bush and shows little fear.
Also in its flight it resembles its near relative, and quarrels and snaps at it when none of its own
species are near with whom it can fall out: it is equally quarrelsome, and is at times as restless
as that bird. The voice and song are strictly Bunting-like. Bechstein expresses the call-note as
follows :—zi-zi-zd-zirr. The song, he says, is similar to that of the Yellow Bunting, but less
melodious, and sounds as follows :—zis-zis-zis-g6r-gor-gor: the male sings incessantly, sitting on
an exposed twig or the top of a tree. ‘These Buntings eat both insects and seeds—namely, the
cabbage caterpillars and other larvee of insects, small black coleoptera, grasshoppers, both ripe
and ripening grain, such as oats, wheat, barley, &c., all grass seeds, but only in case of need oily
seeds, such as turnip seed &c. We have taken the above account of the habits of the Cirl
Bunting entirely from Naumann’s ‘ Birds of Germany, as it is by far the most complete record of
its economy that has yet come under our notice. In England it is gregarious in winter, and may

2Q 2

Ist

6

be observed in flocks on the southern coast. Indeed as soon as the young have flown the whole
family keep together, and may be seen in the dense hedgerows sitting low down in the thick
parts, and displaying much fearlessness. When disturbed they only fly a short distance, and
perching on the topmost bough of the hedge regard the intruder; but if not pressed further, they
retreat once more into the thick of the bushes.

Von Homeyer describes the song as being loud, and consisting of the strophes tiitt tiitt titt
tiitt titt titt, uttered in moderate tune, either monotonously or decrescendo. Major Irby says
the song is the same as that of H. citrinella, but without the long drawn out note at the end.

Mr. T. Robson, of Ortakeuy, has kindly sent us the accompanying note :—

‘This species is numerous in Turkey in Asia and Europe, and is a constant resident. It is
widely spread over the hills and valleys, but seems most partial to those narrow valleys where the
sides are covered with brushwood and grasses, and especially those which are partially cultivated
and interspersed with a few low trees. It is a shy bird, and on alighting retires into the interior
of bushes and trees, where it is not easily seen. It builds on bushes near the ground, mostly on
hill-sides. Quantities of them are taken during the autumn migration by means of limed twigs
and sold for food. They congregate in the winter in large flocks, and feed much in the summer
on caterpillars that abound on the oak-trees.” Major Irby writes to us:—‘‘ The Cirl Bunting
appears to me to frequent near Gibraltar more woody districts during the breeding-season than
the Yellow Bunting, as it is there common in the cork-wood in open spaces.”

A specimen in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gumey, jun., shot by Mr. Gatcombe near
Plymouth, bears the following label:—‘ The gizzard contained six or seven different plants (two
of them Mr. Cordeaux believes to be grasses), and the usual accompaniment of small sharp
angular stones.”

Hewitson thus describes the nest. ‘“ It generally builds in firs or some low bush. The nest
is composed of dry stalks, roots, and a little moss, lined with long hairs and fibrous roots. The
eges are four or five in number.”

We have now before us eggs of this Bunting from Dresser’s collection, taken on the Isle of
Wight, and near Madrid. In colour they are pale greyish-white with a faint blue tinge, marked
all over with the peculiar scratches so characteristic of Buntings’ eggs; these are pale purplish-
brown and dark blackish-brown. Compared with Yellow Ammers’ eggs, they are lighter-coloured
(these latter often have the ground-colour with a faint russet tinge), and the scratchings are
bolder and darker. Dr. E. Rey, who gives the average size of fifty-three specimens as 21°5 millims.
by 16-4 millims., states that the number of eggs is five, seldom six.

The descriptions and figures of the adult birds are from specimens in our own collection.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.
a, b. St. Leonards, Sussex (H. E. D.). c,d. Pagham, Sussex, July 11th, 1870 (R. B.S.). e. Plymouth
(J. Gatcombe). jf. Hampstead (Davy), g. Middlesex (Gardner). h. Piedmont, November 1869 (Sal-
vadori). %. Gibraltar, March 6th, 1870 (LZ. H. Irby).

183
7

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

a, b,c, d, e, f, g. Plymouth (J. Gatcombe). h. Essex (J. H. G.). 7%. Devonshire (J. H. G.). j. Bagnéres de
Bigorre (J. H. G.). k. Algiers (J. H. G.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, 6. Macedonia, October 12th and November 29th, 1869 (Th. Kriiper).

E Mus. Lord Litford.
a, 6. Brighton, Sussex (Pratt). c. Isle of Wight (L.). d. Aranjuez, April 27th, 1865 (L.).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a. Kingsbridge, Devon (H. B. T.). 6. Torquay, May 12th, 1855 (H. B.T.). c. K’sour, Mount Atlas, January
28th, 1857 (A. B. 7.).

Ahly SAAR AY ioe eee tht

ie ek a Mey TY RE AVA

211

ORTOLAN BUNTING.

EMBERIZA HORTULANA.
53

EMBERIZA HORTULANA.

(ORTOLAN BUNTING.)

Emberiza hortulana, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 309 (1766).

Emberiza maelbyensis, Sparrm. Mus. Carls. pl. 21 (1786).
Emberiza badensis, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 872 (1788).

Emberiza chlorocephala, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 887 (1788).
Emberiza tunstalli, Lath. Ind. Orn. 1. p. 418 (1790).

Citrinella hortulana, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 142 (1829).
Emberiza pinquescens, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 295 (1831).
Emberiza buchanant, Blyth, J. A. 8. B. xiii. p. 957 (1844).
Euspiza hortulana, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. Beng. p. 129 (1849).
Glycispina hortulana, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 128 (1850).
Hortulanus chlorocephalus, Bonap. Cat. Parzud. Coll. p. 4 (1856).

Ortolan, English; Bruané ortolan, French; Ortolano, Italian; Urtulan, Sicilian; Ave tonta,
Spanish; Gartenammer, German ; de Ortolan, Dutch; Ortolansparf, Swedish ; Hortulan,
Norwegian; Hortulanen, Danish.

Figure notabiles.

Naum. Vog. Deutschl. iv. Taf. 103; Gould, B. of Eur. iu. pl. 176; Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 455;
Kjerb. Orn. Dan. Afb. xxv. fig. 2; Schl. Vog. Nederl. pl. 155; Gould, B. of Gt. Br.
part x.; Bett. Ucc. nidif. Lomb. tav. 68; Fritsch, Vog. Europ. Taf. 17. fig. 1.

3 pileo toto et pectore antico sordidé cinereis distincté olivaceo lavatis: regione oculari, strigé mystacali et
gutture pallidé citrinis: linea angusta malari olivascente: dorso fulvescenti-brunneo, plumis medialiter
saturaté brunneis, lineas longitudinales formantibus: uropygio rufescenti-brunneo unicolori : tectricibus
alarum brunneis laté fulvescente marginatis: remigibus brunneis, primariis angusté, secundariis late
fulvescente marginatis: cauda saturaté brunnea, pennis centralibus angusté fulvo marginatis, rectrice
penultima versus apicem pogonii interni alba, rectrice extim& plerumque alba, ad basin et versus
apicem pogonii externi brunned: corpore subtis pallidé cinnamomeo: subalaribus flavicantibus, olivaceo
lavatis : rostro saturaté carneo, maxilla paullod saturatiore: iride brunnea: pedibus pallideé carneis.

2 mari similis, sed pallidior, et pectore plus minusve brunneo striato.

3 juv. femine adult similis sed letitis coloratus: strigd malari punctulis linearibus brunneis indicata, et
pectore antico maculis brunneis notato, hypochondriis quoque lineis brunneis angustissimis striatis.

9 jun. supra brunnea, plumis nigricanti-brunneo medialiter striatis: genis et gutture toto flavicanti-albidis ;
strigd mystacali et pectoris antici punctulis linearibus saturaté brunneis : corpore subtis reliquo pallidé
flavicanti-cinnamomeo, hypochondriis brunnco longitudinaliter striatis.

2

Male. Head grey, very strongly tinged with greenish yellow; a ring of feathers round the eye, lores, and
throat pale citron-yellow; back fulvous brown, with dark stripes down the centre of the feathers ; rump
rather inclining to yellowish brown, unspotted; wing-coverts greyish brown, the greater ones edged
with fulvous white, forming an indistinct double alar bar; quills brown, the primaries externally edged
with yellowish, the secondaries broadly edged with rufous, shading into fulvous on the margin of the
feather ; tail dark brown, the two central feathers edged with fulvous, the two outer rectrices white for
the apical half of the inner web; sides of the neck and fore part of the chest greenish, the latter strongly
tinged with yellow; rest of the under surface of the body tawny, deeper on the lower part of the chest ;
the under wing-coverts whitish, tinged with yellow, and slightly mottled with brown along the edge of
the wing; bill dark flesh-coloured, rather darker above than below; iris brown; legs pale fleshy red.
Total length 6°5 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 3:6, tail 2:9, tarsus 0°75.

Obs. Acertain amount of variation exists in the shade of colour on the head and breast of the male Ortolan
Bunting, this part bemg much more grey in some birds than in others.

Female. Very similar to the male, but paler in colour, and having the plumage duller and more brown, and
differing especially in having the breast and flanks more or less distinctly striped with brown; there is
also no tinge of olive-green on the chest. Total length 6:2 inches, culmen 05, wing 3:3, tail 2-7,
tarsus 0°75.

Obs... Another female, in Lord Lilford’s collection, is richer in colour than the one above mentioned,
having the throat brighter lemon-yellow, and the breast very pale tawny ; the stripes on the chest are
very distinct. One bird in Lord Lilford’s collection, obtained by himself in Spain, and another shot by
Mr. Robson in Asia Minor, scarcely differ at all from the male, and could not be distinguished, except
by the shghtly paler coloration. From this it would appear that the female, when adult, exactly resem-
bles the male, rather an anomalous fact among Buntings.

Young Female. Above greyish brown, some of the feathers slightly edged with fulvous, everywhere streaked
with broad dark brown median lines, fainter and less distinct on the rump; wings and tail as in the
male, but the rufous edgings to the secondaries not so bright; lores dirty brownish white; ring of
feathers round the eye and a distinct malar stripe yellowish white ; a very dark brown moustache on
each side of the throat; sides of the neck greyish brown; breast pale buff, more dusky on the upper
part; the throat, breast, and flanks marked with narrow little brown stripes; under wing-coverts
whitish, tinged with yellow and mottled with brown along the bend of the wing. Total length
6 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 3°3, tail 2°5, tarsus 0°75.

Obs. Some young birds sent to us the other day, said to have been caught by a bird-catcher at Yarmouth,
are very remarkably coloured: unfortunately they were too young for us to distinguish the sex. They
are all three yellowish cinnamon on the breast, one of them being darker than the others, and they all
have the breast very distinctly striped. Above they are dark brown with very broad and distinct
edgings to the wing-coverts and secondary quills. There is a certain tinge of olive on the head, but
none on the breast; the throat in one is pale yellowish white, in another lemon-yellcw, while the third
has this part ochre; in all three examples the yellow on the under wing-coverts is very bright.

Winter plumage. As in other Buntings, this is assumed by the donning of fulvous-edged feathers.

Tue Ortolan Bunting is widely distributed over the whole of Europe, and is found in summer
from the high north of Sweden, breeding occasionally in Lapland. It extends into Morocco, but

3

does not yet appear to have been found in Algeria. Its eastern limit seems to be Western India;
but it does not make that country its winter home, for this season of the year would appear to be
passed in North-eastern Africa.

Its occurrence in England is only occasional, and it is probable that all the birds yet procured
have been escaped specimens. Yarrell mentions four instances of its capture; besides which
Sharpe has heard of four examples having been killed near Cookham, as mentioned by him in
Mr. Alexander Clark Kennedy’s ‘ Birds of Berks and Bucks.’ It should, however, be stated that
these birds were not preserved, and there is no positive authenticity concerning them, though he
has every reason to believe that they really were rightly identified. In August of this year
(1871) we received from Mr. Davy, a well-known bird-fancier in the Kentish-Town Road, several
specimens of Ortolan Buntings, which he had sent to him alive from Yarmouth. Out of this
consignment nearly a dozen old and young birds went to the Zoological Gardens, and we
secured for our collection four more specimens. We suspect, however, that they were not
really caught wild, but were brought over to Yarmouth in some ship, and we do not feel
confidence in adding the Ortolan to the list of Norfolk birds on such slender authority. As
yet we have been unable, even with Mr. Davy’s cooperation, to trace out the circumstances
connected with the capture of these birds at Yarmouth. Besides the above-mentioned instances,
Mr. Rodd, in his ‘ Birds of Cornwall, records one specimen as having been killed on a wall at
Trescoe Abbey, in Scilly, in 1851. Mr. R. Collett writes as follows:—‘‘ Breeds only in the
southern and eastern portions of our country; and in some parts of the provinces of Christiania
and Hamar it is scarcely less numerous than the Yellow Bunting. Northward of the fell-ridge
it is common about Trondhjem and at Cirkedal. In the province of Christiansand it breeds
near Christiansand, but seems to be wanting all along the west coast. At Etne, in Hardanger,
it has only been occasionally observed in the spring. On the sides of the fells it sometimes
extends to the upper part of the conifer region, where it is found on the Hemsedalsfjeld and on
the Dovre.” Nilsson says that in some parts of Scandinavia the Ortolan breeds numerously. It
particularly affects mountain-ridges where granite or other stony ground is but thinly covered
with trees and bushes, but is sometimes found in dense birch-woods or the skirts of the forest.
In parts of Skane, Halland, along the coast, and in Bohuslan it is common. In some parts of
Wermland it occurs, is common in Dalarne, and abundant in Lapland as high as the fells; but

on parts of the east coast and islands, as for instance on Gottland, it is rare. Dresser when —

travelling along the east coast of Sweden, from Tornea to Stockholm in the early summer, found
it nearly everywhere, and particularly numerous near Lulea and Skelleftea, where many must
have been breeding. It has not been noticed by Pastor Sommerfeldt at the Varanger Fjord ;
and at Quickjock, in Lapland, Wheelwright records it as very rare, and says he could only
find one nest. ‘Travelling up the coast of Finland in the early spring, Dresser first observed
the Ortolan above Abo, and noticed it oftener as he travelled northward. ‘This agrees with the
statements of Von Wright and Von Nordmann, that it is common in Northern, but rare in
Southern and Central Finland. Near Uleaborg, and between there and Tornea, Dresser found it
very abundant, generally observing them sitting on the fences by the road-side amongst the open
grass- or grain-fields, or perched on the small barns which are scattered about the meadows.
Numbers breed in the north of Finland, extending to within the Polar circle.

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4

In Livonia, according to Mayer, it is rare, only being occasionally observed in the autumn.
Mr. J. C. H. Fischer states that it probably passes through Denmark every year, but is seldom
noticed. Giéitke has procured it on Heligoland. In Prussia it is stated by Herr Carl Vangerow
to be common; and breeds in Anhalt, according to Herr von Homeyer; while Dr. Rey sends us
word that since 1865 it has bred near Halle a. S.; indeed it would appear to have become more
numerous in Germany since Naumann’s time; while Borggreve considers it to be generally
distributed throughout the country in summer, but nowhere common. MHerr von Pelzeln
informs us that it was procured by Natterer in Hungary; and our friend Dr. Taczanowski writes
as follows :—‘“ It comes to Poland to breed, and leaves us as soon as the nesting-season is over,
arriving about the 20th of April, and leaving before the end of August. Its distribution is
peculiar, and is difficult to account for, as im certain localities it is entirely wanting. It is very
common near Warsaw, almost as numerous, indeed, as the Yellow Bunting. On the left bank
of the Vistula it is found everywhere in smaller or larger numbers; but on the right bank of this
river there are two large tracts of country where it never occurs—that is to say, in most of the
province of Lublin, so renowned for its fertility. It is again found near Pultaway, on the banks
of the Vistula, about six geographical miles to the north of Lublin; but further on it is never
seen, though the country is exactly similar to that inhabited by it elsewhere. According to
Professor Kessler it is found further eastward in the provinces of Volhynia, Podolia, and Kiew.
The second district is the province of Augustow, where it is still found about a league to the
north of the town of Lomzia; and this is its northern frontier in our country. It will be curious
to note if it ever establishes itself later on in these two districts; for some people will have it
that the Ortolan was not formerly known in places where it is now so common.”

‘In Holland,” writes Mr. H. M. Labouchere, “the Ortolan is a very rare bird, and in some
places is called ‘ Vreemdeling, which means a stranger or foreigner. Some years, however, large

5)

flocks pass through the country on their way south;” and De Selys-Longchamps says that it
arrives in Belgium to breed at the end of March, leaving in September: some pass Lorraine in
the autumn, according to Godron. Mr. J. H. Gumey writes to us:—“I was told in Belgium
that the Ortolan is there very local in its habits, frequenting one corner or end of a wood or a
particular part, and not the remainder, so that the bird-catchers always know where to go to look
for them.” In the south and north of France, say Degland and Gerbe, the present bird is very
common from April to the end of August; and in Savoy, according to Bailly, it is only found
during the four or five finest months of the year. It frequents the plains and the adjacent
hillocks, being rarely met with on the mountains, not even in the cultivated portions. ‘They
arrive every year about the 15th or 20th of April, in small flocks of from four to six individuals,
or sometimes in pairs, but the greater number arrive about the end of the month. They breed in
Savoy, and leave about the end of August or early in September.” Lord Lilford writes to us:—
“The Ortolan is very abundant in Northern and Central Spain, particularly in the neighbourhood
of San Ildefonso, Old Castile, frequenting stony hill-sides amongst low bushes.” Mr. Howard
Saunders has procured it near Seville; but near Gibraltar it has not as yet occurred to our
indefatigable correspondent Major Irby, who, however, has given us two beautiful specimens
preserved by Signor Olcesse, of Tangiers, and shot near that place, where also Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt
Drake found it in summer.

3)

Professor Doderlein says “‘ that the Ortolan arrives in plenty near Modena, in Italy, for its
spring residence, and is dispersed equally over the plains and hills, passing again in September.
In Sicily it is partly resident, rare in Palermo and Messina, common in the higher portion of the
island (Benoit). In the early spring a large portion pass on to the continent and do not return
in the autumn. A stray pair or two may remain to breed in Sicily; for some are taken near
Syracuse in May. In Sardinia they pass occasionally.” Captain Sperling obtained a specimen at
Malta in April; and Mr. C. A. Wright, our great authority on the birds of this island, writes as
follows :—“ Not uncommon in some years. It appears in spring and autumn, in March and
April in the former, and in September and October in the latter season.”

Von der Mihle says that it is not common in Greece, but more numerous on the autumn
migration. It inhabits the bushes along the shores of the rivers. It breeds in the flat fruitful
parts, as, for instance, on the shores of the Eurotas, near Sparta. Lindermayer calls it a rare
migrant in the country. Lord Lilford states:—*This Bunting arrives in Corfu in April, and
remains to breed. It is rather common. I never observed it in winter.” Messrs. Elwes and
Buckley state that it is very common in summer all over Turkey; and Mr. Robson has sent several
specimens to England, procured by him in Asia Minor. Strickland found it at Smyrna in April.
Messrs. Dickson and Ross also noticed it at Erzeroom from the 19th of April to the 8th of May.
Von Nordmann records it as the most common of all Buntings in Southern Russia. He states as
follows :—“ It is found in the most contrary localities:—in Bessarabia, in the gardens, in the
copses, and in the low grounds where trees are scattered round; in the Crimea, in the flat steppes
as well as among the rocks of the south coast. It nests in all these localities... . On the
south coast of the Crimea we often see this bird consorting with Twrdus saxatilis.” _ Dr. Gustav
Radde writes :—It is seen in South Russia now and then in summer, as, for instance, at Simphe-
ropol, on the country of high, rich, flowery grass along the limestone hills.” Herr H. Goebel also
observes that it is ‘common in summer at Uman (South Russia), arriving late in April or early
in May, and leaving in September.” Ménétriés says that the Ortolan is very common on the
Caucasus—a statement confirmed by Defilippi in the account of his travels in Persia; it was, adds
the latter author, rare near Elburz. It even extends its range into the confines of India; for
Jerdon says:—“‘The Ortolan of Europe, considered by Horsfield identical with Blyth’s species
formerly named by him £. duchanani, is recorded to have been occasionally found in Western
India.

Canon Tristram, speaking of the occurrence of the present species in Palestine, says that it
is “very abundant in the upper country in spring, returning to breed about the first or second
week in April.” Again he writes :—“ Abundant in the hills and plains in spring. Does not seem
to descend into the Ghor.” It has not yet occurred to Captain Shelley during his ornithological
excursions in Egypt; but Mr. E. Cavendish Taylor once shot one near Benisouef in March. Von
Heuglin, however, states that the Ortolans arrive in Egypt about the end of March, and in April
in flocks, and again in the autumn. In Abyssinia they are common from the end of September
to April; and possibly a few pairs breed there. In the highlands they range up to the plateau of
Semién, Wogara, and Begemeder, to an altitude of 10,000 feet, not in large flocks, but scattered
on the bushy pasturages and hills. In another note he says that it is very common at the end of
September in the Bogos country, on grass-land and on rocky precipices.

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190

6

Respecting the occurrence of this Bunting in Germany our friend Mr. von Homeyer writes
us as follows :—“ Various opinions are held respecting the occurrence of this bird with us, caused
partly because it leads a very silent life, and partly because it only frequents certain localities,
and deserts these so soon as they are no longer suitable to its taste. In general it affects sandy
soils, but also occurs, not unfrequently, in many fruitful parts. Places where low bushes and old
trees are scattered round, pasturages with scattered open thickets and single high trees, where
water is near, appear to suit it best. I found it numerous in Mark Brandenburg and parts of
Silesia; in Vor-Pommern it is in general rare, and only in some parts, as, for instance, Uecker-
mtinde, commoner. In many parts of Hinter-Pommern it nests not unfrequently, but always in
localities like those above referred to. During the autumn migration in August I found it singly,
but annually, on the island of Riigen; and here I procured the first o/d autumn bird known to
scientific men, which Naumann figured in his appendix. In the spring its song is first heard
early in May.” Naumann’s account of its habits is as follows:—“‘It frequents, like other
Buntings, not the dense forest, nor the fir-woods, but the edges of the thickets, hedges, and low
brushwood on meadows and fields, and lovely gardens, when these are near the woods, but always
near water. It therefore resorts to marshy underbrush, field-hedges where there are wet ditches,
bushy banks of rivers and streams or other such low-lying localities. It likes willows and willow-
thickets, but not the true fens, and is only found on the edges of large marshes, thus differing
considerably from the Reed-Bunting. It does not show itself much, but keeps either hidden
amid the branches of the bushes, or hops about on the ground amongst the grass and weeds
seeking its food, flies but little, or never to any distance, and avoids the open country. Only the
males are in the breeding-season more restless, sit often on the tops of trees, particularly on trees
standing alone in the fields. The females one sees far more seldom.” Mr. Dresser has found
them abundant in North Finland and Sweden during the spring. They arrive there soon after
the snow leaves; and the maies may be seen abundantly as one travels along the country roads,
sitting on the tops of the small haybarns that stand in most of the meadows, or on the top of a
pole in the rough fences, uttering their melancholy call-note. As Naumann remarks, the females
are but seldom observed, though the males seem to be so abundant. Its flight is swift and
strong, being a continuation of semicircles; but it appears to avoid long flights, only going
short distances, from bush to bush, or fence to fence. ‘The note bears considerable resemblance
to that of the Yellow Bunting, but appears more melancholy and softer. Boie (Naum. 265) very
correctly describes it in the following syllables:—jif, jif, jif, Hor, Yor. According to Naumann
it breeds here and there in different parts of both Central and South Germany; but he says that
but little is known as to its nidification.

Mr. R. Collett, of Christiania, sends us the accompanying interesting note :—‘‘ Only once, on
the 21st of May 1865, have I seen this bird rise, singing in the air like a Pipit, and drop down
again slowly on to a stone; its song consisted of the normal strophe, which is distinguishable
from that of its congener Emberiza citrinella by the first note being divided thus, é-2, and the
final note deep ¢orr, with the addition of a slight preliminary and closing twitter. It rose,
several times, about fifty feet into the air and descended again. It was a clear fine evening. I
have otherwise heard it sing like the Yellow Bunting, sitting on the top of a tree. Both these
species are early birds, and are singing loudly at the first appearance of dawn.”

7

Mr. C. A. Wright, of Malta, has noticed that this bird is fond of bathing itself in pools

formed in the rocks.

The following account was contributed by the late Mr. Hoy to Mr. Hewitson’s ‘Eggs of
British Birds’ :—‘‘ The Ortolan Bunting begins to build early in May; it places its nest almost
- invariably in the corn, preferring rye to other kinds; indeed it is partial to light sandy soils
where rye is much cultivated. The nest is placed in some little hollow in the ground, in the
manner of that of the Sky-Lark. It is formed of dry grass and roots, thickly lined towards the
interior with very fine roots; in some the inside is furnished with a few hairs. The eggs are
four, or five—sometimes, though rarely, six in number. I have never found them breeding
except amongst corn. The male is almost incessant in its monotonous song during the pairing-
season ; it much resembles others of the tribe, having some resemblance to that of the Cirl, as
well as the Reed-Bunting.”

The song much resembles that of the Yellow Bunting, but is easily distinguishable. Nilsson
describes it in the words tink, tink, tink, tink, tjohrr, the last note being long drawn out and
harsh. It sings both during the day and throughout the lght nights of the arctic summer.
The song is uttered when the bird is sitting on a fence, bush, high stone, or the roof of a barn;
and the bird will often fly up into the air for a moment like a Wheatear. Bechstein says
“it calls continually and harshly ¢e-jitz; and its song, with which it addresses its mate in the
neighbourhood of its nest from March to August, is shorter, more lively, and harsher than that
of the Yellow Bunting, and can be expressed by the following syllables :—to1-tot-toi-tiritz. When
it flies up it makes a peculiar rough sound (Anarren) with its bill.”

Mr. R. Collett writes to us:—‘‘The nest is always placed on the ground. I have found
them on hillocks, under long dry grass, under small bushes (particularly junipers), or broad-leaved
plants (as, for instance, Aconitum septentrionale, &c.), between the roots of trees, or in hollows
beneath small tussocks, or between stones. The eggs are four to five in number, and are
deposited rather later than those of the Yellowammer.” Dresser, who has taken many nests,
found them invariably placed on the ground, and generally in the open fields; in one nest, taken
near Uleaborg, he found a Cuckoo's egg.

We have now before us a series of Ortolan’s eggs from Dresser’s collection, obtained by the
late Mr. Bridger in Holland, and by Dr. Kriiper in Greece. In size these eggs measured from
3° inch by 76 to 26 by 23, there being no perceptible difference in average size between eggs
from the two localities. The ground-colour is pale ashy grey, sometimes with a faint russet
tinge; and the spots, which are generally distributed over the egg, are pale purplish grey and
blackish brown—the former being underlying shell-markings, and the latter overlying surface-spots.
The markings are roundish ; and only occasionally do the scratchy hieroglyphics so characteristic of
Buntings’ eggs occur on the eggs of this bird. Dr. Rey writes us that the average size of twenty-
nine eggs of this bird from Germany, Greece, and Sweden is 19:9 by 15-6 millims., the largest
measuring 22 by 16:25 and the smallest 18-5 by 14°75 millims. It appears to breed in Greece
late in May and throughout June. The number of eggs is generally five.

The following note on its food was published by Messrs. Dickson and Ross while at
Erzeroum :—“It is singular that among fourteen or fifteen birds which we examined, shot at
different times and places, every one had insects as well as seeds in the crop and gizzard.”

Po

192

8

It is well known that in some of the countries of continental Europe the Ortolan is con-
sidered a great delicacy. MM. Degland and Gerbe write as follows:—‘ This species is much
sought after by gourmands on account of its good flavour and the delicacy of its flesh. It soon
becomes very fat in captivity. During the autumn migration numbers are netted in Belgium,
the south of France, and Italy, and when it appears in spring it becomes, on the coasts of the
Mediterranean, from Port Vendres to near Perpignan, the object of unceasing and most destructive
persecution.”

The description and figure of the adult male are taken from a specimen in our collection,
obtained by Mr. Robson, who shot it in Asia Minor. The young female figured in the Plate was
collected by Drs. Kriiper and Schrader near Smyrna. The adult female is described from a
Palestine specimen in Canon Tristram’s collection.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.

a, b, Tangiers (Olcesse). c.g. Italy, May 15, 1863 (7. Salvadori). c. 2 jun. Smyrna, May 3rd, 1863
(L. Schrader and Dr. Kriiper). d.o. Asia Minor (T. Rodson). e. Egypt (£. Cavendish Taylor).
f. 3. Vestergotland, May 22nd, 1864 (J. Meves). g, h, i,j. Yarmouth ?? (C. R. Davy).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a,b. $ 2. San Ildefonso, Old Castile, June 1865. c. Jaca, Aragon, May 1867. d. Pamplona, May 1867 (Z.).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
. Geneva, July 1844 (#. B. T.). b,¢. 6 @. Jericho and Tell Kadi, Palestine (4. B. T.).

Q

E Mus. Lord Walden.

. 6. Wady Beerba, under Mount Tabor, April 1864 (H. B. Tristram). 5, c, d, e, f,3, 9,2. Asia Minor
(TL. Robson).

Q

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. 3. Seville, May 10th, 1868 (H. S.).

Pe

GRE ir

gr

YELLOW- BROWED BUNTING.
EMBERIZA CHRYSOPHRYS.

84

3 ad.

9 ad.

EMBERIZA CHRYSOPHRYS.

(YELLOW-BROWED BUNTING.)

Emberiza chrysophrys, Pall. Reise Russ. Reiches, iii., Anhang, p. 698 (1776).
Emberiza chlorophrys, David, Nouv. Arch. Mus. ii., Bullet. p. 31 (1867).
Citrinella chrysophrys, Gray, Hand-l. of B. ii. p. 113 (1870).

Figure notabiles.

Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. tab. xlviii. fig. 2; De Selys-Longchamps, Faune Belge, pl. 4;
Radde, Reisen in Std. von Ost-Sibir. Taf. iv. figs. 1a, 16, 1¢; Bree, B. of Eur. iii. p. 63.

pileo nigro, linea centrali alba posticé dimidiato: supercilio distincto leté citrino: facie laterali nigra,
linea malari, colli lateribus et macula lineari supraauriculari albidis: dorso brunneo, interscapulio
paullulum cinnamomeo tincto, plumis medialiter nigricantibus : tectricibus alarum brunneis, feré dorso
concoloribus, extus fulvescente lavatis, plumis omnibus medialiter nigricantibus et albo terminatis
fasciam duplicem alarem formantibus: remigibus brunneis, extus fulvescenti-brunneo marginatis
secundaris saturatioribus, nigricantibus, pallidé brunneo marginatis: dorso postico et uropygio letits
cinnamomeis, plumis quibusdam medialiter saturaté brunneis: caudé brunned, rectricibus duabus
centralibus multo pallidioribus, pennis duabus extimis pogonio interno feré obliqué albis: fascia
mystacali distincté nigra: corpore reliquo subtus albicante, hypochondriis fulvescentibus, pectore
superiore et pectore laterali toto lineis nigricantibus distincté notatis: subcaudalibus albis: subalaribus
albidis paullod cineraceo lavatis: rostro brunneo, mandibula sordidé albidi: pedibus pallidé carneis :

iride brunnescente.

brunnea: pileo laterali nigricanti mixto, pileo mediano albido, nigro striolato, fasciam verticalem
albidam formante: lined superciliari distincté leté citrind: facie laterali rufescenti-brunned, parte
anticé paullo albicante, plumis postauricularibus nigris: lined malari albidi: dorso brunneo, cinna-
momeo layvato, plumis medialiter nigro striolatis: uropygio distinctits cinnamomeo tincto, ubique
lineis longitudinalibus notato: tectricibus alarum nigris, pallide fulvo marginatis, majorum marginibus
posticis rufescentibus: remigibus brunneis, extus ferrugineo marginatis, secundariis latius: cauda
brunnea, ferrugineo marginatd, pennis centralibus hdc colore claré lavatis, rectricibus duabus extimis
plerumgue albis, ad apicem pogonii externi et versus basin pogonii interni obliqué brunneis: subttis
albicans, gutture cum pectore superiore et corporis lateribus fulvescenti-brunneis, his distinctius lavatis :
gutture imo et pectore maculis sagittiformibus nigris notatis, hypochondriis nigro longitudinaliter

striatis.

Adult Male. Crown and sides of the head deep black, with a very distinct central line of white from the

centre of the crown to the nape; a broad superciliary streak of lemon-yellow produced backwards over
the ear-coverts; sides of the neck white, with a few indistinct brown markings; back greyish brown
tinged with cinnamon, and longitudinally streaked with blackish shaft-stripes to the feathers; rump
rather more rufous than the back, and also marked with dark central shaft-stripes, somewhat
indistinctly indicated; wing-coverts blackish, slightly edged with rufous, and tipped with dirty
white, forming two bands across the upper wing; quills blackish brown, the outer web narrowly

19:

il

e) *

2

edged with pale brown; tail slightly emarginate, blackish brown, the inner webs of the two outer
tail-feathers for the most part white, this colour occupying nearly the whole of the outer rectrix,
but being much narrower on the second feather, where it is little more than an oblique stripe of white ;
throat white, bordered on each side by a moustachial line of black commencing from the base of the
lower mandible ; breast dull white, incliing to buff on the flanks, striped with longitudinal shaft-
markings of dark brown, more numerous and larger on the flanks, and collecting on the fore part of
the chest so as to form an irregular band ; upper mandible deep horn-grey, more reddish and lighter at
the base and round the nostrils ; under mandible at the basal part dirty white, the rest grey; feet and
nails pale flesh-colour, the latter horn-grey towards the tip; iris brown. Total length 5:5 inches,
culmen 0°45, wing 3:1, tail 2°5, tarsus 0°75.

Female. In general coloration very similar to the male, but more rufous on the back and rump, and
especially on the wings and tail, which are edged with deep rust-colour ; the crown of the head is
slightly tinged with brown, and the central white stripe extends from the base of the bill to the nape;
cheeks dull brown, inclining to rufous; the under surface of the body more numerously spotted and
streaked with blackish, the markings on the chest being arrow-shaped, and extending further up the
throat than in the male. Total length 5 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 3, tail 2°5, tarsus 0°75.

Obs. The sexual difference in this Bunting is scarcely observable in the plumage; for very old females in
my series of specimens much resemble younger males, and differ from the adult males more in the
smaller size and breadth of the black markings on the side of the head than in any other point.
(Radde, 1. c.)

Obs. In the immature birds both sexes are alike. The superciliary streak mcreases in breadth above and
behind the eye, extending forwards towards the nostril, and on the forehead almost unites with the one
on the other side of the head (vide Taf. iv. fig. 1c). In the male the lemon-yellow tinge appears even
on the fore part of the coronal white stripe; the mark on the cheek is brown, paler in the centre, and
less distinct on the fore part, being lighter in the female than im the male. The white spot behind the
ear is less distinct than in old birds. The white band along the side of the head is broader in immature
birds, but is intermixed with black spots, and the feathers edging it are mixed with black and brown.
The brown coloration and the edgings of clayey yellow are noticeable points in the feathers of the upper
parts. The reddish edgings to the shoulder-feathers and rusty yellow edgings to the primaries and
secondaries are broader. On the white of the breast and on the yellowish feathers between the forks of
the lower mandible are numerous black spots, pointed at the base and more or less broad at the end,
these spots bemg forked on the throat and elongated on the sides. The white mark on the second tail-
feather is much broader at the end of the inner web than in adult individuals; and the third feather has
near the shaft a white wedge-shaped spot on the inner web. On the white under wing-coverts are a
few greyish-black spots. (Radde, 1. c.)

THE present species forms an interesting link between the avifauna of the Nearctic and Palearctic
Regions; for it is by no means a typical Bunting, but belongs to the subgenus Passerculus, a well-
known American form: indeed its nearest ally is certainly P. savanna, of North America. It is
strictly an eastern bird, and its occurrences in Europe are only two in number.

The Yellow-browed Bunting was first discovered by Pallas in Dauria, where it was rare. It
has since been met with by Radde during his journey in Siberia; and this excellent collector met
with it during the autumn migration on the Tarei-Nor, and procured many specimens. Pére
Dayid speaks of it as abundant near Peking in the spring; and Mr. Swinhoe obtained it in the

3

same place in September. The latter author, in his most recent list of the “ Birds of China”
(P. Z. 8. 1871, p. 388), gives the localities of the present species as “ North China; Szechuen.”
The latter habitat has, we believe, never been mentioned before.

Its admission into the European avifauna rests apparently on two specimens, obtained
respectively near Lille and in Luxembourg. In his ‘ Faune Belge, Baron de Selys-Longchamps
says :—“‘I include this species on the authority of an individual which M. Degland has examined,
and which is stated to have been captured in a net behind the citadel of Lille.” M. A. De
La Fontaine also writes, in his ‘ Faune du Pays de Luxembourg’ :—“ M. Mouhimont tells me that
in the spring of 1863 he observed two of these Buntings, of which he killed one, and more
recently he has again seen the species. He says that they are not shy birds, but will let any one
approach closely, and are easy to kill.”

Dr. G. Radde is the only person who has given any detailed account of the species, and we
translate as follows from his notes:—‘‘ On the 13th (25th) of August, 1856, I saw this Bunting
in small flocks, in company with Hinberiza pusilla, in the evening, in the vegetable garden at
Kulussutajefsk, on the Tarei-Nor. They often uttered their ‘zipping’ call-note, which is softer
and shriller than that of the other Buntings. On the 17th September, 1859, I found this bird
near the Tunkinskish fortress, in the locality called Saktui, where I observed four specimens in
the willow bushes.” Its mode of nidification is as yet quite unknown.

The descriptions and figures in the Plate are taken from a pair of birds in our collection,
received in exchange from the S. Petersburg Museum. They were both procured by Radde
on his expedition, the male being shot at Kulussutajefsk, on the 14th of August, 1856, and the
female at the same place, on the 3rd of September, 1856. The colours of the soft parts are
derived from Radde’s notes taken from the fresh specimens.

19

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anh. “ini fie afnihi i bith by duib tionné dedi att ae ina pat eichaaad td me ate i
ae arin int Be el nd) ba ® gaosatnteny treneety ae saltibstnk outs eave Oe: a heed ae Me
rm | bn ' HOt onay aint iad se rai ‘pital are anit TARO ct dott
iis eo ae oe aa ecg, ele cht yak x Nari cin fot aati

oniye - we si

Bictigry wd Thaahinl Bi i sabi ihe Taha: Me ait

; Rott ee i Pollet. Yo: lohasty zt unidisl Seg. ie i Does si cj On rey ‘d et os fons ig ae
be) inrtaleed, Jaomitonl 1 Po Oenparoria lab ni ah ath ee Side ti aml co La bat

Latha fone coutin. Soblet sTlie AO, abaaekitns) | Gadd. to aint Wsrisedo. ort ak a te d cqsbieria

th
WALES

boty. vee tok ith tect ae wee Ina a ods tale ayes OLE & Sorin ga eee ty tnesettiiss
DR pert e onis CTR SR CAD SCL! TO pe eT ae win) ye ns
ow Stu Pitta aty fi ¥ Hs Ph URSA E ie di} as

uibaniuth ail Hoek} hens d

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i re: bie Hy v"
‘non paoelinn * qethe ae sak Roenta. alee Sd

yee 3 Piscean passhia aby Poh att GA? } ie JIS TS: oe he b Seal} ed sat

tn the a heein do.24
: tak i mn te mm cats

tn ee tip ‘at sige
Fe EN 18 valid ne ps irgiea Sith) itt avtinait Bre

w y

iy aut a abraell .
Tiaeit a) he rks ee | ils fh apie ei

BEE hyn

ait anid ; Lege ne rai) it
i ia neh He o's :

a

ae mA ad

vga de sth okt su soar

corre

215

STRIPED BUNTING.
EMBERIZA STRIOLATA .

197

EMBERIZA STRIOLATA.

(STRIPED BUNTING.)

Fringilla striolata, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 24 (1823).

Emberiza striolata, Cretzschm. in Riipp. Atlas, Aves, p. 15, t. 10. fig. a (1826).
Fringillaria striolata, Swains. Classif. of B. ii. p. 290 (1838).

Polynitra striolata, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 129 (1850).

Figure notabiles.
Riuppell, Atlas, t. 10. fig.@; Bree, B. of Kur. vol. iii. p. 44; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. tab. 25. fig. 16.

3 pileo albo, vix fulvescenti lavato, striis longitudinalibus nigris distincté lineato: supercilio longo albo et
strigé rostro basali orta faciem lateralem transeunte, cum alter strig4 malari, albis: lined a basi rostri
per oculum ducta et alterd trans genas eunte, nigricantibus: dorso pallidé cinnamomeo, scapis nigri-
canti indicatis, lineas longitudinales nigras formantibus, uropygio magis cinerascente: tectricibus
alarum claré cinnamomeis, parte basali celaté brunned: remigibus fumoso-brunneis, extus cinnamomeo
marginatis: rectricibus fumosis, angusté cinnamomeo marginatis, pennis externis latius: mento albo:
gutture et pectore superiore cinerascentibus, nigricanti marmoratis: abdomine fulvescente, vix cinna-
momeo tincto: subalaribus et remigum pogonio interno pallidé cinnamomeis: rostro brunneo, man-
dibula flavicante: pedibus flavidis: iride brunnea.

2 mari similis, sed magis cinerascens, pileo undique fulvescente, et gutture conspicué cinerascente haud nigro
marmorato.

ptil. hiem. obscurior, cinerascentior, plumis omnibus plus minusve cineraceo marginatis.

Adult male in summer plumage. UHead whitish grey, striped with longitudinal black markings ; on each side
of the head three distinct white stripes, one springing from the lores and passing above the eye, another
springing from the same point and passing below and behind the eye, and a third from the base of the
bill bordering the throat on each side; a line from the bill, drawn through the eye, and another from
the base of the bill backwards including the ear-coverts, blackish grey; back of the neck greyish
brown; rest of the back sandy brown, the middle of each feather darker along the shaft, giving it a
striped appearance; wing-coverts sienna, with obsolete grey margins, the greater wing-coverts marked

- with a more or less distinct central line; quills dark brown, the inner web sienna at the base, the outer
web margined with pale sienna, the secondaries more broadly washed with this colour; tail blackish
brown, narrowly margined with sienna, more broadly on the outermost feathers; chin white; throat
and upper part of the breast black, washed with greyish white, this effect being produced by the
whitish grey margins to the feathers; rest of the under surface of the body dull buff, purer on the
flanks and under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts pale sienna; bill blackish brown, the lower mandible
yellowish; feet pale yellow; claws pale brown; iris brown. ‘Total length 5:2 imches, culmen 0:4,
wing 3°25, tail 2:45, tarsus 0°6.

Adult male in winter plumage. As in most Buntings, the winter dress is assumed by putting on a series of

00

2

grey edgings to the feathers, so that, although the markings are much the same as in summer, they are
always more ashy and obscure.

Adult female. Much paler in colour and more obscure ; stripes on the head light and dark brown, instead
of black and greyish white; the black markings on the chest obsolete, fading into dirty brown.

Tue habitat of this pretty little bird extends from Algeria to North-western India, being, as far
as we can learn from the dates of specimens now before us, a resident in the whole of this extent
of country.

It will be convenient to trace out its geographical distribution in the order of the countries
above mentioned, commencing with Algeria. Canon Tristram, who has an undoubted skin of
this species in his collection, obtained by himself at Berroughuia, on the 2nd of December 1856,
has not published any notes on the bird; but Loche gives the following account :—“ Mr.
Schousbeee, principal interpreter to the Governor-General of Algeria, who has had numerous
opportunities of observing this bird, assures me that it is very tame, rarely wanders from inha-
bited places, and, like our Common Sparrow, lives under the eaves and holes in the walls in the
towns of Mogador and Morocco, as also in all the towns on the slope of the Great Atlas, within
a circle of about forty kilometres to the south of the last of the above-mentioned towns, where it is
very common ; but it is not found more than a few leagues to the north of these localities. Its
song, which it repeats often, is but little varied, and may be expressed by the word tibdid
frequently repeated, laying stress on the last syllable; and it has from this probably obtained the
name of T%b-bid, by which it is known to the Morocco Arabs. In the most southern part of
Algeria we have found this bird; and M. Malherbe states that it is found on the slopes of the
Atlas.” Dr. Taczanowski has also published the accompanying note on the bird as observed by
himself during his travels in Algeria:—“ Common, but not plentiful, in El-Kantara and on
mountains further south, in Biskra, and in the oases. It is here a very bold and familiar bird,
continually taking up its quarters close to human habitations, perching upon houses, and even
entering them in search of food: as soon, however, as a person moves, it flies off, to return
immediately afterwards to the same spot. These birds are said to build their nests under the
roofs. They sing from the beginning of February.”

Dr. von Heuglin, in the course of his critical notes on Dr. Taczanowski’s paper, suggests
that the above remarks have reference to H. saharw; and we cannot help thinking that M.
Schousbeee may have been writing to Loche about the same bird; for Canon Tristram has sent us
the following observations, which throw light on the subject :— You know how near this bird
runs to HL. saharw. Yet there is a very marked difference in their habits. . sahare affects the
neighbourhood of man, lives in pairs about houses, and feeds in yards, just in fact like our
Sparrows. . striolata is a wild, shy bird of the rocks (wherever I have seen it), restless, and
very like our #. scheniclus in its uneasy wild flitting from bush to bush, always keeping well
ahead of too curious investigators. Its note is quite distinct from the other’s (at least its call-
note; for I do not know its breeding-habits or song), and is a hurried thrice-repeated note, exactly
like our Black-headed Bunting’s. It is quite a bird of the open, among rocks and loose short
scrub, where there is no cover.” We do not of course wish to deprive this bird of its Algerian
habitat; for that is an undoubted fact; but we think that it has scarcely been well distinguished

3

from E. sahare; from this latter bird it may always be recognized by its striped back, this being
uniform in its ally.

In North-eastern Africa it was originally discovered, and was figured by Cretzschmar from
examples procured by Riippell during the winter months in the neighbourhood of Ambukol and
Schendi, where it frequented low brushwood in sandy steppes. Dr. von Heuglin gives the
following note in his new work the ‘ Birds of North-eastern Africa’ :—‘ Resident in Central
and Southern Nubia, Kordofan, at Atbara, and in the mountains of the Hadendoa and Bischarin
Arabs, northwards as high as 20° N. lat.; lives generally in families on the steppes where stony
and rocky places are covered with bushes and grass, on the cliffs by the rapids of the Nile, and
on desert sandy places; is shy and cautious, and hides behind stones rather than take to wing.
The note is Bunting-like, but not loud, and lively.”

Canon Tristram, in his paper on the Ornithology of Palestine, says, “The lovely little
Emberiza striolata confines itself throughout the year to the nooks by the Dead Sea and to the
southward, where its hitherto unknown egg remains to be discovered by some future adventurous
collector.” It has likewise occurred to that indefatigable naturalist Mr. T. Robson, who has met
with it near Constantinople; he tells us, however, that it is only of rare occurrence in that
neighbourhood. On this fact rests the claim of the present bird to be included in the European
avifauna, according to the limits drawn by previous observers, and not on Temminck’s assertion
of its Spanish habitat, which has yet to be proved along with that of the Hooded Shrike and
Dusky Bulbul, none of them having been detected in that country since ‘Temminck’s time.

Quitting the western range of the Striped Bunting, we subjoin the notes lately published by
Mr. Hume on the species in India, adding one word of praise for the very complete monograph
of the species which that author sets before us:—“It was when travelling through Rajpootana
in March and April 1868, that I first met with and identified the Striolated Bunting, until that
time unknown in India*. I procured a few specimens both on the Taragurh Hill at Ajmere and
at Mount Aboo; but I was travelling too rapidly to learn much, either of the haunts or habits
of the species. Later in the year my friend Mr. Brooks procured specimens of the same species
in the Etawah district ; and now recently, while detained at Ajmere for the purpose of negociating
a treaty with the Jodhpoor Government, I have obtained numerous specimens and had ample
opportunities of observing this pretty little bird, not only on 'Taragurh, but on all the bare rocky
hills and ranges of the Aravallis (to which hill-system Mount Aboo also belongs) that I have yet
visited. Hitherto, so far as I am aware, no authentic account of its nidification and eggs or
details of its habits has appeared; and some little interest may therefore attach to the observa-
tions on these points that I have recently made.

“The Striolated Bunting is a permanent resident of the western and central portions, at
any rate (I have not yet observed it on the northern), of that broad belt of bare rocky hills,
mounds, and parallel detached ranges which, under the names of the Inewat and Aravalli Hills,
run down from Delhi, and, passing through or near Ulwur, Bhurtpoor, Jaipoor, Ajmere, Pali, and
Serohie, culminate in Mount Aboo (the highest of the whole series), which attains an elevation
of 5500 feet above the level of the sea. ‘These hills, running through and being studded about
on an elevated sandy tract varying from 1000 to 1700 feet above the level of the sea, rise from

* See Ibis, 1869, p. 355.
3A

1S )S,

200

4

200 to 1200 feet above the surrounding plain, few, if any (except Mount Aboo), much exceeding
in height the Taragurh Hill at Ajmere, which is said to have an elevation of 2900 feet. This
chain, so far as I am acquainted with it, is composed almost exclusively of metamorphic rocks,—
granite, greenstone, micaceous schists, syenite, and quartz, with various altered sandstones, being
the characteristic minerals, though patches of limestone and marble are quarried more or less in
many localities. Very bare, bleak in winter and burning in summer, these hills, often conveying
the idea of huge barrows of rocky débris, can boast scarcely any vegetation, except multitudes of
huge candelabra-like, many-thorned, succulent Huphorbie, and a more or less sparse growth of
lanky ghost-like grass, which always appears withered and dead. Wrapt in the hues of distance,
these rugged and often very fantastically shaped hills and groups of hillocks afford the most
beautiful backgrounds to every view, and give an inexpressible charm to every landscape,
especially to those fresh from the rich but unvaryingly level plains of the rest of Upper India.
Seen, however, close at hand they are bare, and in many cases desolate to a degree; and they
are, in their sameness and churlish ruggedness, as wearying and discouraging to the traveller as
they are, with rare exceptions, unproductive to the ornithologist. A few pairs of the beautiful
Banded Rock-Grouse (Pterocles fasciatus), of the Jugger Falcon (Falco juggur), of the Brown
Rock-Chat (Cercomela fusca), and of the Red-winged Bush-Lark (Mirafra erythroptera), with
large companies of the Long-billed Vulture (Gyps indicus), all of which breed here, together
with numbers of the Striolated Bunting, almost complete the catalogue of the resident avifauna,
supplemented during the cold season by little flocks of Hutton’s and Stewart’s Buntings (EHmberiza
huttoni and E. stewarti) and solitary individuals of our well-known Pipit (undistinguishable from
Pipastes arboreus of Europe), the Brown Rock-Pipit (Corydalla griseorufescens, nobis), and the
Common Kestrel (Tinnunculus alaudarius).

“Dreary and uninteresting as they seem to us, these great stoneheaps (the best possible
name for many of them) are the homes par excellence of the Striolated Bunting. Everywhere a
dwarf withered grass peeps out in yellow tufts amongst the particoloured fragments, and fur-
nishes the tiny seeds which, so far as my observations both in April and November go, constitute
the sole food of this species. Fearless, cheerful, active little birds, they flit rapidly up and down
the rocky slopes, sportively chasing each other like children at play, or, pausing motionless for
several minutes, sun themselves on some grey rock’s broad bosom. But it is on the hills and
amidst the rocks that they are here alone found. Scarcely a hundred feet below, the valley may
stretch away all soft and green into the far distance, rich crops may wave, or the feathery golden-
blossomed acacias smile invitations irresistible to Warblers and White-throats; but our little
Bunting is a mountaineer, and, disdaining Capuan luxuries, clings to his much loved though
inhospitable-looking alps. It is pleasant to watch a pair running and hopping about on the
ground, pecking over stones and in amongst the stunted grass, and then flying to the topmost
shoot of some many-branched Euphorbia hard by, where the female sits and plumes and suns
herself, while the male alongside pours out his little feeble song. On a sudden both are off with
a dart, twisting and turning in jerky flights, and dropping unexpectedly, as if shot, out of sight
amidst rocks and grass. Towards the base of Taragurh some bygone chieftain (for the ‘ Fort of
Staro’ was once the stronghold of mighty men) has built a massive masonry dam across the bed
of what, during the rainy season, may be a torrent, but now in the winter is only a tiny rill.

5

The bed of the stream has been brought up level with the top of the dam by rough masonry, so
that in the rains there is probably a tolerable waterfall here. Inside the masonry of the dam,
opening with pillar-supported arches (in front of which the falling water would hang like a
curtain), a vaulted chamber has been wrought. In the course of ages innumerable cracks have
opened in the roof, the whole interior surface of which, dripping from the percolation of the
water running overhead, is tapestried with luxuriant tresses of maidenhair. Right and left the
rocks rise precipitously ; and here and there water dribbles sluggishly in long green mossy streaks
down their grey faces. Here it is that at the present time (November) our little Buntings, after
a hearty breakfast on grass-seeds, come between 8 and 10 a.m. to drink. A few days ago I sat in
one of the archways of the vaulted chamber for a couple of hours watching them, seeing at least
a hundred pairs, and shooting some dozen or so. ‘The birds always come in pairs (this is the
breeding-season), chasing each other, not with long flights, but flitting from Hwphorbia to
Euphorbia, or point to point of rock, until near one of these drinking-places, when, perching on
the rock-face, where some tiny ledge affords a comfortable footing, they drink for a moment
greedily, then pause to squat where they stand and enjoy the warm sunshine, drink again,
zealously pick out minute grains of quartz (which always abound in their stomachs), then sit and
sun themselves again, and so on. Presently one will fly up, making a pretence of swooping at
the other; and then off they go, skirmishing up the hill-side, one after the other, like a couple
of kittens. The natives here call them ‘ Andhi Cherya, which might be translated ‘the blind
birds, a by no means inappropriate name, as they will often sit motionless until one’s foot is
almost on them. The people, however, interpret it as signifying ‘the bird to which men are
blind ;’ and there is no doubt that their plumage harmonizes so well with the grey stones inter-
spersed with reddish-yellow stunted grass, that even at short distances they are practically invisible
so long as they remain, as they often will for ten minutes at a time, perfectly still.

“The breeding-season appears to be November: the natives say that they also lay early in
July, at the commencement of the rains; but as to this I can say nothing. ‘The very first birds
that I shot, on November the 2nd, the day after I arrived here, proved on dissection to be
breeding; and out of the oviduct of a female shot on the 3rd, I took a nearly perfect though
colourless egg. For several days we hunted without success, finding many nests that I believed
to belong to this species, and seeing everywhere females about, straws in mouth, but meeting
with no eggs. At last, on the 12th of November, I myself accidentally stumbled upon two nests.
I was walking slowly, and, if it must be confessed, footsore and somewhat despondent, amid the
loose blocks and rocky shingles of the southern flanks of the Taragurh Hill, when a female sud-
denly sprang up and darted off from within two inches of my foot. I looked down; and there,
on the sloping hill-side, half overhung by a moderate-sized block of greyish quartz, was a little
nest, from which the bird had risen, and on which I had been within an ace of stepping. Close
at hand were two or three small tufts of yellow withered grass; but these were several inches
distant from the nest. This latter (which, laid on the hill-side, was some three or four inches
thick on the valley side, and barely three quarters of an inch towards the hill) was composed at
the base, and everywhere externally, of small thorny acacia-twigs and very coarse roots of grass.
This, however, was a mere foundation and casing, on and in which the true nest was constructed

of fine grass-stems, somewhat loosely put together, the bottom being lined with soft white
3A2

PAU

202

6

feathers. The egg-cavity was circular and cup-shaped, about 2°25 in. in diameter and 1-25 in.
in depth, and contained two tiny, yellow-gaped, dusky-bluish, fluffy chicks, apparently just
hatched, and one (as it proved) rotten egg. We drew back a few paces; the female bird
returned (we saw nothing of the male), and one of my men adroitly captured her. I took the
egg, and, having made sure of the species, left the mother with her young ones. We had not
moved five yards away before she was again sitting on her nest as unconcernedly as possible.

“Scarcely twenty yards further, on a slightly sloping slab of stone, partly overhung by a
huge block, between two tufts of dry grass springing from the line of junction of the slab and
block, I found a second, precisely similar nest, containing two fresh eggs, round which both
parents flitted closely all the time I was occupied in examining and securing the eggs and nests,
exhibiting no apparent signs of fear. The three eggs thus obtained were regular, moderately
broad oval, slightly compressed towards one end, but somewhat obtuse at both. ‘The shells were
very delicate, and had a slight gloss. The ground-colour differed somewhat in all three: in one
it was pale greenish, in another pale bluish, and in the third faintly brownish white. All were
spotted, speckled, and minutely but not very densely freckled with brown, a sort of reddish olive-
brown in two, rather more of umber in the third; small clouds, blotches, and streaks of the same
colour, and of a pale purple, were intermingled with the finer markings. In two of the eggs the
markings were far more numerous towards the large end, where in one they are partially con-
fluent; in the third they are pretty evenly distributed over the whole surface, being, however,
rather denser in a broad irregular zone round the middle of the egg. These eggs remind one not
a little of those of Emberiza elegans, figured by Radde (Reisen im Siiden von Ost-Sibirien, ii. Taf. v.),
but are not nearly so broad. They are not very unlike the egg of E. pusilla, as figured by Dr. Bree,
but they are narrower and more oval. On the 16th, near the base of Taragurh Hill, I found
another nest, precisely similar to that already described, containing two fresh eggs. These were
of the same general type as those already described, but were much more strongly marked.
They were richly freckled and mottled with a fine umber-brown on a pale greenish white ground,
the markings being in both most dense at the large end (where there was a conspicuous confluent
zone), and almost wanting at the smaller end. The purple spots, well marked on the first three
eggs, were entirely wanting in these. As usual, we captured the female bird without the slightest
difficulty. ‘These five eggs (all I have as yet obtained) varied from -73 to ‘75 in. in length, and
from ‘48 to ‘53 in breadth. The nests from which they were taken were all at an elevation of
about 2000 feet above the sea-level; but we found others later (empty or containing young ones),
from 1500 to 2500 feet.

‘Barly in the morning of the 19th of November I climbed up the Mudar-Shah range (on
the opposite side of the Ajmere plain to the Taragurh hill), which is very nearly, if not quite,
2600 feet high. On the highest pinnacle of the long knife-like ridge a tiny square temple is
perched, at one season of the year a place much resorted to by pilgrims. Inside the temple the
whole upper portion of the domed roof is thickly incrusted with what I may term confluent
nests of our Common Swift (Cypselus abyssinicus), a mass of feathers, straw, wool, and the like,
cemented together with inspissated saliva. All over the exterior of the temple are little arched
recesses sunk about eight inches in the masonry; and in one of these, about five feet above the
plinth, one of my people discovered a female E. striolata sitting on her nest. Going to the spot,

7

I stood with my eyes within two feet of the bird; she, however, never moved, but sat calmly
gazing at me with her bright dark eye. She looked so nice and sleek and cosy that I hesitated
to disturb her; but the eggs of this species are almost, if not entirely, unknown in European
collections, and I thought it only right to secure all I could; so I emptied a cap-box into my
pocket, and had some soft rags torn to shreds, and then put my hand out gently to the nest.
Away flitted the old bird, disclosing, alas! three fluffy nestlings; I drew back my hand, and that
very instant the female returned and hid the chicks under her. ‘They were very young, and the
morning air on this lone pinnacle was very cold; hence her extraordinary tameness. The nest,
built on the flat bottom of the niche, was perfectly circular, with an external diameter at bottom
of about 5:5 in., and an internal at top of about 2°5. The lower portion was composed of fine
twigs, the upper portion and the lining of the cavity, so far as the young ones allowed this to be
seen, of fine grass stems. Altogether the nest was about 2°5 in. high, and very neat and symme-
trical. Judging from my present experience, I should say that three is the full number of eggs
usually laid.

“JT subjoin descriptions and exact dimensions taken from freshly killed specimens :—
Dimensions.—Male: Length 5°75 to 597; expanse 9°37 to 9°75; tail from vent 2°45 to 2°75;
wing from carpal joint to tip of longest primary 2:96 to 3:1, and when closed reaching within
1-1 to 1:3 of the end of the tail; foot, greatest length from 1 to 1-1, greatest width from °63 to
8; bill from front °36 to °39; weight from -45 to ‘5 oz. (Seven males measured and weighed.)
Female: Length 5°5 to 5:9; expanse 9 to 9:5; tail from vent 2:2 to 2°72; wing from carpal joint
to tip of longest primary 2°87 to 2°96, when closed reaching within 1-1 to 1-7 of the end of the
tail; foot, greatest length 1-1 to 1-17, greatest width -72 to ‘8; bill from front °55 to 38; weight
from °38 to ‘6 oz. (Five females measured and weighed.)

“« Description—The legs and feet were in some pale waxy-yellow, in some dingy, in some
fleshy-yellow or yellowish-fleshy, the feet, especially at the joints, more or less tinged with
brownish, the claws rather pale brown; the bill had the upper mandible brown, in some
blackish brown, the lower in some waxy, in some fleshy, and in some dingy yellow; irides
brown. The male has the forehead, top of the head, and nape greyish-white, grey, or white, in
different specimens, each feather with a conspicuous linear, median, black streak, a narrow, pure-
white superciliary stripe starting from the base of the bill and extending behind the eye over the
ear-coyerts; the lores, and a moderately broad stripe directly behind the eye (and immediately
under the white stripe), involving the upper portions of the ear-coverts, black ; below this another,
greyish white stripe, involving the rest of the ear-coverts; below this, starting from the base of
the lower mandible, a black stripe; below this, from the lower angle of the lower mandible, a
ereyish white stripe, which, again, is divided from the greyish white of the chin by a narrow
inconspicuous dark streak.

“Tn the fresh birds in breeding-plumage which I am describing, all these streaks and stripes
are as clearly and sharply defined as if painted; but at other seasons, and in stuffed specimens,
they are not so clear. The whole of the back, scapulars, and tertials are hair-brown, the former
two very broadly, the latter more narrowly margined with pale, more or less sandy- or even
rufous-brown. In many specimens the darker median streaks of the back-feathers are reduced to
mere lines; and in some the rufous tinge on the upper back is well marked. ‘The primaries and

203.

204

8

secondaries and their coverts are a mixture of hair-brown and rich rufous (recalling in colour the
wings of Mirafra erythroptera), the extent of each varying in different specimens, but the brown
predominating in the earlier primaries and everywhere at the tips, and decreasing in extent in
the hinder part of the wing and towards the bases of the feathers. The second primary, for
instance, will be all brown, except a narrow rufous edging for the basal two-thirds of the outer
web and a broad rufous stripe on the margin of the inner web for the same distance, while one
of the later secondaries will be all rufous, except a narrow brown stripe running down the shaft
till within one-third of the end of the feather, whence it gradually widens so as to occupy at the
tip the whole of both webs. The rump and upper tail-coverts are much the same as the back,
but in some specimens slightly more rufous than the lower back; and the longest of the coverts
are in some specimens very narrowly tipped with very pale fulvous-white. The tail is hair-brown,
darker than the brown portion of the quills, all the feathers externally very narrowly margined
with pale rufous, except the external feather on each side, which has the whole outer web of that
colour. ‘The throat and upper breast are greyish-white or grey, with more or less numerous and
conspicuons black median stripes on the feathers. Specimens differ widely in this respect: in
some the greyish-white is a mere edging to dusky black feathers; in others only a few black spots
and streaks peep out of an almost unbroken grey, and this among specimens killed at the same
time and of apparently the same age. ‘The lower breast and the whole lower parts of the body
are pale greyish-rufous, all the bases of the feathers (only seen if their tips are lifted) being a sort
of bluish-dusky; the axillaries, wing-lining, and, in fact, the whole lower surface of the wings,
except the points of the quills, a pale delicate salmon-rufous.

“The female only differs in being generally somewhat smaller, in having the white, grey,
and black of the head, neck, throat, and breast much duller (and in many specimens overcast
with a sandy or pale rufous shade), in the various stripes being less well marked, and in haying
the dark spots and streaks of the throat and breast almost obsolete.”

We have given here Mr. Hume’s technical descriptions of the bird, well knowing the
advantages to be derived from an account of freshly killed specimens. Our own descriptions had
been written before Mr. Hume’s notes were published; so we retain them for the sake of the
uniformity of the work: they are taken from skins sent to us by our friend Mr. W. G. Brooks.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.
a, b. Ktawah, November 28rd, 1868, and April 1st, 1869 (W. G. Brooks). c,d. Ajmere, November 4th and
30th, 1869 (W. G. Brooks).
E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a. Berroughuia, Algeria, December 2nd, 1856 (H. B. T.). 6, c. Engedi, January 22nd, 1864 (H. B. T.).
d, e. Etawah, April 1st, 1869 (W. G. Brooks).

E Mus. Lord Litford.
a, 6. Engedi, January 23rd, 1864 (H. B. Tristram).

214

MEADOW BUNTING.
EMBERIZA CIA

68

EMBERIZA CIA.

(MEADOW-BUNTING.)

Emberiza cia, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. p. 310 (1766).

Emberiza barbata, Scop. Ann. i. H. N. p. 145 (1768).
Emberiza lotharingica, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 882 (1788).

Cia cia, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 193 (1829).

Euspiza cia, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. Beng. p. 130 (1849).
Emberiza meridionalis, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 128 (1850).
Emberiza hordet, Brehm, Vogelf. p. 114 (1855).

Emberiza canigularis, id. op. cit. p. 114 (1855).

Buscarla cia, Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. ix. p. 163 (1857).
Hylespiza cia, Blasius, List B. of Eur. p. 13 (1862).
Citrinella cia, Gray, Hand-l. of B. i. p. 114 (1870).
Citrinella meridionalis, id. op. cit. p. 114 (1870).

Bruant fou, French; Zigolo muciatto, Italian ; Ave tonta, Spanish (H. Saunders); Triquero,
Portuguese; Kanal salvay, Maltese (C. A. Wright); Zippammer, German.

Figure notabiles.

Montb. Pl. Enl. 511. fig. 1; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 27; Roux, Orn. Prov. pls. 111, 112;
Naum. Vog. Deutschl. Taf. 104. figs. 1,2; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 179; Fritsch, Vog. Eur.
tab. 20. fig. 18, tab. 25. fig. 11; Bree, B. of Kur. iii. p. 47; Bettoni, Ucc. Lomb. i. tav. 97.

3 estiv. pileo medio cinereo, utrinque nigro, fasciam triplicem formante: supercilio lato albicanti-cinereo :
fascia nigra per oculum poné regionem paroticam ducté: genis et regione parotica albicanti-cinereis :
fascid mystacali nigra sub regionem paroticam producta et ad fasciam ocularem vix conjuncta: dorso
rufescenti-brunneo, scapularibus cinnamomeo lavatis, plumis omnibus medialiter nigris, quasi striatis :
dorso postico, uropygio et supracaudalibus claré cimnamomeis: tectricibus alarum brunneis, minimis
cinereo lavatis, medianis conspicue albo terminatis, fasciam alarem formantibus, majoribus extis
fulvescenti-brunneo versus apicem albicante lavatis, his intimis externé cinnamomeis; remigibus
brunneis, primaris angusté albido limbatis, secundariis latiis cinnamomeo marginatis: cauda nigri-
canti-brunned, rectricibus duabus centralibus pallidioribus, rectricum duarum extimarum pogonio
interno versus apicem obliqué albo: gutture toto cinereo: corpore reliquo subtus pallidé cinnamomeo,
abdomine medio pallidiore, albicante; subalaribus albis: rostro plumbeo: pedibus flavicanti-brunneis :

iride brunnea.

2 estiv. mari similis sed sordidior: pileo medio obscuré cinereo, brunneo striato, fasciam verticalem vix
formante: subtus dilutior, gutture obscuré cinereo, pectore diluté cinnamomino: pectore laterali

angusté brunneo lineato.
OE 2

20

li

2

Ptil. hiem. similis ptilosi estivee, sed obscurior et magis ochrascenti-fulva, plumis omnibus fulvescente

marginatis.

3 hornot. similis femine adulte, sed gutture et pectore superiore punctulis triquetris indistinctis brunneis
maculatis.

Adult Male in breeding-plumage. Crown of the head blue-grey, forming a vertical streak extending from
the base of the bill to the nape, and slightly widening out on the latter; sides of the crown black; a
very distinct whitish eyebrow ; a line extending from the lores to above the ear-coverts, and enclosing
the eye, black; sides of the face and ear-coverts greyish white; a black moustachial streak running
behind the latter; throat and fore neck as well as the sides of the neck pale bluish grey ; back fulvous-
brown, washed with cinnamon on the scapulars, all the feathers very dark brown in the centre, giving
the appearance of longitudinal stripes; lower part of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts clear
cinnamon ; wing-coverts brown, the least ones conspicuously washed with bluish grey, the median ones
tipped with white, forming a distinct alar bar, the greater coverts externally edged with pale brown,
shading off into white towards the tips, the innermost ones inclining to cinnamon on their outer edges ;
primary coverts paler brown; quills brown, the primaries narrowly margined with whitish on their outer
web, the secondaries more broadly edged with cinnamon, especially the innermost ones; tail dark
brown, the two middle feathers paler brown, the two outermost ones obliquely marked with white
towards the tip, this colour occupying the larger part of the external feather; breast and belly
cinnamon, inclining to greyish white in the centre of the body; under wing-coverts white ; bill dull
lead-colour ; feet yellowish brown, the toes darker; iris dark brown. Total length 6°3 inches,
culmen 0°5, wing 3:1, tail 3:0, tarsus 0:5.

Male in winter plumage. As in other Buntings, the winter dress of the present bird makes it appear much
duller than in summer; for all the feathers are edged with fulvous, which greatly obscures the general
colours of the plumage. The centre of the crown is brownish, and the facial features are not nearly so
distinct ; on the other hand, the edgings to the wings are much plainer, and the white bars on the
wing-coverts show with great distinctness. The lower mandible has a mixture of yellow. The summer
plumage is gained by the gradual wearing off of the fulvous edgings to the feathers ; and the period at
which the bird begins to assume the spring dress varies apparently in different countries. For instance,
at Blida, in Algeria, Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., procured an example on the 15th of February, 1870, which
is in full livery, more complete than any obtained by Dresser in the same month near Barcelona.

Female in breeding-plumage. By no means so bright as the male. The head is dull grey on the top, washed
with brown, and streaked all over with dark brown like the back; the stripes on the side of the crown
and on the face are quite obscured; the white edgings to the wing-coverts are not so plain; the throat
is dull ashy, with scarcely any bluish shade; and the under surface of the body is dull rusty fulvous.
Total length 6 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 3:0, tail 2:8, tarsus 0°85.

Female in winter plumage. Much duller than in summer, and having, like the male, all the feathers edged
with fulvous. The head is brownish, with slight indications of the whitish eyebrow; but the grey
crown, never very distinct in this sex, is in winter completely obscured, and becomes brownish like the
rest of the head.

Nestlings. We have never seen the young in down of this species; but the nestlings are figured in Bettoni’s
great work on the birds of Lombardy, and are represented there as of a pale café-au-lait colour, with
dark brown spots on the head, and streaked on the breast with minute lines of the same colour.

3

Young birds. In Canon Tristram’s collection is a female shot by himself on Mount Carmel on the 15th of
November 1863, which appears to us to be a young bird of the year in her first winter plumage. It is
fulvous-brown on the head and back, thickly streaked with dark brown centres to the feathers, these
stripes even extending on to the feathers of the rump; the edges to the wing-coverts and quills are
rather broad, and of a distinct cinnamon colour, with the whitish band showing rather plainly; the
sides of the face, throat, and upper breast are fulvescent, with numerous little triangular brown spots
extending in longitudinal streaks along the sides of the body, where a slightly richer cinnamon tint
prevails.

The young males appear to gain the adult plumage the first autumn (which can hardly be the case with the
young females), but are very dusky in plumage, thus differing very little from the old hens; they have
the throat thickly covered with indistinct little triangular spots.

Obs. At p. 114 of vol. ii. of the ‘ Hand-list,’ the late Mr. G. R. Gray has given a list of the Buntings
allied to Emberiza cia, which he places in the subgenus Cia of Kaup. A few remarks on these birds and their
synonymy seem to be not out of place here.

7698. cia, L. The subject of the present article, at the head of which will be found the complete synonymy.

7699. stracheyi, Moore, P. Z.S. 1855, p. 215, pl. 112.

cia, p., Aliq.

Many ornithologists consider this bird identical with H. cia; and Mr. Blyth (Ibis, 1868, p. 354) remarks :-—
“Of Emberiza cia, 1 have compared two Himalayan specimens with a European one in the possession of
Mr. Gould. The two former, z.e. the particular specimens in question, have the black streak on the head more
strongly developed; but I have seen others from the Himélaya in which this certainly was not the case, and
am of opinion that Mr. Gould’s examples are simply particularly fine old males in full summer plumage, which
might doubtless be paralleled in Europe. There is no other difference whatever ; and the alleged LE. stracheyi,
Moore, I therefore consider to be inadmissible as a species sufficiently distinguished from E. cia.” Dr. Jerdon,
however, who calls E. cia the “ White-browed Bunting,” separates HL. stracheyi as the ‘ White-necked Bunt-
ing,” and says that “the chief differences from EH. cia are the whiter chin and throat.” Neither of these good
observers, however, appears to have seized upon the most striking point of distinction between the two species ;
nor does Mr. Moore, in his original description of the Indian bird, allude to what we consider the best. specific
character. Thanks to Lord Walden, we have been able to examine the fine series of E. stracheyi in his col-
lection ; and we notice that, beyond the much brighter colour and the uniform deep cinnamon breast, the white
spots on the wing-coverts are absent; in winter the tips to these feathers are fulvous, but we have never seen
any Indian examples with the white bars on the wing so conspicuous in the European bird. Any one who will
compare Mr. Wolf’s beautiful figure of EL. stracheyi in the ‘ Proceedings’ with the illustration which accom-
panies the present article, will at once perceive the points of difference to which we refer.

The female is very similar to that of E. cia; but the white bar on the wing-coverts renders the latter
recognizable.

7699 a. tristrami, Swinhoe, P. Z.S. 1870, p. 441. This species has been lately described by Mr. Swinhoe as
the representative of HE. stracheyi im China.

7700. pithyornus, Pall. This species should stand as E. leucocephala (S. G. Gmelin), under which name it
is fully described in the present work.

7701. meridionalis, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. 128. The locality of this supposed species is Algeria, not
Lebanon, as stated by Mr. Gray. The characters adduced by the original describer are insufficient to
establish its distmmctness from E. cia, with which we have not hesitated to unite it. Dr. Cabanis pro-
bably had before him a specimen in full summer plumage.

7702. cioides, Brandt, Bull. Ac. Imp. Sci. St. Pétersb. i. p. 363 (1848).

cia, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. 11. p. 39.

208

4

This bird is really very distinct from HZ. cia; and Bonaparte’s remark that it is allied to EZ. leucocephala
rather than to the last-named bird, is not inapt; it is distinguished, however, from both by its uniform
chestnut head and white throat. The female may also be recognized by its chestnut ear-coverts.

7708. castaneiceps, Gould, P. Z.S. 1855, p. 215.
cioides, p., Aliq.

The type of this species appears to be in the Indian Museum; and Mr. Moore has given a full account of
it in the catalogue of the collection therein contained (ii. p. 484). We can only say that this description
perfectly agrees with a specimen of Z. cioides in breeding-plumage lent us by Lord Walden, in every par-
ticular. The measurements, however, of the typical specimen are somewhat smaller, excepting the tarsus,
which tallies with Lord Walden’s bird. Notwithstanding this discrepancy, we believe that a comparison will
prove the identity of H. castaneiceps with E. cioides.

7704. ciopsis, Bonap. Gen. Av. 1. p. 466.
cioides, Temm. & Schl. Faun. Japon. p. 98, pl. 59.

This bird is the representative of H. cia and E. cioides in Japan. Lord Walden has lent us two specimens,
both males, procured in this country by Mr. H. Whitely and Mr. Robert Bergman. They show that EL. ciopsis
is a clearly characterized species, distinguished at once from #. cia by its chestnut crown, while from L. cioides
it differs in having the throat grey and the ear-coverts black, not chestnut as in the Siberian bird. There are
also some brownish mottlings on the upper breast, which seem to be absent in the latter species.

7705. gigliolii, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1867, p. 393.
This is now admitted by Mr. Swinhoe (P. Z. S. 1871, p. 388) to be identical with 7704.
7706. stewarti, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xxii. p. 215.
caniceps, Gould, B. As. pt. vi.

For an examination of a fine series of this beautiful little Bunting we are again indebted to the kindness
of Lord Walden, who has several specimens from Umballah in winter-plumage. There are also three specimens,
from Cashmere, Chergaon, and Kokand, in full summer-dress, and revealing the curious fact that this species
has an entirely different livery in winter and summer; for whereas in winter the plumage is obscured by dull-
coloured margins to the feathers, and the back is streaked as in ordinary Buntings, in summer not only the
hoary edgings to the feathers disappear, but even the streaks on the back vanish, and this latter part becomes
uniform chestnut like the chest. We know of no other Bunting which goes through these curious and distinct
changes of plumage.

7707. albida, Blyth, J. A.S. B. xvii. pt. 2, p. 1811. i
pithyornis, p., Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 370.
Dr. Jerdon is doubtless right in referring this species to 7700.

WE have retained the name of Meadow-Bunting for this species, as the bird is well known by
that appellation; but we must remark that, like many ornithological terms, this title is a decided
misnomer ; for this Bunting is by no means an inhabitant of meadow-land, as will be seen by the
notes on its habits given below.

It is essentially an inhabitant of Southern Europe, never having occurred in Scandinavia or,
as far as is known, in the British Islands. Our friend Mr. J. H. Gumey, jun., has, indeed, lent us
a specimen said to have been procured at Dover in January 1859; but no authentic details as to
its capture have ever been published, and there is every reason to doubt the authenticity of the
specimen. In France MM. Degland and Gerbe write that it is common and sedentary in some
parts of Provence and migratory in others. It passes through Lorraine and the north of France ;
some few individuals have been captured near Paris. MM. Jaubert and Barthélemy Lapom-
meraye record it as a regular and common migrant in Provence, where it is found in the autumn

5)

and winter; but in Northern France it is rare. In Savoy, according to Bailly, it is found all the
year round, but is most numerous during the breeding-season and in the autumn, being rare in
winter. De la Fontaine says it has been only observed in the neighbourhood of Luxembourg,
on the Moselle, and is not common. It is found on the plains between Schengen and Remich,
at Nennig, and near Palzem, where it arrives from the Ist to the 15th April, and leaves from the
15th of October to the 15th November. Godron remarks that in Lorraine it is a rare bird of
passage in the autumn.

Borggreve says it is found in the valley of the Rhine, from Bingen to Remagen, and inhabits
there the rocky vineyards during the summer. Our friend Mr. Carl Sachse informs us that this
species is tolerably numerous on the central Rhine between Ivlich and Linz, on the right shore
of the river, where it frequents the vineyards. Its nest is placed in the tangled growth on the
vineyard walls, and contains four to five eggs, about the end of May. Mr. E. Schiitt writes
(Journal fiir Orn. 1861, p. 238) that it breeds in the higher mountain-valleys in the forests of
Baden, and is not uncommon in the valleys facing the south-east. It is quiet and not easily
observable, except during the breeding-season. It frequents the sides of narrow stony valleys
where conifer and non-evergreen trees are scattered round, and towards the west, where Alnus
viridis grows, but does not occur in the heights. Except during the nesting-season it is difficult
to shoot, hiding in dense thickets, where its call-note, z¢ z7, may be heard. It does not appear to
winter in Baden, but appears back in the valleys about the middle of March. According to
Mr. von Kettner it occurs in the valleys of the Murg and Neckar. Ritter von ‘T'schusi procured
it at Arnsdorf, in Lower Austria, in September, and further states that he subsequently found it
breeding there. Seidensacher states that during the autumn migration it occurs near Cilli, in
Styria, and several have been caught near Tiiffer. He does not know if it breeds there, but
procured a nest containing four eggs near Hartberg in 1856.

In the countries bordering both sides of the Mediterranean the Meadow-Bunting is found.
In his ‘ List of the Birds of Southern Spain,’ Mr. Howard Saunders records it as “‘ common
among the vineyards on the hill-sides, where it breeds.” Dresser found it numerous near
Barcelona in the spring of 1866; and every day a few might be seen hanging up for sale in the
market together with other small birds. Major Irby sends us the following note :—‘‘ Common in
breeding-season on bleak exposed mountain-tops up to a great elevation, particularly at the tops
of the Sierra del Nifio, near Algeciraz, about 2800 feet, where it breeds. In winter they descend
to low ground, still keeping to bleak and bare rocky places, and then are always to be seen at
the ‘back of the rock’ at Gibraltar. I have seldom, if ever, seen this Bunting perched on a
bush, always on rocks or stones, or on the ground, and have several times shot them by mistake
when looking for Accentor alpinus, in company with which bird I have occasionally noticed them
feeding on the refuse heap at the signal station.” Professor Barboza du Bocage says it is
common in the northern provinces of Portugal; but the Rev. A. C. Smith observes that he never
met with it in those parts. On the opposite shores of the Mediterranean, Loche writes that it is
not.common in Algeria, and that he only observed it in the province of Algiers, near Médéah.
Dr. Taczanowski, however, informs us that he found it common in the mountains of Algeria,
where, during the winter, it is met with in company with Mringillaria striolata, but always in
small companies. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., during his recent visit to Algeria, observed that it was

209

210

6

‘seen among the hills in the small valleys formed by every stream of water (oftenest in a road) ;
not actually in flocks, but several in the same valley.”

Canon Tristram records it as “not uncommon, in small bands of from six to twelve, in the
open country, from K’sour southwards, and also all through the oasis district of the Wed Whi,
south of Eastern Algeria. I have always observed the sexes apart in winter, and the males far
more abundant than the females. It is only a winter visitant to the Sahara. In habits and
general characteristics it in no way differs from our Yellow Bunting (Emberiza citrinella).”

Writing from Malta, Mr. Wright says:—‘ This is also a very rare bird. It visits the island
occasionally, in the fall of the year and in winter. One was taken alive in January 1863, and
appeared very lively in captivity, taking hemp and other seeds readily. It lived till the following
August, when, like most pets, it came to an untimely end.” In Sardinia it is stated by Count
Salvadori to be rare. In Modena, according to Doderlein, it is found during migration, affecting
the cultivated ground. A few pairs remain to breed in the Apennines. In Sicily it is common
during the winter, both in the hills and on the plains; but a good many remain to breed
there. In his essay on the ornithology of the Ionian Islands, Lord Lilford remarks :—*<I
noticed this species only once in these parts. ‘This was a single bird, seen near Pagania, in
January 1857.” In Greece Lindermayer found it common from November to March, frequenting
desert stony localities, like Hmberiza cwsia. Ue believes that it breeds in the mountains of
Greece. It is not found on the islands of the Archipelago. Dr. Kriiper found it common in
the conifer region in the Greek mountains, where it builds its nest on the ground amongst
the grass. On Olympus it is common; but in Asia Minor it is rarer, and found in the pine-
woods. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley state that it is plentiful in Macedonia. Professor Nord-
mann found it breeding near Laspi, on the south side of the Crimea, and common in Abasia
and Ghouriel. Ménétriés, during his journey to the Caucasus, observed it on the mountains of
Talyche, where it is not common. Radde, however, says that it is not rare on the Caucasian
mountains. Mr. Keith Abbott procured it at Trebizond, and Messrs. Dickson and Ross near
Erzeroom.

Canon Tristram gives the following account of the bird in the Holy Land :—* Emberiza cia,
certainly not a Meadow-Bunting in Palestine, we found only on the tops of the hills and in the
highest parts of Lebanon, both in summer and winter. Unlike the others, it does not seem to
migrate. We several times found its nest among rocks in Lebanon towards the end of June.
The eggs are clay-coloured, covered with fine lines, chiefly round the broad end, very distinct
from any other Bunting’s I ever saw, and certainly different from the varieties of the Yellow
Ammer’s, which do duty for the eggs of this bird in most collections. Its note is very like that
of the Yellow Ammer, but more lugubrious and long-drawn, uttered generally from the top of a
flat rock, its favourite perch.” In the Berlin Museum there is a specimen collected by Hemprich
and Ehrenberg in Arabia; but Von Heuglin considers it a very rare straggler to North-eastern
Africa, only visiting that part in winter.

We have no positive evidence that this Bunting goes to India, as all the specimens we have
as yet examined from that country belong to #. stracheyi; at all events it can only occur in that
country in the winter.

In its habits the Meadow-Bunting most resembles the Common Yellow Ammer ; and its flight

7

is not unlike that of this bird. Dresser found it numerous in the neighbourhood of Barcelona,
where it frequented the cactus hedges, flying, when disturbed, from plant to plant, and often
perching on the very top of the cacti uttering its call-note, 22 22 27. It appears that here this
species chiefly affects the hill-sides and barren dry places, where but few small stunted bushes are
scattered about; but in some parts of Europe, as on the Rhine and in Southern Austria, it has
been found frequenting the vineyards; and Naumann, in his notes on its habits, states that it
inhabits the fertile valleys; this, however, is contrary to the experiences of Dresser and Major
Ivby in Spain. It feeds on various seeds, chiefly of wild plants, but probably also to some extent
on insects, at least during the early part of the summer season.

Eggs of this Bunting in Dresser’s collection are very easily distinguishable from those of
other Emberizidz by the continuous markings, which appear as if they were made with a pen, and
all drawn without taking the pen from the surface of the egg. In colour they are pale grey, and
are marked with continuous wavy irregular lines, chiefly at the larger end, of a blackish brown
and a faint purple tinge, the former apparently overlying the latter. In size they measure
$2 by 38 of an inch. In character they approach closest to the eggs of the Cirl Bunting; but
the markings are, as above stated, different.

Dr. Rey writes to us that he has measured fourteen eggs of this species, from Southern
France, Greece, Macedonia, and Asia Minor, which averaged 20°9 by 16-4, the largest measuring
22°5 by 16°5 and the smallest 205 by 15°25 millimetres respectively. According to Loche it
breeds also in Algeria; to Brehm, in Spain; and to Brahts, on the Rhine.

The figures in the Plate represent an adult male and female, and a young male from Spain
collected by Dresser: they are not in full summer plumage; and consequently brighter-looking
specimens will often be met with. ‘The adults described are a pair in full breeding-plumage in
Lord Lilford’s collection, obtained near Smyrna by Dr. Kriiper.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.

a,@. Mountains near Algeciraz (L. H. Irby). 6, c¢, d, e, f. Barcelona, February 1866 (H. HE. Dresser).
g, &. Piedmont, November 1868 (7. Salvadori). h. Rustchuk, Turkey (C. Farman). i, d. Ortakeuy,
Turkey, December 16th, 1869 (7. Robson). 7, k, l,m. Mount Olympus, Macedonia, October and
November 1869 (Dr. Kriiper).

E Mus. Lord Walden.

a, 3. Germany (Fraser). 6. Genoa (H. Saunders). c, 6. Ortakeuy, Turkey, November 3rd, 1865 (7.
Robson). d, 3. N. Africa (Verreauz).

E Mus. A. Basil Brooke.
a, 3. Riviera, N. Italy, spring of 1869 (Victor A. Brooke). 6, 3. Granada (H. Saunders).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a,@. Germany. 6, g. K’sour, Algeria, January 28th, 1857 (H. B. T.). c,d. Pass of Afka, Lebanon,
June 18th, 1864 (H. B. T.). d, 2. Carmel, November 15th, 1863 (H. B. 7.).
oF

211

8

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a, ¢. Near Dover, January 1859 (?). b, d. Blida, Algeria, February 15th, 1870 (J. H. G.).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a,b, 3. Nice, 1858 (L.). c,d, 3, 2. Smyrna, May 27th, 1863, and May 9th, 1864 (Dr. Kriiper).

E Mus. W. Schliiter.
a, b,c, $. Mount Olympus, Macedonia, October 9th and 16th, 1869 (Dr. Kriiper).

215

66

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EMBERIZA CCESIA .

XI

215

EMBERIZA CASIA.

(CRETZSCHMAR’S BUNTING.)

Emberiza cesia, Cretzschm. in Riipp. Atlas, p. 15, t. 10. fig. 6 (1826).
Fringillaria cesia, Swains. Classif. of B. 11. p. 290 (1837).

Glycispina cesia, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 120 (1850).

Hortulanus cesius, Bonap. Cat. Coll. Parzud. p. 4 (1856).

Bruant cendrillard, French; graukopfige Ammer, German ; rostbdrtige Ammer, German.

Mas pileo cum capitis lateribus et torque pectorali lete cinereis. dorso rufo, striga mediana saturate brunneo :
dorso imo, uropygio et tectricibus supracaudalibus rufis, his anguste medialiter brunneo striatis: tectrici-
bus alarum brunneis rufo marginatis, minoribus latius : remigibus brunneis, primariis anguste, secundartis
late marginatis: cauda brunnea, rectricibus duabus mediis rufo marginatis, reliquis brunneis, duabus
exterioribus pogonio interno versus apicem late albis: loris et regione oculari, striga malari et gula
tota fulvescenti-rufis : corpore reliquo subtus lete castaneo: subalaribus grisescenti-albidis fulvo tinctis,
exterioribusque nigro variegatis: rostro rubello: pedibus flavicantibus.

Fem. mari similis, sed sordidior: pileo cimereo anguste brunneo striato: gutture et regione orbitali pallide
fulvescenti-rufis punctulis minutis sparsim notatis: torque pectorali indistincto sordide cinereo.

Adult Male. Head clear blue-grey, a narrow streak on each side of the throat joining the sides of the neck,
and a band across the upper breast of the same colour; lores and a ring of feathers round the eye, a
moustachial stripe and entire throat pale rufous; back rufous brown, greyish on the back of the neck ;
interscapulars and scapulars rufous, longitudinally streaked with brown down the centre of the feather ;
lower portion of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts uniform dark rufous, the latter having a narrow
brown shaft-stripe; wing-coverts brown, broadly margined with rufous, the lesser ones more broadly,
the greater ones narrowly ; quills brown, the primaries narrowly margined with rufous, the secondaries
more broadly ; tail dark brown, the two centre feathers narrowly edged with rufous, the rest almost
entirely brown, except the two outermost, which are white towards the tip of the inner web; the entire
breast rich chestnut; under wing-coverts greyish white, slightly tinged with rufous, and the small
feathers on the edge of the wing varied with black. Total length 6°3 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 3:4,

tail 2°4, tarsus 0°6.

Adult Female. In-general colour like the male, but paler, the head and breast-band being conspicuously less
bright, on the former the little brown shafts, which in the male are nearly obsolete, being more distinct ;
the sides of the face and throat pale rufous, the ear-coverts darker, and the whole of the throat marked
with tiny brown specks; the breast not so deep chestnut as in the male. Total length 6 inches, culmen

0:4, wing 3:2, tail 2°3, tarsus 0°6.

Obs. <A pair of birds collected by L. Schrader and Dr. Kriiper in the neighbourhood of Smyrna, in the
spring of 1863, and ticketed as an adult male and female, are very similar to the pair described above,
but have a few fulvous edgings to the feathers of the breast, apparently the remains of the winter
plumage. On the throat of the female the spots are very distinct and broad, and a very perfect malar

914
Fe

2

stripe is exhibited. The male has a little white on the inner web of the third tail-feather, which does
not appear in the specimen described by us. ‘These birds are in Lord Lilford’s collection.

Tue present bird has much in common with the Ortolan; but at the same time we cannot under-
stand how, by many good naturalists, it has been considered to be only a variety of that species.
Nor is it a Fringillaria, in which genus many authors have placed it; for it does not agree
generically, and is different in its habits, as the following note of Dr. Tristram’s will testify. In
‘The Ibis’ for 1859 (p. 34) he writes as follows concerning the present species :—“ In its habits
and actions it is very different from its Algerian congener, Emberiza sahare, which it so nearly
resembles in form and plumage, avoiding buildings, and not, as far as I am aware, perching on
stones or walls.” Hmberiza sahare, on the contrary, is a true Mringillaria, and belongs to the
same group as F. septemstriata, F. tahapisi, &c. It is evident, therefore, that the true position of
Emberiza cesia is among the true Buntings, in close proximity to E. hortulana and E. huttoni.

Cretzschmar’s Bunting appears to have comparatively a limited range; and we have been
unable clearly to define its exact line of migration; but its winter home is probably the interior
of North-eastern Africa, while in Europe it is common during summer in the south-eastern
portions, only occurring as a straggler in the countries to the westward bordering the Mediter-
ranean basin. Jaubert and Barthélemy de la Pommeraye state that about six or seven instances
of its occurrence near Marseilles have come under their notice, while as long ago as 1825 Roux
had included it among the birds of Provence, mistaking it, however, for a variety of E. cia.
Baron J. W. von Miiller says that it does not come regularly in the Camargue, but appears
sometimes in small numbers, always in spring. Malherbe quotes a single instance of its
occurrence in Sicily, and refers at the same time to a notice by Temminck of a specimen killed
near Vienna. Von der Miihle and Lindermayer have included it in the avifauna of Greece, .
where it is not uncommon; and Dr. Kriiper procured it on Naxos, where it “breeds in desert
places on the mountains.” Messrs. Schrader and Kriiper have also sent numerous specimens
from Smyrna. We have also seen examples from Bulgaria, whence also Dresser has received
eggs of the present species, though it is not included by Messrs. Elwes and Buckley in their list
of the ‘ Birds of Turkey.’ In Palestine Dr. Tristram found it abundant. Throughout the whole
of the above-mentioned localities Emberiza cwsia is a summer visitant, and appears also as a
straggler in Algeria, according to Loche.

With regard to its occurrence in North-eastern Africa, Dr. Th. von Heuglin writes as
follows :—

“We observed this Bunting more particularly in small flocks in Lower Egypt in March or
early in April. They generally frequent the borders of the desert and cultivated ground, and
are particularly to be met with on dunes, heaps of rubbish, on hedges, &c., sometimes in
company with Emberiza hortulana. ‘They occasionally breed in the Delta, and near Cairo, in
olive-gardens. From the beginning of September they are to be met with along the Nile and in
Arabia and Abyssinia, generally in flocks. According to Brehm it is very common along the
Blue Nile in November; and Miihle states that it is the commonest Bunting in Greece, where it
arrives in April with Stonechats, Blue Thrushes, and Owls; it inhabits the most desolate rocky
hills.”

3

From Dr. Tristram’s ‘Notes on the Ornithology of Palestine,’ we extract the following
information :—

“ Hmberiza cesia takes the place of the Yellow Ammer in Palestine. Its return is sudden
and universal, and it peoples every part of the country from the banks of the Jordan to the high
parts of Lebanon. It builds either on the ground under a tuft, or ina low bush. Its note is
low, but cheery, often repeated, like the Ortolan’s, from the top of a bush or low tree. ‘The
nest is very neat and compact, lined with fibres and horsehair; and the eggs, four in number,
are sufficiently characteristic to render them distinct from those of any other Bunting. ‘They are
russet or reddish brown in their ground, covered with spots or blotches rather than with streaks,
after the fashion of those of the Ortolan. While the Ortolan prefers the olive-trees and gardens,
Emberiza cesia confines itself to the bare hillsides and the scrub or the rocky Wadys.”

Dr. Tristram has also written for us the following particulars :—

“« Hmberiza cesia returns about the beginning of March. ‘The little flocks soon make their
arrival known by their lively, twittering, though monotonous, note; and the call-note is like that
of our Yellow Ammer. ‘They do not separate or pair for a few days, but may be seen under the
bushes or on the edge of scrub feeding in society, and hopping into the thicket on the approach
of a stranger. If there were hedges, this Bunting would be a true hedge-row bird. The nest is
similar in situation to our Yellow Ammer’s, but much neater and more solid; sometimes I have
taken it in the fork of a low bush, but generally in a bank-side under a good shelter of stone.
The eggs are, I think, the prettiest of all the Bunting tribe, and thoroughly characteristic.
The bird is of a familiar disposition; and if we camped in the neighbourhood of a pair, they soon
found the advantage of having barley-fed animals close by.”

Dr. Lindermayer, whose description of the nest and eggs agrees with that of Dr. Tristram,
states further, as to its habits in Greece :—

“Directly after its arrival it frequents hillocks and the dried-up shores of the mountain-
streams close to the sea, where it seeks its food along with Stonechats, Larks, &c., which arrive at
the same time. It generally sits on the ground; and is only occasionally seen for a few moments
calling from a low bush. It leaves us very early ; and I have never had the opportunity of seeing
it in the summer or the beginning of the autumn in its migration southward.”

We have several eggs of this bird from Dresser’s collection, received by him from Dr.
Kriiper, before us. They are dull white, with pale purplish black underlying and blackish
brown overlying spots and scratches generally distributed over the surface of the egg; they
measure 34 by #6 inch, and are slightly pointed at one end.

The Plate represents a pair of adult birds in our collection, the male being from Smyrna, the
female from Palestine; and the descriptions are taken from the same birds.

215

4
In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.
a. $ ad. Smyrna, March 31st, 1863 (L. Schrader and Dr. Kriiper). b,c. 3, Q. Palestine (H. B. Tristram).

E Mus. Lord Lilford. ~
a,b. 6, 2. Smyrna (L. Schrader and Dr. Kriiper).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a-g. Palestine (H. B. T.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a. Smyrna (Kriiper).

217

LEUCOCEPHALA .

EMBERIZA

217

EMBERIZA LEUCOCEPHALA

(PINE BUNTING.)

Emberiza leucocephala, 8.G. Gmelin, N. Comm. Acad. Sci. Imp. Petrop. xv. p. 480, tab. xxiii.
fig. 3 (descr. orig.).

Emberiza pityornis, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, ii. Anhang, p. 710, no. 22 (1773, descr. orig.).

Pine Bunting, Lath. Gen. Syn. ii. pt. 1. p. 203 (1782).

Emberiza sclavonica, Degl. Orn. Europ. i. p. 253 (1849, ex Briss.).

Emberiza albida, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xviii. pt. 2. p. 811 (1849, descr. orig.).

Buscarla pityornis, Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1857, p. 164.

Pine Bunting, English ; Bruant a couronne lactée, French; Fichtenammer, German.

Mas pileo medio genisque albis: capitis lateribus, gutture toto et colli lateribus castaneis: dorso rufo, nigro
striato et brunneo vario: dorso postico et uropygio lete ferrugineis : gutture imo albo: corpore subtus
albido, pectore superiore et hypochondriis lete ferrugineo variis : alis brunneis, primariis anguste albido,
tectricibus alarum et secundariis late ferrugineo marginatis: cauda brunnea, rectricibus mediis late
fulvo marginatis, duabis extimis plerumque albis.

Fem. supra cinerascenti-brunnea, plumis nigro medialiter striatis: uropygio lete ferrugineo: subtus albescens,
pectore superiore hypochondriisque rufo tinctis, plumis anguste brunneo striatis.

Male in summer plumage. Crown of the head white, more or less tinged with greyish brown, and streaked
with small dark brown shaft-stripes on some of the feathers ; forehead and sides of the crown as well
as a small patch of feathers behind the ear dark brown, slightly tinged with grey; a broad line from the
base of the bill, enclosing the eye and running backwards along the sides of the head, entire throat,
cheeks, and sides of the neck rich chestnut ; below the eye, extending from the base of the bill and
enclosing the auricular region, a narrow line of white, becoming rather tinged with grey on the sides of
the neck, forming a kind of interrupted collar, which meets on the underside of the body below the
throat, where it forms a broad jugular patch of white; back rufous, mottled with dark brown, most of
the feathers edged indistinctly with fulvous; lower portion of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts
rich bay, the latter streaked with brown, and faintly margined with fulvous ; wing-coverts bay, dark
brown at the base, and narrowly margined with fulvous, the brown predominating on the greater
coverts, where also the fulvous edgings are broader; primary coverts and primaries greyish brown, very
narrowly margined with whitish, secondaries darker brown, bordered on the outer web with bay, which
in turn is edged with fulvous ; tail dark greyish brown, the two centre feathers tinged with rufous, and
edged with fulvous, the two outer feathers white, except at the base and towards the extremity of the
outer web, the next feathers similarly coloured, but the brown predominating and extending further up
the feather, all the other feathers greyish brown with narrow fulvous edgings ; upper part of the breast
and flanks rich bay, clouded with white; centre of the breast, abdomen, and under wing- and tail-
coverts pure white; upper mandible dark horn-brown; lower mandible yellowish brown; feet pale
yellowish ; iris dark brown. ‘Total length 6:6 inches, bill 0°5, wing 3°65, tail 3-2, tarsus 0°75.

Adult Female. ead greyish brown, streaked with black, the stripes taking the form of longitudinal lines;
E

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2

lores dirty white ; ear-coverts brown, marked with buff; cheeks dirty white, becoming clearer on the
sides of the neck; back of the neck clear grey, somewhat marked with brown; middle of the back and
scapulars brown, longitudinally marked with black and rufous brown ; lower portion of the back, rump,
and upper tail-coverts rich bay ; wing-coverts brown, edged with rufous, which again shades off into
fulvous; quills and tail as in the male; throat dirty white, marked with little spots of dark brown ;
chest and sides of the body rufous, with longitudinal streaks of dark reddish brown; centre of the body
and under tail-coverts dull white ; under wing-coverts white, slightly tinged with brown.

Young Male. Similar to the old female, but rather greyer in tint, especially down the centre of the crown ;
the throat and upper breast whitish, mottled with rufous, and having a few, small, dark brown markings
on the upper part of the chest.

Male in winter plumage. Distribution of colours as in the summer plumage, but everywhere much more
dingy; the white crown nearly altogether obscured by dark brown markings; the back and wing-
coverts dull brown, with very little rufous; the rump and upper tail-coverts, as well as the throat and
cheeks, edged with fulvous white; upper part of the breast, below the white gorget, marked with broad
brown lines. The spring plumage is assumed not by a direct moult, but by the wearing off of the
edgings to the feathers.

THERE can be no doubt that the synonymic name of pityornis, by which this Bunting is known
in ornithological works, must give way to the older name bestowed by S. G. Gmelin in 1771.
“The species was first described,” Lord Walden kindly informs us from an examination of the
works in question, ‘‘ by the above-named author (/. c.); and Lepechin again described the bird in
the same volume a few pages further on (p. 486), after Gmelin, with a figure (tab. 25. fig. 1), but
gave no binomial title. Pallas (Zoogr. ii. p. 837) quotes Messerschmidt’s title of £. PE ETE as a
synonym ; but Messerschmidt’s work does not appear to have been published.”

A great deal of confusion has been promulgated with regard to the various names referred
by Prince Bonaparte and other writers to the present species. In an article by the last-named
author in the ‘ Revue et Magasin de Zoologie’ for 1857 (J. ¢.) some notes on the Buntings of
Europe are given, with a figure (pl. 7) of a bird called ‘“‘ Emberiza scotata, Bonomi,” which the
Prince supposes to be the young male of Hmberiza leucocephala, and which was captured near
Brescia, in Lombardy, and sent to him by M. Parzudaki. A full description of this specimen is
then given, which is faithfully reproduced by Dr. Bree (B. of Eur. iii. p. 36). We regret that
we cannot coincide with the opinion of either of the above-named naturalists; for the description

‘and figure differ in so many characteristic points from the Pine Bunting in any stage of plumage,

that we believe some other species has been mistaken for it. At the conclusion of the description
of the bird, Prince Bonaparte observes, “‘_It is a known fact that this Bunting is also the #.
passerina of Messerschmidt; £. albida, Blyth; £. leucocephala and dalmatica,Gm.; and EL.
sclavonica, Degland. It is probable that more adult males have formed the subjects of the
nominal species which has been dedicated to me under the name of £. bonapartit by M.
Barthélemy de la Pommeraie from a specimen taken at Marseilles, where it was living in a cage
in 1842.” We may remark, with regard to these synonyms, that the name of E. passerina cannot
be found to have ever been published; £. albida of Blyth refers to this species, and was named
from a specimen sent to the last-named gentleman from the Himalayas, beyond Simla, by Captain

3

Hutton. . dalmatica of Gmelin was never published as an Emberiza, but under the genus
Fringilla (S. N. i. p. 920), and is founded on Latham’s “ Dalmatic Sparrow” (Ind. Orn. ii. part 1.
p- 256), which, again, is taken from the Moineau dEsclavonie (Passer sclavonicus) of Brisson.
From this also Degland takes his name of Emberiza sclavonica for the Pine Bunting; but after a
careful comparison we are unable to identify Brisson’s species, and the name must be expunged
from the list of synonyms of Emberiza leucocephala. As regards the MS. name of E. bonapartei
no comments are necessary, as it was never published, but is referred to the present species in the
later work of MM. Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye, though no description is given.

The Pine Bunting is, strictly speaking, a denizen of the Eastern Palearctic Region, but, like
many other birds, migrates westward on the approach of winter, and occurs regularly at this
season of the year within European limits. The first actual notice of its capture appears to have
been in the autumn of 1824, when a specimen was procured near Vienna. Again, in the year
1842 M. Barthélemy-Lapommeraye obtained an example at Marseilles; and Count Gourcy Droit-
aumont (Isis, 1848, pp. 493, 494) further records two specimens as captured near Vienna in 1848 ;
since that time the Pine Bunting has regularly been included in the list of the “ Birds of
Europe.”

The true summer residence of the present species appears to be Asiatic Russia, particularly
on the Irkutsk and Amoor rivers, whence it proceeds southward in the winter. Pallas described
his first specimens from birds obtained in the pine woods of Northern Siberia; and we have
frequently received specimens from the neighbourhood of Lake Baikal. Mr. Swinhoe met with
it at Peking in October; and Pere Armand David speaks of it as abounding there in winter and
early spring. It occurs in India, but only in the north-west Himalayas, according to Jerdon,
who states that Captain Hutton and Dr. Adams obtained it on the Syree range, beyond Simla,
and that it has also been procured near Peshawur. Specimens are also in the India Museum,
collected by Griffiths in Cabul.

In Eastern Europe it appears as a winter visitant. Gmelin states that his typical example
was obtained in Astrachan; while Messrs. Elwes and Buckley (Ibis, 1870, p. 194) obtained two
specimens shot on the Bosphorus by Mr. T. Robson, of Ortakeny. We have also in our collection
two specimens sent to us by Mr. Robson, and procured by him near Constantinople, one of them
being shot as early as the 21st of October, in which month Mr. Swinhoe got an example at
Peking, so that by this time the complete migration must have been nearly, if not fully,
accomplished. Professor Burmeister states that in the Museum of Halle there is a specimen of
the Pine Bunting from Hungary.

Three specimens have been taken near Vienna; and as regards its occurrence in Italy
Count Salvadori writes :—

“This is a very rare bird in Italy. I only know of a few specimens caught here; and nearly
all were procured near Bergamo, in autumn, when they appeared to come from the north in
company with Buntings, Finches, and other small birds. One specimen has been caught near
Genoa.”

Lord Lilford has a specimen of this Bunting in his collection from Central Asia, but the
exact locality is not stated. It is in beautiful summer plumage, agreeing with examples in our
own collection from Siberia. Like its congeners, the Pine Bunting seems to be capricious in the

E2

219

4

assumption of the winter plumage, as we have specimens from the same locality, Lake Baikal, in
summer and winter dress, so that no fixed period can be assigned for the putting on of the
hyemal dress.

Owing to the rarity of Emberiza leucocephala in Europe, but little is known of its habits or
nidification, excepting through the medium of the Russian travellers in Siberia and the Amoor ;
and of these Radde alone enters into precise particulars. According to the observations of this
naturalist, this Bunting was found to be abundant on the islands of the Schilka from the early
part of May. In the morning the note of the male was heard incessantly in the birch woods,
where the bird chose the tops of the trees as a resting-place. The song reminded him somewhat
of that of Fringilla calebs, but exhibited the Bunting-like rhythm. ‘The female chooses high
lofty pine or larch trees for her nesting-place. Radde does not give any more details respecting
the nidification, further than that the young were fledged on the 10th of July in the forests on
Lake Baikal. Their plumage was then remarkable for the breadth of the black shaft-spots on
the feathers on the underside of the body, these spots being larger towards the point of the
feather; otherwise they resemble the old female; but the rust-red on the rump is paler and more
yellowish, while on the other hand all the black shaft-stripes on the crown and back are broader
and darker. In July Radde found the males still in full song on the island of Olchon, and
observes that the food of the old birds then consisted chiefly of young grasshoppers and cicadas.

Of the nest we cannot give any details; but we are fortunate in being able to describe the
eggs from specimens obtained by Dresser in exchange from the St.-Petersburg Museum, and
taken near Irkutsk on the 25th of May. ‘These are in size about equal to pale sparely marked
eggs of E. citrinella, measuring 24 by 33, or may be, perhaps, a trifle smaller. They have a pale
greyish-white ground-colour, and are marked with faint underlying grey, scarcely perceptible
shell-marblings, and blackish brown surface-markings, very sparely distributed over the egg. All
these characters are like those on the eggs of the Yellow Ammer, viz. hair-like lines, looking as
if they were marked with a pen. According to Dybowsky and Parrex, who found this bird
breeding in Dauria, the number of eggs is from five to six.

Von der Miihle observes :—

“J have several times procured this bird in Roumelia in the late autumn, but only females
and young examples. They much resemble Emberiza scheniclus, and are, perhaps, not uncom-
mon, but are mistaken for this species. I can therefore state nothing further respecting it.”
Dr. Lindermayer, however, did not observe it in Greece.

Respecting its habits in confinement we may quote the following remarks of Victor Ritter
von Tschusi (J. f. O. 1869, p. 217) respecting a male sold to him in the Vienna market as a
Reed Bunting on the 27th of November, 1866 :—

‘“¢T could only ascertain that this bird was caught a few days previously near Vienna; more
the dealer could not tell me. When I placed the bird in a roomy cage he was very shy, and flew
continually against the wires, so that I was obliged to cover him to avoid his injuring himself.
In the spring he got much quieter, and is now quite tame. His call-note, which is often heard
when he is singing, is exactly like that of a Yellowhammer. As I had both species in cages in
my room in the winter of 1866, I could daily convince myself of this. His song has nothing
Bunting-like in it, but, on the other hand, reminds me much of the song of the Goldfinch and

3)

Redbreast, chiefly the latter, by the fine, lengthened, melancholy notes, which, however, are never
so loud as in the song of this Warbler, but can best be compared to those of a young practising
Redbreast. It is therefore incomprehensible to me how Radde, who had repeated opportunities

of observing this Bunting, could say of it, ‘The pleasant song reminds me somewhat of that of

Fr. celebs, only it betrays the well-known Bunting-like rhythm.’

“Tam certain that this Bunting is sometimes caught here amongst others, but generally
falls into the hands of ignorant people, who, in its plain winter dress, overlook it or mistake it
for the Reed Bunting, which, in this garb, it is not unlike.”

Mr. Robson, of Ortakeny, Turkey, has favoured us with the following note :—

“‘ This species is very rare in Turkey, Asia Minor, and Europe, and I have never seen more
than two or three in a season; some seasons none occur. ‘They feed and are taken amongst
other species of Emberizide in the autumn migration; and amongst hundreds of other Buntings
that are captured, only one or two of this species are met with. The female is a plain-coloured
bird, much greyer than the male.”

The Plate is drawn from a fine pair in breeding-plumage, procured by Radde at Turka, on
Lake Baikal. The winter dress is described from a Turkish specimen sent to us by Mr. Robson.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.
a, 6. Turka, Siberia, April 27, 1859 (Gustaf Radde). c,d, e. Lake Baikal, Siberia (Dybowsky and Parrez).
f, g. Near Constantinople (7. Robson).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. Constantinople (T. Robson). 6. Lake Baikal, Siberia (Dybowsky and Parrez).

E Mus. Lord Walden.

a, 6, c. Lake Baikal, Siberia (Dybowsky and Parrex}. d. Central Asia (Severtzow). e. Ortakeny Hills,
Turkey (7. Rodson).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.

a. Central Asia (Severtzow).

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AUREOLA.

EMBERIZA

XXVIT

223

EMBERIZA AUREOLA.

(YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING.)

Emberiza aureola, Pall. Reise Russ. Reichs, Anhang, p. 711, no. 23 (1773, descr. orig.).

Passerina aureola, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. xxv. p. 6 (1817).

Passerina collaris, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. xxv. p. 9 (1817, descr. orig.).

Emberiza selysii, Verany, Act. du Congres Scientif. de Naples (1845, teste Degland & Gerbe).

Emberiza dolichonica, Bonap. Atti della sett. adun. degli Scien. Ital. 1845, p. 715 (teste De-
gland & Gerbe).

Euspiza aureola, Bonap. Rev. Critiq. des Ois. d’Eur. de Degl. p. 166 (1850).

Hypocentor aureolus, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 125 (1850).

Strenatka Tschernolitsaya, Russian.

Figure notabiles.
Gould, B. of Eur. iii. pl. 174 (¢, 2); Radde, Reisen Stid. Ost-Sib. Taf. iv. figs. 2,a-h(¢, 2
et juv.); Bree, B. of Eur. ii. p. 60 (¢); Fritzsch, Vogel Eur. tab. 20 (2).

3 fronte, facie laterali et gulé superiore nigris: dorso toto castaneo, plumis quibusdam angustissimé fulvo
marginatis: tectricibus alarum minimis nigricantibus, mediis albis fasciam latam albam formantibus,
majoribus medialiter brunneis, rufo tinctis et fulvo marginatis, exterioribus autem versus apicem albidis :
remigibus brunneis, primariis fulvo marginatis, secundariis extus rufescentibus fulvo marginatis: cauda
brunnea, vix fulvo marginata, rectrice extimdé plerumque alba, proximaé feré omnind brunned versus
apicem pogonii interni paullo albo notataé: corpore subtus letissimé citrino, torque pectorali cum colli
lateribus castaneis : hypochondriis castaneo longitudinaliter striatis : subcaudalibus albidis citrino tinctis :
subalaribus albidis: rostro corneo, mandibula pallidé carne: pedibus brunnescenti-carneis: iride
brunnea.

¢ juv. similis preecedenti, sed coloribus omnino sordidioribus et torque pectorali interrupta distinguendus.

omnino dissimilis: griseo brunnescens: capite centrali pallidiore, laterali saturaté brunneo: loris et striga
superciliari distincta albidis: genis albicantibus: regione auriculari brunned: strid mystacali indistincta
brunned: collo postico immaculato: dorsi plumis medialiter saturaté brunneis, fulvo marginatis: dorso
postico et uropygio rufescentibus, medialiter brunneis: ala brunned, tectricibus alarum saturatioribus,
fulvo marginatis et albo terminatis, fascias duas albas angustas formantibus: subtus pallidé citrina,
gutture vix ochrascente : colli lateribus paulld rufescentibus: hypochondriis saturaté brunneo striolatis.

9 jun. supra ochrascenti-brunnea: pileo summo saturaté brunneo longitudinaliter striato: capite centrali
pallidiore vix cinnamomeo: superciliis latis fulvescentibus: collo postico cinerascenti-brunneo, plumis
medialiter brunneo indistincté lineatis: dorso brunneo laté striato, plumis fulvescenti-brunneo mar-
ginatis: dorso postico et uropygio ochrascenti-brunneis, lineis longitudinalibus parvis nigris striolatis :
ala ut in femina adulté picturata sed magis fulvescenti tincté et marginibus latioribus: cauda brevis-
simé brunned, fulvescenti marginata, pennis duabus exterioribus pogonio interno plerumque albis:

2D

224

2

: : : Rilore . R eat ; =
regione auriculari brunnea, cinerascenti lavata: corpore subtus citrino, pectore superiore paullo rufes-
cente, gula indistincté, pectore et hypochondriis distinctits brunneo striolatis.

Adult Male. General colour deep chestnut, the centre of the back distinguished by black markings in the

middle of the feather, and here and there a fulvous margin to the plumage; forehead, sides of the face,
and upper part of the throat jet-black; least wing-coverts greyish black, the median coverts white,
forming a most conspicuous alar bar, and the greater coverts dark brown tinged with rufous, edged
with fulvous, and tipped with whitish, forming a second alar bar, but not a very distinct one; primary-
coverts brown, tinged with grey; quills brown, the secondaries strongly washed with rufous, and all the
feathers edged with fulvous; tail-feathers brown, the feathers margined with fulvous, the outer one
almost entirely white, excepting a small greyish-brown mark towards the tip of the outer web, the
second feather also marked with white towards the tip; under surface of the body bright citron-yellow,
the upper part of the chest crossed by a band of rich chestnut, which colour extends on to the sides of
the neck; the flanks thickly marked with longitudinal stripes; thighs and under tail-coverts whitish,
the latter dashed with yellow ; under wing-coverts white; upper mandible horn-brown, lower mandible
brownish flesh-colour; legs also of a brownish flesh-colour; iris brown. ‘Total length 5:5 inches,
culmen 0°45, wing 3:1, tail 2°2, tarsus 0°75.

Another male, in Messrs. Salvin and Godman’s collection, is apparently not quite so adult, as, though coloured

like the last, it has the upper tail-coverts plain brown, not chestnut, and a dash of fulvous brown on the
lower part of the black throat-spot.

Another male in our own collection is less adult still, and has the colours distributed as in the old bird, but

everywhere paler; the back is pale brown, the median stripes to the feathers very distinct, and very
little tinged with chestnut; the white bars on the wings are not nearly so distinct; and the pectoral
band across the chest is scarcely indicated by a few dull brown marks on the feathers.

Female. Greyish brown, like a hen Sparrow, above, with black centres to the feathers of the middle of the

back; hinder part of the neck clear greyish brown, unmottled; sides of the head dark brown, and a
central stripe greyish brown; lores and a broad eyebrow fulvous white; cheeks fulvous white, with an
indistinct moustachial stripe of brown; ear-coverts darker brown; rump inclining to rufous; upper
tail-coverts and upper wing-coverts greyish brown; median and greater coverts dark brown, edged with
fulvous, slightly tinged with rufous and tipped with white, forming two narrow alar bars; quills and
tail greyish brown, very narrowly edged with fulvous, the two outermost rectrices white for the greater
part of their extent; underpart of the body pale citron-yellow, slightly tinged with ochre on the upper
breast; the flanks thickly marked with longitudinal stripes of brown; under wing- and tail-coverts
whitish. Total length 5:0 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2°85, tail 2°1, tarsus 0°75.

A female example in Messrs. Salvin and Godman’s collection differs in having a white throat, and being of

a brighter yellow underneath; the flanks, however, are more narrowly striped than in the one above
described.

Female Nestling. Clear brown inclining to ochre, the fulvous edgings to the back feathers very distinct, as

are also the median stripes. All the markings of the adult female are distinctly indicated in this bird;
but the whole plumage more inclines to ochre; the two bars on the wing are not white, but fulvous
brown; the under surface of the body is ochre-yellow, brighter and inclining to citron in the centre of
the breast, the upper part of which is tinged with brown and thickly striped with the latter colour; the
flanks also are narrowly striped with brown.

3

Winter plumage. As in most Buntings, the winter plumage is duller and more obscure than the summer
dress, owing to the appearance of very broad fulvous edgings to the feathers of the upper surface of the
body. Thus the chestnut colour of the back is completely obscured, and appears fulvous brown. All
the feathers of the rest of the body are equally dull, and on the breast the chestnut band across the
chest and the stripes on the flanks are scarcely discernible.

Tue Yellow-breasted Bunting is found in summer over the entire northern portion of the
Palearctic Region from Northern Russia to Kamschatka. In winter the bulk of the migrating
birds seem to visit China; but at this season it is also found sparingly in the Himalayas and
Nepal, more plentifully in the North-west Provinces of India; and thence its westward range
extends to Southern Europe, where, however, it is very rare, only occurring in winter.

It has been obtained in Heligoland by Gatke, the time of year not being stated; but it
doubtless only visits this locality on its return to its summer haunts. It has not yet been met
with in Finland, but doubtless will occur there. In the north of Russia it breeds, as will be seen
by the excellent accounts given below by our contributors. Dr. E. Eversmann observes that it is
“common on the flooded meadows of the Kazan Government, and but rare in the damp grassy
valleys of the southern slope of the Ural. It does not arrive from its migration until late, not
before May.” All across Siberia it is a common bird, breeding plentifully.

Commencing with its winter habitat, we find that in China Mr. Swinhoe has obtained it at
most of his collecting-points. During his recent visit to Hainan, he says, “‘on the 29th of March,
at Haosuy (West Hainan), we got a fine male of this species ;” and in Formosa he records it as a
“winter visitant, not common.” Near Amoy he “met with it in flocks in winter, feeding on the
ripening corn;” and in his essay on the Ornithology of Hong-Kong, Macao, and Canton, he
says it is more or less common, and, he thinks, resident. In his list of birds found between
Takao and Peking in Northern China, he observes that it was common “about the reedy herbage
of the Yun-leang Canal.” Near the latter city Pere David says it is abundant at both seasons of
migration.

According to Dr. Jerdon it “straggles sparingly in the winter into Nepal and the South-
eastern Himalayas, but is more abundant in Assam, Tippera, and Burma. It avoids Bengal and
the plains of India.” Mr. Blanford procured it at Ava; and Mr. Gould has recorded it from
Tavoy, in the Tenasserim provinces, whence it was sent by Captain Briggs; this is, we believe,
the most extended range of the species in winter towards the south-east. Captain Marshall
informs us that he found this bird in the North-western Provinces of India, near Lahore.

Dr. Tristram says:—“ Hmberiza aureola I once saw in Palestine, and do not think I could
be mistaken, as I watched the bird for some time, but had no gun with me. An Italian gentle-
man also showed me a specimen he had shot north of the Lebanon.”

Count Salvadori writes to us:—“I only know one instance of this bird having been taken
in Italy; it was caught near Genoa, and lived two years in captivity.” According to Jaubert and
Barthélemy-Lapommeraye it is found in small numbers in Central France nearly every year,
arriving in the autumn in winter dress.

Dr. Radde’s notes are as follows :—

“J found the Willow-Bunting throughout the country I traversed. It is even found in
the Sajan Alps to an altitude of 6000 feet; and here it chooses, as its favourite resort for

2D 2

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‘ 26
LS fos

4

sitting and calling, the shores of a running spring which are generally overgrown with bushy
willows and Betula nana. I found it common at an altitude of 5000 feet in company with some
Muscicape ; but it does not go as far as the boundary of tree vegetation. Flat, light, thickly
overgrown places, islands, and sunny birch knolls it inhabits in preference, but does not visit
conifer-woods. I found it breeding in Mongolia, where low willow bushes were scattered round.
If no willows are to be found near its abode, it takes its perch for singing on the top of last year’s
dry plants. The song of the Willow-Bunting is pleasing, and consists, as long as the male calls,
of three different changes. Besides these, the birds often utter the short ‘ zépp’ note.”

Dr. L. von Schrenck (p. 278) writes :—

“ H#. aureola is perhaps the commonest Bunting in the Amoor country, and frequents green
woods where the underbrush is thick, and particularly the dense extensive willow-thickets on the
islands of the Amoor river. They appear to affect the latter localities more especially, as Pallas
speaks of them particularly as found on the willow-covered islands of the Ivtisch and other rivers
of Siberia. I shot the first specimen of the year on the 19th (31st) of May 1855, near the mouth
of the Chaselach, on the Lower Amoor; but it probably arrives at the mouth of the Amoor early
in May.”

Dr. v. Schrenck further remarks that he often procured it at various localities on the Lower
Amoor in June and July, and that Dr. von Maack brought back several females from near
Albasin and the mouth of the Oldoi, on the Upper Amoor, procured on the 6th and 7th of June.
According to Middendorff it is common in South-eastern Siberia. He first observed it on the
10th of May, and from that time all over the Stanowoj Mountains up to the crest, as also near
the Uda river and on the southern coast of the sea of Ochotsk. He found a nest on the 17th
of June, and another on the 6th of July with eggs, which was probably a second brood.

We are indebted to our friend Dr. L. Taczanowski for the following notes from Dr.
Dybowski :—

“Tt is one of our commonest birds in Eastern Siberia, and always frequents the valleys or
low-lying places, particularly on the plains and amongst the bushes, both where it is marshy and
quite dry. It also inhabits the Steppes, where it penetrates further than all the other small
birds, and is met with where nothing else but Larks are found. It generally perches on the
top of a plant or bush (on the Steppes, generally on the Polygona), and there sings con-
tinually. Its song is short, and often interrupted, but is sweet. ‘The peasants look on it as the
best songster in Dauria; but that is according to their taste, for there are many other birds here
which sing better. They arrive about the middle of May, and commence building their nests
early in June; still most of them only commence breeding late in this month. ‘Their nests are
placed on the ground at the foot of a little bush, often at the base of a tussock of Spirea amongst
high grass, or else in the grass only. The nest is constructed of dry bents, and well lined with
horsehair, is about 65 millims. in diameter, and 50 millims. in depth. They lay four or five,
rarely six, eggs.

“The female sits hard, and will permit any one to approach quite close to her; when driven
off her eggs she keeps flying about with the male close in attendance, perching every now and

then on the neighbouring bushes, and uttering a note of lamentation which resembles that of
Pratincola rubetra.”

5

Professor Liljeborg published in 1852 the accompanying observations, which we transcribe
from his paper in ‘ Naumannia’ :—

“Observed at Kargopol and Archangel, here and there very abundant. ‘The old male,
described by Pallas and Temminck, is certainly more beautiful than all its congeners; the
female, however, is not so richly coloured. The latter is, by the way, much harder to find,
partly because it keeps hidden in the dense brushwood, whence it now and again utters a call-
uote something resembling that of a Robin (Sylvia rubecula), partly because it does not betray
its whereabouts by its song.

“In the stomachs of those I shot I found remains of insects. At the end of July the young
were fledged. ‘They frequented open marshy meadows which were overgrown with brushwood,

chiefly willows. In some places before I reached the Dwina, they were not rare, as for instance ~

at one place on the Onega river. Their short but pleasing and melodious song is uttered from
the top of a tree or shrub. Generally they were not shy. During migration they are said to
occur at Moscow.”

Mr. Meves, who has lately travelled and collected in North Russia, has kindly sent us the
following note :—

“T found this lovely Bunting near Wosnesensk6i, on the south-western portion of Lake
Onega, therefore far to the west of where it has before been recorded from. Here a few pair
frequented a very swampy place overgrown with willows, Jris germanica, &c. Its loud but
pleasing song was generally uttered as it was sitting in some exposed place, and reminded me of
that of the Ortolan, as well as the Reed-Bunting. Later on I observed it at Wuitegra, Kargopol,
along the river Onega, near Archangel, and several other places, often numerous, and always in
swampy meadows or marshes overgrown with birches and willows. Although I shot a female on
the 24th of June, in which was an egg almost ready for exclusion, I did not succeed in finding a nest
before the 17th of July, which contained four half-grown young. It was placed on the ground
near some small bushes, was rather neatly constructed of grass stems, which in the interior were
somewhat finer, and was lined with a few horsehairs. It measured in diameter, outside, about
2? inches, and inside 2 inches. The young, which could not fly, tried to hide in the grass, whilst
the parent birds flew close round me, uttering their anxious call-note, zitt, zitt.”

The nest is described by Naumann from specimens procured by Henke on the 16th of June,
as follows :—

“The position of the nest is, as with most Buntings, on the ground, or not high from it, in
grass or brushwork. ‘The foundation is of dry grasses, leaves, or small roots, &c., and lined with
a few hairs and feathers. ‘The eggs, from five to six in number, are 10 to 103 lines long, and
7 to 74 broad.”

The eggs of this Bunting vary to a great extent, and some of the varieties are very beautiful.
We have before us a large series from Dresser’s collection, obtained from Darasun, in Dauria,
Irkutsk, and Archangel, and a number belonging to our friend M. Jules Verreaux, also collected
in Dauria by Messrs. Dybowski and Parrex—together about fifty specimens, scarcely any two of
which agree in markings. The general type appears to resemble those of the Reed-Bunting ; but
the ground-colour is tinged with greenish, and the washings are not so bold and large; some
varieties are pale greenish grey, slightly clouded with a darker colour, and with only one or two

yee)

Ze

6

indistinct scratches of brown, resembling eggs of the Grey Wagtail; others have the ground-
colour pale greenish, clouded with purplish grey, and scratched all over with the peculiar dark
markings so general among all Buntings’ eggs. In size they measure from 4§ of an inch by 32
to 34 by 2¢.

The title credited to Lepechin by Gmelin, namely that of H. stbirica, was never given to the
species in the volume of the St.-Petersburg Transactions quoted. Only a detailed description
and no title was given; and Lepechin’s name of pinetorum, published in the second volume of
his ‘ Itinera,’ was also never properly recorded. ‘The original descriptions of Emberiza selysii and
E. dolichonica we have been obliged to quote from Degland and Gerbe, not being able to find the
works in which they were first characterized. Dr. Bree quotes as a synonym Emberiza sibirica,
Eversmann (?/ege Erman), a name we cannot find in any of the works we have examined of this
author. Again, Dr. Cabanis gives “‘ E. sibirica, Erman, Reise, Atlas, tab. 6;” but on referring to
this plate the bird seems to be properly designated E. awreola, both in the letterpress and on the
plate.

The descriptions and figures of the adult birds are from birds in our own collection; the
variations in plumage are described from specimens in the fine collection of Messrs. Salvin and
Godman, while the nestling is also in our own cabinet. The winter plumage is described from
Chinese specimens in Canon Tristram’s collection. An excellent series of figures is given by
Radde (Reise, Stid. Ost-Sibir. Taf. iv.), showing the different stages of plumage assumed by
this bird.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.

a. @. Siberia (Dode). 6. 2 gun. Siberia, June 23rd (Dode). c. 2. Lake Baikal, July 7th, 1855 (G. Radde).
d. Pianowa, Irkutsk, June 12th (G. Radde). e. Porog, on the river Onega, July 10th, 1869 (Meves).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a. d. Archangel (Moeschler). 6. 2. Porog, river Onega, July 10th, 1869 (Meves).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, 6. Canton, October 1861 (R. Swinhoe).

E Mus. Lord Litford.
a. Northern Russia (Parzudaki).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. 6. Amoor Land (Frank). 6. 2. Archangel (Moeschler). c. 32. N. Russia (Meves).

ym es,

RUSTIC BUNTING.

EMBERIZA RUSTICA

EMBERIZA RUSTICA.

(RUSTIC BUNTING.)

Emberiza rustica, Pall. Reis. Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 698 (1776).

Le Mitiléne de Provence, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iv. p. 322 (1778).

Emberiza lesbia, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 882 (1788, ex Montb.).

Emberiza borealis, Zetterstedt, Resa Sver. och Norr. Lappm. i. p. 107 (1822).
Spina, Kaup (Emb. lesbia, Gm.), Natiirl. Syst. p. 153 (1829).

Hypocentor rusticus (Pall.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 131, footnote (1850-51).
Cynchramus rusticus (Pall.), Degl. & Gerbe, Orn. Eur. i. p. 329 (1867).

Cynchrame rustique, French ; Zigolo boschereccio, Italian; Wald-Ammer, German ; Videsparf,
Swedish.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 656. fig. 2; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 25; Kjerb. Orn. Dan.
Suppl. taf. 3; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 382. figs. 3, 4; Sundevall, Svensk. Fogl.
pl. 65. figs. 3, 4; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 177; id. B. of G. Brit. iii. pl. 24; Temm. & Schl.
Fauna Japon. pl. 58; Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. pl. 47. fig. 2.

$ ad. capitis lateribus et pileo nigris, strid magna superciliari et plagd nuchali albis: collo imo castaneo cincto :
dorso et tectricibus alarum rufescenti-fuscis nigro notatis, plumis cervino marginatis: uropygio et supra-
caudalibus castaneis: remigibus nigricantibus cervino marginatis: tectricibus alarum majoribus et
medianis albo apicatis fascias duas formantibus: cauda nigro-fusca, rectricibus duabus externis obliqué
albo notatis: corpore subtus, mento et gula albis, hypochondriis castaneo striatis: rostro flavicante,
maxilla fusca: pedibus flavo-carneis: iride fusca.

2 ad. sordidior nec capite nigro sed saturaté fusco cervino notato.

Ad. ptil. hiem. ubique sordidior, plumis in capite et in corpore supra conspicué cervino marginatis: strid super-
ciliari et plagd nuchali cervino-albidis.

Adult Male (Ural, 13th June). Crown and sides of the head black, an indistinct greyish white streak
passing through the centre of the crown, and a broad white stripe over the eye to the nape; a large
white patch on the nape; lower neck encircled by a bright bay collar; back and wing-coverts reddish
brown, marked with black, the feathers broadly edged with warm buff; rump and upper tail-coverts
rich bay; quills blackish brown, margined with buff; the larger and middle wing-coverts tipped with
white, forming two distinct bars across the wing; tail blackish brown, the outermost feathers on each
side having a large oblique white patch, and the next a similar but smaller one; underparts, except
the band across the breast, white, the flanks broadly streaked with deep bay; bill greyish yellow,
the upper mandible browner; legs yellowish flesh; iris deep brown. ‘Total length about 5:5 inches,
culmen 0°45, wing 31, tail 2-4, tarsus 0°8.

Adult Female (Archangel, Junc). Differs from the male in being duller in coloration, in having the head, —

P

2

instead of black, dark brown, marked with buff, and the stripe over the eye and the patch on the nape
smaller, the bay collar being narrower.

Adult Male in winter (Yedo, Japan). Feathers on the upper parts broadly margined with buff, so as to hide
the rich nuptial tint, the black on the head being nearly hidden; the streak on the eye and the nuchal
patch buffy white; the bay band across the breast and the streaks on the flanks obscured by buff.

Young Female (Turkey, October). Resembles the young Reed-Bunting, but is readily distinguishable by
the more rufous tone of plumage, by the bay on the breast, flanks, and rump being just visible; the
superciliary stripe and nuchal patch are visible, but are deep buff in colour ; and there is also a dark buff
stripe through the centre of the crown.

Nestling (Ural, 13th June). Upper parts as in the young bird above described, but rather more clearly
marked with blackish brown, the rump deeper bay ; the mner secondaries broadly margined with warm
rufous buff; underparts white, delicately marked with elongated black spots, the band across the breast
rufous buff. This bird has the tail quite short, and was probably taken out of the nest.

NORTH-EASTERN Europe and Northern Asia is the home of the present species; and it is only asa
rare straggler that it visits any other part of Europe. It has, however, on one occasion been met
with as far west as Great Britain, and is therefore included in our British list. ‘The specimen in
question was, as recorded by Mr. Gould (Ibis, 1869, p. 128), caught near Brighton on the 25rd
October, 1867, and was shown alive to Mr. G. Dawson Rowley, and is now in the collection of
Mr. Monk, of Lewes.

On the continent of Europe it has been met with here and there, but only as a straggler.
Mr. Collett informs me that there is no authentic instance of its occurrence in Norway; and
though Schrader stated that it had been seen on the Varanger fjord, yet, like many of this
gentleman’s statements, it has not been confirmed by any subsequent observer, and there is every
reason to treat it with doubt. It has been recorded from Sweden, and occurs now regularly in
Finland, and would thus appear, like several other Asiatic species, to be gradually extending its
range westward. According to Professor Sundevall a pair were shot by Mr. B. Fries on the 20th
of May, 1821, in the yard of the post-station at Haparanda; a young bird was shot by Mr. J.
Wahlberg on the 6th September, 1835, at Langsjon, about three or four Swedish miles from the
town of Lulea; and Nilsson says that Dr. Sahlberg obtained it previous to 1835. Von Wright
says (Fin. Fog]. i. p. 208) that his brother Julius shot one at Haminanlaks on the 10th September,
1848, and that Mr. Arthur Nordmann obtained an old male in East Finland in 1856. In a letter
received from Professor Malmgren, of Helsingfors, in 1872, this gentleman writes to me as
follows:—‘ This Bunting is now thoroughly naturalized near Kuopio and Kajana, in lat.
63°-64 N., and of late years has been met with there annually during the breeding-season.
This year (1872) nests and eggs were sent to the University Museum at Helsingfors from
Sotkamo, near Kajana (64° N. lat.), by Mr. A. G. Holmerus.” In the north of Russia it is by
no means uncommon; and I have from time to time received many specimens from near Arch-
angel, where it is reported to breed regularly; but I never received its eggs until this season.
Mr. Piottuch, who has for several seasons collected for me at Archangel, to whom I wrote for
information respecting this bird, answered last season as follows:—“I do not know very much

3

about this bird, and could much more easily provide you with notes on some of our game-birds,
if you want any. This Bunting arrives here (near Archangel) about the 20th of April (O.S.) in
small flocks of about twenty individuals. It is usually met with in the thick bushy portions of
our woods, especially in spots which are clear of snow; and when on the ground its colour assimi-
lates so closely with that of the soil that it is not easily observed. It is very local, being found
in numbers in some places, and wanting altogether in others. Being exceedingly shy and
wary, and frequenting the wet and densely bush-covered portions of the forest, it is most difficult
to procure, especially as it is restless and active in its movements, and is continually flitting from
tree to tree or hiding in the dense underbrush. So cautious is it that I have been about in the
woods for days without getting within range of one, and the last one I shot and sent to you I shot
at long range off the top of a high birch tree. So far as I can ascertain, it does not remain very
long with us, but leaves early.” Messrs. Alston and Harvie-Brown observed it near Archangel ;
and Mr. Meves met with it in July near Selo, on the Onega river, his attention being attracted
by its sharp call-note, which he compares to that of the Redwing. In some localities he found
it, he adds, by no means rare.

Mr. Sabanaeff informs me that in the Ural it is rare on the eastern slope in the Ekaterin-
burg district, but to the northward, and to some extent on the western slope, it is common.
Teplouhoff says that it nests on the banks of the Obva river, in the Perm Government. Bogdanoff
states that it is found in the Kazan Government; but Sabandeff did not meet with it in the
Jaroslaf Government. Dr. Severtzoff informs me that he had a specimen, which was sent to
Professor Rouiller, of Moscow, in May 1853, from the Kaluga Government, south-west of
Moscow, where it was shot on a meadow skirting the Oka river, and was either on passage or
possibly breeding. It is not recorded by Dr. Taczanowski from Poland; and it is of very rare
occurrence in Germany. Mr. E. F. von Homeyer states (J. f. O. 1872, p. 309) that there is a
specimen in the Berlin Museum from Voigtland; but Borggreve cites no instance of its occur-
rence in North Germany. It has, however, on several occasions, been obtained by Mr. Gatke
on Heligoland.

It is stated by the French authors to occur in small numbers, at irregular intervals, in the
south of France, especially in Provence, always in the autumn; and Baron J. W. von Miiller

states that immature specimens visit Provence almost regularly about the end of October. I may.

also add that M. Adrien Lacroix says that he received a specimen on the 21st March 1869 from
near Rivesaltes, in the Pyrénées orientales. In Italy, as in France, it is only known as a rare
autumn visitant; and Count Salvadori remarks that he does not know of its occurrence beyond
the northern provinces and Liguria, where several specimens have been obtained from time to
time. It is stated to have occurred in Austria; and the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen informs
me that there is a specimen in the Vienna Museum which is said to have been obtained in
Austria. I find no record of its occurrence in Turkey, though Temminck states that it has been
met with in the Crimea; but I possess a young female obtained by Mr. Robson at Buyukdere
in October, and sent to me by him as an immature Reed-Bunting.

In Asia it has been met with as far east as Japan, whence I have received several specimens.
Dr. Severtzoff does not include it in his work on the fauna of Turkestan; but he writes to me
that it is found there, though rarely, in winter, a few being seen every season in the gardens

P2

21

4

around Chimkent and Tashkend; and he adds that he shot specimens on the Ural river (where it
occurs regularly on passage) in September 1860. It does not occur in Persia or India; but in
Siberia it is not uncommon, though none of the travellers in that country have found its nest.
Von Middendorff says that he believes he saw one at Starzowo, seventeen versts from Jeneseisk,
in January, and expresses his surprise that it should winter so far north. In the Stanowoi
Mountains he first observed it on the 26th of April (O.8.); on the 3rd of May they were paired,
and on the 12th they appeared to be nesting. ‘The male bird was seen on pines and larches, and
was easily recognizable from other Buntings by its rich, melodious song. Pallas observed it in
the Transbaikal region in March, and in Kamtschatka in May; and Von Schrenck first met with it
in the spring of 1855, on the 23rd of April (5th of May, N.S.), in flocks, in the open conifer-woods,
near the Nikolaieffsk Post, on the Amoor. In the previous autumn he saw the first flocks on the
28th September, and observed one bird as late as the 12th (24th) October, when snow had already
fallen. Dr. G. Radde gives some interesting details respecting this Bunting, which I translate
as follows :—“ Of all the Buntings E. rustica arrives the earliest in East Siberia; but I have never
found it wintering. ‘The first stragglers arrived on the Tarei-nor on 26th March. They fre-
quented vegetable-gardens and places sheltered from the wind. Up to the 12th April but few
were observed. In spite of the continuous north storm which raged on the 11th and 12th, and
the low temperature (on the 12th, at 6 a.m., 225° R.), the fatigued birds continued their journey,
but arrived so tired out that we could catch them or knock them down with stones. On exami-
nation, the stomachs of these fresh-arriving travellers were chiefly empty and loose, and I only
found in them a lot of small quartz stones—which is seldom observable in songsters during
migration; on the other hand, they are found to such a degree in those of the Grallatores and
Natatores that the stomach appears quite full of them. Westward of these Mongolian much-
frequented migration-paths over the Dalai and Tarei-nor, E. rustica appears later, viz. in the first
weeks of April. When, on the 13th April 1859, I went on the post-road over the Baikal
Mountains to the middle of the Irkut, I found L. rustica and E. pithyornis in large flocks (forty
to fifty) on this road, even where it passed through the wildest forests. However, E. rustica
occurs here only on passage, and I never observed it on the Lake Baikal in summer. In the
Selenga valley I saw many large flocks on 5th April 1857 as I travelled from Selenginsk to
Kjachta. Here some of the males sang already. In the Bureja Mountains it does not breed.
During the autumn migration EL. rustica, and chiefly young birds, visit the central Onon valley
from the beginning to the 24th September. After the severe snow-storm on the 24th September,
E. rustica had gone away entirely. In the Bureja Mountains this Bunting was observed on
27th September 1858, and lived in company with the Bullfinches, which were then migrating
past there.” According to Dr. Dybowski, it is quite common in Dauria on the spring passage,
appearing about the middle of April and remaining until early in May. In the autumn it arrives
again in September and remains until about the 23rd of October.

Pére David says that it is abundant in Mongolia on passage; but Colonel Prjevalsky does
not appear to have met with it in the localities visited by him. It occurs in Japan; and
Temminck and Schlegel, who give an excellent figure of it in the ‘ Fauna Japonica,’ say that the
Dutch collectors brought back a good series from there. Captain Blakiston (Ibis, 1862, p. 328)

5)
procured a male at Hakodadi in October; and in a collection made for me by Mr. Colin M‘Vean
at Yedo, there are several fine specimens.

Beyond the few details given above, I find no record of the habits of the present species ;
and but little is known respecting its nidification. I am, however, fortunate in possessing its
nest and eggs, of which, so far as I can ascertain, no reliable description has hitherto been
published. Piottuch was unable to find its nest, though he observed the birds during the whole
of the breeding-season ; so Mr. F. C. Craemers got a peasant collector, who is an excellent bird-
nester, to hunt after the nest of this and other rare species which breed near Archangel. Last
season he succeeded in finding the nest of Lowia bifasciata, but was altogether unsuccessful in
his search after the eggs of this species; but a couple of months ago I received notice that he
had found the nest, which he had taken, securing the parent bird for identification; and a week
ago I received a box in which I found, besides many other specimens, a nest, five eggs, and a
specimen of the Rustic Bunting. Unfortunately the eggs were sent unblown; but as they were
fresh when taken, I have succeeded in blowing two, and have made tolerably good museum
specimens of the other three. The nest is constructed entirely of fine wiry yellow grass-bents.
and is tolerably though not very carefully built; and the eggs are quite distinct from those of
any other species of European Bunting. In general character, and especially in markings, they
have great affinity with those of the Reed-Bunting; but the ground-colour is quite different,
being white with a warm, almost reddish tinge, as if placed in a reddish light, whereas the
ground-colour of the eggs of the Reed-Bunting is greenish grey. The markings are similar in
character to those of the Reed-Bunting, but are more red in tinge of colour, being deep red; and
they are, as a rule, bolder, and are collected chiefly round the larger end, forming a wreath.
The underlying shell-markings are light purplish, or violet-purplish, and are tolerably large. In
size the five eggs I have before me do not vary much, and are about as large as those of the
Reed-Bunting.

The specimens figured are an adult male, from the Ural, in full breeding-dress, and a young
female from Turkey, both of which specimens are in my own collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 9 jun. Cholmogory, N. Russia, August 6th, 1869 (W. Meves). 6, juv. Jurus, Archangel, September 15th,
1873 (Piottuch). c,3,d,Q. Archangel, June 1875 (F. C. Craemers). e. Archangel, June 1877, sent
with nest and five eggs (Craemers). f,d ad. Ural, June 13th, 1872 (L. Sabandeff’). g, h (nestlings).
Ekatermburg, Ural, June 15th, 1872 (Sadbandeff). i, 9 juv. Buyukdere, Turkey, October 24th, 1871
(T. Robson). k, 2 juv. Amoor, September 22nd, 1856 (G. Radde). Jl, jun. Amoor, April 11th, 1858
(Radde). m,3,n,92 ad. Lake Baikal, March 26th, 1869 (Dr. Dybowski). 0, 3. Lake Baikal, April 21st
(Dr. Dybowski). p,d. Lake Baikal, April 24th (Dr. Dybowski). g,d3,7, 2. Yedo, Japan (C. M‘Vean).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, 3 juv. Dvina, August 9th (Meves). 6,3, c,?. Lake Baikal, April 19th, 1869 (Dr. Dybowski).

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LITTLE BUNTING.
EMBERIZA PUSILLA.

EMBERIZA PUSILLA.

(LITTLE BUNTING.)

Emberiza pusilla, Pall. Reis. Russ. Reichs, ii. p. 697 (1776).

Emberiza schoeniclus, var. minor, Nilss. Orn. Svec. i. p. 170 (1817).
Emberiza durazzi, Bp. Icon. Faun. Ital. Ucc. pl. 36. fig. 1 (1832-41).
Buscarla pusilla (Pall.), Bp. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. ix. p. 163 (1857).
Cynchramus pusillus (Pall.), Degl. et Gerbe, Orn. Eur. i. p. 327 (1867).

Cynchrame nain, French ; Zigolo minore, Italian; Zwerg-Ammer,German ; Dwerggors, Dutch ;
Dvergsparf, Swedish.

Figure notabiles.

Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 382. figs. 1, 2; Sundevall, Svensk. Fog]. pl. 65. fig. 5; Gould,
B. of G. Brit. iii. pl. 25; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 157; Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. pl. 47.
fig. 1; Bp. lc.

g ad. pileo nigro, tenia longitudinali ferrugineé a fronte ad nucham ducta: capitis lateribus ferrugineis fascia
circa aures nigra: jugulo albo fascia alba versus nucham ducti: supra nigro-fuscus, plumis rufescenti
et fulvido marginatis: remigibus nigro-fuscis, extus pallidé fusco marginatis: tectricibus alarum
majoribus et medianis fusco-cervino terminatis: caudd nigro-fuscé, rectricibus duabus externis obliqué
albo terminatis: gula rufescenti-albé: corpore subtis albo, pectore nigro guttato et hypochondriis
eodem colore striatis: rostro fusco-corneo, mandibula pallidiore: iride fusc4: pedibus brunneis.

@ ad. mari similis, sed sordidior.

Juv. femine similis, sed pileo et capitis lateribus ferrugineo-fuscis irregulariter nigro et cervino-fusco notatis :
dorsi plumis magis, et remigibus secundariis intimis conspicué ferrugineo marginatis: mento, gula et
pectore cervino-albis, héc profusé nigro guttato; hypochondriis nigro-striatis et cervino lavatis: corpore
reliquo subtus albo.

Adult Male (Onega, N. Russia, 14th July). Crown and sides of the head chestnut-red; a broad black
streak covering each side of the crown passes from the base of the bill over the eye to the nape, where
it broadens somewhat; upper parts generally blackish brown, the feathers broadly bordered with light
brown and dull chestnut; quills blackish brown, externally margined with light brown; wing-coverts
blackish brown, the lesser ones margined like the back, the larger and median coverts tipped with hght
buffy brown, forming two alar bars; tail blackish brown, the two outer feathers with an elongated
white patch on the inner web; chin chestnut-buff, becoming white on the throat; sides of the head
behind the ear-coverts marked with a black streak, below which they are dull white, almost forming a
collar; underparts white; the breast thickly spotted with black, and the flanks streaked with the same
colour; bill dark horn-brown, lighter on the lower mandible; iris dark brown; legs brown. Total
length about 5 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 2'8, tail 2°35, tarsus 0°75.

Adult Female (Ijma, Archangel, 4th July). Resembles the male, but is everywhere duller in colour.

On

2

Young (Waldooshki, 15th July). Crown and sides of the head chestnut-brown, irregularly marked with
black and buffy brown; otherwise it resembles the female, but the upper parts are much more broadly
margined with dull foxy rufous, and the inner quills are broadly margined with chestnut-red ; chin,
throat, and chest buffy white, the two latter profusely and closely marked with black; rest of the
underparts white, the flanks streaked with blackish and tinged with buff.

Adult in winter dress (Archangel, 16th August). All the feathers on the upper parts broadly margined with
wood-brown, and on the head with reddish wood-brown, these margins almost hiding the dark streaks
on the head and the dark markings on the upper parts; underparts tinged with warm buff, especially
on the breast and flanks.

Tuis, the smallest of our European Buntings, inhabits North-eastern Europe during the summer
season, ranging eastward across the continent of Asia to Eastern Siberia. In the winter it
migrates southward, and has been met with in Asia Minor and Syria in the Western Pale-
arctic Region, and the Bay of Bengal in India. As a rare straggler it has been observed in
various parts of Europe, and even in great Britain, and occurs nearly every year in Heligoland.
The single specimen which has been obtained in Great Britain was taken in a clap-net near
Brighton on the 2nd November, 1864, and is now in the collection of Mr. Monk. In Scandinavia
this Bunting appears to have been only once noticed in Sweden; and I find no record of its having
been observed in Norway. Professor Nilsson says that in April 1815 a female was shot in a
willow-hedge at Lund in company with Reed-Sparrows. In Finland it does not appear to have
been obtained, though it is so common in many parts of the north of Russia, especially near
Archangel. Meves first observed it near Onega; and I have figured one shot there by him.
Professor Lilljeborg, who met with it on his excursion to the Dvina in 1848, says, “ At Wajmugan
this bird was already not uncommon, but by no means so numerous as it was on the islands of the
Dvina, between Archangel and the mouth of the river. I found a nest containing newly hatched
young on the 28th June in a damp place in a bush surrounded by reeds. It was not on the
ground, but just above it amongst some bent-down reeds. I also met with fledged young near
Archangel on the 8th of July.” Messrs. Alston and Harvie-Brown also speak of it as being very
common on the Lower Dvina, but apparently somewhat locally distributed. The latter gentleman
and Mr. Seebohm observed it on the Petchora, and write (Ibis, 1876, p. 116) as follows:—“ We
obtained the first example of the Little Bunting on the 3lst May; and we found them afterwards
common all the way down the river. They even reach the willow-swamps of the delta around
Alexievka, where, however, they are decidedly rare. We never had any of their eggs brought in
by the Zyriani. ‘The Little Bunting is fond of frequenting the mossy and marshy open hollows
in the forests around Habariki and elsewhere in search of insects in company with Wagtails
(Budytes viridis and Motacilla alba), Temminck’s Stints, Fieldfares, Blue-throated Warblers,
and other species. ‘They paired shortly after arrival, as we found them mated on the 10th
June.” Mr. Sabanaeff does not include this Bunting in his list of the birds found in Central
Russia and the Ural; but I found an immature specimen amongst some skins he sent me
obtained by himself in the Southern Ural. It has not been met with in Poland, and is
a very rare visitant to Germany; but Mr. Gatke obtains one or two examples on Heligoland
almost every season in September or October. It appears to have occurred in Holland more

3

frequently than elsewhere in Western Europe; for, according to Professor Schlegel, a hen was
captured near Leyden on the 18th November, 1842; and Mr. Keulemans, the artist who is
illustrating the present work, informed Professor Newton of three other occurrences in Holland:
—the first, one bought at Rotterdam in September 1862, which, after living about three
months in confinement, died, and is now in the Leyden Museum; the second was caught by
Mr. Keulemans himself in October 1862; and the third was found by him in a cage, but the
owner refused to part with it. The last record of its occurrence there was of one obtained by
Mr. H. M. Labouchere in 1874. This gentleman writes to me as follows:—‘ In the autumn
of 1874 I was fortunate enough to capture a Little Bunting near Haarlem in a net set for
Chaffinches; and not being a collector, I presented it to Heer van Wickevoort Crommelin, of
Haarlem, who told me that it was a young male.” It has not been observed in Belgium or
Northern France, but is stated to occur almost every autumn in Provence and along the Riviera;
and M. Adrien Lacroix says that a specimen in his collection was obtained near Montpellier in
October. From Nice, Northern Italy, and Liguria several specimens are recorded by Salvadori;
and Benoit asserts that it has been obtained in Sicily; but Doderlein has not hitherto succeeded
in finding it there. It has been met with in Austria; for a pair, now in the Vienna Museum,
were captured by Zelebor at Ottakring, near Vienna; and Messrs. Elwes and Buckley state (Ibis,
1870, p. 194) that it is a rare winter visitant to the Bosphorus. It has also been met with in
Asia Minor and Syria; for Dr. Kriiper writes (J. f. O. 1875, p. 270) that Mr. von Gonzenbach
obtained one near Smyrna, and a collector brought one from Beyrout which had been taken near
there by a bird-catcher. Malherbe stated some time ago that it had been met with at Bona, in
Algeria; and this statement 1s confirmed by Loche’s record of one example captured in that
country.

In Asia the Little Bunting is found throughout Siberia. Von Middendorff says that he first
observed it in the Stanowoi Mountains on the 3rd of May, and on the 5th (O. S.) they were
paired. In the following season they were observed on passage at Udskoj-Ostrog on the Ist (13th)
May. In the Taimyr country this species was found nesting on the Boganida, where, however, it
was very rare. Dr. Radde observed the first straggler at the Tarei-nor on the 23rd April, 1856;
but the main body passed on the 3rd May. In the autumn they remained latest of any migrants,
the last being at Kulussutajeffsk on the 13 (25th) September. Von Schrenck found it breeding
on the Lower Amoor, and describes its nest and eggs. Mr. Swinhoe says that it is abundant in
the north of China, spreading southward in winter. Pére David records it as being abundant on
passage in Mongolia; and it is found in India in the winter season, when, Dr. Jerdon states (B.
of India, ii. p. 377), it is found throughout the whole extent of the Himalayas, and probably
occurs also on the plains of Northern India. He procured it at Darjeeling, Hodgson in Nepal,
and Dr. Adams in the North-west Provinces. It has also occurred as far south as Port Blair, in
the Andaman Islands; for Mr. A. O. Hume writes (Stray Feathers, i. p. 497) :—‘‘ Lieutenant
Wardlaw Ramsay shot a female of this species on the 28th March below Mr. De Roepstorft’s
house on Mount Harriet. Davison saw and noted it; but I did not include it in our list, not
being sure that he had correctly identified it.”

In habits the present species has much in common with the Reed-Bunting ; for it appears to
affect damp bush-covered localities, though it is also found in the larch-woods. Pallas says that

2A

4

in Dauria it frequents the mountain-torrents, the more elevated larch-woods, and also the willow-
beds; and Professor Lilljeborg, who observed it near Archangel, says:—“ It is a very lively bird
and not shy; it is always moving about, gliding and creeping amongst the bushes, reeds, and
other growth, where it finds shelter. In some places Veratrum album grew high and dense; and
amongst these and the high Spire@ it found excellent shelter, and, unless one remained quietly
waiting for some time until it came out, it was impossible to catch sight of it there. Its song is
varied and sweet, more so than is the case with most of the Buntings, resembling more that of a
Warbler, being closest to that of the Redbreast. When singing it was usually perched on the top
of a bush, and could then, of course, be easiest seen. When once one heard the clear loud note
of this bird it was easily discoverable. It appeared to feed chiefly on insects; and I discovered
only remains of these in those I examined.” Meves, who met with it near Onega, and on the
islands of the Dvina, near Archangel, and Cholmogory, says that he heard its song frequently,
and that it somewhat resembles that of the Reed-Bunting.

According to Messrs. Alston and Harvie-Brown (J. c.), “it frequents both pine-woods of large
growth and thickets of underwood, but seems to prefer young woods with a mixture of pine, fir,
alder, and birch. These birds were exceedingly tame at all times, but more especially so when
their young were in the vicinity. We often heard their sweet, low song (more resembling the
warbling of some Sylvia than of an Emberiza), which was generally poured forth from the top of
a tree; they had also a low cry of alarm, which may be expressed by the words tick, tick, tick
repeated at intervals of about a second. We did not find any nests, but obtained the young in
several stages.” In India, Dr. Jerdon says (/.¢.), “it frequents bare spots of ground with low
bushes in small flocks. Adams states that it has the habits of a Redpoll. Quite recently I shot
one near Kolassee, in the Purneah district, frequenting grass and bushes near a small river; and
as it is not a bird likely to be remarked, it will probably be found in similar places throughout
the plains in the north of India during the cold weather.” Both Von Middendorff and Dr. von
Schrenck found it breeding in Siberia.

Two nests with eggs were taken by Von Middendorff—the first on the 20th June (O. S.)
containing five eggs, which, he says, were stout in shape, measuring 174 by 14 millims., spotted
with brown, chiefly on the centre of the egg, on a greyish white ground. ‘The second nest, taken
on the 29th June, contained four eggs, which were more elongated in shape, measuring 20 by 14
millims., and were marked (chiefly at the larger end) with violet-brown dots, streaks, and washed-
out spots on a yellowish white ground. Von Schrenck, writing respecting its breeding-habits,
says, “I found a nest of this Bunting on the Lower Amoor in an open place in the fir-woods
between Lake Kidsi and the sea-coast. It was placed on the ground between moss tussocks, and
was unartistically built of grass-straws entwined with the spines of larch and fir. The eggs, five
in number, were in size and form as figured by Middendorff, viz. elongated, 17°5 millims. long,
and 14 millims. broad, marked all over on a dirty white ground with numerous violet-brown
spots and markings. On the 5th (17th) June they were still quite fresh. I may remark that
here and there between the tussocks in the woods remains of snow were still lying.”

There is no doubt that this bird breeds not uncommonly near Archangel; but, in spite of
every endeavour, my collectors have failed to procure me well-authenticated eggs, though I still
hope to receive them from there.

5

Mr. H. Seebohm, who has just arrived from his long journey to Northern Siberia, has,
amongst other rarities, obtained the eggs of this species, and has given me for insertion in the
present article the following notes on its nesting-habits :—

“The arrival of migratory birds in the Arctic regions is dependent to a large extent upon
the arrival of summer, which comes suddenly with the breaking-up of the ice on the rivers and
the general melting of the snow. This year (1877) summer was unusually late in Northern Asia.
On the Arctic circle, in the valley of the Yenesei, the ice on the river began to break up on the
Ist June, and migratory birds arrived in great numbers. On the Ist, 2nd, and 3rd June I added
half a dozen new birds to my list. On the 4th I added a second half dozen, on the 5th a third
half dozen, and on the 6th ten more. On the 7th the Little Bunting arrived, in company with
the Golden Plover and the Pallid Thrush, nearly in the middle of the spring migration. The
next ten days added about three new birds a day to my list, after which I only picked up
stragglers that had escaped my notice before.

‘Before the snow, which was lying upon the ground to the depth of five or six feet up to
the Ist June, had sufficiently melted to make the forests penetrable, the Little Bunting was
extremely abundant, and its unobtrusive song was constantly heard. On the 23rd June I found
the first nest. I was on the south bank of the Kureika, and was scrambling through the forest
down the hill towards my boat, amongst tangled underwood and fallen tree-trunks, rotten and
moss-grown, when a Little Bunting started up out of the grass at my feet. It did not fly away,
but flitted from branch to branch within six feet of me. I knew at once that it must have a
nest; and in a quarter of a minute I found it half hidden in the grass and moss. It contained
five eggs. ‘The bird was still close to me, and I was obliged to leave the nest in order to get far
enough off the bird, so as to avoid blowing it all to pieces. It seemed a shame to shoot the poor
little thing ; but as the five eggs in the nest were the only authentic eggs of this species hitherto
obtained, it was absolutely necessary for their complete identification. ‘The nest was nothing
but a hole made in the dead leaves, moss, and grass, copiously and carefully lined with fine dead
grass. The eggs were very handsome, almost exact miniatures of the eggs of the Corn-Bunting.
The ground-colour is pale grey with bold twisted blotches and irregular round spots of very dark
grey, and equally large underlying shell-markings of paler grey. They measure 35 by 7% of
an inch.

“JT took the second nest in the forest on the opposite bank of the Kureika, on the 29th
June, containing three eggs. These eggs are somewhat less, measuring $5 by 7} of an inch.
The colour is somewhat redder, being brown rather than grey; but the markings are similar.
The nest was in a similar position, and the behaviour of the bird precisely the same.

“The third nest was taken in lat. 67° on the 30th June. The eggs, five in number, were
slightly incubated. The nest was lined with reindeer-hair.

“The fourth nest contained six eggs, and was similar in character to the last, but more
sparingly lined with reindeer-hair. The tameness of the bird was the same in every instance.

‘“«The Little Bunting was common in the forest from the Arctic circle northwards, and after-
wards on the tundra up to lat. 71°; but I did not observe it at Golcheeka, in lat. 713°, nor upon
the Brekhoffsky islands.”

2Aa2

PS)

ND
if

6

The specimens figured are the adult male in full breeding-dress and the young bird above
described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, d ad. Onega, N. Russia, July 14th, 1872 (Meves). 6,3,¢,Q. Ijma, near Archangel, July 4th, 1872
(EZ. R. Alston). d, pull. Archangel, July 1st, 1872 (H.R. A.). e, juv. Waldooshki, Archangel, July
15th, 1872 (J. A. Harvie-Brown). f,35. Seozma, Archangel, August 6th, 1872 (Piottuch). g,3. Habariki,
Petchora, June 4th (Seebohm and H.-Brown). h, juv. Ural (Sabandeff). i,g. Lake Baikal, Siberia
(Dybowski). h,d. Hast Siberia, May 2nd, 1844 (V. Middendorff).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a,6 ad., b,3 juv. Onega, July 14th and 20th. c¢,d,d,2. Archangel district, July (Alston and Harvie- Brown).

Dalal

J.GKeulemans ith Hanhert amp

EMBERIZA SCHENICLUS.

1.6 IN WINTER.
2.ADULT FEMALE

ee

irae

snvans Ben |. REED BUNTING estar ae
ABERIZA SCHCENICLUS
23.LARGE BILLED REED BUNTING

EMBERIZA PYRRHULOIDES

m
=

EMBERIZA SCH@NICLUS.

(REED-BUNTING.)

Emberiza hortulanus arundinaceus, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 274 (1760).
Emberiza scheniclus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 311 (1766).

Emberiza arundinacea, 8S. G. Gmelin, Reise Russl. ii. p. 175 (1774).
Ortolan des roseaux, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iv. p. 315 (1778).
Cynchramus scheniclus (L.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 974.

Emberiza palustris, Savi, Orn. Tose. ii. p. 91 (1829).

Emberiza scheniclus, var., Mich. Isis, 1850, p. 810.

Cynchramus stagnatilis, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 301 (1831).
Cynchramus septentrionalis, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 302 (1831).
Cynchramus pyrrhuloides, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 130 (1850-51, nec Pall.).
Schenicola arundinacea (Gm.), Bp. Rev. Crit. p. 164 (1850).

Emberiza intermedia, Michahelles (ubi?), fide Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 463 (1850).
Schenicola intermedia (Mich.), Bp. ut supra (1850).

Cynchramus palustris (Savi), C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 115 (1855).
Cynchramus canneti, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Cynchramus pseudo-pyrrhuloides, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).
Cynchramus riparius, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855). -

Cynchramus limicola, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 116 (1855).

Cynchramus phragmitis, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Cynchramus lacustris, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (18955).

*<Cynchramus intermedius, Mich.,” Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 668 (1869).
Scheniclus pyrrhulinus, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 333, pl. viii. fig. 2.

Bruant des roseaux, French; Migliarino di palude, Italian; Rohrammer, Rohrsperling,
Rohrspatz, German; Rietgors, Dutch; Rorverling, Rérspurv, Danish ; Sivspurv, Rorspurv,
Norwegian; Sdafsparf, Swedish; uislasirkku, Finnish; Kamichowdia-Owsiannka,
Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 247. fig. 2, 497. fig. 2; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 21; Kjerb.
Orn. Dan. taf. 25, Suppl. taf. 9; Frisch, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 7; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 20.
figs. 2, 5, 12; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 105; Gould, B. of Kur. pl. 183; id. B. of
G. Brit. i. pl. 29; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 158; Roux, Orn. Proy. pls. 113, 114; Bp.
Uce. Ital. pl. 35.

3 ad, ptil. est. capite, gula et collo antico nigris: ab angulo rostri utrinque decurrit fascia alba: collo albo
cincto: dorso et scapule pennis nigris ferrugineo et ochraceo marginatis: uropygio et supracaudalibus
cinereis nigricanti-cinereo notatis: rectricibus nigricantibus, centralibus pallidioribus et ochraceo

3T

241

2

marginatis, duabus extimis dimidio apicali oblique albis: remigibus nigro-fuscis, primaris extus
angusté, secundariis latius ferrugineo marginatis: tectricibus alarum minoribus saturate ferrugineis :
corpore subtts albo, hypochondriis fusco striatis: rostro nigricante: iride fuscé: pedibus fuscis.

2 ad. ptil. est. minor mari valde dissimilis: capite rufescente, fusco-nigro maculato: supra oculos lined
albida: collo antico albido, strié nigro-fuscA utrimque decurrente juxta gulam et jugulum: pectore et
hypochondriis fusco striatis: corpore supra pallidiore.

3 ad. ptil hiem. plumis nigris in capite et collo valde rufescente fusco marginatis, collo postico albo ochraceo
cinereo-lavato, pectore et hypochondriis cervino lavatis, et plumis in corpore supra conspicué griseo-
ochraceo marginatis: rostro saturaté corneo, mandibula flavicante.

Adult Male in summer (Archangel, 19th May). Entire head deep black; a white collar passes round the
hind neck joining the white on the breast; a broad white stripe passes down from the base of the lower
mandible enclosing the black throat; hind neck below the collar deep grey, marked with blackish ;
back blackish, the feathers bordered with ochreous and bay; rump and upper tail-coverts iron-grey,
marked with blackish grey; quills blackish; externally margined with ochreous bay, the wing-coverts
more broadly margined with richer grey, the lesser wing-coverts almost entirely rich deep bay ; under-
parts white, the flanks striped with dark grey, the black on the throat descending low, and forming
a pointed gorget on the breast; tail blackish, the central rectrices lighter and bordered with dull
ochreous, the two outer feathers on each side obliquely marked with white on the terminal half; bill
blackish brown; iris brown ; legs dull brown. ‘Total length about 6 inches, culmen 0:4, height of bill
at base 0°2, wing’ 3°3, tail 2°9, tarsus 0°8.

Adult Female in summer (Smyrna, 27th March). Rather smaller than the male; crown and ear-coverts
reddish brown, varied with dark brown; a white patch below the ear-coverts and a dull white line
over the eye; throat dull white, the lower throat and upper breast striped with reddish brown and
blackish ; a broad black line passes from the base of the bill down each side of the throat; flanks
striped with reddish brown ; upper parts paler than in the male.

Adult Male in winter (Ismid, November). The black on the head is almost entirely obscured by broad
reddish brown margins to the feathers, and those on the throat by dull white; the white collar is
obscured by ochreous grey ; the breast and flanks are washed with creamy grey ; and the feathers on the
upper parts of the body have broad greyish ochreous margins, giving it a very pale appearance; bill
dull horn, the lower mandible yellowish.

Young in first autumn. Resemble the female, but are paler and duller in colour, and have the throat and
breast marked with dark stripes, the line over the eye is yellowish, and the sides of the neck are dull
ochreous, marked with brown.

TxroucHout Europe generally the present species is widely distributed, breeding very far north ;
and in most parts of Europe, except in the central and southern districts, it migrates southward
at the approach of winter. At this season it visits North Africa, but does not range far into
that continent; and in Asia it is met with as far east as Japan, and as far south as India. In
Great Britain it is very generally distributed and resident, and is found in every county where
there are suitable localities throughout England, Wales, and Scotland, being rather more
numerous in the last-named country in winter, its numbers being increased by arrivals, probably

3

from Scandinavia. Mr. Robert Gray writes (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 129) that it is “ widely distri-
buted over Scotland. It is found in Shetland occasionally, and is known to have bred in
Orkney ; it likewise extends to the Outer Hebrides, where a few pairs breed every year. The
nest has been taken in North Uist and Harris; and on some of the inner islands it is resident
all the year. On the mainland of Western Scotland it is also a permanent resident in many
localities, although of restless habits, during the winter season leaving its sedgy haunts for the
more substantial attractions of the farm-yard.” He further says, speaking of its numbers in
winter (p. 130), that “there appears to be a large accession in winter to the numbers of this
Bunting in the north of Scotland, probably the migratory flocks retiring from Norway and
Sweden. These flocks mix with those of the common Bunting, and are commonly met with in
the north of Aberdeenshire. From that county my friend Mr. Thomas Ferguson has obtained
numbers of specimens (several of which are now before me) that were shot on the Kinmundy
estate, near Peterhead, out of flights which could scarcely have been composed of native birds.”
It is said to be not uncommon in Orkney, and has bred there; but it is very rare in Shetland.
Dr. Saxby writes (B. of Shetland, p. 96) that ‘it doubtless occurs in various parts of Shetland ;
but hitherto no instances have been recorded, except three by myself, and all of them at
Halligarth. First, a female was observed on the 12th February 1863, feeding in a ditch with
some common Buntings, and afterwards on the 12th April a male, also in company with
Buntings. These two remained for a short time; but the third, a female, took up its abode
among some little willows on the 15th of May 1866, and seemed inclined to remain. It was
killed by a Halligarth cat as soon as it became a little familiar.”

It is common and resident throughout Ireland, being probably more numerous there than
in other parts of the United Kingdom. In Scandinavia it is also common. In Norway,
Mr. Collett informs me, it breeds commonly in the willow region on the fells, but is seldom
seen in summer below the subalpine region. It is found nesting up to the Russian frontier,
and in some parts of the coast, as for instance, on the Hvaloer. It is only met with near
Christiania in the spring and autumn. Throughout Sweden it is widely distributed from the
extreme south far up into Lapland, breeding in suitable localities throughout the country. In
the winter it moves further south. It Finland it is also very generally distributed, breeding
commonly in the north, but, according to Von Wright, not in the southern districts. I found
it breeding near Uleaborg, in North Finland. It is found numerously in the north of Russia. I
have received many specimens from the Archangel Government; and Messrs. Seebohm and
Harvie-Brown, who met with it on the Petchora, write (Ibis, 1876, p. 117) as follows:—“ On
the 15th May we got the first Reed-Buntings; and on the 19th we found them abundant,
frequenting the low alder- and birch-forests on the banks of the river opposite Ust Zylma. At
Habariki they are less abundant, haunting the skirts of the pine-woods and edges of the marshy
lakes and overflows from the river. Eggs were procured in the beginning of June at the latter
locality; and we afterwards found them common down the river, beyond the Arctic circle ;
beyond this, however, they became scarce. We traced them as far north as Alexievka, where
the Zyriani got eggs for us. Seebohm found a nest of this bird built inside an old Fieldfare’s
nest, in an alder-swamp, nine feet from the surface of the water. ‘The bright clean plumage of

these birds is worthy of passing notice. They are much mealier than those found further west.”
3T2

24:

4

According to Sabandeff it is found throughout Central Russia, but becomes rare towards the
south, being only an occasional visitant to the Charkoff Government, and occurring in the Orloff
Government only on passage. In the Ural he met with it everywhere, especially on the lakes and
rivers of the eastern slope. Mr. Taczanowski states that in summer it is common in all suitable
localities in Poland, arriving early in March and leaving about the end of October, a few being
occasionally met. with in winter. Borggreve says that it is found in summer throughout North
Germany in suitable localities, and it has been known to winter there; and, according to
Naumann, it is both a migrant and a wanderer, in the latter case not a true migrant, but
merely changes its habitat at various seasons, and does not leave the country. Sometimes a few
small flocks remain over the winter, these being probably individuals which have passed the
summer in the high north. They migrate in September and October, and in March, generally
travelling in the night time or early in the morning and late in the evening, in flocks in the
autumn, but singly in the spring. According to Collin it is common throughout Denmark, and
it is also common in the countries bordering the German Ocean. Schlegel says that in Holland
it is one of the commonest of the summer residents, arriving in March and April, and leaving
again in the autumn. In Belgium and the north of France, as in Holland, it is common in the
summer, moving southward in the winter; but it is said to be rare in Portugal. In Spain,
however, it is common, and resident in suitable localities. Colonel Irby says (Orn. Str. Gibr.
p. 117), “‘ these birds are most abundant near Gibraltar from December to February; and I
have seen them on passage as late as the 7th of April. They do not remain to nest in the sotos
at Casa Vieja; but near Seville, where they are often sold in cages under the name of Hortolano,
have seen them in May, and have no doubt that they there remain during the breeding-season.”

In Italy the present species is found both in the summer season and the winter, and breeds
in suitable localities; but in Sardinia it is said to be a winter visitant; and Mr. A. B. Brooke
states (Ibis, 1873, p. 246) that at that season it is “‘not uncommon along the banks of the
‘stagnos’ at Cagliari and Oristano.” In Corsica it would appear to be rare, as Mr. C. Bygrave
Wharton says (Ibis, 1876, p. 25) that he only saw one (which he shot), on the 17th March, at
Biguglia; and Mr. C. A. Wright states (Ibis, 1864, p. 55) that it only visits Malta at long and
irregular intervals. Lord Lilford met with it in the Ionian Islands in winter; and Dr. Kriiper
writes that it is only seen in Greece at that season of the year, leaving for the north as soon as
the warm spring weather sets in. In Southern Germany it is common in most districts where
suitable localities are found; and Dr. Fritsch speaks of it as being numerous in Bohemia,
arriving early in April and not leaving before December, and sometimes remaining over winter.
In Transylvania and most parts of Austria, as well as in the other countries bordering the
Danube, it is common; and Messrs. Elwes and Buckley say the same respecting its occurrence
in Turkey. Von Nordmann found it very common in all the marshy places covered with tall
aquatic plants, throughout Bessarabia and New Russia. In spring and autumn small flocks of
these birds frequent the large gardens near Odessa; and large numbers appear to remain over
the winter in the above-named countries.

It is a winter visitant to Asia Minor; Dr. Kriiper obtained several near Smyrna; and

Mr. Danford also met with it when collecting in Asia Minor; but Canon Tristram does not
record it from Palestine.

5

It is a very rare straggler to North-east Africa. Baron de Selys Longchamps records it as
occurring in Egypt ; and Captain Shelley shot one near Damietta, on the 22nd March; but Von
Heuglin never met with it there. In North-west Africa it is commoner, and Loche states that
it inhabits all three provinces of Algeria, but it does not appear to be numerous anywhere.
According to Favier it is rare near Tangier, where he met with it in December.

In Asia it is found as far east as Japan. I have received examples from Turkestan, collected
by Dr. Severtzoff; and Mr. Scully writes (Stray Feathers, iv. p. 166), “this species was common
near Yarkand in winter; and four specimens were preserved in January and February. It fre-
quented hedges and small trees, and was said by the Yarkandis to be a permanent resident; but
I never observed it in summer. The Turki name for this bird is Cha kuchkach.” My. Blanford
obtained it near Tehran; and Mr. A. O. Hume states (Ibis, 1869, p. 355) that he received it
from near Badlee, thirty miles south of Delhi. In Siberia the present species was met with by
Mr. Seebohm on the Yennesei river, where, he says, it arrived on the Arctic circle on the 13th
of June, and soon became common; but he lost sight of it before he quite reached the limit of
forest-growth. He took a sitting of eggs in 702° N. lat.

In the Amoor country it appears to be replaced by an allied but specifically distinct form,
Emberiza passerina, Pall., which also is found in China; but I possess an example of the present
species, received from the late M. J. Verreaux, and said to have come from Lake Baikal; it is
also found in Japan, and, Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer say, is “very common in the Yokohama
game-market, brought from Koshin in winter.”

The Reed-Bunting is a lively, active bird, companionable; and generally several are found
together. During the breeding-season, however, the male is jealous and irritable, and often
attacks others of its own species as well as other small birds which may be passing near its nest.
It is generally bold, and keeps itself by no means concealed, but sits free on the top of some
high reed or bush near where its mate is occupied with the cares of incubation, uttering its
loud, clear call-note. The female, on the other hand, is shy, and during the breeding-season is
comparatively rarely seen. ‘This species generally, if not always, frequents, during the breeding-
season, river-sides where the reed-beds are dense and the reeds high, or damp marshy places
overgrown with water-plants and rushes. During the autumn, however, they leave these loca-
lities and are often seen in the fields, at some distance from any water, or amongst the bushes in
low woods; for they seldom or never appear to frequent localities covered with high trees.

Its flight is quick and light, but rather jerky; when settling down on a bush or reed it
spreads its tail, moves its wings, and erects the feathers on its crown. Its call-note is clear and
loud, and may be reproduced by the word fscheeh. ‘The male has a loud but peculiar and
stammering song, which Naumann very well describes by the syllables zja til tai zississ, tai
zier zississ, and which appears to be uttered almost with difficulty. It sings continually, and
may be heard from early in April until late in the summer, at all hours of the day, and often
during the night also.

The food of this species consists in the summer season of insects, which it seeks amongst the
reeds; and during the autumn and winter season only does it appear to subsist chiefly on seeds,
chiefly of rushes and various wild plants and weeds. It is said to be very fond of millet, and is
often to be found where that plant is growing. During hard weather it is not unfrequently

24:

ind

aS

Os

6

found far distant from water, in stack-yards, and near barns, in company with Finches and other
Buntings.

The nest of the Reed-Bunting is usually placed on the ground, amongst willows or osiers,
or in long grass or aquatic herbage, almost always in a damp locality, but seldom in a low bush
near the ground. Jardine says that he has frequently found it in a young spruce-fir, from one
to three yards above the ground; and Mr. Collett informs me that he took a nest in Tromso in
a perfectly dry place, at the root of a tree in a group of tall birches. The nest is constructed of
grass and moss lined with finer grasses and a few hairs, or not unfrequently with the feathery
tops of reeds. The eggs are deposited from March to June or July; and two, or perhaps three,
broods are reared in one season. ‘The eggs, from four to five (occasionally even as many as
seven) in number, are purplish clay-coloured, marked with spots and streaks of a dark purplish
brown or black colour; and those in my collection vary in size from 43 by 33 to #2 by 3@ inch.
Dr. E. Rey informs me that thirty-seven eggs in his collection average 19°3 by 14:3 millims., the
two largest measuring 22 by 15 and 19-5 by 15°5, and the two smallest 17-75 by 15-75 and 18-0
by 15-5 millimetres.

Amongst peculiar varieties of the eggs of this species I may name one sent to me for
inspection by Mr. Cecil Smith, of Taunton, who informs me that all the eggs in the same nest
were similar, but that he only took this one and left the rest, which the old bird hatched out.
The egg in question is dull bluish white with very minute brownish markings, and one or two
irregular brown scratches at the larger end.

The young birds are fed almost solely on insects of various kinds. Mr. Collett, who dis-
sected several obtained in Tromsé, Norway, writes to me that “‘ insects were chiefly found in the
stomachs and gullets of the nestlings, which was also the case with an old female, killed on that
island; the brownish eggs (% millim. in length) of a parasitic insect, seemingly difficult of
digestion, were found in large numbers in the stomach of this individual. These eggs are
found likewise in the stomachs of other species that devour the larve of insects infesting birch-
woods.”

The variation in size, and especially in the form and size of the bill, in this species is
extremely perplexing; and it is with no little hesitation that I have at last decided to unite
all under the name of Emberiza scheniclus; but as the gradations between the large and
small specimens are so gradual and regular, I cannot do otherwise, especially as there is no
difference whatever in coloration and markings. My friend Mr. Seebohm, to whom I am
indebted for great assistance in writing the present article, agrees with me in giving specific
rank to Emberiza pyrrhuloides; but in the present species he evades the difficulty by making the
large-billed form a subspecies, or, in other words, a species still under the process of differen-
tiation; but having hitherto refused to follow this plan, I cannot now do so. ‘This large-billed
form is found in Southern Europe from Spain to the far east of Europe, in Asia Minor, and in
Asia as far east as Japan, and is the Emberiza palustris of Savi and Emberiza intermedia of
Bonaparte, who states that this name was given by Michahelles; but where this latter author
published it (if he ever did so) I have been quite unable to ascertain, It is somewhat remarkable
that, so far as we have been able to ascertain, the large-billed form alone, and not the small-
billed form, is found in Japan, where, likewise, a perfectly distinct species, Hmberiza passerina,

if
Pall. (Zoogr. Ross.-As. ii. p. 49, 1811), also occurs. Elsewhere the large-billed and small-billed
birds are found together. However, the following list of measurements of specimens from
various localities will best show the variations to which this species is subject :—

Great Britain: wing 2°9 to 3:15, tail 2°6 to 2°8, height of bill at base 0:2 to 0:22.
Sweden and Norway: wing 3:0 to 3°4, tail 2:62 to 2°9, height of bill at base 0:2 to 0°21.
Central Europe: wing 3:0 to 3:1, tail 2:6 to 2°75, height of bill at base 0:2 to 0:22.
Spain: wing 3:0 to 3:25, tail 2°6 to 2:75, height of bill at base 0:2 to 0:28.

Italy: wing 3:1 to 3:5, tail 2:9 to 3:2, height of bill at base 0°28 to 0:3.

Russia: wing 3:1 to 3°25, tail 2°65 to 2°9, height of bill at base 0:2 to 0:21.

Asia Minor: wing 3:0 to 3°31, tail 2°65 to 3:1, height of bill at base 0:2 to 0°25.
Turkestan: wing 3:1 to 3°45, tail 2°85 to 3:1, height of bill at base 0:2 to 0:25.

Siberia (Yennesei) : wing 3°18 to 3°22, tail 2°55 to 3:0, height of bill at base 0:2 to 0°25.
Japan: wing 3:0 to 3:1, tail 2°6, height of bill at base 0:23 to 0°24.

From the above it will be seen that the largest-billed specimens are those from Italy ; and,
in fact, they almost equal examples of Emberiza pyrrhuloides in measurements, though they
differ from those in being dark-coloured. Hmberiza passerina differs from the present species in
being considerably smaller, and the feathers on the upper parts are margined with blue-grey
and white, these margins being especially noticeable on the lesser wing-coverts.

In the form of the bill the small-billed form of the present species varies greatly; and I
possess several the bill of which, though small, measuring only 0:2 in height at the base, yet is
shaped almost as in Emberiza pyrrhuloides.

The specimens figured are, on the same Plate with Emberiza pyrrhuloides, an adult male in
full breeding-dress, of the small-billed form, from North Russia, and, on the second Plate, an
adult female in summer and an old male in winter dress, from Asia Minor, of the large-billed
form.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. EL. Dresser.

a,b,c, 6, d,%. Pagham, May, June, July 1870-1872 (R. B. Sharpe). e, §. Hampstead, April. /. Hamp-
stead, June 1870 (Sharpe). g, ¢. Highgate, November 1869 (Sharpe). h, 6. London, June 1870
(Davy). i,k. Cookham, June 18th, 1867 (W. Briggs). 1, $. Stockholm, October 4th, 1860 (Meves).
m, 6 ad. Jemtland, May 17th, 1857. n, 9 juv. Jemtland, August 5th, 1859 (Meves). o, 5. Archangel,
May 17th, 1876. p,¢. Ural, April 1869. g, 2. Ural, May 1872 (Sabandeff’). 7, 3. Lake Baikal,
April 22nd, 1869 (Verreaux). s, 2. Crimea, spring (Schliiter). t, u, ¢. Taschkend, November, December
(Severtzoff). v, w, do. Chimkent, January and November 1866. wz, d. Petchora, 1875 (Seebohm and
Brown). y,z,¢, aa, 2. France (Fairmaire). 6b, 5. Malta, November 1861 (C. A. Wright). ce, c.
Crimea (Schiiiter). dd. Lisistroo, Archangel, May 19th, 1876 (Pzottuch).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, 9. Catala, Valencia, February 7th, 1872 (H. Saunders). 6, 3. Silla, Valencia, February 7th, 1872
(Saunders). c,d. Malaga, January 12th, 1873 (Saunders). d, 2. Malaga, January 16th, 1875
(Saunders). e, 3. Sicily (Doderlein).

247

s) [ 8
8

E Mus, Lugd.
a, 3,6, 9, c¢,juv. Italy.

E Mus. H. Seebohm.

a, 2. Heligoland, October 2nd (H.S.). 6. Valkensvaard, Holland, May 24th (H.S.). c, 9. Malta, October
(C. A. Wright), d,e,3,f, 2. Petchora, May. g,h, 3,2, 9. Petchora, July (H.S.). k,l, m,n, 3,
o,p. @. Yennesei, Siberia, June (H. S.). 7, s, 5, ¢t, u,v, w, 2, y, 2. Asia Minor, November (Danford).
z, aa, bb, cc. Asia Minor, December (Danford). dd, ee, 3, ff, 2. Japan (Blakiston).

EMBERIZA PYRRHULOIDES.

(LARGE-BILLED REED-BUNTING.)

Emberiza pyrrhuloides, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 49 (1811).

Emberiza caspia, Ménétr. Cat. Raisonné, p. 41 (1832).

Schenicola pyrrhuloides (Pall.), Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 463 (1850).
Cynchramus pyrrhuloides (Pall.), C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 115 (1855).
Emberiza aquatica, Savi, fide C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 115 (1855).

Figura nulla.

Ad. Emberize scheniclo similis sed major, rostro conspicué majore et robustiore: coloribus pallidioribus :
dorsi plumis conspicué albido marginatis, uropygio fere alho.

Adult Male (Astrachan). Resembles Emberiza scheniclus, but is much larger, and has a large, stout, Finch-
like bill; upper parts much paler than in Eméeriza scheniclus, the feathers on the back with broad
whitish margins; rump nearly white; quills with nearly white margins; central tail-feathers with
nearly white very broad margins; underparts as in Emberiza scheniclus. Total length about 7 to 7:25
inches, culmen 0:5, height of bill at base 0:32, wing 3°6, tail 3°32, tarsus 0°85.

Adult Female. Resembles the female of Hmberiza scheniclus, but is much larger, has a much stouter bill,
and is paler in coloration.

Adult Male in winter (Astrachan). The black on the head and neck is obscured by creamy ochreous
edgings; the underparts are slightly washed with yellowish; and the feathers on the upper parts are
margined with creamy ochreous, the dark colours being obscured.

Tut Reed-Buntings vary so greatly inter se, that it is, to say the least of it, extremely difficult to
know where to draw the line, and to determine what constitutes a species and what a local form
or race. Any one who has worked hard at ornithology will be well aware that difficulties of
this nature occasionally present themselves; and there are few species that tend to show this
difficulty more than does Emberiza scheniclus. After a careful examination of what material
is at hand, I find that I cannot do otherwise than treat the present species as distinct; for not
only is it clearly distinguishable by its larger size and large, stout bill, but also by its pale
coloration and nearly white rump. At the same time I may add that there is a large and
large-billed form in Italy, but it is smaller than the present species, and is, moreover, dark in
colour like the common Reed-Bunting. I need not enter into” comparison of this form here, as
in the article on Emberiza scheniclus 1 go fully into that matter. So far as I can ascertain, the
range of the present species is very limited, as it appears to be found only in the countries
skirting the Caspian, Lake Aral, the mouths of the Volga and Ural rivers, and eastward to

Yarkand. I have at different times seen a tolerable number of specimens from near Astrachan,
3U

249

2

but only possess two from there. Dr. Eversmann writes (J. f. O. 1853, p. 291) that it “not only
occurs at the mouths of the Ural and Volga, as well as on the shores of the Caspian, in reed-
covered localities, but also on the lakes Aral and Syr Darya.” Dr. Severtzoff records it from
Turkestan, where it is resident, he says, in some localities; but he doubts if it is resident on the
Issik-kul. Mr. J. Scully also, in his article on the avifauna of Eastern Turkestan (Stray Feathers,
iv. p. 166), writes respecting the present species as follows:—“ The first specimen of this species
was shot at Beshkant, in the beginning of February, on waste ground overgrown with small
bushes; three other specimens were obtained near Yarkand in April. This bird frequents the
edges of marshy ground and rice-fields, breeds in Kashgharia, and is probably a permanent
resident. The Turki name for this Bunting is Karabash kuchkach, ‘the black-headed bird.’
The Yarkandi Shikaris say that the nest of this species is always placed in ‘ Vekan, i. e.
reed-beds.

There can be no doubt, judging from the careful measurements given by Mr. Scully, that
the specimens obtained by him were really referable to the present species.

Dr. Otto Finsch also states (Ibis, 1877, p. 53) that he met with the present species along the
Kara or Black Irtisch.

About the habits of this species I find nothing on record; but it affects the same localities,
and probably differs but little, if at all, in habits from the common Reed-Bunting. I have seen
eggs from Astrachan stated to be those of this bird, which were rather larger, but did not other-
wise differ from those of Hmberiza scheniclus.

The specimen figured is one in my own collection from Astrachan.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a,&. Astrachan. 6, 3 winter dress. Astrachan (Méschler).

E Mus. Lugd.

a, 3d. Gourieff, Caspian.

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, 3. Astrachan, June 1872 (Moschler). 6,3. Syr Darya, Turkestan, November 15th, 1866 (Severtzoff’).

Genus PLECTROPHANES.

Emberiza apud Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 308 (1766).

Plectrophanes, Meyer, Taschenb. deutsch. Vogelk. i. p. 187 (1810).
Passer apud Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 18 (1811).

Hortulanus apud Leach, Syst. Cat. M. & B. Brit. Mus. p. 16 (1816).
Passerina apud Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. xxv. p. 8 (1817).
Centhrophanes apud Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 158 (1829).

THE species included in this group, though closely allied to the true Buntings, differ so far in
the form of the wing, in having a nearly straight elongated hind claw, and in their habits, that
they are fully deserving of generic rank. The genus Plectrophanes, which leads off from the
Buntings to the Larks, is represented in the Palearctic and Nearctic Regions, two species
inhabiting the Western Palearctic Region.

In habits they differ from the true Buntings, imasmuch as they perch on trees and bushes
much less frequently than those birds do, but frequent open places, not groves or gardens,
running about like Larks, not hopping like true Buntings. In their flight, also, they resemble
the Larks, and are tolerably good songsters, uttering their song when in the air, hovering on the
wing. ‘They feed on seeds of various kinds, and insects, but chiefly on the former. They build
a somewhat carelessly constructed cup-shaped nest of straws and grass-bents, which they line
with feathers, and sometimes with hair, and deposit either dull white eggs blotched and splashed
with lilac and deep brownish red, or else resembling those of the Meadow-Pipit or Reed-Bunting.

Plectrophanes nivalis, the type of the genus, has the bill short, strong, conical, the upper
mandible narrower than the lower, the gape-line ascending obliquely, then direct; palate
furnished with a small hard knob; nostrils oval, basal, nearly hidden by projecting feathers ;
wings long, pointed, the first quill obsolete, the second longest; tail moderate, slightly forked ;
legs short, the tarsus covered in front with four large and three inferior scutelle; claws long,
slightly arched, laterally grooved, acute, the hind claw longer than the toe; plumage blended.

oe
es

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Lune

v ve

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DB)

a

LAPLAND BUNTING.

PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICA

(Summer Plumag e)

iT)

PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICOUS.

(LAPLAND BUNTING.)

fringilla lapponica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 317. no. 1 (1766).

Fringiila calcarata, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, ii. p. 710. no. 20, pl. E (1773).
Plectrophanes calcaratus (Pall.), Meyer, Taschenb. Deutsch. Vogelk. i. p. 176 (1810).
Hortulanus montanus, Leach, Syst. Cat. p. 16 (1816).

Passerina lapponica (Linn.), Vieillot, N. Dict. xxv. p. 12 (1817).

Emberiza calcarata (Pall.), Temm. Man. d’Orn. i. p. 322 (1820).

Plectrophanes lapponicus (L.), Selby, Trans. Linn. Soc. xv. p. 156 (1827).

Centrophanes lapponicus (Linn.), Kaup, Entw.-Gesch. eur. Thierw. pp. 158, 192 (1829).
Passer calcaratus, Pallas, Zoogr. Ross.-As. ii. p. 18. no. 189, pl. 39 (1831).
Plectrophanes granlandicus, Brehm, V6g. Deutschl. p. 307 (1831).

Narksarmiutak, Greenlandic (Benzon) ; Solskrikia, Icelandic (Benzon); Lapspurv, Norwegian ;
Lappsparfven, Swedish ; Lapinsirkku, Finnish ; Lerchen-Spornammer, German ; de Ljsgors,
Dutch.

Figure notabiles.

Richardson, Faun. Bor. Amer. 48; Audubon, Birds Amer. 365; Naum. Vogel Deutschi. 108 ;
Gould, Birds of Europe, 169; id. Birds of Great Britain, pt. xii.

3 ad. pileo undique nigro, nuche maculis paucis et fascid supraauriculari ab oculo postico ducta ochrascenti-
albis: collo postico leté castaneo: dorso brunneo, plumis medialiter nigris, rufo lavatis et fulvescenti-
brunneo utrinque limbatis, supracaudalibus latitis marginatis: tectricibus alarum minimis cineraceis,
medianis nigricantibus exttus fulvo limbatis, majoribus laté rufo marginatis et albo terminatis: remi-
gibus brunneis, primariis extus fulvescente limbatis, secundariis latius rufescente marginatis et albo
terminatis: rectricibus brunneis angusté fulvo limbatis, penultima versus apicem albo notata, ultima
conspicué et obliqué albo fasciataé: gutture nigro: corpore reliquo subtis albo, pectore nigro notato,
hypochondriis nigro striatis: rostro flavicante, versus apicem nigro: pedibus nigris: iride brunneda.

© ad. mari similis, sed magis fulvescens: collo postico diluté castaneo: pileo nigricanti-brunneo, fulvo
medialiter vario: supercilio lato pallidé ochrascente: regione oculari albidé, regione paroticd pallidé
brunned, posticé nigricante: guld alb4: corpore reliquo subtis albo, gutture imo et pectore superiore
nigricantibus, lateribus distincté brunneo striolatis.

Ptil. hiem. similis ptilosi zstivee sed fulvescentior: plumis omnibus fulvescente marginatis: tectricibus alarum
latiis rufescente marginatis: collo postico castaneo et gutture nigro marginibus fulvescentibus
obscuratis.

Av. hornot. fulvescenti-brunnea, dorsi totius et verticis lateralis plumis nigricantibus, fulvo marginatis, h6c cum
supercilio ochrascenti-fulvis: collo postico diluté castaneo, fulyescente obscurato: ala ut in adultis
u2

2

coloraté sed pennis latiis rufo limbatis et albido terminatis: subtus fulvescenti-alba, gulé laterali et
gutture antico nigricante notatis, lateribus fulvescenti-brunneo lavatis et brunneo distincté striolatis.

Juv. ochrascenti-brunneus, dorsi plumis medialiter nigris vix rufescente layatis: vertice medio, supercilio et
collo postico clarits ochrascentibus: facie laterali ochrascenti-brunnea, regione paroticaé nigricante,
genis albicantibus: ala ut in ptilosi adulta hiemali-colorata: subtus fulvescenti-albus, pectore superiore
et corporis lateribus brunnescente lavatis, medialiter brunneo striolatis.

Adult Male (Dovre, Norway, June). Head glossy black; from behind the eye to the lower part of the neck
a broad white streak which passes down and joins the white on the breast; lower part of the neck and
fore part of the back rich chestnut-red, forming a broad collar; back black, streaked with yellowish
brown, each feather being edged with that colour, those on the rump and the upper tail-coverts being
more broadly edged with dull buff; quills blackish brown, edged with buff on the outer web, the
secondaries edged with rufous and tipped with dull white; the wing-coverts broadly edged with rufous ;
tail blackish brown, edged with buff, the outermost feather on each side, with the outer web, and a
large mark on the inner web towards the tip, pure white, the next feather beimg marked with white at -
the tip of the imner web; throat, lores, sides of the head below the eye and to fore part of the breast,
glossy black, some of the feathers, however, having white edges; sides of the breast white, this colour
joining the streak which passes from behind the eye; flanks marked with black, rest of the underparts
pure white, the under wing-coverts being slightly marked with grey; bill yellow, black at the tip; legs
black; iris brown. Total length 6:2 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 3°75, tail 2°6, tarsus 0°85, hind toe with
claw 0°85.

Adult Female (Dovre, Norway, June). Back, wings, and tail the same as in the male, but more broadly
édged with light brown, the rufous edgings on the secondaries and wing-coverts being much lighter
and broader; crown black, marked with sandy yellow, a broad mark from the eye to the edge of the
chestnut collar dirty buff, throat and sides of head dull buff, marked with black; lower part of the
throat and chest black, marked with buff, each feather being tipped with that colour; flanks streaked
with blackish brown and rufous; underparts otherwise as in the male; the chestnut collar duller in
colour than in the male, and marked here and there with black; beak dull yellowish horn, tip blackish ;
legs black; iris brown.

Adult Male in autumn. Head blackish brown, marked with dull rufous, the chestnut collar very obscure,
the feathers being edged with buff; back and wings having the feathers also broadly margined with
rufous; throat and fore part of the chest, which in the summer plumage are black, having the feathers
margined with buff, those on the throat so much so as almost to hide the black; sides of the head dull
pale rufous ; underparts generally dull white, the flanks bemg streaked with blackish brown and rufous,
each feather having a dark centre, and being broadly margined with buff and rufous.

Young of the year (Plaistow Marshes, 4th October, 1871). Head, back, and upper parts generally similar to
the male in autumn, but paler, especially on the head and back; and the only trace of the chestnut
collar is that the feathers are there somewhat lighter and inclined to rufous; throat, sides of head, and
underparts generally dull white, the auriculars and region round the eye marked with dull brown; on
each side of the throat an indistinct blackish streak, and on the lower part of the throat a few rufous
markings, and the black bases of the feathers showing through here and there; bill deep ruddy flesh-
colour, black at tip.

A still younger bird, a female, procured at Fort Simpson, Arctic America, on the 10th of September, 1860,
and sent to us by Dr. Elliott Coues, is lighter-coloured than the British specimen, has the feathers on

3

the head and fore part of the back broadly margined with pale rufous, and those on the chest and lower

part. of the throat washed with buff and marked here and there with pale rufous.
Tue Lapland Bunting is a circumpolar bird, inhabiting, during the summer, only the high
northern regions; but on the approach of winter it migrates southward, and is often met with in
very low latitudes. In Great Britain it is occasionally found as a straggler, though it has perhaps
occurred more often than is generally supposed, having been doubtless overlooked or confounded
in many instances with the immature Reed-Bunting. Mr. Rowe does not name it in his list of
the birds of Devon; and it appears rarely to have been met with in the south of England. We
possess one specimen procured near London; and Yarrell records the capture of two near London
and three near Brighton. Mr. Stevenson refers to two occurrences only in Norfolk—one at
Postwick, near Norwich, the other at Crostwick, also near Norwich; and Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun.,
writes to us as follows:—“ A male Lapland Bunting in my collection, at present unrecorded,
was netted in the Californian Gardens, at Yarmouth, in the winter of 1868. It was observed in
the market, along with some live Skylarks, by the person of whom I obtained it (and who gave
me the account), the day before Christmas. It was a beautiful song-bird, and he kept it alive
three years. In summer its beak turned yellow. This makes the second specimen which has
occurred since the publication of the ‘ Birds of Norfolk’ (cf. Trans. Norwich Nat. Soc. 1871-1872,
p. 65).” Yarrell refers to one as having been procured near Preston, in Lancashire, and states
that it is now preserved in the Manchester Museum. In Scotland it has, according to Mr. R.
Gray, only been procured once, near Caithness, many years ago.

It is tolerably numerous in Greenland, and we have received many specimens from there.
Professor Newton says that it is “ very seldom observed in Iceland. Faber saw a single example
in the south in the spring of 1821. Ido not know of any other unquestionable instance of its
occurrence.” In the Feeroes it has not hitherto been met with, but occurs throughout Scandi-
navia as far as the North Cape, though not straggling as far north as Spitzbergen.

According to Collett it breeds in the interior of Finmark, especially near the Varangerfiord,
more rarely on the islands, as on Vesteraalen. Mr. Godman found it breeding at Bodo in 1857.
In the summer of 1861 Mr. Siebke shot this bird in the willow-region on the Dovyre, in 62° N.
lat.; and Mr. Barth found it breeding there in July 1864. On the lowlands only stragglers are
found in the spring—as at Christiania in 1834 and 1839, in Nedernes in 1846, on Hedemarken
in 1861, in Aaseral (Christiansand) in 1865, and in Césterdalen in 1856 and 1857.

In Sweden, Dr. C. R. Sundstrom writes us, “it is found during the summer season in the
fell-mosses covered with grass and willow scrub, situated just below the snow-region, and it
breeds there. It does not occur on the high snow-fells, where the Snow-Bunting has its home ;
nor is it found in the upper birch-region. In its habits it reminds one much of the Larks, and
like those runs and does not hop along the ground. The song resembles that of the Linnet. It
arrives at its summer quarters in May and leaves again in September and October. During
migration it occurs in Southern Lapland and Norrland, but very seldom in Central or Southern
Sweden. It has only once been found with certainty to occur in Central Sweden; at Nerike, on
the 9th of May, 1857. ‘The specimen in question was winged, and kept for some time alive in a
cage, and sang in confinement. Both when migrating and also in the summer season the Lapland
Bunting frequents open places ; the bird procured in Nerike was shot when running in a field, and

4

was not at all shy. The fact that it is so rare south of Norrland, in Sweden, goes far to confirm
Professor Nilsson’s opinion that they migrate southward through Finland and Russia; for they
are numerous in Finland in the autumn and spring.” According to Meves this species is numerous
at Archangel during the spring; and Von Wright writes that it breeds in Northern Finland,
appearing in the southern districts in large flocks in the autumn and again in the spring, but
then more scattered. In Central and Southern Russia it is, as we are informed by our friend

_ Mr. L. Sabandeff, exceedingly rare, and only accidentally met with. In the Governments of

Moscow and Jaroslaf a few are met with in the spring and autumn, but not every season.
Meshakoff records it from Vologda. It is, however, said to be exceptionally numerous in the
districts of Ekaterinburg and Schadrinsk, and may breed there. According to Eversmann it
is very common on the Kirghis steppes. It occurs but seldom in the Baltic provinces; and
Mr. Taczanowski informs us that it is one of the rarest stragglers to Poland. He only knows
of one instance of its occurrence, that of an adult male, captured in 1856 near Warsaw, and now
in the Museum there.

In North Germany, according to Borggreve, it occurs during winter; in Silesia it is often
seen (Gloger), also in Anhalt (Naumann), once it has occurred in Lausitz (Tobias), once in West-
phalia (Lolsmann), several times at Thorn, and once at Danzig (Boeck). It is a rare straggler to
Denmark, occurring during the winter season only; and the same may be said regarding its
occurrences in Holland. According to Degland and Gerbe, it appears irregularly during the
autumn migration in France and Belgium, and is taken from time to time in nets near Dun-
kerque and Antwerp, the specimens captured being always young birds in their first winter's
plumage. Accidental in Luxembourg, according to De la Fontaine, occurring during severe
winters. In the autumn of 1824 it was observed near Thionville, and at Metz in 1788; and in
September 1833, Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye record two captures in Southern France.
It very rarely visits Southern Europe, and has hitherto not been met with in Spain or Portugal.
During severe winters it visits Italy, but its occurrences are extremely rare. Bailly writes that
it visits the smaller valleys of Savoy during the winter; Savi says it is found in Piedmont; and
Salvadori only records specimens from the north of that country—the central and southern
portions, as well as Sicily, being as yet unvisited by it. It has occurred in Austria; and there
is, as we are informed by Herr von Pelzeln, a specimen in the Vienna Museum, which was
purchased in the Vienna market in December 1820. It does not appear ever to have straggled
south of the Mediterranean; but to the eastward it ranges throughout Siberia down into China.
Dr. Gustav Radde only once met with this species in Southern Siberia, on the 8th (20th) of May,
1856, when he saw a flock of about fifty individuals on the Tarei-nor, and procured a pair.
Schrenck procured an old male on the lst of September at the mouth of the Urutschi, on the
Upper Amoor; and Von Middendorff writes that the first arrived on the Boganida on the 27th
of May, and a few remained there to breed. On the 17th of June a nest containing five eggs
was found there; and a month later fledged young were observed. On the Taimyr they appeared
in flocks on the 4th of June, but soon scattered and commenced breeding, and on the 25th of
June feathered young were found in a nest. Von Middendorff states that he found one nest which
appeared to be a second brood. In the south-east he shot this species at Aldan, on the 27th of
April, during migration.

5

Mr. Swinhoe first observed the Lapland Bunting near Tientsin, in China, in November, and
on arrival at Tientsin he found thousands on sale, plucked and trussed like Larks. The natives
there, he states, call them Teay cheo (iron bird), and catch them in springes baited with the
small maggots found in decaying millet-stalks.

It is found throughout the high northern parts of North America; and we are indebted to
our friend Dr. Elliott Coues for the following excellent notes respecting its geographical distribu-
tion in the Nearctic Region :—“ I have sometimes wondered how much the similarity (amounting
almost. to identity) in the geographical distribution, migrations, and general habits of this species
and the Snow-Bunting has had to do with their association in the genus Plectrophanes. P. nivalis
certainly stands alone in the ruff of antrorse plumules covering the nostrils, so characteristic of
many boreal Conirostres; its bill is differently shaped, and its pictwra is wholly unique ; in fact,
about the only prominent character it shares with P. /apponicus and the rest is the lengthened
and little-curved hind claw. ‘This is simply an accompaniment of terrestrial life, and, moreover,
is only an approximation towards the condition of the hind claw and its digit, as to length and
straightness, that P. Japponicus shows. In these genus-peddling days, however, when the
market is glutted, and the articles a long way below par, any two or three birds may consider
themselves lucky if they can hang together by the same name; and I only alluded to the subject
to show what a fine chance there is here to determine the difference between the north and
north-west side of a hair.

“Jt is a much pleasanter thing to speak of the real natural history of the Lapland Longspur ;
and in this respect the sentence with which I began a paragraph that ended ill-humouredly gives
more than a hint. It may be taken as a rule that in the United States local lists giving P.
nivalis as ‘common,’ the next entry will be P. lapponicus, with the remark ‘ occasional, or ‘ rare,’
or ‘very rare,’ or else, ‘may be expected to occur in winter.’ If I were asked to give in a word
the difference between the habitats of P. nivalis and P. lapponicus, I might be at a loss for a
satisfactory reply, but might say that with the same general circumpolar distribution, and the
same dispersion in British America, the Lapland Longspur is in the United States more restricted,
both in latitude and longitude. For it has not been found west of the Missouri, where it appears
to be replaced (more truly than P. nivalis can be said to be) by P. pictus, P. ornatus, P. melanomus
(if different from P. ornatus, which I doubt), and the singular P. maccownii; while as to its
southward distribution, I can hardly say whether its seeming absence from the extremes that
P. nivalis attains is due to its actually not coming as far south, or to its being overlooked, in
consequence of its comparative scarcity. I strongly suspect that in the end we shall hear of it
from all the localities whence P. nivalis is quoted; but the southermost record I have now at
hand for the Atlantic States is that of Mr. Lawrence, who places it in his New-York list without
comment (Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y. viii. 1866, p. 288), and, for the interior, the Ohio quotation
of Mr. J. M. Wheaton’s (Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1860). The New-England authorities give it, and
are unanimous concerning the infrequency or irregularity of its occurrence. We must place it
among the rarer northern visitors of the United States, where it has never been known to breed,
and where, probably, it has never once been taken in the perfect beauty of its nuptial plumage.

* But you will not too hastily conclude that we have nothing more than the meagre records
on file. Large series of specimens that have reached our museums, illustrating all the changes

at

6

of plumage, with sex and age and season, attest its abundance in different parts of British
America; and of late our knowledge of its range has steadily progressed westwards, till at length
we have it (Trans. Chicago Acad. i. p. 283), in those high latitudes, on the very shores of the
Pacific. ‘By far the most abundant of the land-birds which are found on the Island of St.
Michael,’ writes Mr. Bannister. ‘It appeared there about the 6th of May, and from that time
until the middle or latter part of September was observed in great numbers over the island. I
did not find the nest, although the birds were started up by the hundred on every walk over
the island; and I therefore think it must be very carefully concealed.’ With the records
you, of course, have from your side of the water, this completes the evidence of circumpolar
distribution.”

In its habits the present species bears resemblance both to the Larks and the Buntings. It
runs with celerity, with body and head stretched forward like a Lark, and will proceed for some
time before taking wing; it is restless, but not shy, and by no means quarrelsome, living in perfect
harmony with other small birds. When frightened, or at the approach of any bird of prey, it
squats and hides in any suitable depression in the ground; its flight is rapid and light, with a
wave-like rise and fall, varying in long distances in the shortness or length of its dips. It
perches not unfrequently on a fence, bush, or tree, though it is more commonly found on the
ground. It is, Pastor Sommerfeldt states, an “ excellent songster, and lets its clear full note be
heard when it rises, fluttering, high in the air, and gently descends; but the song discontinues
when the bird has descended and with closed wings drops in a slanting line on to some small
elevation on the ground.”

Its call-note, according to Naumann, “ closely resembles that of the Snow-Bunting, but is not
so strong, and higher in tone, but also with an ‘7tirrr. It has a pleasant high note ‘ twwi,’ not
unlike that of a Siskin, but much stronger.” The male has a pleasing but peculiar song, which
seems to be composed of that of the Common Lark and Linnet together, that of the former
appearing as the basis. It consists of several strophes, which, as in the Lark, follow each other
quickly, and some are repeated again and again. If one were not to see the songster, one would
be inclined to believe that it was a species of Lark or a Sky-Lark shortening its song. It is an
unwearied songster. ‘The female twitters, but only indistinctly, and has no connected song.

Its range during the breeding-season extends throughout the whole of the upper portion of
the Palearctic and Neartic regions. It breeds not uncommonly in Greenland, Northern Iceland
(for Mr. Benzon informs us that he has the eggs from Husevig), Scandinavia, Northern Russia,
and Siberia, and the high north of America, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Our friend
Mr. R. Collett, of Christiania, who has taken the nest of this species in Norway, writes to us
that “it is principally distributed in Finmark, as well in the west as in the eastern parts
towards Russian Lapland. Southwards it breeds (in less numbers) down at least to the Arctic
circle, also on the islands, as Lofoden. One little colony inhabits the dry and bush-grown parts
of the moors by Jokstuen, on the Dovre-fjeld (62°); and this is probably the most southern place
in Europe where it is found breeding. ‘This colony I visited in 1870, 1871, and 1872, shot
several birds, and on the 9th of June, 1871, found a nest containing six fresh eggs. It was
placed under a dwarf birch (Betula nana), and composed of fine grass (principally Festuca ovina),
the inside being covered with feathers of the Wild Duck. By these feathers, which are never

7

wanting, the nest of this bird may always be readily distinguished from those of other birds
which breed in the same locality, such as Anthus pratensis, A. cervinus, and Emberiza scheniclus.
The eggs measured from 21 to 23 millimetres in length, by 15} millimetres in breadth. One of
the eggs wanted the black spiral lines that were found on all the others.

“In June and July of 1872 I had good opportunities of observing these birds in West
Finmark, where I found them abundant on the shores of the Porsangerfiord and on the island
of Store Tams6, which, ornithologically, is one of the most interesting places in the country.
Here the Lapland Bunting was by far the commonest of all the small birds, and inhabited every
part of the island that was overgrown with heather or covered with turf. It had a peculiar
habit of making itself observed, settling without any appearance of shyness within a few steps of
me, on all the small knolls overgrown with Rubus chamemorus and Empetrium, where its bright
colours made it all the more conspicuous. The eggs were just hatched, and the young feeding.
In all my excursions I was incessantly accompanied by one pair after another, each pair following
me a hundred yards or so; thus I had their society all the day over the whole island.

“Its very melodious song is uttered by the male while ascending from the top of some
dwarf birch or willow, and descending again with trembling wings to its former perch, after the
manner of Anthus arboreus. All song, however, ceases as soon as the young are hatched. In
their stomachs I only found small insects and gravel.

“As is doubtless the case with most of the smaller birds inhabiting Finmark, the Lapland
Bunting migrates to and from this province through Russian Lapland and Sweden, and never
passes the western parts of Scandinavia. Therefore in the southern parts of the country very
few individuals are observed, and, moreover, most, if not all, of these probably belong to the
above-mentioned colony on the Dovre-fjeld.”

The late Mr. Wheelwright found numbers breeding in Quickjock, Lapland, on a low flat,
about 2000 feet above Quickjock, at the foot of one of the highest snow fells, and gives in his
‘Spring and Summer in Lapland’ full particulars as to its breeding-habits, which agree with
what we state above. Mr. Benzon writes to us that “its nest appears, like that of the Yellow
Ammer, to be placed sometimes on the ground, sometimes on low bushes; and in Greenland it
generally appears to choose the latter position. The nest is constructed of dried grass mixed with
moss, and is lined with grass, straws, and feathers; and it is generally less in size than that of the
Snow-Bunting, measuring outside 100 and 40 and inside 50 and 20 to outside 120 and 60 and
inside 50 and 25 millimetres respectively.” The eggs, from four to six in number, have a more
or less dark olive-brown ground-colour, in some light varieties, however, greyish green, and are
covered with large brown shell-spots and dark brown surface-markings. Some varieties are
without scratches, but are covered with dark reddish brown blotches, which give the egg a
uniform appearance. ‘The light-coloured eggs closely resemble those of Emberiza aureola;
and others are much like eggs of Emb. scheniclus. One variety in Mr. Benzon’s collection is
uniform olive-brown with a few scratches, and another, a dwarf egg from Greenland, measuring
16 by 113 millimetres, is dark brown. In size they vary from 19 by 14 to 214 by 16 millimetres.
Pastor Sommerfeldt writes that “its eggs vary greatly, but when new laid have usually a greenish
tinge, and some are light green with dark brown spots, chiefly at the larger end. These eggs,
like those of Anthus pratensis and A. cervinus, get darker as they become incubated, or, in other

X

Zoo

260

8

words, as the veins in the eggs become developed ; thus one finds in the same nest eggs of a light
green, olive-green, and yellowish brown colour.” In Dresser’s collection is a large series of eggs
of almost all the above varieties, obtained from Greenland and Lapland, which in size vary from
31 by 2¢ to $6 by $6 inch respectively.

The specimens figured in summer plumage were obtained in Norway, and are those we have
also described; on the same Plate, in the foreground, we have figured the young bird of the
year ; these, as well as the specimens described, are in Dresser’s collection. On the same Plate
as the winter plumage of Plectrophanes nivalis we figure the winter plumage of the present

species.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Wresep

a,d, 6,2. Dovre, Norway, June (R. Collett). c, 2. Hurope (Gardner). d, juv. Plaistow, Kent, October 4th,
1871 (Davy). e, 3. Greenland (Erichsen). f, 3. Fort Liards, Hudson’s Bay (Coues). g, 3. Davies
Straits (P. Henderson). h,i, 3. N. America (Krider). j, 3. Koshkonong Prairie, Dane County, Wis-
consin, May 6th (Dr. Brewer). k, 2. Fort Simpson, May 26th (B. R. Ross). 1, juv. Fort Simpson, Arctic
America, September 10th, 1860 (Coues).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, b. ——. c,d,e. Tientsin, November (R. Swinhoe).

E Mus. T. E. Buckley.
a, 5. Lapland, July 24th (7. H. B.). 6, 2. Lapland, July 27th (7. E. B.).

224

+21

SIIVAIN SANVHdOYLO3Id
“ONILNAG MONS

Zao)

LAPLAND ano SNOW BUNTINGS.

(Autumn Plumage )

128

PLECTROPHANES NIVALIS,

(SNOW-BUNTING.)

Emberiza nivalis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 308, no. 1 (1766).

L Ortolan de Lorraine 2, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iv. p. 323.

Emberiza notata, P. L. S. Miiller, Nat. Syst. Suppl. p. 157. no. 28 (1776).

Emberiza lotharingica, Gm., partim, Syst. Nat. i. p. 882. no. 61 (1788).

Emberiza mustelina, Gm. tom. cit. p. 867. no. 7 (1788).

Emberiza montana, Gm. tom. cit. p. 867. no. 25 (1788).

Emberiza glacialis, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 398. no. 2 (1790).

Plectrophanes nivalis (Linn.), Meyer, 'Taschenb. deutsch. Vogelk. i. p. 187 (1810).

Passerina borealis, Vieillot, N. Dict. xxv. p. 8 (1817).

Passerina nivalis (Linn.). Vieillot, Faun. Frang. p. 86 (18202).

Plectrophanes hiemalis, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 304 (1831).

Plectrophanes borealis, Brehm, op. cit. p. 305 (1831).

Emberiza borealis (Vieill.), Degland, Ornith. Europ. i. p. 273. no. 115 (1849).
(The above by Lord Walden.)

Snow-Bunting, Snowflake, Snowbird, English; Ortolan de neige, French; Schneeammer,
Schnee Spornammer, German; De Sneeuwgors, Dutch; Snespuv, Snekok, Snefinke, Snefugl,
Vinterfugl, Danish; Snjoufuglur, Feroese; Koparnauarsuk, Greenlandic; Sniotitlingr,
Solskrikia, Icelandic; Snespurv, Norwegian; Snésparf, Swedish; Lumisirkku, Finnish ;
Podoroschnik, Russian; Snieguta, Polish.

Figure notabiles.

Albin, Nat. Hist. Birds, iii. pl. 71; Edwards, Nat. Hist. Birds, ii. pl. 126; D’Aubenton, PI.
Enl. pl. 497. fig. 1, and pl. 511. fig. 2; Wilson, Amer. Ornith. pl. 21. fig. 2; Audubon,
Birds of Amer. pl. 365; Naum. Vogel. Deutschl. pls. 106, 107; Gould, Birds of Europe,
pl. 170.

3 ad. ptil. est. albus: dorso, scapularibus et rectricibus centralibus nigris; primariis nigris, ad basin albis:
secundaris albis: tectricibus alarum albis: alula spurid nigr4: rostro et pedibus nigris: iride brunnea.

2 ad. ptil. est. capite et nucha nigris, plumis omnibus conspicué griseo-albo marginatis: dorsi plumis saturaté
nigris, vix griseo-albo marginatis: tectricibus alarum minimis nigris, albo marginatis: primariis fulves-
centi-nigris, vix albido marginatis: secundariis albis: caudé ut in mari picturata sed pallidiore et griseo
adumbrata: subtus alba: rostro et pedibus brunnescenti-nigris.

3 ad. ptil. hiem. capite suprd saturaté rufescenti-brunneo, supra oculos grisescenti-cervino: nucha saturate
albé ochrascente brunneo adumbraté : dorsi plumis et scapularibus nigris, conspicué rufescente brunneo
marginatis: uropygio rufescenti-brunneo: remigibus brunnescenti-nigris, vix albido marginatis et

3 L

2

apicatis: secundariis albis, externis versus apicem nigricante notatis : tectricibus alarum minimis albis :
rectricibus ut in ptilosi estiva picturatis sed saturatioribus et albido marginatis: facie laterali albida,
vitta ferruginea per oculos ducta, regione parotica saturaté ferrugined : subtus albus: pectore summo
rufescente ochraceo lavato, hypochondriis eodem colore adumbratis: rostro saturate flavo, versts apicem
brunneo: pedibus nigris.

9 ptil. hiem. mari similis, sed supra grisescentior: tectricibus alarum minimis nigris, conspicué albido
terminatis.

Adult Male in summer (Greenland). Head, neck, and entire underparts pure white; back and scapularis
jet-black, here and there imperceptibly edged with brownish white; primaries white at the base, other-
wise jet-black; secondaries pure white; wing-coverts pure white, excepting the spurious wing, which is
black ; the three outer rectrices on each side white, with a small elongated apical black spot; central
rectrices black, tipped with white; rump and upper tail-coverts white; bill and feet black; iris dark
brown. ‘Total length 6°5 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 4°2, tail 2°5, tarsus 0°9, middle toe with claw 0°55.

Adult Female (Greenland). The adult female in breeding-plumage differs from the male in having the head,
neck, and back black, with broad grey edgings to the feathers, which on the head and neck are so broad
as to give the appearance of being entirely grey; lesser wing-coverts black, broadly tipped with white ;
underparts white ; bill and legs dark brown; the black portions of the plumage are much duller than
in the male, being greyish black rather than black. In size it is rather smaller, measuring—wing 3°9
inches, tail 2-4, tarsus 0°85.

Adult Male in winter (Glen Tanar, Aberdeenshire). Centre of forehead and crown dark rusty brown,
bordered on each side by dirty creamy grey; nape dirty white, washed with yellowish brown; back
and scapulars black, broadly margined with dull reddish brown; rump dull reddish brown; quills dull
black, edged and tipped with dirty white; secondaries white, the outer ones marked towards the tip on
both webs with blackish brown, the inner ones thus marked on the outer web only ; wing-coverts
white ; rectrices as in the summer plumage, but duller, and margined with white; sides of face dirty
white; an irregular broad line through the eye and auriculars dull rusty yellow; underparts white; a
broad band across the chest rusty yellow; flanks washed with pale rusty yellow; bill dull yellowish,
darker towards the point; legs black.

Adult Female in winter (Hampstead, 17th March). Similar to the male, but much paler and greyer on the
back, and having the wing-coverts black, broadly tipped with white.

Young, fresh fledged (fide Nilsson). Head, nape, and back greyish black, with irregular black spots, and
washed with yellowish brown; lesser wing-coverts blackish, broadly edged with white; the larger
coverts black, broadly tipped with rusty yellow; primaries black, secondaries white; chin white;
neck and breast grey, washed with rusty yellow ; abdomen white; the two outer tail-feathers whitish,
with the outer web blackish, the next in order with blackish tip, and edged with rusty grey on the
outer web.

Obs. The female in the winter plumage may be easily distinguished by having the lesser wing-coverts
black, edged with white, and the feathers on the crown black, edged with reddish brown, these Jatter
being in the male white, edged with reddish brown, though black at the root.

THE Snow-Bunting, like its near relative the Lapland Bunting, is an inhabitant of the high
boreal regions of both continents; and only during the winter season, when food is scarce or

oO
55)

difficult of access, does it migrate southward, and is then met with in larger or smaller flocks in
Central Europe, Asia, and the temperate portions of North America.

In Great Britain it is more generally met with during the winter season, especially during
severe weather ; but there is little doubt as to its occasionally breeding in Scotland, and I deferred
the publication of this article in deference to the wish of one of my friends in Scotland, who
felt certain of finding the nest this season: unfortunately he did not succeed in so doing.
Macgillivray expressed his firm belief that it breeds in the Grampians, though he could not find
the nest; and Mr. A. G. More states that Dr. Saxby has discovered the nest of this species in
Unst, Shetland, and he tells Mr. More that he has upon many occasions observed pairs of them
during summer, but in parts of the cliffs almost always inaccessible. Dr. Saxby considers that
the Snow-Bunting breeds regularly in the cliffs below Saxavord.

Mr. Gray writes that “it is a very common species over the whole of Western Scotland,
arriving in October and leaving in April. It undoubtedly does breed in Scotland in small
numbers. Macgillivray states that both old and young have been seen on the Grampians late in
August; and Pennant writes that a few breed on the summits of the highest mountains.
Mr. William Hamilton observed two pairs on Scuir Ouran, in Ross-shire, on the 12th of July,
1868.” In England it occurs during the winter. Mr. Stevenson records it as a regular winter
visitant to Norfolk ; and it is included in most of the local lists of birds occurring in various parts
of England. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., writes that he has “repeatedly shot Snow-Buntings at the
mouth of the Tees, at a place called Seaton Snook, and I hardly ever got two that were exactly
alike. I never shot but one really adult male; and that was in a meadow where I had never
seen any before. These ‘Tawny’ and ‘Mountain’ Buntings vary nearly as much in size as in
plumage, as I know from a number of measurements which I took from birds in the flesh. I
have known them to occasionally associate with Bramblings and Linnets; but generally they go
by themselves in flocks of about a score. I cannot remember having seen any before October ;
but my father has seen them on September 25th in Suffolk (Zool. p. 2849). In Norfolk
Myx. Frere records one on the 23rd, near Blakeney (Zool. p. 1191), and Mr. Clark Kennedy on
the 14th, at Hunstanton (Zool. p. 559), which, it must be confessed, is very early. Ishould think
they are as plentiful on the coast of this county as anywhere in England. I have seen them at
Lynn, Heacham, &c.; and both this winter and last I saw large cages full of these birds which
had been netted at Yarmouth and sent up to London. I was informed that some had been seen
at sea off there about the 3rd of this month (November 1872), by a gentleman who knows them
well.” It occurs also in the south of England, and is, according to Mr. J. Brooking Rowe, “ not
uncommon in the winter and autumn on Dartmoor.” It occasionally appears early in the
autumn, in confirmation of which Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., sends the following extract from
Dillwyn’s ‘Fauna and Flora of Swansea,’ p. 5, where it is stated that ‘two were seen near the
Infirmary on August 30, 1840; and one of them, an adult female, which was shot by Mr. Mogg-
ridge, is preserved in the Museum of our Institution.”

It is a common summer resident in Greenland, and Professor Newton writes that it is
perhaps the commonest of Icelandic small birds; according to Faber, most of them pass the
winter in that country. Captain Feilden says that “the Snow-Bunting is an abundant species
throughout Feroe in the winter time, and a considerable number remain to breed in suitable

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localities.” Wolley mentions that it “‘ breeds very scantily near the tops of the mountains, but
in the northernmost islands of the group, on the lower grounds, and in small colonies. A neatly
made nest, placed under a large stone, had young almost fully fledged at the beginning of July.”
Miiller has noticed the young ones flying in August. I visited the mountain, Losingafiald, near
Westmanshavn, where Wolley found the nest and young in 1849; and though I searched care-
fully for hours, I was not fortunate enough even to cross a bird. During my stay in Feroe the
weather was as a rule so bad that the tops of the hills and likely resorts of the Snow-Bunting
were generally shrouded in mist. Only on the top of the island of Skuoe did we come across
them. On the 7th of June, 1872, about 8 o'clock in the evening, as we were resting, my friend
called my attention to the note of a bird which we did not recognize: the song was simple, but ~
plaintive. We soon found that it came from a male Snow-Bunting, which I shot; the female
was not far off, and soon made her appearance on the stones, where she twittered for her mate :
she was probably nesting close by. We commenced a search for the nest, but almost immedi-
ately dense volumes of mist stole up the sides of the mountain and enveloped us. We had to
give up the search, and follow our guide in Indian file to the sea-shore. ‘Two or three pairs of
Snow-Buntings nest yearly on Kirkeboe Rein, near Thorshayn; I made one or two attempts to
find their nests about the middle of June; but the rain and mist in every instance prevented
me.

It is common in Northern Scandinavia; and Mr. R. Collett writes to me that “this Arctic bird
is found breeding throughout Norway, on the snow-clad mountain-ranges, in the interior, to the
frontiers of Russia, and on the islands of the western coast. It is especially numerous within
the Polar circle; but it breeds in considerable numbers on the southern ranges, such as the
Dovre, Filefjeld, Ronderne, Jotunfjeldene, Langfjeldene, and as far south as the Thelemark and
Nordfjeld, in latitude 60°.

“When travelling in summer over the upper slopes of the Norwegian mountains, where
only here and there a few lichens and stunted blades of grass crop up from amidst the stones and
snow, and where, with the exception of a few Rock-Ptarmigan (Lagopus alpina), no other spectes
of birds is to be seen, this pretty Bunting is always to be found, living close to the borders of the
eternal snow. Perched on a weather-worn rock it utters its single but melodious note; but when
it has young ones to provide for, it is usually busily engaged in catching flies and small insects
for their support.

“In Finmark, where the greater portion of the country consists of sterile mountain plateaux,
the true home of the Snow-Bunting is to be found; but even in the vicinity of the Polar Sea I
have discovered it breeding on small holms and islands. Throughout all these solitary and
deserted regions the Snow-Bunting gives a character to the scenery, in as complete accord with
the surroundings of nature as the most highly coloured birds in tropical zones; clad in its
summer garb of coal-black and pure white, it is a marked object when flitting over the snow-
fields or dark moorlands, against which it forms a striking contrast.

“The nest, containing five or six eggs, is placed amongst stones, or in a cleft of the rock. I
found a nest in July 1872 on a little holm close to the North Cape. The male bird appeared to
feed the young ones with even greater eagerness than his mate, and showed considerable anxiety
as long as I remained in the neighbourhood of the nest. ‘The young ones appeared to be fed

5

entirely with insect-larvee, and they greeted the arrival of each fresh instalment of food with a

chorus of tiny voices.
“Jn autumn the Snow-Bunting flocks in prodigious numbers, especially in the western

provinces of Norway, and in November and December along the line of coast, where the flocks
alighting remind one of snow-flakes falling on a field. These flocks do not remain long in the
same locality, but are constantly shifting their quarters, the ground when vacated being taken
up by fresh arrivals; this continues till the spring, but as soon as the sun’s rays become powerful
enough to melt the snow in patches on the mountain-sides, they betake themselves again to their
summer haunts, and once more enliven these dreary regions with their presence.” Messrs. Harvie
Brown and Alston also write that “‘nowhere on the fjelds did we meet with this species at all
abundantly ; but scattered pairs were observed from an elevation of from 3500 to 5600 feet; and
one nest, containing five fresh eggs, was procured by a man in our employ at an elevation of
about 4000 feet, on the 22nd of June. When crossing the fjelds earlier in the season (on the
17th of May), when they were still deeply covered with snow, the Snow-Buntings were going in
small flocks. When we returned in the beginning of June they had dispersed, and were all at
their breeding-stations. The above-mentioned nest, which is now before us, is composed of thin
wiry grass, warmly lined with feathers of the Fjeld-rype (Lagopus vulgaris) and a quantity of
Reindeer’s hair; and our informant told us it was placed under the shelter of a large stone on the
mountain-side.” Dr. Sundstrom, of Stockholm, writes to me that “it is found during the summex
season in numbers on all the Swedish snow-fells, where it frequents places where the snow still
remains, or else stony places or puddles formed by the melting of the snow. It never occurs
amongst the trees or bushes, not even in the juniper region, and inhabits higher altitudes than
the Lapland Bunting. Here it hatches its young, and resides during about half the year. It
feeds chiefly on larve of gnats and other insects, and to some extent on the insects themselves.
When food of this nature becomes scarcer, in the autumn, it migrates southward, at first not going
far; but when the cold weather sets in it wanders further south, and then is met with in large
flocks in Central and Southern Sweden down to Gottland and Skane, often wandering further
south, into Germany. On the 27th of November, 1861, I met with Snow-Buntings in flocks
with Shore-Larks on the coast near Alnarps School of Agriculture, close to Malm6, in Skane;
and on the 22nd of April following a few were observed, also in company with Shore-Larks, at
the same place. Generally, however, they return in March or April, according to the season, to
their summer haunts. When wandering it is not shy; it feeds then on grain and seed which
it picks up on the fields and roads, which places it frequents, and not places where trees or
bushes grow.”

In Finland it occurs in flocks during the seasons of migration, and may possibly breed in
the northern portion of that country. I had eggs sent to me from Ija and Kajana, said to
belong to this species, which certainly agree very closely with authentic eggs from Greenland.
In Northern Russia it is common, and I have received numerous skins from Archangel. Mr. G.
Gillett records it as very common on Novaya Zemlia; and regarding its occurrence in Spitzbergen,
Professor Newton writes that “I have already mentioned the discovery of two nests of this
species beneath the Alkenhorn, and that a family party were observed on Russo. Dr. Malmgren

states that when at sea in the latitude of Bear Island, on the 19th of May, on his first voyage,
3M

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6

the rigging of the vessel was suddenly covered by a flock of Snow-Buntings, which did not stay
to rest very long, but continued their course towards Spitzbergen, against a stormy wind. ‘Lhis
bird appears to extend its range to the extreme north of the country, he having found a brood
of newly fledged young in Brandywine Bay (lat. 80° 24’ N.). The specimens I obtained seemed
to be of the Old-World type; that is to say, they are not quite so large or so stoutly built as
those I have from Greenland and America. If the Hringilla flammea or F. linaria of Scoresby
is not this species, 1 am at a loss what to make of it; for certainly it is extremely unlikely
that a species of Redpoll should resort to a country so entirely destitute of any thing that can
be called a tree or shrub as Spitzbergen is.” Regarding its general distribution in Russia,
Mr. Sabanaeff writes that it ‘occurs regularly throughout the country, usually appearing early
in the winter and leaving in March. In the south it remains over the winter, and frequents the
plains and fields covered with snow; but near Moscow and Jaroslaf it is a migrant, remaining
only a few days, and then moving further north, being common in the northern portions of the
Archangel Government.” Rickbeil has not observed it near Sarepta; and Eversmann states that
it only occurs to the south of the Uralsk during exceptionally severe winters. Sabandeff met
with it in the open country of the Ural in thousands in the early spring and autumn; and
he considers that it breeds on the eastern slope of the Ural, as he procured a female in May
1869 near Karakuz, in the district of Ekaterinburg, which was in full breeding-plumage, and
evidently nesting.

It occurs in the Baltic Provinces in winter; and Mr. Taczanowski writes that “it arrives
annually in Poland in the winter, but in very unequal numbers; during severe winters they are
numerous, but rare during mild seasons. ‘They remain a very short time, usually arriving late
in December, and leave in February or early in March as the snow begins to melt.” In North
Germany large flocks appear in severe winters in the eastern portion, but in the western part
they are only seen at great intervals. Dr. HK. Rey writes that, as stated by Nitsch, large numbers
appeared at Halle in the winters of 1819 and 1830. On the 20th of November, 1863, he saw a
small flock during a snow-storm in a field near Rathmansdorf. In Denmark it appears in the
winter, earlier or later according to the severity of the season. On the Dutch coast, Professor
Schlegel writes, numbers are sometimes seen during cold seasons, and spread inland. De la
Fontaine records it as rare in Luxemburg; but Degland and Gerbe state that it occurs annually
in the north of France. In Southern France, however, it is extremely rare, and has not been
recorded from Spain or Portugal. Dr. Girtanner informs me that it “is extremely rare in
Switzerland. Last winter (1871-72) a specimen was shot in the Rheinthal (valley of the Rhine) ;
but years may elapse ere another is found. I only remember two instances of its occurrence ;
and I believe I hear of every rare bird that is procured in Switzerland.” Salvadori states that he
has seen specimens obtained in Liguria and Lombardy in severe winters; and it appears to be
occasionally obtained in other parts of Italy; but statements of Italian naturalists respecting this
species must be received with caution, as they have constantly confounded it with Montifrin-
gilla nivalis. Doderlein includes it in his list on the strength of a specimen killed near Modena,
now in the Palermo Museum. Schembri records two occurrences on Malta in 1840. In Austria,
the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen writes, small flocks of this Bunting occur during severe
winters, and they consort with Buntings and Finches. In Bohemia, Mahren (Moravia), and

if

Galicia they occur oftener than in other portions of the empire. I can find no record of its
occurrence in Greece or Turkey; but Von Nordmann saw it in Southern Russia in the winter of
1835, and again in 1836 and 1857, in the last season as far down as the Crimea, and several
were killed on the steppes between Pérékop and Simphéropol. There is but one record of its
occurrence in Africa, that of a male, which, according to Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake, was picked up
dead near Cape Spartel: but it has been met with on the Azores; for Mr. Godman, in his
‘Natural History of the Azores,’ writes as follows:—“ A flock of about twenty of these birds
appeared during the winter of 1864-65 on the island of Corvo. They were said to be much
exhausted when they arrived, and several were caught and kept in cages. At the time I was
there I believe there was but one living; and this was afemale. ‘The owner had such an exalted
notion of its value that I did not procure it. After I returned to England, Mr. J. P. Dabney
kindly sent me a skin of a bird of this species which was killed in Fayal.”

To the eastward the Snow-Bunting occurs throughout Siberia to China and possibly Japan.
Radde says that they winter both above and below the Bureja mountains, and that he saw them
often during the winter of 1858-59 in the large Mantchurian villages above and below the town
of Aigun, and also met with them on all the large roads in Siberia during the winter. ‘The first
arrivals of large flocks in the Bureja mountains were observed on the 10th (22nd) of October,
1857. Middendorff saw large flocks on the Baraba steppe in January, but lost sight of them
then until he arrived on the Boganida, in 71° N. lat., where he found them on the 11th of May,
still in flocks, but partly in summer plumage; and on the 19th of May they moved further north.
On the 2nd of June he observed them in full summer dress, in pairs, on the Taimyr river, busy
preparing their nests; and on the 17th of June (in about 733° N. lat.) he found eggs in all the
nests, though none contained their full complement.

Mr. Swinhoe writes that it visits North China in the cold weather; Captain Blakiston
thinks that it may be met with in Northern Japan; and a live specimen sent to the Zoological
Gardens was said to have come from there.

Regarding its occurrence in America I am indebted to Dr. Elliott Coues for the following
excellent note :—‘‘ The Snow-Bunting is conspicuous in the gatherings of boreal Fringillide that
enter the United States at the approach of cold weather, partly in obedience to the mysterious
law of migration, partly in the face of a more obvious necessity ; for, like most of its family, it
is a true migrant, possessed at the equinoxes by the restless, nameless spirit that impels it
onward, be the skies never so fair, and food never so abundant. And yet this periodicity of its
nature is not always asserted: the migratory impulse is often held in abeyance ; and then we have
accounts of the bird in midwinter in latitudes as high as those in which it breeds; and, again,
the regularity of its movement suffers such interference from vicissitudes of the weather that it is
hardly left perceptible, and the little birds, becoming veritable harbingers of cold and storm, are
borne upon the breath of boreal winds like the snow-flakes they foretell. On they come swirling
in aimless troops, and not alone; for in their ranks the Lapland Longspurs take place, and flocks
of the Redpolls join the restless march; the Crossbills and Pine-Linnets accompany them in
search of pineries for shelter and food; the Pine-Grosbeaks come a good part of the way before
they refuse to keep on; the Shore-Larks feed with them in the open grounds; and occasionally,
in some parts of the country, the Buntings have no less distinguished fellow-travellers than the

3M 2

267

8

Bohemian Waxwings themselves. It is ‘hail fellow well met’ with the whole of this jolly
arctic crew, and the world may wag as it will.

“The roving disposition that never lets the Buntings rest, except for the short time that they
overcome it when busy thinking of the coming generation, stands somewhat in the way of our
finding out exactly how far the birds press south in winter. Or, rather, these Bohemians make
us hesitate to declare how far they may not go; for the first cold snap or severe snow-storm may
upset our most careful estimates, and turn the laugh against what we have written in soberest
mood. On one occasion (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 1868, p. 114) when looking up the birds of
South Carolina, I judged it prudent to make a memorandum that I am still satisfied with.
‘We have no record,’ I said, ‘of the occurrence of either Snow-Buntings, Crossbills, or Redpolls
so far south; but they may possibly occasionally stray to the Carolinas in severe winters, as even
the Snowy Owl is known to do.’ But, to have done with surmise, and turn to the records, the
southernmost quotation that I know of for the Atlantic States, and probably for the whole
Union, is that given by Coues and Prentiss (Smithsonian Report, 1861, p. 411), who say it is ‘a
rare visitant in the depth of winter’ at Washington, D.C.* Across the continent, in corre-
sponding latitudes on the Pacific slope, we find it as one of the Californian species that is to be
(Cooper, Orn. Cal. i. p. 171). The bird is unnoticed as a species of our western territories in
the Pacific-Railroad Reports, not having been found even in Washington and Oregon; perhaps
it has simply been overlooked; but perhaps, like some others that could be named, it comes
south more particularly in the eastern parts of our country. Certain it is, that our winter
advices, which it is unnecessary to quote in detail, are pretty full for the Atlantic and interior
States down to (let us say) about 40° N.; so that the bird may be held to occur generally, or not
unfrequently (but not regularly), over about half of the United States east of the Mississippi and
Missouri. Moving a little above the limit of its migration, and particularly on entering New
England, we happen upon the bird regularly in winter; and along our northern frontier the
usual expression in the record is ‘ common.’

«The Snow-Bunting is known to enter the United States as early as September (Calais, Me.,
Boardman, Pr. B. 8. N. H. ix. 1862, p. 126), and to remain until April or May (Putman, Proc.
Essex Inst. i. p. 210) in some cases, at least as far south as Massachusetts. But these dates,
you will see at once, are the extremes of its visits, and probably they would only hold true
towards our northern frontier. For localities south of New England I could only give you
winter advices. For us the name of this Bunting is a suggestive one; the bird is associated
with snow as intimately almost as it is with its own cousins the Lapland Longspurs, or its
friend the Hremophila cornuta. It is as truly gregarious a Bunting as any we have, delighting
in the society of its kind, and doubtless proving as pleasant company for the two birds just men-
tioned, and for the rosy little yiothi, as they could deserve. As you would expect, it is very
rarely, if ever, seen in its full dress in the United States. I never saw or heard of any in the

* «But I should not omit, in this connexion, the very remarkable occurrence of the Snow-Bunting in
Bermuda, about lat. 32° N. (Bland, in Smithsonian Report for 1858). This is, I believe, the southernmost
American record, and is as noteworthy as the finding of the Snowy Owl (Bland, l.c.) and the Hawk-Owl
(Jardine) in the same island. It is also singular that Bermuda has given us two European birds never yet
found in North America, viz. Alauda arvensis and Gallinago media.”

9

beautiful black-and-white plumage of some spring Arctic specimens on my table as I write, the
white being always smirched with rusty brown; and the bill,'at least of birds of the year, is
flesh-coloured instead of jet. I presume that the nuptial livery is worn but a short time, and
think it very likely that the purest colours may not be reached the first spring. But doubtless
your own information upon this point is precise.

* After what I quoted just now of April and May birds in Massachusetts, you might be
surprised at some of the dates of Arctic specimens before me, which are the same as these from
New England. We have April advices, indeed, at various places in British America, some of
them very high up in latitude; Greenland quotations to like effect ; and, in fact, every thing goes
to show how imperfect and spasmodic, so to speak, the autumnal migration is; and we must
conclude that our United-States troops are but a little sprinkling of the whole. The winter
records confirm what these others indicate of the bird’s ability to endure the rigours of that
season far to the north. I will only give one: ‘obtained many of these birds at Nulato,’ writes
Mr, Dall (Trans. Chicago Acad. i. p. 283).

“Any well-regulated ornithologist might well be excused for getting excited over what I
must call the ‘pure cussedness’ of this little creature. What perversity appears on setting this
winter Alaska record of Mr. Dall’s over against the information furnished by Mr. Allen that
‘Mr. C. W. Bennett tells me that a pair spent the summer of 1862, and reared their young, in
Springfield’ (Cat. Birds Massachusetts, Proc. Essex Inst. iv. 1864, p. 70). The Snow-Bunting
hardly ever breeds south of Labrador, and often passes still further north before its restless
spirit is satisfied; and this exceptional case is the more particularly noteworthy since it is, so
far as I am informed, the one solitary recorded instance of the breeding of the Snow-Bunting in
the United States.”

In its habits the Snow-Bunting has far more affinity to the Larks than to the true Bunting.
It runs with celerity in a similar manner to a Lark. Its flight is well described by Audubon,
from whose long and exhaustive account I extract the following particulars:—“ The flight of
this bird has considerable resemblance to that of the Shore-Lark, being rapid, elevated, and
greatly protracted. It glides, as it were, through the air in long and easy undulations, repeating
a soft whistling call-note at each of these curves. While on the ground they run nimbly, and, if
wounded, make off with great celerity, hiding in the grass, where it is difficult to find them,
as they lie close and silent until danger is over. ‘They arrive in flocks, alight, disperse, run
nimbly in masses from the foot of one corn-stalk to the next, scratch the ground here, pick up
a dormant insect there, or nibble the small seeds of the withered grass, mixing them with a
portion of gravel. They now and then alight on trees, frequently on fences, and sometimes on
the roofs of low buildings, in such compact bodies or continued lines as to render it easy for the
sportsman who may be inclined to shoot them to procure a great number at once.”

It feeds on seeds of various descriptions, insects, and larve—the former during the winter,
and the latter during the spring and summer.

Respecting the habits of this species in Spitsbergen, I translate the following from Dr.
Malmeren’s notes :—‘“ On the 17th of May, when we were in 75° N. lat., a flock of these birds,
amongst which we could distinguish birds of the past year, settled in our rigging. Although
evidently very tired, they rested only a short time, and then continued their journey against a

269

10

heavy head-wind direct towards Spitsbergen. When we arrived on the north coast of Spitsbergen
late in May we found the Snow-Buntings busy with their breeding-arrangements. On the 4th of
June I saw them pairing on the snow-drifts by the light of the midnight’s sun at Wyde Bay, in
80° N. lat.; and on the 27th of July I found a brood of fledged young at Brandywine Bay, in
80° 24’ N. lat. This species builds in stone heaps on the rocky precipices, at an altitude of
100-300 feet above the sea, generally under a large flat stone. The nest is composed of straws
and lined with feathers and down. The entrance is only large enough to allow the old birds to
enter with ease—a necessary precaution against the Arctic Foxes. The Snow-Bunting is the
only songster found on Spitzbergen. Its twitter during the breeding-season is agreeable; and
one listens to it with pleasure in these high latitudes. Its food consists of seeds, insects, and
larvee.”

The Snow-Bunting breeds in the high northern regions of Europe, Asia, and America. Dr.
Kriiper, who found it breeding in Iceland, states that “it builds its nest of dry bents and a little
moss. I found it always hidden under huge stones, and containing from five to six eggs......
According to Faber and Thienemann the laying-time commences in the beginning of June; but
I obtained as early as the 25th of May strongly incubated eggs at Oingeyrar, and on the 28th of
May four similar ones on the bird-island of Drangay. On the 4th of June I found on a mountain
near Bard, in Fljoten, a nest with six fresh eggs under a large block of stone; and on the 12th of
June I also found six slightly incubated eggs at Akureyri. Although many Snow-Buntings
migrate, still a large quantity remain in Iceland; and their numbers are increased by arrivals
from Greenland.” Professor von Middendorff, who took several nests in Siberia, writes that
“most of the nests were lined with Ptarmigan feathers, carefully arranged by the female. In
a nest close to our tent the Reindeer-hair off our rugs formed a lining. ‘The nest itself is com-
posed of grasses, the finer portions of which are inside; occasionally outside this grass-nest is a
layer of moss or rarely of roots, and even dried twigs of the dwarf birch; generally, however, it
is only composed of grass-straws.” Mr. A. Benzon, of Copenhagen, who, in his rich collection,
possesses numerous nests and a large series of eggs from various parts of Greenland and Northern
Scandinavia, informs me that “the nest consists of a bulky foundation of dried grass, usually
lined with feathers and down, and sometimes with hair only; the nest measures from 120 and
60 outside measure, and 70 and 40 inside measure, to 140 and 80 outside, and inside 70 and 45
millimetres respectively. In Greenland it usually builds its nest in the stone heaps, occasionally
in old graves, and appears to lay more eggs (seven to eight) there than in Northern Europe,
where it deposits only five to six. Mr. Benzon has several nests from Godhavn, in North
Greenland, some containing seven, others eight eggs. The ground-colour of the eggs of this
species is bluish white, sometimes with a violet tinge. Like the eggs of all the Buntings they
vary considerably in the markings, which in some consist merely of underlying surface-spots
without shell-markings, whereas others are closely covered with dark rust-brown spots and
scratches, which in some are dark, almost blackish brown. In many the spots are collected
and form a ring round the larger end. The so-called brand-spots are often seen; but, on the
other hand, the scratches are not so common as on other Buntings’ eggs. In size they vary from
20 by 155 to 24 by 17, the normal size being 21 by 163 millimetres.”

I have in my collection a large series of the eggs of this species, chiefly obtained through

alia
1

Mr. Benzon, and, on looking over them, find that I can add nothing to his description above
translated.

On the one Plate two males are figured, the bird to the right being in full breeding-
plumage, and that to the left in spring plumage before the white edges of the dorsal feathers
have worn off, in which stage it often does duty in collections as an adult female. On the
second Plate the adult female, in late autumn plumage, is figured with a Lapland Bunting
killed at the same season. The female in breeding-plumage is not figured, as I intended, if
my friend succeeded in finding the nest, to figure the female and nestlings on an extra plate.
The specimens figured and described are in my own collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 3. Yarmouth, April 4th, 1870; 6. Glen Tanar, Aberdeenshire (W. Cunliffe Brooks). c,d,3. Stubbekjebing,
Denmark, February 22nd, 1871 (A. Benzon). e, 2. Christiania, April 7th, 1866 (R. Collett). f, d,9,@.
Falképing, Sweden, March 20th, 1871 (Meves). h,d. Quickjock, Lapland, June 3rd (H. Wheelwright) -
2,9. Finland, April 16th, 1861 (Hd. E. D.). j, 5. Greenland, summer, 1870 (Meves). &. Greenland
(Erichsen). 1,3,m,9 est. Greenland. n,d,0. Dunns Marsh, St. John, N. B., April 4th, 1862 (H.#.D.).
p, 2. Hampstead, March 17th, 1870 (Davy).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a,é. Greatham, Durham, January 5th, 1867; 4. Yarmouth, November 6th, 1867; c. Winter plumage, Castle
Eden (H. B. T.). d. N. America (H. Buckley).

E Mus. Baron A. von Hiigel.

a. Sweden, November 1868. 6,c. Yarmouth, November. d. Hiddensee,Germany, February. e. Hiddensee,
April. f, g. Canada, 1870.

CRRA: EF
ahs Baas tee | .
ite .

Section IV. OSCINES SCUTELLIPLANTARES.

Family ALAUDIDA.

Genus CERTHILAUDA.

Upupa apud Desfontaines, Mém. de l’Acad. 1787, p. 504.

Alauda apud Stanley in Salt’s Trav. to Abyss. App. p. lx (1811).
Certhilauda, Swainson, Zool. Journ. ii. p. 344 (1827).

Alaemon apud Keyserling & Blasius, Wirbelth. Eur. p. xxxvi (1840).
Thinotretes apud Gloger, Naturg. p. 266 (1842).

Saxicola apud Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1847, p. 130.

Tuts section, containing the Larks, differs materially from all other sections of the Oscines in
having the posterior surface of the tarsus scutellate instead of plain. It may very fairly be
divided into eight genera, the first of which, Certhilauda, may be called more especially an
African group, all the species included in it belonging to the Ethiopian Region except the two
which range into the Western Palearctic Region, the larger of which is found as far east in
Asia as Sindh. The species included in this genus are inhabitants of the desert, and are said
to be much more solitary in their general habits than the other Larks. They do not perch
much, but run with great swiftness, like the Coursers. They feed on insects of various kinds,
and to some extent also on seeds; their flight is short and light; their note is a somewhat
melancholy whistle; and their song, which is usually uttered whilst they are on the wing, is
pleasing, though not varied. They are said to make a rather slight nest, which they place on
the ground, and deposit rather large eggs, dull white in colour, blotched and spotted with
brown.

The type of the genus is Certhilauda capensis (Bodd.), which does not occur in Europe ;
but as Certhilauda desertorum is congeneric with it, I give its characters, as follows:—bill elon-
gated, curved, tapering, moderately strong; nostrils oval, placed in the anterior portion of the
nasal membrane; wings long, the first quill not much longer than the coverts, the second
shorter than the sixth, the third and fourth about equal and longest; tail moderately long,
nearly even; legs long, rather slender, feet weak; tarsus covered in front with seven large and
three inferior scutelle, and posteriorly also scutellate; claws rather short, stout, slightly curved,
rather blunt.

In the article on this species I named this bird Certhilauda desertorum; but I have since
ascertained that the bird described by Desfontaines (Mém. de ]’Acad. 1787, p. 504) under the
name of Upupa alaudipes, is certainly the present species, which should therefore bear the name
of Certhilauda alaudipes (Desf.).

64,

NI

226

peers

J.G Keulemans del Mintern Bros. imp

CURVE BILLED LARK.
CERTHILAUDA DESERTORUM

CERTHILAUDA DESERTORUM

(CURVE-BILLED LARK.)

Alauda desertorum, Stanley in Salt’s Tray. to Abyss. App. p. Ix. (1811).
Alauda bifasciata, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 27 (1823).

Certhilauda bifasciata (Licht.), Swains. Classif. of B. ii. p. 293 (1837).
Alaemon desertorum (Stanl.), Keys. & Blas. Wirbelth. Eur. p. xxxvi. (1840).
Thinotretes, Gloger (A. bifasciata, Licht.), Naturg. p. 266 (1842).
Saxicola pallida, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1847, p. 130 (nec Riipp.).
Certhilauda desertorum (Stanl.), Bp. Conspect. Gen. Av. p. 246 (1850).
Certhilauda meridionalis, A. i. Brehm, Journ. fiir Orn. 1854, p. 77.
Certhilauda salvini, Trist. Ibis, 1859, p. 57.

Certhilauda dorie, Salvad. Att. R. Accad. Sc. Torino, 1868, p. 292.
Alemon jessit, Finsch, P. Z. 8. 1869, p. 430.

Bifasciated Lark, Curve-billed Lark, English; Alouette bifasciée, French.

Figure notabiles.
Temminck, Pl. Col. 393; Rupp. Atl. tab. 5; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 168.

3 ad. supra pallidé rufescenti-isabelliaus, capite et nuchd vix griseo tinctis, uropygio pallidiore: primariis,
nisi in parte basali, nigricantibus: secundariis albis, centraliter valdé nigricante fasciatis: tectricibus
alarum minoribus pallidé fuscis, isabellino marginatis, majoribus fuscis albo terminatis: cauda nigra,
rectricibus duabus extimis in pogonio externo albis, duabus mediis dorso concoloribus sed centraliter
saturatioribus, rhachibus nigricantibus: corpore subtis albo, pectore summo nigricante guttato et vix
grisescente isabellino lavato: superciliis albidis: facie laterali ante, pone et infra oculos nigricante
notato: tectricibus alarum inferioribus et axillaribus albis: rostro pallidé fusco: pedibus grisescenti-
albidis: iride fusca.

© mari similis.

Adult Male (Algeria). Upper parts pale rufescent isabelline, with a greyish tinge on the head and nape;
scapulars slightly more rufescent than the back; primary quills blackish, except at the extreme base,
where they are white, the white increasing in area on the inner ones; innermost primary tipped with
white; secondaries white, with a broad blackish band across the centre; larger wing-coverts dark
brown, tipped with white, smaller ones dull brown, broadly margined with isabelline; rump and upper
tail-coverts much paler than the rest of the upper parts, the latter being margined with whitish ; central
rectrices sandy isabelline with darker centres, the shafts of the feathers blackish, remaining rectrices
blackish brown, the outermost having the outer web white; underparts white, on the breast slightly
washed with grey and spotted with blackish brown; sides of the face before, behind, and below the eye
marked with black, over the eye a tolerably distinct whitish streak ; beak pale brown; legs greyish
white ; iris brown. Total length nearly 8 inches, culmen 1:15, wing 4°7, tail 3°55, tarsus 1:3.

Female. Similar to the male.
302

Vt

a

216

2

Obs. In the series I have before me I find considerable variation in the tone of colour, some specimens
being much greyer, and some much more rufous than others; but I find that these appear to be merely
individual varieties, entirely irrespective of age, sex, or the season of the year when the specimens were
obtained ; for I find both grey and red males and females varying equally in colour, and the grey
specimens are killed at the same time of the year as others very red in tinge. The most rufous bird is
one from Nubia, in Canon Tristram’s collection; and the greyest one is the specimen I have figured in
the back-ground, an adult male from Egypt.

A TRUE inhabitant of the desert, the present species is found only in the sandy districts in
Northern Africa and in the deserts of Western Asia; but it is said to have occurred on the
northern shores of the Mediterranean, though the records of its having been met with there
rest on but slight grounds. Schlegel (Rey. Crit. p. lviii) states that it has been met with in
Andalucia; but none of the later writers on the ornithology of Spain appear to believe that it
has ever really occurred there. Malherbe (Faune Orn. de la Sicil. p. 107) certainly states that
it occurs during migration in Sicily and in Provence; but he gives no instance of a specimen
having been obtained, and later investigation tends to show that he must have laboured under
some mistake. Both Von der Mihle (Orn. Griechenl. p. 34) and Lindermayer (Vog. Griechenl.
p. 47) include it as occurring in Greece, and say that it is not uncommon on the arid plains
between Megara and Thebes; but, as they do not give any descriptions, it is not possible to

decide whether they really obtained the present species or not. Degland and Gerbe and

Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye speak of it as occurring in the south of France, but
give no authority; and altogether its presence north of the Mediterranean is enveloped in con-
siderable doubt and obscurity. Cabanis (Mus. Hein. i. p. 126) records it from Candia; and
Canon Tristram (Ibis, 1866, p. 289) says that he saw it several times in Palestine, but only
obtained a single specimen. Mr. C. W. Wyatt (Ibis, 1870, p. 15) records it from Ain Musa,
in the Sinaitic peninsula; and in North-eastern Africa it is common throughout the desert
region down to 16° N. lat.”» Captain Shelley (Ibis, 1871, p. 139) says that he only met with it
twice in Egypt; but Dr. Leith Adams (Ibis, 1864, p. 24) speaks of it as being “not uncommon,
either solitary or in small flocks, around the pyramids and along the edge of the desert to Nubia.”
Messrs. Finsch and Hartlaub record it from Egypt, Nubia, and Sennaar; Von Heuglin (Ibis, 1859,
p. 343) says that it is found on the Red Sea, south of Berenice (Ras Benass, 24° N. lat.), along the
East-African coast to the Somali country; and I have specimens from Aden. Mr. Blanford found
it in Abyssinia, common about Zoulla, but comparatively rare near Massowa. In North-western
Africa it is numerous in the desert country. Major Loche speaks of it as being common in the
Sahara, and he observed it from Laghouat to Waregla; and all the other naturalists who have
collected in Algeria speak of it as being a common species. Mr. Taczanowski (J. f. O. 1870, p. 44)
says that it is found in the province of Constantine, where it frequents the bush-covered desert.

To the eastward the present species is found as far as Sindh, where, Mr. A. O. Hume says
that, as far as his experience goes, “it is confined to the more sandy tracts included in the broad
strip of comparative desert which, almost everywhere, borders the bases of the hills that alike on
the north and west separate Sindh from Khelat.” Mr. Blanford met with it in Persia; and
De Filippi records it from Bender Abbas; but Severtzoff does not refer to it as having been
observed by him in Turkestan.

3

In its habits the present species is a true desert bird; and, unlike most of the Larks, it
appears to be rather solitary in its mode of life than otherwise, and does not ever collect in
flocks. Von Heuglin (J. f. O. 1868, p. 231) says that “it affects sandy flat country. with but
little vegetation, often visits the caravan-roads, goes in pairs, and does not wander much. In
many respects, particularly in its flight and song, it differs from its congeners; it goes generally
on the ground, runs much about hunting after insects, which form its chief subsistence. When
running swiftly, which it generally does in a direct line, it often suddenly stops, but only for an
instant, either to look about or to alter its direction, just as Cursorius does. Its short, light, and
soft flight has some resemblance to that of the Hoopoe; its note is a melancholy querulous
whistle. When singing the bird does not rise in the air; nor does it seem to care for elevated
positions, such as an elevated stone or a bush, and does not soon leave the place it has taken
possession of. ‘The Desert-Lark is seldom seen near water, unless by chance its habitat adjoins
some ; on the contrary, it generally inhabits the most burnt-up driest desert, often places where
not a drop of rain falls for years.” Mr. Taczanowski, writing respecting its habits as observed by
him in Algeria, says (J. f. O. 1870, p. 44) that “‘when suddenly disturbed it flies on to a bush, from
which it drops again to the ground, and runs off swiftly, being then usually impossible to flush
again. ‘The males commenced singing about the 10th March; and though rather a peculiar
songster, it is perhaps the best that is found there. It rises in the air to an altitude of about

fifty feet, utters three notes, which it repeats three times in a clear loud tone, finishes off with a

triller, and drops down on to its perch on a bush.” Canon Tristram also (Ibis, 1859, p. 427) says,
“unlike its congeners it seems to be a most solitary bird; and seldom, except in the breeding-
season, have I seen even two together. But a day rarely occurred when we did not obtain a few
specimens on the march; and, indeed, this game formed our principal and favourite animal food.
Although its uniform of inconspicuous drab renders it most difficult of detection on the ground,
its restless habits soon attract attention. The moment it extends its wings the broad black bar
across the snow-white secondaries attracts the eye, and renders it an easy mark. At first sight
it reminded me much of a Plover in the manner in which it rose and scudded away. Indeed
there is nothing of the Lark in its flight, except in early morning, when I have watched it rise
perpendicularly to some elevation, and then suddenly drop, repeating these gambols uninter-
ruptedly over exactly the same spot for nearly an hour, accompanying itself by a loud whistling
song. It runs with great rapidity, and it requires no little speed of foot to capture a broken-
winged victim. In the stomach of those I opened I found small coleoptera, sand-flies, and hard
seeds. There is something very graceful in all its movements; and the distinct markings of its
wings, and the expanson of its long black tail, render it really a beautiful bird when flying. ‘The
egg is very large, 12 lines by 8; the ground-colour like that of C. duponti, but the brown
blotches smaller and far more closely distributed, especially towards the broader end. It would
not be easy to select it out of a series of some varieties of Lantus excubitor.” ;

The specimens figured are the adult male above described, and another much greyer variety
from Egypt, an adult male obtained in January 1863, both being in my collection. _

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

4

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6. Algerian Sahara (Fairmaire). c,Q.N. Africa (Verreaux). d, 3. Ghizeh, Egypt, January i8th, 1863
(S. S. Allen). e, f, gy. Djeddah, Red Sea (S. S. Allen).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, ¢, 6, 6. Wed-Irluh, Sahara, December 9th, 1856 (H. B. T.). c, 2. Desert, Ain Bahrdad, December 3rd,
1856 (Hd. B. T.). d, 3. Desert of Souf, January 2nd, 1857 (H. B.T.). e, 2. Desert, El Mariar,
January 15th, 1857 (H. B. T.). f,g, 2. Laghouat, November 1856, types of C. salvint (1. B. T.).
h, ¢. Nubia, September 14th, 1851 (Brehm).

Javed

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CERTHILAUDA DUPONTLI

(DUPONT’S LARK.)

Alauda duponti, Vieill. Faun. Frang. p. 173 (1828).
Alemon dupont, Keys. & Blas. Wirbelth. p. 36 (1840).
Certhilauda duponti, Bp. Cat. Met. Ucc. Eur. no. 103 (1842).

Figure notabiles.
Vieill. Faun. Frang. pl. 76. fig. 2; Roux, Orn. Prov. i. pl. 186; Bree, B. of Eur. p. 184;
Werner, Atlas, —.

Ad. supra brunneus, plumis medialiter saturaté brunneis, fulvo marginatis: uropygio plumis dilutits brunneis,
angusté fulvo marginatis: tectricibus alarum pallidé brunneis, fulvo marginatis, majoribus, presertim
exterioribus, rufescente lavatis : remigibus cinerascenti-brunneis, primario primo extus albido, secundariis
fulvescente marginatis et rufescente lavatis: caudaé nigricante, rectricibus duabus centralibus pallideé
rufescentibus, reliquis rufescenti-fulvo limbatis, penultimaé extus albo limbata, extima feré omnino alba,
pogonio interno intus brunneo notato: loris, supercilio et facie laterali fulvescenti-albis, hic minuté
brunneo lineaté: regione parotica posticé brunned: fasciaé mystacali brunned indistincta: gutture
albido minuté brunneo punctulato: pectore superiore et hypochondriis fulvescenti-albidis, rufescente
lavatis et brunneo aut rufescente minuté lineatis: abdomine et subcaudalibus albicantibus: subalaribus
exterioribus fulvescenti-albis, interioribus et axillaribus pallidé brunnescentibus: rostro nigrescenti-

brunneo: pedibus pallide rufescentibus : iride brunnea.

Adult Male (Algerian Sahara). Head, back, and upper parts generally rufous brown, each feather bordered
with creamy buff or dirty white, those forming an indistinct streak along the centre of the crown, and
one above and behind each eye, as well as the sides of the nape, having broad white margins ; quills
dull dark brown, the first primary having the outer web white, the remaining quills with the outer web
edged with pale creamy brown, the secondaries being tipped, and the innermost secondaries margined
ou both webs, with the same colour; scapulars the same as the back; tail dark brown, the outermost
feather on each side white, with the inner web brown at the base, this colour narrowing off towards the
tip, the two central feathers pale reddish brown; chin and throat white, a narrow streak of dark
feathers from the base of each side of the mandible passing downwards and meeting the spots on the
lower part of the throat; auriculars and sides of the head dull white, washed with rufous ; breast
white, on the lower part washed with rufous buff, and spotted with dark brown and dark rufous, each
feather having a dark centre; flanks streaked with rufous; rest of the underparts white; under wing-
coverts dull buff; beak elongated and curved, blackish brown in colour; legs pale reddish ; the feet
small and feeble; iris brown. Total length 7:5 inches, culmen 1:0, wing 4:0, tail 2°8, tarsus 0°87,
hind toe 0:37, hind claw 0°38.

Young. Feathers on the upper parts conspicuously bordered with rufous; the quills edged with bright red ;
the spots on the throat very pronounced, and the white on the abdomen and under tail-coverts washed
with yellowish (fide Loche).

Few, if any, of our Larks are so little known as the present species, which, inhabiting the

200

2

Algerian Sahara, is even there so rare that only now and then a stray specimen or two find their
way into collectors’ cabinets. It has been stated by several authors to have occurred in Spain,
Southern France, and Greece; but we have failed to find any undoubted instance of its occurrence
anywhere out of Northern Africa; and only on its being found there can we include it in our
work as an inhabitant of the Western Palearctic Region. Temminck, Schinz, and Bree speak of
it as inhabiting Syria, and Degland and Gerbe as found in Eastern Asia; but we fail to find any
ground for believing that it has ever occurred there. Degland and Gerbe write that it occasionally
appears in the south of Europe, and has occurred in Southern Spain, on the Island of Hyéres, and
that several specimens have been procured in the Marseilles market; but, on the other hand,
Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye deny this last statement as to its ever having been pro-
cured in Marseilles, and doubt its occurrence north of the Mediterranean. Roux writes that he
had “never been able to procure this Lark in Provence, although it has been observed during
migration.”

As regards its supposed occurrence in Greece, Count von der Miihle, in treating of Galerida
cristata, describes as a new species, under the name of Alauda ferruginea, a Lark which most
authors have considered to be the present bird; but we are by no means certain that this is the
case, as the description given by Von der Miihle of the bird obtained by him does not tally with
Certhilauda duponti, especially as regards the tail; for one distinguishing characteristic of this
species consists of the white outer tail-feathers, and in Alauda ferruginea these feathers are
described as being dark isabelline reddish brown. For the better elucidation of this question we
give a translation of the original description of Alauda ferruginea, as follows :—“ In the general
arrangement of colours it agrees with G. cristata, but is everywhere brighter and more fiery
red. The edges of the feathers on the upper parts are reddish isabelline, and the earthy grey
tint is entirely wanting; the throat, instead of being white, is cream-coloured, and the brown
spots on the throat are much darker; the entire underparts are rich light isabelline; the sides
and under tail-coverts redder and darker, without any trace of dark shaft-markings; the outer-
most tail-feather and the edge of the second, as also a portion of the inner web, dark isabelline
reddish brown, the others black, lighter at the tip, almost forming an apical spot; the beak very
long, reminding one of that of Alauda bifasciata, the under mandible horn-yellow, the upper
mandible brownish horn.” ‘The above description seems rather to point to a variety of the
common Crested Lark than to the present species; and we have accordingly expunged Alauda
ferruginea from our list of synonyms. It is to be regretted that Count von der Miihle has
omitted to give measurements, as, had he done so, there would have been a better chance of
ascertaining what the bird described really is.

Canon Tristram, writing on the ornithology of Northern Africa (Ibis, 1859, p. 427), states
that ‘“‘this elegant and delicately marked bird—a link between Galerida and Certhilauda,
beautifully illustrative of the gentle gradations by which Nature glides from one type to
another—is, I believe, the very rarest of all the Larks of the Sahara. I found it only in the
far south, in the Wed Nea, at which place it was also obtained by Captain Loche a few months
afterwards. Neither of us ever saw more than two or three pairs. The white outer tail-feathers
give it the appearance at first sight of our common Skylark, for which indeed it passed with my
companion, who was the first to shoot it. Captain Loche obtained a nest of four eggs, one of

3

which he kindly presented to me. As might have been expected, the eggs differ much from the
typical characteristics of the Lark. ‘They are very round, 94 lines by 8, of a soiled white colour,
with pale brown blotches sparsely scattered over the surface, bearing a strong resemblance to
small varieties of Lanius excubitor, but with an ivory polished surface.” Loche, who probably
had better opportunities of observing this bird than any collector who has explored in those
parts, writes that “‘ Dupont’s Lark is found in the Sahara of Algeria, where it frequents open
places, and feeds on insects and seeds. Its song is agreeable; and it sings usually early in the
morning (at daybreak), and in the evening at sunset; it runs rapidly, and its flight is strong; it is
to be met with singly or in small families, never in large flocks, and is shy and most difficult to
approach. Its nest is placed on the ground in the sand, and is shallow; the eggs, four in
number, are whitish, spotted and marked with reddish; in size they measure about 23 by 17
millimetres.” In Dresser’s collection are two eggs of this Lark, obtained from Loche, which tally
well with Canon Tristram’s description and comparison with the eggs of Lantus excubitor, being
dull white, spotted all over with hair-brown ; but in both these eggs the spots are collected at and
form a ring round the larger end. In size they measure 36 by $3 and 36 by 73 of an inch
respectively.

The specimen described and figured is one of Loche’s skins, obtained through Mr. E.
Fairmaire, of Paris, and is now in Dresser’s collection.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 6, c. Algerian Sahara (Loche).

Genus GALERITA.

Alauda apud Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 288 (1766).

Galerida, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 321.

Lullula apud Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 92 (1829).

Heterops apud Hodgson in Gray’s Zool. Misc. p. 84 (1844).
Certhilauda apud Blyth, J. A. 8. Beng. xiii. p. 962 (1844).
Galerita, Cabanis (ex Boie), Mus. Hein. i. p. 125 (1850-51).
Megalophonus apud Loche, Hist. Nat. Ois. d’Alg. i. p. 41 (1867).

Tue Crested Larks approach those belonging to the genus Certhilauda in form of bill, but differ
in habits both from them and to almost a greater degree from the other Larks. They are found
- in the Palearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, three species occurring as residents in the
Western Palearctic Region. They inhabit open country, both cultivated and wild, are, as a
rule, bold and confiding; and one species, Galerita cristata, may frequently be seen on roads and
in villages as tame as aSparrow. They are less gregarious than the true Larks; and their flight
is heavier than that of the Sky-Lark. They run with great celerity, but seldom perch in trees,
though they may be seen seated on fences by the road-side. They are tolerably good songsters,
having a soft pleasing note, which they utter either in the air or when perched on some elevation.
They feed on insects, seeds, worms, &c., which they pick up from the ground. ‘They build a cup-
shaped nest of grass-bents, which they place on the ground, and deposit several dull white eggs
spotted and blotched with purplish grey and brown.

Galerita cristata, the type of the genus, has the bill slightly elongated, moderately strong,
the upper_.mandible extending somewhat beyond the lower one; nostrils basal, concealed by
recurved feathers; wings moderately long, broad, the first quill shorter than the coverts, the
second shorter than the fifth, the third, fourth, and fifth nearly equal and longest; tail moderate,
slightly emarginate; legs stout, rather long, the tarsus covered in front with six large and three
inferior scutelle, and posteriorly scutellate; claws short, curved, except the hind claw, which is
very long and slightly curved; plumage close, crown conspicuously crested.

65

206

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GALERITA CRISTATA.

(CRESTED LARK.)

Alauda senegalensis cristata, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 862. no. 10, “Senegal” (1760), ex Adanson.

Alauda cristata, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 288. no. 6, “ Europe” (1766).

Le Cochevis, D’Aubent. Pl. Enl. 503. f. 1.

Cochevis du Sénégal, D’Aubent. op. cit. pl. 504. f. 1.

Le Cochevis, ow la grosse Alouette huppée, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. v. p. 66, pl. 5 (1778).

Alauda cochevis, L.S. Miller, Syst. Nat. Suppl. p. 134. no. 2 (1776), ex D’Aubent. pl. 503. f. 1.

La Coquillade, D’Aubent. op. cit. pl. 662.

La Coquillade, Montb. tom. cit. p. 77, “ Provence” (1778), =Alauda cristata, var., fide
Temm. Man. d’Om. (1815), p. 159; av. juv., fide Temm. op. cit. (1835) iii. p. 205.

Alauda matutina, Bodd. Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 40. no. 662 (1783), ex D’Aubent. pl. 662.

Alauda undata, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 797. no. 22 (1788), ex Montb. tom. cit. p. 77.

Alauda senegalensis, L. 8. Miller, tom. cit. p. 137. no. 15 (1776), ex D’Aubent. pl. 504. f. 1.

La Grisette ow le Cochevis du Sénégal, Montb. tom. cit. p. 79, “ Niger, Senegal” (1778).

Alauda senegalensis, Bodd. (mot. propr.) torn. cit. p.29.no.504(1783), ex D’Aubent. pl. 504.f. 1.

Alauda senegalensis, Gm. (mot. propr.) tom. cit. p. 797. no. 23 (1788), ex Briss. no. 10.

Galerida cristata (Linn.), Boie, Isis, xxi. p. 821 (1828).

Lullula cristata (Linn.), Kaup, Entwickelungs-Gesch. europ. Thierw. pp. 92, 192 (1829).

Galerida viarum, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschlands, p. 315, ‘‘ North-western Germany” (1831).

Galerita undata (Gm.), C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 316, “ France, Switzerland” (1831).

Alauda cristata, Pallas (mot. propr.), Zoogr. Rosso-Asiatica, i. p. 523. no. 149, ‘South
Russia” (1831)

Alauda galerita, Pallas, tom. cit. p. 524. no. 150, “ Russia, Siberia, Dauria” (1831).

Alauda chendoola, Franklin, P. Z.S. 1851, p. 119. no. 64, ‘Central India.”

Alauda gulgula, Franklin, ap. Sykes, P. Z. 8. 1832, p. 92. no. 97, “ Dukhun,” nec Franklin,
2 fide Hors. & Moore, Cat. Mus. E. I. C. ii. p. 466.

Alauda cristata, Linn., Riippell, neue Wirbelthiere, Vogel, p. 104, “common in Egypt,
Nubia, and Abyssinia” (1835). ;

Alauda deva, Sykes, ap. Jerd. Madr. J. Sc. xi. p. 31. no. 186, ‘“‘ Southern India” (1840), nec
Sykes.

Heterops cristatus (Linn.), Hodgson, Gray’s Zool. Misc. p. 84. no. 729, ‘‘ Nipaul” (1844).

Certhilauda chendoola (Franklin), Blyth, J. A. 8. B. xiii. p. 962, “‘ Bengal, Nipaul, N. India
generally, Scinde” (1844).

Certhilauda boysit, Blyth, J. A.S. B. xv. p. 41, ‘“‘ Bengal” (1846).

Galerida chendoola (Franklin), Blyth, Cat. Cale. Mus. p. 133. no. 740, “sandy plains of
India” (1848).

Alauda cristata, Linn., var. loc., Sundey. Gifv. Ak. Forh. 1849, p. __, ‘Sierra Leone.”

3D2

2

Galerida abyssinica, Bp. Consp. i. p. 245, “ Abyssinia” (1850), ex Riippell, /. c.

Galerida senegalensis (Gm.), Bp. tom. cit. p. 245. no. 4 (1850).

Galerida boysti (Blyth), Bp. tom. cit. p. 245. no. 5 (1850).

Galerita cristata (Linn.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 125. no. 666 (1851).

Galerita nigricans, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 123, “ Egypt, Thuringia” (1855).

Galerita major, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 124, “Germany, Hungary” (18955).

Galerita pagorum, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit. “Germany, Hungary ” (1855).

Galerita karinthiaca, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit. (1855).

Galerita rufescens, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit. (1855), nec Alauda rufescens, A. Brehm, J. f. O.
1854, p. 77.

Galerita lutea, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit. (1855); Habesch, p. 218 (1863), nec O. Brehm, Nau-
mannia, 1858, p. 210 (fide O. Finsch, Trans. Zool. Soc. vil. p. 316), =G. flava, A. Brehm,
J. f. O. 1854, p. 77, “ Kast Sudan.”

Galerita altirostris, O. Brehm, Vogelfang, p, 124, “‘ Upper Egypt” (1855).

Galerida senegalensis (Gm.), Hartl. Orn. West-Afr. p. 153. no. 466, ““ West Africa” (1857).

Galerita cristata vulgaris, C. L. Brehm, Naumannia, 1858, p. 207, “ Leipzig, Witten.”

Galerita cristata pallida, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit., “Spain” (1858).

Galerita cristata planorum, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit., “ Dalmatia” (1858).

Galerita cristata gallica, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 208, “vicinity of Lyons” (1858).

Galerita cristata tenuirostris, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit., “Sarepta” (1858).

Galerita cristata angustistriata, C. L. Brehm, loc. cit., “Spain, Greece, Nubia” (1858).

Galerita cristata maculata, C.L. Brehm, |loc.cit., ““Assuan,in Nubia; Masnou, in Spain” (1858).

Galerita abyssinica, Paul de Wiirt. (mot. propr.), C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 209, “ Abyssinia”
(1858).

Galerita theklae, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 210, “ mountains of Southern Spain, Sierra Nevada,
Jativa, near Valencia” (1858).

Galerita theklae major, L. C. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 213 (1858).

Galerita theklae minor, L. C. Brehm, loc. cit. (1858).

Galerida arenicola, Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 58, “ Algerian Sahara.”

Alauda leautungensis, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 256, “ Leautung, Talien Bay (N. China ”).

Galerida leautungensis, Swinhoe, P. Z. 8. 1863, p. 272.

Galerida cristata (Linn.), Jerd. B. of Ind. i. p. 437. no. 769, “ India” (1863).

Galerida brachyura, Tristram, P. Z. 8S. 1864, p. 435. no. 81, “ Palestine.”

Galerita cristata (Linn.), De Filippi, Viagg. Persia, p. 348, “ Persia” (1865).

Galerita boysii, Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 48.

Alauda cristatella, Mus. Lugd., fide V. Heuglin, Cab. J. f. O. 1868, p. 223, “ Egypt.”

Alauda (Galerita) arenicola?, Tristram, var. fusca, Blanford, Geol. & Zool. Abyssinia, p. 387.
no. 176, “ Ashangi” (1870).

Galerida cristata(Linn.),Swinhoe, P.Z.S.1871, p.390.no. 419,“ Talienwan and Pekin valleys.”

Alauda marginipennis, Pr. Wiirt., fide V. Heuglin, Orn. Nordost-Afrikas, p. 681 (1871).

Galerita magna, Hume, “ Lahore to Yarkand,” p. 270, pl. xxx., “ Yarkand” (1873).

(The above by Lord Walden.)

3

Cochevis huppé, French; Cotovia, Portuguese; Cujada, Carretera, Spanish; Capellaccia,
Italian; Haubenlerche, German; Kuifleewwerik, Dutch; Toplerke, Danish; Topplirka,
Tofslérka, Swedish ; Javronok chochlatyi, Russian ; Smieciucha, Polish, Cubaha, Moorish.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, /. c.; Naum. Vog. Deutschl. pl. 99. fig. 1; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 165; B. of
Gt. Brit. pt.ix.; Yarr. Brit. B. 2nd ed. i. p. 455; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. Afb. pl. xviil.; Schl.
Vog. Nederl. pl. 151; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. tab. 16. fig. 16; Sundev. Sv. Fogl. taf. Ixix.
fig. 4; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 3; Hume, l.c.

3 ad. supra brunneus, dorsi plumis medialiter saturaté brunneis, marginibus earum grisescenti-fulvis: pileo
dorso concolori, cristz plumis longissimis atque angustatis omnino saturaté brunneis, angusté isabellino
utrinque marginatis: loris et supercilio supra regionem paroticam distinctits isabellino-fulvis: annulo
oculari fulvescenti-albo: genis lactescenti-albis, fulvo paullulim adumbratis et lined nigricante indi-
stincta longitudinaliter notatis: regione paroticd brunned isabellino lavata, parte superiore saturatius
brunnea: colli lateribus dorso concoloribus, eodem modo saturaté brunneo medialiter striatis; tectri-
cibus alarum minimis brunneis, grisescenti-fulvo lavatis, medianis et majoribus brunneis, medialiter
valdé saturatioribus, laté fulvo marginatis: remigibus brunneis, exttis rufescente isabellino angusté
marginatis, secundaris dorsalibus grisescenti-fulvo, dorso concolori lavatis: dorsi postici et uropygii
plumis dorso reliquo concoloribus, sed angustits saturaté brunneo medialiter striatis: tectricibus supra-
caudalibus magis rufescentibus, medialiter plus minusve brunneo adumbratis: rectricibus nigricanti-
brunneis, plumis duabus centralibus minus saturatis et fulvo vix rufescente tinctis: rectricis extimee
pogonio externo et pogonio interno versus apicem obliqué rufescenti-isabellino, proxime pogonio externo
vix héc colore lavato, rectricibus omnibus ad apicem angustissimé albidis: subtus lactescenti-fulvus,
fascia mystacali nigricante indistincté: pectoris superioris plumis distincté medialiter saturaté brunneis,
hypochondriis eodem colore angusté striolatis: tectricibus subalaribus cum axillaribus et rectricum
pogonio interno rufescenti-isabellinis: rostro saturaté flavicanti-brunneo : pedibus brunnescenti-carneis :
iride brunnea.

& hiem. vix & ptilosi estiva distinguendus, sed paullo obscurior.

2 haud 4 mari distinguenda.

Juv. pallidé brunneus, plumis anté apicem saturaté brunneis, omnibus distincté albo terminatis: crista
distincté saturaté brunned, albo terminaté: dorso imo et uropygio fulvescentibus brunneo transfas-
ciolatis: tectricibus supracaudalibus claré rufescenti-isabellinis: caud& nigricante, pennis quatuor
pallidé brunneis extus fulyo marginatis et ad apicem albis, rectrice extima versus apicem claré fulves-
centi-isabellina, pogonio externo albido: ala pallidé brunned, tectricibus alarum albo, majoribus autem
fulvo laté marginatis, primariis fulvo, secundariis dorsalibus albo limbatis: subtts albescens, pectore
superiore brunneo vario: subalaribus albicantibus isabellino lavatis: remigum pogonio interno isabellino-
fulvo.

Adult Male. Wead brown, all the feathers margined with grizzly buff, and having a somewhat striped
appearance where the brown bases show through; arising from the centre of the crown a very con-
spicuous crest, composed of eight or ten narrow elongated plumes, the longest of which, when the crest
is erect, reaches beyond the occipital line of the skull; these plumes are blackish brown in colour, with

237

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rs

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a
Ne!

Obs.

4

a narrow lateral margin of sandy buff, broader on the smaller, narrower and more inclining to rufous
on the larger ones; upper surface of the body brown, the feathers of the neck and back blackish brown
in the centre, margined with buff, giving them the appearance of being broadly striped down the centre ;
the lower part of the back and rump more grizzly, the feathers darker in the centre, but not so broadly
marked as in the upper part of the back; least wing-coverts brown, edged with buff, very like the rest
of the back; greater and median coyerts brown, rather darker in the centre of each feather, and con-
spicuously margined and tipped with clear fulvous, which shades off into a very narrow white edging ;
primaries and their coverts brown, externally margined with pale rufous, the secondaries washed with
greyish buff, so that the innermost are about the same colour as the back; upper tail-coverts brown in
the centre of the feather, but slightly more rufous than the rump; tail-feathers blackish, the four
centre ones (the two middle feathers especially) inclining to clear brown, darker in the centre, and
shading off into fulvous on the edge, the outer feather decidedly rufous on the external web, this colour
also occupying a great portion of the inner one also, the second feather also slightly rufescent towards
the tip of the outer web; all the tail-feathers narrowly margined with whitish at the tip; lores,
extending backwards into a narrow eyebrow, which is almost imperceptible, till it widens out into a
broad line behind the ear-coverts, pale isabelline; a ring of feathers round the eye buffy white; cheeks
whitish, somewhat tinged with fulvous on the hinder part, with a tolerably defined line of blackish
feathers running from below the eye lengthways along the cheek; ear-coverts brownish, darker on the
upper margin, many of the feathers mesially streaked with blackish brown, giving the appearance of
irregular lines ; under surface of the body creamy white, with a tinge of isabelline colour on the breast ;
the sides of the throat marked with little spots of blackish brown, forming an irregular kind of
moustache ; the feathers of the upper part of the breast more distinctly streaked with mesial streaks of
the same colour, and the flanks narrowly striped with blackish shaft-lines; under wing-coverts.
axillaries, and the greater part of the inner web of the quills clear isabelline rufous, with a few mesial
marks of dark brown on the small feathers running along the carpal bend of the wing; bill dull
yellowish brown; feet pale flesh-brown; iris dark brown. Total length 6-9 inches, culmen 0-75,
wing 3:9, tail 2°5, tarsus 1:0.

I cannot perceive any noticeable differences in the sexes of the Crested Lark; nor does the winter
plumage appear to differ from the summer dress, beyond being a little more dingy in appearance, owing
doubtless to the assumption of grey edgings to the feathers, as is the case with all Larks at this
season of the year.

Young. Very much paler than the adult, and having all the feathers of the upper surface barred near the

Obs.

tip with a narrow subterminal line of blackish brown and a much broader apical bar of white; the crest
fully shown, and the feathers composing it darker brown; the eyebrow also clearly indicated by a line
of white feathers; lesser and median wing-coverts very broadly margined with white, the greater
coverts margined with fulvous white; quills edged with pale isabelline, the innermost secondaries with
white; lower part of the back and rump fulvous, indistinctly crossed with brownish bars; upper tail-
coverts pale rufous; tail blackish, the middle feathers very pale brown, irregularly crossed with
transverse bars of dusky brown, and edged with whitish at the tip; the outer feather pale rufous,
merging into white along the external web; under surface of the body whitish, with a slight shade of
fulvous on the breast, which is marked with numerous small spots of brown; under wing-coverts
whitish, with a pale isabelline shade, not so deep as the inner web of the quills, which are decided
isabelline rufous, almost as dark as in the adults.

After having most carefully examined a large series of Crested Larks I have come to the conclusion
that in Europe north of the Mediterranean there is but one species of Crested Lark, and that the

5

Indian bird does not differ from that met with in Europe. In Northern Africa, however, are two
species which, though closely allied to our Crested Lark, I have decided in keeping distinct. The first
of these (Galerita macrorhyncha) differs in being larger in size, and having a much larger and more
powerful bill than G. cristata; but occasional large varieties of this latter species, as, for instance, one
which I have examined, from Abyssinia, approach rather near to it. The second species (Galerita
isabellina) is a pale desert Crested Lark, having a very short small bill, and is easily distinguishable
even from pale varieties of G. cristata. Both these species are figured on the same Plate; and I have
also on another Plate figured the two extreme varieties from Abyssinia, to which reference is made
below.

Taking the series of Crested Larks in regular order, I may make the following remarks on the specimens
from different localities :—

Scandinavia. One single specimen in my collection, from Skane, in Sweden, differs in no respect from
examples from various parts of Germany.

Germany. A large series from different localities in Germany present no distinguishable differences; one
example shot by me at Alt-Orsova, in Hungary, is rather small, but not less in size than others from
Westphalia.

Holland and France. One specimen from Holland and three from France do not in the least differ from
those obtained in Germany.

Spain. Specimens from this country differ somewhat according to locality, those from the dry arid country
being slightly paler than others from more fertile localities, and having the underparts much whiter, in most
examples almost pure white, and the spots on the breast very dark and clearly defined. These are, I conclude,
the variety described by Brehm as a distinct species, under the name of Galerita theklae. From Aranjuez are
several specimens of this variety; but others from Malaga and Granada are precisely similar to German
examples.

Mr. E. F. von Homeyer, who met with the Crested Lark on the Balearic islands, considers that the
species found there is referable to G. theklae of Brehm, which he looks on as a good species, but which I
consider a mere variety of G. cristata. This bird, of which I have not examined a typical example, is said to
have the upper parts much darker than any Crested Lark, the markings on the underparts intenser, resembling
those on a Woodlark, the entire plumage closer and thicker than is generally the case in Crested Larks,
more resembling that of a Woodlark. The bird is described as altogether smaller, the wing from carpus
always under 100 millimetres, whereas all Crested Larks measure above 100 millimetres, bill almost straight,
2-4, millimetres, and the middle toe 2 millimetres shorter than that of G. cristata. The first primary is said
to be a good distinctive character, being always shorter in G. cristata than the other primaries, and in
G. theklae always longer. I cannot, however, after examining a large series of specimens from Spain, find that
any of the above characters hold good.

Italy. One single specimen from this country is identical with the German examples.

Greece. I can find no difference between examples from Central Europe and one collected near Corfu by
Mr. Hanbury Barclay.

Turkey. Three examples collected . by Mr. Robson agree precisely with the ordinary dark German
birds.

Asia Minor. One specimen collected by Mr. Robson agrees precisely with those from Turkey, both in
plumage and measurements.

Cyprus. A female from Canon Tristram’s collection does not differ from the preceding bird, except that
the underparts are somewhat paler.

Palestine. Seven specimens, all collected by Canon Tristram, closely resemble the pale variety above
referred to from Aranjuez, in Spain; one of these, marked by Canon Tristram Galerita arenicola, does not

Zo

6

in the least differ from the others; nor does another, his type of Galerita brachyura, except that the wing and
tail are a trifle shorter; but I have a dark bird from Egypt with equally short wings and tail.

Egypt. Five specimens from this country, collected by Captain G. E. Shelley, and one by Mr. E.
Cavendish Taylor, are precisely similar to the ordinary run of German birds, except that Mr. Taylor’s bird
has the spots on the breast rather larger and darker.

Abyssinia. Two examples are now before me, both of which were collected by Mr. Jesse, one at Senafé
on the 24th of April, and the other at Amba on the 21st of August; the former of these has the underparts
washed with pale rufous; the wings and tail very dark, and broadly margined with rufous; and the feathers
on the back also dark, and broadly margined with dull rufous brown. The latter approaches very closely to
specimens of G. macrorhyncha from Algeria both in measurements and colour, and especially in the size of
the bill, but is not equal in size to the smallest example of that species. It most closely resembles the bird
described by Mr. Hume, from Yarkand, under the name of Galerita magna. Of the above two specimens an
extra Plate will be given. One of the three Abyssinian specimens collected by Mr. Blanford, now in the
British Museum (spec. e), is an unusually dark bird, and has the breast very closely and distinctly spotted.

North-western Africa. From here I have a large and somewhas puzzling series. Of the true G. cristata,
similar in every respect to specimens from Germany and France, I have before me four from Algeria and four
from Tunis. Of the former, one from the collection of Canon Tristram is labelled G. abyssinica. Three others
from Algeria, differing merely in having the upper parts paler, and slightly tinged with rufous, and the tail
very rufous, are labelled by Canon Tristram G. abyssinica; but I cannot separate them specifically from the
Common Crested Lark. They appear to be tending towards the pale desert race, which I have preferred to
keep distinct under the name of G. isadellina, and agree very closely with that species in measurements, though
not in colour. Two more from Algeria, types of Canon Tristram’s Galerita arenicola, are in colour inter-
mediate between those last mentioned and typical examples of Galerita cristata from Germany; but in size,
and especially as regards the length of bill, they considerably exceed the former. ‘wo others, also from
Algeria, are both referable to G. isabellina, and are labelled by Canon Tristram as such. In measurements
they differ very slightly from the rufous varieties above spoken of, but are very pale sandy-coloured above, and
almost pure white below, only having a few markings on the breast, and still fewer on the throat. I have .
hesitated somewhat in deciding to separate G. isabellina as a distinct species; but as I have not in the series
before me any specimens forming a distinct link between it and G. cristata, I have deemed it advisable to keep
it distinct. Six other specimens, all obtained in Algeria, are referable to G. macrorhyncha, which is distin-
guishable from G. cristata by its larger size and much larger bill. It is true that individual specimens of the
latter do occasionally approach closely to the former ; but the smallest G. macrorhyncha is always larger than the
largest G. cristata, though in colour and shade of plumage they do not always differ. In the British Museum
are three specimens from Senegal which I have, thanks to the courtesy of the officials, been able to examine.
They bear the very closest resemblance to the variety from Spain, described by Brehm under the name of
G. theklae, both in measurements and plumage, and have the spots on the breast, ike those on the breast of
the Wood-Lark, very clearly defined.

From Asia I have specimens from :—

Persia. Nine birds from Shiraz and Bushire, collected by Mr. Blanford, differ somewhat infer se, one in
particular, a female from Shiraz, shot in the summer of 1870, being precisely similar in plumage to a rather
dull and dark bird from France, whereas one or two are as pale as the palest examples from Baluchistan, and
have the spots on the breast very clearly marked. The palest of these specimens, compared with Canon
Tristram’s type of G. arenicola, resembles it very closely both in colour of plumage and measurements.

Baluchistan. Three specimens, obtained by Mr. Blanford, are somewhat paler and a trifle greyer than
Persian examples, which they otherwise closely resemble, except that the underparts are very white without
any wash of buff, and the spots on the breast are very clearly defined ; compared with Spanish specimens of
what I suppose to be so-called G. theklae, they agree very closely.

7

India. Fifteen specimens from various parts of India differ somewhat inter se; but after a most careful
examination [ fail to detect any constant character by which to distinguish them from our European bird.
Mr. A. O. Hume, who has carefully examined a large series of Crested Larks from various localities in India,
writes in ‘Stray Feathers’ that “the plumage is excessively variable, but most of the Sindh birds belong to
one of two types, the grey brown and the desert or isabelline. I at one time believed that these were divisible
specifically ; but the examination of a large series convinces me that no such separation is either desirable or
possible. As a matter of fact this species is very variable alike in colour and size, both according to sex and
individuals. The wing varies from 3°5 in a small female to 4°32 in a very large male; and the bill at front in
like manner varies from 0:54 to 0:76. In ‘The Ibis’ for 1867, p. 48, Mr. Blyth remarks, ‘Galerita boysii,
nobis, proves to be a good species. Examples from Lahore have the wing 3:5, and the rest in proportion ;
otherwise resembling G. cristata.’ I am, however, compelled to suppress this supposed species, as well as
chendoola, Frankl.; the examination of a large series proves that it is impossible to draw a line anywhere
between the largest and smallest examples. A perfect series of the wings occurs; and as for the difference in
tone of plumage, big and little examples are alike met with amongst the brown, rufous, sandy or desert-colour,
and grey types. I have measured carefully some fifty specimens, and arranged them before me according to
the size of the wing. In this large series it is impossible to draw a line anywhere. As a rule, all the birds
up to the 3:9 are females, and those of 3°9 and upwards are males; but one female has a wing of 3:95, and
there is a male with a wing of only 3:6; but this is quite a young bird. Besides the variation in the bill and
wings, that in the hind claw is excessively great. Picking out the two extremes, I find that this varies from
0:28 to 0:6, and though the claws are, to a certain extent, proportional to the size of the bird, the longest claw
of all pertains to a female with a wing only 3:8. Again, the variation in the spottings on the breast is very
remarkable: in some these are large, well defined, blackish brown; in others they are mere blurred streaks, of
a somewhat pale brown; in some the spots are very numerous, in others there are not more than half a dozen
altogether.

“As regards the size, all that can be said is that all the biggest birds appear to be from the far west and
north-west.”

I have had the opportunity of examining the type and another specimen obtained at the same time of
Mr. A. O. Hume’s Galerita magna from Yarkand, which I consider to be referable to G. cristata. In general
plumage it very closely resembles the variety described by Canon Tristram under the name of G. arenicola ;
but, as will be seen by the table of measurements below, it has a rather longer wing and tarsus.

China. Six examples from Pekin, Talien Bay, and Heangshungfoo, amongst which are the types of
Mr. Swinhoe’s Alauda leautungensis, all being collected by that gentleman, agree well with Indian specimens,
but are a shade paler and slightly more rufescent than others from Germany.

I have not deemed it expedient to tabulate the measurements of each individual specimen in the above
series of Crested Larks, but give the following table, showing the maximum and minimum measurements of
the specimens from each country. I have, however, also given the measurements of Canon Tristram’s types
of Galerita brachyura and G. arenicola, and Mr. Hume’s G. magna separately.

Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

inch. inches. inches. inch.

Swedemyt. 2A ia so. Se O:7aN 39 — 25 — 10 —
Germany. -... .. . 06 -0:72 38-43 2:5 -2°8 0°85—1-05
Holland and France . . . . O7 —O°75 3841 2°45-2°6 0:9 -1:05
Sy og 6 0 6 0 5 6 OOHRS OG) 3°8-4'3 2°75 -2°8 0:9 -1:0
Itigihy, “ooo ot fo mops oo ORAe— 4:0 — 27 — 10 —
Greece es oi) wins ie OT 4-1 — 26 — 0:95 —
dhol ig) Glo ol 5! al toto © Ona 0Hs) 4:0-4:1 2:6 -2°65 0:9 -1:0
Cyprusee ss 2 se ee Oe — 39 — 275 — 10 —

3:

8
Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.
inch. inches. inches. inch.

Ralestine yee ea Oxi Oz75) 4:0 43 26 -2:9 10 —
5 G. brachyura . . . O75 — 38 — 2°35 — 10 —
WWeyES oo 14 oo ol oo OP Orr 38 -4°2 2°35-2°7 0:95-1:0
Abyssmia . . . . . . . 0°68-0°8 39 -41 2°4 —2°55 0-9 -1:05
N.-W. Africa . . . . . . O77 -0°8 3:8 —41 2°4 -2°9 1:0 -1'1
a G. arenicola . . 0°75-0°8 3:9 -40 2°8 -2°9 10 —
ISD 5 6 (os oo oo 8) OPO 3°95-4°3 25 -2°8 0:9 -0°95
DBANOMAIN. 5 5 6) 6 0 o WP OMe} 4°2 43 2°75-2°8 0-9 -1:0
l brio EW emg ect aComAUy SmeenISt meat U7 fers Oto} 37 —42 2:2 =2°7 0-9 -1:0
Yarkand, G. magna . . . . 0°75-0°8 4°25-4°35 29 — 1:09-1°1
China perience) ae en O;00—Os7/0 3°9 —4°2 2:5 -2°8 0-9 -1:0

Tue Crested Lark is found in Central and Southern Europe (seldom straggling to Northern
Europe), Northern Africa, and eastward into India and China. In Great Britain it has only
occurred as an extremely rare straggler. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., writes to me that he thinks
“six Crested Larks have altogether been obtained; and I can tell you in whose possession they
are. I pass over the one of Yarrell’s supplement, communicated to him by Mr. Bond, who
has the original notice and picture (which I searched for in the ‘Dublin Penny Journal’ at
Wheldon’s, without finding it), as its hind toe and nail were remarkably long. ‘The first real
specimen is Mr. Bond’s, said to have been killed at Littlehampton, and alluded to by Yarrell
and Morris, who merely say ‘ killed in Sussex,’ without mentioning any names. The Penzance
pair in Mr. Rodd’s collection and mine are recorded, Zool. p. 1497; and a third (Zool. p. 3033)
was, I am informed, destroyed in the town Museum; but perhaps my informant only meant that
it was badly stuffed. Another was obtained at Shoreham (Ibis, vi. p. 224) in 1863; and, lastly,
one was obtained at Budock Bottoms, near Falmouth, by Mr. Gill (Bullmore’s Cornish Fauna,
p- 20). Mr. Gill wrote to me that he still has this specimen. The one recorded as obtained on
Blackheath (Zool. p. 1167) is more than doubtful.”

Referring to the specimens obtained in Cornwall, Mr. Rodd writes as follows :—‘‘ There
were three specimens of this continental Lark captured in the immediate neighbourhood of
Penzance nearly at the same time; indeed two of them were together. These two birds were

observed on the top of a bank adjoining the sea-shore between Penzance and Marazion; and the

attention of Mr. Vingoe, who shot them, was particularly drawn to them by their peculiar flute-
like chirp, which somewhat resembled the note of the Wood-Lark. ‘The third example was
obtained in the same locality and about the same time by another person.”

It has not been recorded as occurring so far north as in Norway, but has been met with
in Southern Sweden, where Nilsson enumerates five instances of its occurrence, two of which
took place in midwinter. It has, however, been found breeding there; and Mr. Meves took a
nest containing five eggs near Trelleborg, where, however, this bird is not common.’ Dr. C. R.
Sundstré6m also writes that ‘‘it has on several occasions been seen in Skane, and once shot near
Upsala. It has been observed throughout the year; and I myself saw several in October 1861
and in January 1862 between Malmé and Lund, and shot two there. In June 1862 I saw one
near Malmo, but could not find the nest, though the bird by its anxious manner showed that

9

the nest was not far distant.” Magnus von Wright records the occurrence of one near
Helsingfors, in Finland, on the 27th of March, 1851; and Professor Malmgren informs me
that one was shot near Wyburg on the 27th of January, 1870; but it does not inhabit Northern
Russia. I have observed it in the Baltic Provinces, where, however, it is not common. In
Germany, Naumann records it as “far more abundant in the southern portion than in the
north, and not equally distributed, being far more numerous in some than in other districts.
In Holstein, Prussia, and Livonia it is not very common, in Anhalt, however, one of the most
abundant of the birds found there. Many remain over winter on the Main and Rhine, in
Franconia and Thuringia, arriving there in October and November, and leaving early in the
spring. In the north of Germany they are resident, only wandering to a certain extent in
small companies or pairs, being found in November and December, where they do not occur at
other seasons of the year. Old pairs breed year after year at the same place. Like the
Sparrows they affect the neighbourhood of habitations, and frequent public roads.” Mr. A.
Benzon, of Copenhagen, informs me that “it occurs but rarely in Denmark, and is met with
now and then, especially during the winter, on roads, in villages, and amongt farm buildings.
In habits it differs considerably from the Sky-Lark, and does not, like this, rise singing into the
air, but sits twittering in a rut; and when a cart or carriage approaches it flies off to a short
distance, and settles again, singing, and performs this manceuvre several times in succession.
In general it is not shy. I do not know if it breeds in Denmark; but I have eggs from the
peninsula, which are said to be those of this bird; and Fischer thinks that it breeds there
occasionally.” In Belgium, Baron de Selys-Longchamps writes, it is “rare during passage, and
occasionally breeds near Ostend;” but, as 1 am informed by Mr. H. M. Labouchere, “it is com-
paratively common in Holland, where it breeds, and may be seen the whole year through. It
seems, nevertheless, to be confined to certain localities, the villages on the coast appearing to be
its favourite places of resort; but the greatest number of these birds I have ever seen was near
the town of Kuilenburg, on the river Leck, where they seemed to be the only birds in the
neighbourhood; there I saw hundreds of them in the ploughed fields just outside the town, as
well as on the tops of the houses, and even on the telegraph-wires bordering the railway.”
De la Fontaine, in his work on the fauna of Luxemburg, writes that “its range appears to be
restricted to the dark soil, it being most numerous between Arlou and Thionville, and at
Echternach ; but it is nowhere so common as in the neighbourhood of Luxemburg.” In France
MM. Degland and Gerbe state that it is abundant and resident throughout the country. It
neyer assembles in flocks like the Sky-Lark, and prefers fields near roads, along which it is often
to be seen, especially in winter, seeking for food in the horse-dung. It is not such good eating
as other species of Lark; but it is much sought after by bird-catchers, owing to its facility for
learning and repeating notes whistled to it. To this De la Fontaine adds that it survives the
loss of its liberty but a short time; but Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye state that it is
common in the south of France, and supports captivity quite well, they having known caged
individuals live twelve and fifteen years. It is common in Portugal; and Dr. E. Rey writes to
me that he found it inhabiting different localities from those it affects in Hastern Europe, viz.
plains far distant from human habitations; but, on the other hand, Mr. Gervase F. Mathews,
R. N., informs me that “it occurs commonly near all the small villages I have visited in the
3E2

aS)

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10

neighbourhood of Lisbon, such as Moita, Villa Franca, Benifica, Ruguengo, &c., where it affects
dry roads and delights to scuffle and preen its feathers in the dust. It is by no means a shy
bird, as it is often seen in village streets and on footpaths through much-frequented gardens,
when, on the approach of any one, it almost invariably walks a short distance with erected crest,
every now and then pretending to pick something up from the ground before it takes wing. It
does not congregate in flocks, and seldom mixes with other species of the same genus, but is
usually found in pairs.” In Spain it is hkewise common; and from that country I have examined
a great variety of specimens, but consider that, though they vary somewhat inter se, all are
referable to the Common Crested Lark. Major Irby found it resident and very common in
Andalucia, and also observed it on the Rock of Gibraltar. Mr. Howard Saunders has lent me a
series of specimens from various parts of Spain for examination; and I have often seen it near
Madrid. Passing eastward again, we find it, according to Bailly, rare in Savoy, where it is only
met with during the two seasons of migration, that country being probably too mountainous to
suit this species. Doderlein records it as abundant, especially near Catania and Modonia; but,
curiously enough, it does not appear to occur in Sardinia; for Mr. A. B. Brooke writes that “ one
of the most remarkable points about the ornithology of Sardinia is the entire absence of this
bird, which has never yet been found in the island by any body; and although I kept a sharp
look-out during the months of April and May, when large flocks of A. arvensis, A. brachydactyla,
&c. were constantly passing, yet I never saw a single specimen. I can hardly help thinking,
however, that a few at any rate must pass through the island, as they are so common all round
the neighbouring coasts.” Nor has it been recorded from Malta by Mr. C. A. Wright, though
Schembri includes it as occurring there. It abounds near Pisa in winter, and is likewise common
in many other parts of Italy. Count von der Mihle states that it is not very common in Greece ;
but, according to Lindermayer, it is there “ resident, and in many parts very common. It frequents
the roads, vineyards, and gardens, leaving the desert places to others of its congeners, and breeds
in the middle of April.” Lord Lilford found it common at all seasons in Corfu and Epirus. In
Styria and throughout Austria, Hungary, and the Danubian Principalities I found it common ;
and Mr. Robson also records it as ‘* very numerous in Asiatic and European Turkey, and widely
spread over mountains and large plains, both on cultivated and uncultivated ground. It is a
wild bird, and frequents bare, open grounds, and often feeds and runs on pathways; it is partial
to sitting on stone walls and low buildings, and sometimes alights on trees. It is easily distin-
guished from the other Larks in flight. It congregates in small flocks in the winter, and is often
found feeding on barren hills, frequenting farmyards, and near buildings in the country. The
Crested Lark is not in request for eating ; and few are shot by sportsmen.” It is common on the
coasts of the Black Sea; and Professor Nordmann says that ‘‘ it remains throughout the year in
the south of Russia, frequenting the neighbourhood of habitations, and avoiding the unequal soil,
being therefore wanting in the mountain-districts of Abasia.” Mr. Leonida Sabandeff writes that,
‘though occasionally observed as far north as Moscow during the spring migration, it is chiefly
found in Central and Southern Russia; it breeds rarely in the Government of Tula, being
generally met with in the autumn, and then in large numbers; but further to the south it is a
resident. ‘The northern boundary of its range runs through the Governments of Kaluga, Tula,
Tamboff, and Saratoff. It is in general a bird of the black-soil districts, where it breeds and

il

even winters, being sedentary in the Governments of Charkoff and Voronege.” Kessler found it
frequenting gardens, orchards, villages, and towns, in which latter it is found about the streets
in company with Sparrows; and the peasantry in South-western Russia call it Posmetushka, or
dust-bird, as it is always seen about the dust-heaps. Eversmann writes that “it inhabits the
southern parts of the Volga and the adjoining steppes, the shores of the Caspian, the Ural,
Sir-Daria, and the southern Kirghis steppes, but does not appear to occur near Orenburg.”
It is found in the countries bordering the Black Sea, and is not uncommon in Asia Minor and
Palestine—according to Canon Tristram, ‘one of the commonest birds in the latter country in
the open grounds of the central, northern, and coast regions, remaining all the year, and
breeding as late as June, though most of the nests were taken about the end of April.” I have
also examined a specimen from Cyprus. Messrs. Finsch and Hartlaub give the range of the
Crested Lark in Africa as “ extending over the entire northern part (Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli, the
Sahara, Egypt), the north-eastern part (Nubia, Kordofan, Abyssinia at 4000-10,000 feet altitude,
in the Gallas country up to 12,000 feet, the Bogos country, the countries bordering the Red Sea,
the Island of Dahalak), to the south into the Somali country in our eastern range (where Von
Heuglin observed it at Seila), on the Adriatic coast, and a portion of the west (Senegal, Kasa-
manse). In the central districts neither Antinori nor Von Heuglin observed it either on the
Upper White Nile or the Gazelle River.”

Dr. Th. von Heuglin writes that “the Crested Lark is a resident in Egypt, Arabia, the
islands of the Red Sea, Nubia, and Kordofan, even in the highlands of Abyssinia. On the
Upper White Nile and in Southern Senaar I never met with it. The African varieties and races
are invariably smaller than our European birds; and the colour of the plumage varies, according
to their habitat, whether it be on cultivated land, hills, or the desert, from brownish grey and
bright rusty yellow to pale cream grey. The crest is sometimes more pointed and elongated,
sometimes broader and shorter; and the thickness of the bill and length and form of the spurs
vary equally much. In song and habits they are precisely similar to our European Crested
-Tark. The Abyssinian form is small and darkest-coloured; above light reddish brown, with
broad distinct brownish black shaft-stripes; axillaries and under tail-coverts cream-coloured, with
a vinous tinge; breast and sides and a broad superocular stripe reddish cream-coloured ; this
local form we met with in Tigreh and Amhara, at an altitude of 4000-10,000 feet, and in the
Galla country up to 12,000. Tarsus 94", wing 3" 8’, distance between wing and point of tail 7’,
tail 2” 4". ‘The Egyptian form has a longer pale horn-yellow bill, longer, narrower crest, rather
slighter figure, and is in colour more or less of a sandy yellow (A. cristatella, Mus. Lugd.).. The
breeding-season in Egypt is in March, in the Archipelago of Dahlak in May and June; in Tigreh
I found fledged young in December.”

What Dr. von Heuglin says about this species in North-western Africa I can well confirm
from the examination of a large series of specimens from North-western Africa; and after a
careful examination of all the specimens I can collect together, and after being not a little
puzzled by the great individual varieties, I have come to the conclusion that but three species
can -be looked on as valid—the present species, G. isabellina, Bp., and G. macrorhyncha, Trist. ;
and I hesitated somewhat before deciding on the specific value of the second of these, which is
merely a small desert form or race of the Crested Lark. Loche states that the present species is

299

No

——

12

common in Algeria, especially in bushy localities ; and Mr. O. Salvin records it as ‘‘ abundant on
all the plains both in Tunis and the Salt-Lake country. In the latter districts we found it
breeding in the month of May; but some eggs were obtained in April. Though the plains
appear to be most frequented, it was by no means an unusual occurrence to find the Crested
Lark in the mountains and rocky passes, it in this respect differing from A. calandra and brachy-
dactyla, both of which we found exclusively in the level country.” In Morocco, Major Irby
writes, it is “resident, and found in great numbers; many go south in winter. It is the tamest
of all birds, and one of the most common. ‘They begin to lay about the 20th of April; and I
have seen the nest between the mule-tracks of the much-frequented roads between Fez and
Tangier in a tuft of grass, so close to the track that every animal passing along must have
almost touched the nest ; near Gibraltar they are always to be seen on the beach, running about
within a few inches of the waves.”

It has not been recorded from the Cape-Verd Islands.

To the eastward the Crested Lark extends through Persia into India and China, but was not
met with in Siberia by any of the Russian travellers. De Filippi records it as abundant in
Persia; and Mr. Blanford brought back a large series from Persia and Baluchistan, which he has
kindly lent to me for examination, and which agree with European specimens, both as regards
plumage and measurements, though, like these, the specimens differ a good deal infer se.
Mr. A. O. Hume records the Crested Lark as “excessively abundant throughout Sindh, as it
is indeed throughout Rajpootana, the Punjab, Oudh, and the North-west Provinces;” and
Dr. Jerdon writes that it is “found throughout all India, most abundant in the north and
north-west. It is rare in the Carnatic, not found in Malabar, more common in the Deccan, and
thence spreading from Behar in the east to Sindh and the Punjab, where it is very common. It
is not known in Bengal, nor in the Himalayas, nor in the countries to the eastwards. It prefers
dry, open, sandy plains, or ploughed land, to grass, wet meadows, or cultivation.” Mr. Swinhoe
met with it in China, where, he states, it is “ common about the hills round the cultivated valleys
of Talien Bay, North China, and the Pekin valleys.” Pere David also met with it in Mongolia.

In its habits the Crested Lark is confiding and fearless, and in the neighbourhood of villages
and inhabited places is one of the most unsuspicious and tame birds. When in Southern
Germany and Hungary, where it is very common, | observed it on almost all the high roads, and
in the streets of the small towns and villages, pecking about amongst the horse-droppings almost
as tamely as a London Sparrow. They appear very fond of inhabited places and frequented
high roads, seldom being found very far from these, and when disturbed by a passing vehicle
will either run on one side and let it pass, or fly on a short distance ahead, again and again, as
the traveller approaches them. In different parts of Europe they are resident or migratory,
according as the locality is suitable or not for winter quarters; but in most parts they are
partial migrants, merely shifting their quarters according to season. In Germany, Naumann
writes, ‘‘ they leave their northern haunts in the winter, which they spend in smaller or larger
companies in milder climates. Many winter on the Main and Rhine and in Franconia and
Thuringia, arriving there in October and November, and disappearing at the first commencement
of spring. Here in Northern Germany these Larks are resident or partially migratory, these
latter rambling in pairs or small companies from place to place, and arriving in winter where

13

they are not observed in summer, but seldom remain there long. This time of migration is in
November and December. Old pairs remain year after year at the same breeding-place. They
migrate from the one inhabited place to the other in the day-time, generally in the forenoon,
and fly at a considerable altitude. They are peculiar in their choice of locality. They always
frequent, like the Sparrow, the neighbourhood of human habitations, near and in villages and
towns; but by no means do all without exception do this. This refers chiefly to their summer
habitat, as in the winter they even frequent mountainous districts and large roads which go
through forests (but only in inhabited districts), whereas at other seasons they altogether avoid
forests and mountains. Nor does one ever see them on the open fields and amongst the grain
when far from habitations, nor in meadows, either in the summer or winter. They frequent
only such villages and the neighbourhood of such towns as lie higher than others in the
vicinity and have a dry or unfruitful but still not a dead soil; and this they carry so far
that, when inhabiting places which have on the one side fine fruitful meadows, water, gardens,
brushwood, and low damp soil, and on the other position and soil as above described, they
invariably frequent the dry side, and scarcely ever visit the fruitful part. If in such places there
are gardens surrounded with old earth walls planted with scanty and poor trees, or containing
poorly tended land, in the neighbourhood of open fields, or roads, or old sand- or clay-pits, or
dry ploughed fields, these are favourite resorts of the Crested Lark. In such places one sees
quantities of them; and on the plains of Anhalt, on this side of the Elbe, there are few villages
where none are found, excepting only such as are surrounded by fertile meadows, water, trees,
and brushwood, or which are encircled by dead sand-plains, or the true forest-villages. I have
never seen them in the forest, or in thickets, or amongst bushes, and never sitting on a tree;
nor do I ever recollect to have seen them by the water-side.”. Though the habits of this Lark
are as above stated in the more cultivated portions of Europe, in other less thickly peopled
localities, where large tracts of waste land are found, this bird adapts itself to the locality, and
frequents these desert places far from any human habitation. I have seen the Crested Lark in
Spain at considerable distances from inhabited places, but could not distinguish any difference in
its note or habits, though Dr. Rey informs me that he could detect a difference in the song of
those which he met with frequenting the desert plains of Portugal; and he appears to look on
G. theclae as a good species, in which view I cannot agree with him.

The call-note of this Lark is a low, not unmelodious whistle ; and the song is sweet, in many
respects richer than that of the Sky-Lark, and somewhat reminding one of the song of the Wood-
Lark. Naumann writes that “when flying away it utters a low hoid hoid, which it sometimes
draws out, and which occasionally sounds like hroid, and is not seldom followed by the call-note
quie, which, when complete, sounds like Qui, qui, quie, or Diididrid. ‘These notes are pleasing ;
but much more so is the song of the male which he utters in the spring, generally when on the
wing, but sometimes sitting, from the early morning, and even during the night, or at least
before daybreak.”

The Crested Lark runs swiftly and with great ease and erect carriage. Though it often
elevates its crest, it as often if not more generally carries it depressed. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun.,
writing on its habits, says, “‘I frequently saw Crested Larks pecking about in the snow, and even
in a village on a housetop. ‘Their crests are as often depressed as erect, but never so much so

2

s)

14

as to be quite invisible. [See the representation in Yarrell, lst Supp.] I should probably be
right in attributing their presence to hard weather.” The food of this bird consists of insects
and seeds, the latter forming its chief food during the autumn and winter seasons. It prefers
the various grass-seeds, oats, and wheat, not caring so much for barley; but it is very fond of
Canary-seed.

Whenever found near villages and towns, the Crested Lark places its nest in the immediate
vicinity of human habitations; but in sparsely populated localities it frequently breeds in desolate
places. The nest is placed on the ground, in any suitable depression in the soil, more seldom
amongst the grass, though not unfrequently in a tussock near a roadside. In Germany,
Naumann writes, “one often finds the nest on ploughed land and in grain-fields, but never far
from gardens and buildings, seldom more than one hundred paces distant, but oftener nearer, or
in gardens where grain or potatoes are cultivated, or amongst vegetables, or in gardens where
few or no trees are planted, and which adjoin the open fields. Here they generally build on the
ground in any small depression or footprint of cattle, or behind a clod, but very seldom in the
grass. They sometimes build on old earth walls, or low straw roofs in the fields. Although
single pairs are throughout the year generally together, they are during the breeding-season,
when the one must be alone laying or incubating, almost inseparable. The male is always with
his mate, but does not assist in making the nest; when the latter is seeking for the necessary
materials he runs beside her, and accompanies her when she flies back to the nest.” The nest
is loosely and simply constructed of dried grass, straws, weeds, small roots, and is occasionally
lined with a few horsehairs. ‘The usual number of eggs deposited varies from four to six, five or
four being the usual complement. In colour and makings they vary much, being sometimes as
light as those of the Wood-Lark, and occasionally a miniature of a dark Calandra’s egg. So far
as my own experience goes, the eggs from Northern Europe are darker than those from the
south. In my collection are eggs from Spain, Germany, and Greece, which vary very con-
siderably. ‘The ground-colour is greyish white, sometimes with a brown or greenish tinge, the
surface-markings dark brown, nut-brown, or dull umber, and the underlying shell-blotches
purplish grey or light nut-brown. In some the markings are but thinly scattered, and here and
there is a large blotch; in others the spots are closely scattered all over the surface of the egg.
In size they vary from $6 by 36 to 7§ by #3 inch. Dr. E. Rey gives the average size of a
hundred eggs he has in his collection (which were taken in Germany) as 22-7 by 16°8 millimetres,
the largest measuring 22:0 by 18-3, and the smallest 19-5 by 15-0 millimetres respectively.
Fresh eggs were found from the 12th of April to the middle of June, and in one instance on the
18th of July. The full complement of eggs is generally four or five, seldom six.

In confinement the Crested Lark thrives well, and is an excellent songster. I have often
seen it in cages in the German villages; and Dr. Jerdon states that in India “it is frequently
caged in all parts of the country, and the bird is kept in darkness by several layers of cloth
wrapped round the cage, the custom being to wrap an additional cover round the cage every
year. In this state it sings very sweetly, and learns to imitate most exactly the notes of various
other birds, and of animals, such as the yelping of a dog, the mewing of a cat, the call of a hen
to her chickens, &c. &c.”’

The specimen figured is a female obtained by Mr. Meves at Trelleborg, in Sweden ; and those

15

described are specimens ¢, a, f, and / in my collection. In a second Plate the two Abyssinian
birds above referred to are figured.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 2. Trelleborg, Skane, Sweden, June 27th, 1867 (Meves). 6. Ober-Lausitz (Méschler). c, g. Silesia
(Moschler). d. Oudenak, Holland (P. L. Sclater). e. France (Fairmaire). jf. Malaga, Spain, 28th
December (H. Saunders). g, d. Kadakir, Turkey, March 21st, 1863 (Robson). h. Orsova, Hungary,
April 1866 (H. #.D.). 1, 3. Volga (Méschler). k, 2. Asia Minor (Rodson). 1, 2 juv. Smyrna,
July 30th, 1871 (Kriiper). m. Corfu (Hanbury Barclay). n. Egypt, February 1869 (E. C. Taylor).
o. Tangiers (Olcese). jp. Lahore (Marshall). r. Etawah, N.-W. India, May 3rd, 1869 (W. #. Brooks).

E Mus. Lord Walden.
, 6. Turkey, January 23rd, 1865 (Robson). 6, 3. Asia Minor, October 24th, 1866 (Rodson). c, d. Senafe,
Abyssinia, April 24th, 1868. d, 6. Amba, August 21st, 1868. e, 3,f,3,9,2,h,2,%4,5,4,2,4 6.
Umballah, November 1866 (R. C. Beavan). m. N.-HE. India? mn, Punjab.

=)

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.

$. Egypt, March 6th, 1868. 6, ¢. Egypt, March 15th, 1868. c. Egypt, March 26th, 1868. d, 9. May
8rd, 1870. e, d. March 15th, 1870 (G. E. S.).

g

2

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

Hereford? 6. Paris, November 1868 (J. Gatcombe). c, 2. Madrid, January 1870. d, 2. Blida, Algiers,
February 11th, 1870 (J. H. G., jr.).

g

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

France. 06, c, 9. Cyprus, November 17th, 1863. d, 3, e, 2. Beersheba, February 3rd, 1864. f, 9. Mar-
Elias, February 20th, 1864. g, 2. Urtas, Judea, February 9th, i864. h, 2. Ghor el Safieh, January
29th, 1864. i, d (type of G. brachyura). Jordan Ghor. k, J, ¢ (types of G. arenicola). Tamana and
Rhadama, January 1857. m, 3. Algiers, May 9th, 1856 (H. B. T.). n, 3. Algiers, February 4th, 1870
(J. H. Gurney, jun.). 0, p,q, ¢. Laghouat, November 1856. 7, ¢. Chabka Mzab, December 9th, 1856.

&

E Mus. Ind. Cal.

a, 6, 6, 2. Bam, S.-E. Persia, April 22nd, 1872 (W.T. Blanford). c, 9. S.-W. of Kurman, S. Persia, May
2st, 1872 (W.T.B.). d, 3. Dizak, Baluchistan, March 2lst, 1872. e, 3, f, 2. Gwadar, Baluchistan,
December 1871 (W. T. B.). f, 9, 2. Shiraz, Persia (4750 feet), June 1869 (Major St. John). h, 2.
Shiraz, 1870. k. Shiraz (6000 feet), albino, August 1870. J, 2, m, juv. Abadeh (6500 feet), July 1870.
n, 3. Bushire, January 1870 (Major St. John).

E Mus. H. J. Elwes.
a, 6. Athens, January 20th, 1869 (H. J. E.). 6. Punjab, December 14th, 1869 (H. J. E.).

bas)

300

16

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a, 3. Tunis, February 21st, 1857 (O. Salvin). 6, 9. Kef Laks, Constantine, April 23rd, 1857 (0. S.).

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.

a, 3, 6, 2 (type of G. leautungensis). c. Talien Bay, China, June 1860. d. Pekin, July 1868. e. Heang-
shungfoo, September 26th, 1868. jf. Mingtoombs, China, September 1868 (R. S.).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a, 3,6, 9, ¢. Aranjuez, May 1865.

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a, 6. Catania, February 26th, 1869. 6, g,¢, 2. Malaga, January 1868. d,e,f,g. Granada, June and
July 1869 (H. S.)

E Mus. A. B. Brooke.
a. Riviera, March 1869 (A. B. B.).

E Mus. W. Schliiter.
a, 6. Moravia. c,3,d,3,¢, 3,f, 2,9,juv. Westphalia. h, 3. Galicia (W. S.).

EL Mus. Berol.
a, 6. Mark Brandenburg, no. 5458. 6, 6. Volga (Moschler). c. Egypt, no. 5345.

E Mus. Brit. Req.

a. Belgium, December 1870. 6, 9. Asia Minor. ¢, 3. Zoulla, December 26th, 1867 (Blanford). d, 2.
Massowa, August 25th, 1868 (Blanford). e. Ashanglu, April 4th, 1868 (Blanford). jf. East Africa.
g,7h. Senegal (Laglaize). .i. Senegal. 7, d. Yarkand, August 25th (Hume), type of Gal. magna.
k, juv. Yarkand, August 1870 (A. O. Hume).

230

VHONAHYOWOWN VLIMA IVS
“WUW1 SWVALSIYL

$91

“YNITIS8VS! VLA 19
“WHT SNITIZEVS!

GALERITA MACRORHYNCHA.

(TRISTRAM’S LARK.)

Galerida randonii, Loche, Cat. Mamm. et Ois. obs. en Alg. p. 85 (1858), desc. nulla.
Galerida macrorhyncha, Tristram, Ibis, i. p. 57 (1859).

Galerida random, Loche, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. p. 150, pl. 11. fig. 2 (1860).
Megalophonus randonti, Loche, Hist. Nat. Ois. d’Alg. ii. p. 41 (1867).

Figura unica.
Loche, tom. cit.

Ad. Galerite cristate similis, sed paullo pallidior et major: rostro majore, elongato, incurvo.

Adult Male. General colour similar to G. cristata, but somewhat paler in tinge; primaries washed with
rufous fawn towards their base, the central rectrices having the basal half also washed with that colour ;
beak and tarsi pale flesh-colour; iris brown. Total length 7°75 inches, culmen 1, wing 4°5, tail 2-9,
tarsus 1:05.

Female. Similar to the male, but somewhat smaller, measuring—culmen 0°85, wing 4°4, tail 2°8, tarsus 1.

Obs. This Lark is distinguishable from the Common Crested Lark by its larger size and more powerful and
longer bill. In the five specimens I have before me the measurements vary as follows—culmen 0:85
to 1, wing 4°4 to 4:8, tail 2°8 to 2°95, tarsus 1 to 1-1.

Tus Lark, differing from Galerita cristata in being considerably larger in size and having a
stouter and larger, curved bill, inhabits North-western Africa; but it must also be found much
further eastward, as a specimen belonging to the Berlin Museum, obtained by Ehrenberg at
Sor, in Syria, is certainly referable to this species. I have examined and measured this
specimen, which measures—culmen 0°85, wing 4:3, tail 2-9, tarsus 1:05, and, compared with
Canon ‘Tristram’s female type example, agrees very closely with it.

Excepting this bird, I have seen no specimens, except from Algeria, where it is tolerably
common. It was first discovered by Canon Tristram in 1857, but not described by him until
1859. In the mean time Major Loche catalogued it, as above recorded, under the name of
Galerida randonii, but published no description before 1860; thus Canon Tristram’s name
published, with a description of the bird in 1859, takes precedence. Canon Tristram states
(Ibis, 1859, p. 426) that the specimens in Major Loche’s collection were some which he gave
to him in 1857, these being, he presumes, the birds catalogued by that gentleman. Dr. Tristram,
writing on the ornithology of Algeria, says that, ‘‘ unlike its congeners, this bird, by far the
largest of its genus, appears only to resort to the northern edge of the Sahara, where its lateral
range extends from Morocco to Tripoli. As might be anticipated from its habitat, its plumage
partakes only in a slight degree of the sandy hues which mark the true desert-habitants, although
very much paler than any Crested Larks obtained in Europe or in the Tell. It is unnecessary to

repeat the diagnosis already given in ‘ The Ibis;’ but its size will at once prevent it from being
3D

S10P

2

mistaken for any other species. Its whole length is 7-8 inches, wing 4°5, tail 2°8, beak 1-0,
tarsi 1:05. The form of its bill resembles that of G. arenicola, but, though curved, is not so
slender, and is stouter and more compressed at the base. In both species the extremity of the
bill is rounded and dilated, instead of running to a point as in other Galeridw. ‘This may pro-
bably arise from its habit of constantly digging into the soil for its food, from which cause also
the capistra are generally more worn and the nostrils bare. It is very abundant near El Aghouat,
where I first remarked it following the labourers in a barley patch, after the manner of a Rook.
It appears to be confined to those districts where there is water and cultivation. J was not
fortunate enough to meet with it in the breeding-season.” Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., writes that
he “first remarked this species at Ain-Oussera (where Capt. Loche obtained it), on the 12th of
March, at which time they were paired. It seems to be confined, like Calandra, to level plains,
whereas Galerida abyssinica is found in the hills. They walk with crest up; and when one has
been on the ground, I have observed it often look upwards at its mate in the sky, singing as it
mounted. Of those I shot, one had been feeding upon caterpillars an inch in length; the
gizzard of another glittered with the white wings of small beetles. There appears to be a sexual
difference not hitherto noticed, viz. that the female is smaller than the male, and much darker.”

Mr. Taczanowski first met with it halfway between Elkantara and the heights of El Outaja,
and states that it inhabits only the plains of El Outaja and the neighbouring heights, Biskra,
and the edge of the Sahara, near the Oasis. Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, however, met with it on
the upland plains towards the city of Morocco; and a specimen he brought home and sent to
Canon Tristram for comparison with the type of the species, was stated by the latter gentleman
to be darker and more rufous than any he obtained in Algeria. This specimen is now in the
Cambridge Museum. Major Loche, who refers to this bird under the name of Megalophonus
randonit, writes that “it is very wild, and in localities where it meets the common Crested Lark
they fight furiously. The present species is found chiefly in the Sahara, on the plains where
Stipa tenacissima, L., abounds. Its nest is carefully concealed, and is most difficult to find. It
lays four or five eggs, in shape elongated, greenish white in colour, covered with numerous small
brownish red spots, and measuring about 30 by 21 millimetres. It is always found on the ground,
and never perches ; its food consists of insects and small seeds. Both male and female incubate
in turn.”

The specimen figured (on the same Plate with Galerita isabellina) is one in my collection,
obtained in Algeria by Loche, and sent to me by Mr. KE. Fairmaire.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 3. Sahara (J. H. Gurney, jun.). 6, 2. Algeria (Fairmaire). c, 3. Algeria (Verreauz).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, 3,6, 2. Laghouat, November 11th & 12th, 1856, nos. 896, 897, types (H. B. Tristram).

EL. Mus. Berol.
a. Sor (Ehrenberg), no. 5460.

GALERITA ISABELLINA.

(ISABELLINE LARK.)

Galerida isabellina, Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. p. 245 (1850).
tGalerita flava, A. Brehm, Cab. Journ. 1854, p. 77.
Galerita lutea, O. Brehm, Naumannia, 1858, p. 210 (nec C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 121).

Ad. supra rufescenti-isabellinus, subtis albus: pilei plumis elongatis, pallidé isabellinis, medialiter rufescente
brunneo notatis: nuch4 albicante: dorso, uropygio, supracaudalibus, scapularibus et tectricibus alarum
rufescenti-isabellinis, albicante marginatis et apicatis: remigibus saturaté brunnescenti-isabellinis, in
pogonio externo cervino limbatis: cauda saturaté brunned, pennis duabus centralibus rufescenti-isabel-
linis, rectrice extima ad basin brunned, in pogonio externo et ad apicem isabellina: facie laterali et
regione parotica vix pallidé brunneo notatis: pectore indistincté brunneo guttato: subalaribus albis
vix rufescente lavatis: subcaudalibus albis: rostro et pedibus pallidé carneis: iride brunnea.

Adult Male (El Ouibed, Souf, 1st of January, 1857). Rufescent isabelline above; underparts white ;
feathers on the crown elongated, forming a crest, pale cream-colour, with rufous brown centres; nape
dull white; back, scapulars, wing-coverts, rump, and upper tail-coverts pale rufous cream-colour, mar-
gined and tipped with pale creamy white; quills pale creamy brown on the inner web, rufescent
cream-colour on the outer web; outermost tail-feathers dull brown at the base, especially on the inner
web, the terminal portion and outer web being pale sandy cream-colour, remaining rectrices, except
the central ones, dull blackish brown, marked with rufescent isabelline on. the outer web; the two
central tail-feathers rufescent isabelline; underparts white; face and auriculars marked with very pale
sandy brown; breast indistinctly spotted with pale sandy brown; under wing-coverts white, with a
faint rufous tinge; under tail-coverts white; bill and feet very pale flesh-colour; iris brown. Total
length 6:3 inches, culmen 0°62, wing 3:8, tail 2°7, tarsus 1.

Tus, the representative in the arid sandy deserts of Northern Africa of our Common European
Crested Lark, differing merely in colour, and in being, as a rule, smaller than average specimens
of the latter species, is hitherto only known from Northern Africa; and out of a large’and varied
series of specimens of Crested Larks from India I have seen none that at all resemble it, though
I should have expected to find specimens similar, or nearly like it, from the sandy desert plains
of India.

It was first described by Bonaparte, from Nubia, where, and also in Egypt, it is said to be
common in the deserts. Bonaparte remarks that the feathers forming the crest are greatly
elongated; but I do not observe this character in the specimens I have examined from Algeria,
and I have not been able to examine one from Nubia. Dr. Leith Adams, who met with it in
Egypt, records it as “‘common in waste and stony deserts—for instance, around the Necropolis
and valley leading to the Tombs of the Kings of Thebes. The transparency of its wings, and
their pale isabella colour, are very noticeable. I saw it often in Nubia.” Antinori speaks of it
as “common on the sandy low hills near Cairo, near the Pyramids, and in Nubia to above

303

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Assuan. It runs swiftly, and when standing is not easily distinguishable from the sand, owing
to its pale creamy tint of plumage.” In Algeria it does not appear to be common. Major Loche
writes that he “only met with this species in the south of Algeria, near Gardhaia. It differs
from the Crested Lark, not only by its different plumage, but also by its different habitat, its
range being a very restricted one. We met with the Common Crested Lark not only in the
same locality as the present species, but likewise in every other part of Algeria, whereas the
Isabelline Lark is exclusively a Saharan bird. In its habit it differs very little from G. cristata,
but is wilder, and appears more sprightly; its song is flute-like, and its flight heavy. It places
its nest in the oasis, under shelter of a tussock, a low bush, or a bunch of herbage, and deposits
four eggs, which are yellowish white, covered with small brownish or reddish spots, and mea-
suring 21 by 17 millimetres.”

Mr. Taczanowski records it as rare in the desert, inhabiting the sand dunes and stone-covered
hillocks; and Canon Tristram, who obtained the specimens I have described, states that “ this
very distinct variety is far less abundant than the last (@. abyssinica), being confined to the most
desolate districts. It is much smaller, shorter by at least an inch, with its hues more uniformly
pallid, and the darker mark down the centre of each feather almost obliterated. Its bill is of
similar proportions, in no way differing from that of G. cristata. Ido not find the remark of
Prince Bonaparte as to the crest being longer, to hold good uniformly. I obtained one nest, the
eggs of which resemble pale-coloured varieties of G. cristata, but are scarcely larger than those
of Calandrella brachydactyla.” Of the bird referred to by Canon Tristram under the name of
G. abyssinica I have examined several specimens obtained by him, and have referred them all to
G. cristata, not having been able to find any distinctive character by which I could separate them
from that species, though at the first glance, and before I examined a large series of specimens,
I was inclined: to consider it a good species. In size it is smaller, and has a more feeble bill than
typical specimens of G. cristata, the measurements being the same as those of the present species,
from which it differs in being much darker and more rufous in colour. A. Brehm describes a
bird under the name of Galerita flava, from East Sudan, which, I think, will prove to be the
Isabelline Lark; but I cannot be quite sure of this without seeing the specimens described. On
the other hand, I feel convinced that the Galerita lutea of O. Brehm is referable to the present
species, and have accordingly placed that name amongst the synonyms.

The specimen figured and described is in the collection of the Rev. Canon Tristram ; and in
the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :-—

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, ¢, 6, @. El-Ouibed, January Ist, 1857 (H. B. T.).

Genus ALAUDA.

Alauda, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 287 (1766).

Lullula apud Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 92 (1829).

Galerida apud C. L. Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 316 (1831).
Galerita apud CG. L. Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p. 279.

Tue true Larks inhabit the Palearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian Regions, two species being
resident in the Western Palzarctic Region. ‘They inhabit open country and woodlands, espe-
cially non-evergreen groves, and in the autumn and winter collect together in large flocks and
range over the open country in search of food. One species, the Wood-Lark, differs in frequenting
groves during the breeding-season, perching on the trees; but the Sky-Lark affects fields and
meadows at all seasons, and but seldom perches on bushes or trees. ‘They are good songsters,
uttering their sweet notes whilst circling in the air or when perched on some slightly elevated
place. They feed on seeds, berries, insects, and worms, and build a cup-shaped nest of grass-
straws lined with finer bents, hair, &c., and deposit several dull white eggs marked with purplish
grey and brown.

Alauda arvensis, the type of the genus, has the bill moderately long, straight, somewhat
conical and compressed, the upper mandible without notch; nostrils basal, oval, concealed by
bristly feathers directed forward; crown with the feathers elongated, forming a crest; wings
long, rather pointed, the first quill small, the next three nearly equal, the second or third
longest ; secondaries elongated ; tail moderate, slightly emarginate; legs moderately long, tarsus
covered in front with six large and three inferior scutelle, and posteriorly also scutellate; claws
rather short, curved, slightly blunt, except that of the hind toe, which is much elongated and
nearly straight.

66

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D

eT eT z
eo beh a Ce dls

231

SKY LARK.
ALAUDA ARVENSIS.

ALAUDA ARVENSIS.

(SKY-LARK.)

Alauda arvensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. p. 287 (1766).

Alauda italica, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 793 (1788).

Alauda vulgaris, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. &c. Brit. Mus. p. 21 (1816).

Alauda celipeta, Pall. Zoogr. Ross.-Asiat. 1. p. 524 (1831).

Alauda segetum, Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 318 (1831).

Alauda montana, id. tom. cit. p. 319 (1831).

Alauda agrestis, id. tom. cit. p. 320 (1831).

Alauda cantarella, Bouap. Comp. List. B. Kur. & N. Am. p. 36 (1838, descr. nulla).
Alauda montana, Crespon, Faun. mérid. p. 319 (1844).

“ Alauda triborhynchus, Hodgs.,” Gray, Cat. Mamm. &c. Nep. Hodgs. p. 109 (1846).
“ Alauda dulcivox, Hodgs.,” Gray, tom. cit. p. 109 (1846).

Alauda isabellina, Mummery, Zool. 1st ser. p. 1697 (1847, nec Temm. ).

Alauda crassirostris, Brehm, Vollst. Vogelf. p. 125 (1855).

Alauda bugiensis, id. tom. cit. p. 125 (1855).

Alauda albiqularis, id. tom. cit. p. 125 (1855).

Alauda tenuirostris, id. tom. cit. p. 125 (1859).

Alauda minor, id. tom. cit. p. 125 (1855).

Alauda japonica, Swinh. Ibis. 1861, p. 333 (nec T. & S.).

Alauda pekinensis, Swinh. P. Z. 8. 1863, p. 89.

Alauda intermedia, Swinh. P. Z. 8. 1863, p. 89.

Sky-Lark, Laverock, Larrock, English; Alouette des Champs, French; Zurriaga, Spanish ;
Calhandra, Laverca, Portuguese; Lonara, Sicilian; Heidelerche, German; de Leewwerik,
Dutch; Sanglarka, Swedish; Lerke, Norwegian; Kivenviha, Finnish; Sanglerke, Gras-
lerke, Marklerke, Lerke, Danish.

Figure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 5; Gould, B. of Eur. iii. pl. 166; Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 409;
Naum. Vog. Deutschl. iv. Taf. 100; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. Afb. xviii. fig. 5; Schl. Vog. Nederl.
pl. 148; Gould, B. of Gt. Br. pt. xv.

3 estiv. supra brunnea, plumarum parte mediana saturatiore, marginibus fulvescentibus: pileo valdé cristato,
cristze plumis paullo rotundatis, rarits acutiusculis: collo postico et laterali magis fulvescentibus, plumis
medialiter brunneo striatis : uropygio quoque fulvescenti-brunneo et supracaudalibus vere rufescentibus :
scapularibus dorso concoloribus: tectricibus alarum fulvescenti-brunneis, medianis et majoribus auran-
tiaco-fulvis, claré albo terminatis: remigibus brunneis, primariis extus albido limbatis, secundariis
rufescente versus apicem albicante marginatis, pennis dorsalibus cinerascente lavatis, pennis minimis

3F

307

308

9,

conspicué albo terminatis: caud& brunned, pennis centralibus versus apicem cinerascentibus ad basin
fulvescentibus, rectrice extimaé omnino alba preter marginem interiorem fumosum pogonii interni,
penultima brunnea, pogonio externo albo, tertié fere omnino brunned, extts versus apicem angustissimé
albido limbata: loris et supercilio distincto albidis: regione auriculari rufescente, brunneo mixto: genis
fulvescentibus rufescente lavatis et punctulis parvis brunneis notatis: gutture toto fulvescenti-albido
punctulis brunneis maculato: pectore superiore obscuriore fulvo, brunneo medialiter striato, pectoris
lateribus magis rufescentibus lineis medianis latioribus: corpore reliquo subtus fulvescenti-albido,
hypochondriis et cruribus rufescenti-brunneis, illis brunneo longitudinaliter striatis: subalaribus
fumosis, paulld fulvescente tinctis: rostro brunneo, mandibulé carned: pedibus flavicanti-brunneis :
iride brunnea.

3 hiem. similis ptilosi vestivee, sed obscurior et fulvescentior: plumis omnibus laté fulvo marginatis: subtis

fulvo distincté tinctus.

Pull. rufescens: plumis medialiter nigricanti-brunneis, fulvo marginatis et albo terminatis: tectricibus alarum

brunneis, angusté nigro et latius fulvo marginatis: cauda ut ala colorata, sed rectricibus externis preter
marginem pogonii interni albis et penultimis laté albo marginatis: subtus lactescenti-fulvus, pectore
superiore laté brunneo striato: subalaribus fulvescentibus paullo fumoso tinctis.

Adult male in spring plumage. Above brown, here and there tinged with rufous, the edges to the feathers

sandy, especially on the hind neck, where this colour predominates, so as to make this part appear
entirely of a sandy colour with little brown markings interspersed; crown of the head crested, the
plumes of the crest rounded, and seldom pointed, except where the edges have been somewhat abraded,
the feathers dark brown down the centre, with edgings of sandy brown; the rump clearer ashy grey,
and the upper tail-coverts rufous brown; scapulars coloured exactly like the back; wing-coverts more
decidedly sandy, the greater and median coverts brown, strongly washed with orange-buff and edged
with white; quills dark brown, the primaries narrowly edged with white on the outer web, the secon-
daries very clearly edged with rufous near the base of the feather, verging into whitish towards the tip,
the smallest secondaries conspicuously tipped with white, the innermost ones nearest the back washed
with ashy grey; tail brown, the two central feathers washed with buff near the base, verging into ashy
grey towards the tip; the outer feather entirely white, excepting the inner edge of the inner web,
which is smoke-coloured, the penultimate feather quite brown, excepting the outer web, which is white,
the third feather very narrowly margined with white on the outer web; lores and a very distinct eye-
brow whitish ; ear-coverts more brown, washed with sandy and tinged with rufous; cheeks buffy white,
strongly tinged with sandy, and minutely spotted with little brown specks; throat white, marked here
and there with tiny little specks of brown, which collect on the sides of the throat and form an irregular
moustache ; upper part of the breast more obscure, strongly tinged with sandy and streaked with brown,
the sides of the chest more distinctly rufous and more broadly streaked with brown; rest of the under
surface of the body creamy white, the flanks more dusky, and the thighs inclining to rufous ; under tail-
coverts white; under wing-coverts smoky grey; bill greyish brown, yellowish along the edge of the
upper mandible, lower mandible flesh-colour; legs yellowish brown; iris brown. ‘Total length 7-7
inches, culmen 0°6, wing 4°4, tail 2°8, tarsus 0°9. hind claw 0°5.

Adult male in summer plumage. Paler than in spring, except on the back, where the abrasion of the buff

margins to the feathers causes the brown centres of the plumes to show more clearly, and thus the back
appears darker; hind part of neck much paler and more distinctly sandy in colour than in spring; the
white edgings to the wing-coverts almost entirely worn off, so that the general appearance of these
feathers is greyish brown; the tail-feathers also much worn, and scarcely a trace of white margin to

3

the third feather; the little stripes on the breast much less frequent, and the general appearance of the
under surface of the body much paler than in spring; sides of the neck more white.

Adult male in winter plumage. Plumage more glossy than at any other season of the year; the whole of the

feathers of the upper surface broadly margined with greyish sandy colour, and all the characters of the
spring-dress above described very clearly indicated and thoroughly developed, so that all the markings
are very distinct. At this season of the year, the breast is strongly tinged with creamy buff.

Nestling. Upper surface of the body covered with little blue-shafted plumelets, from which protrudes a

brown feather with a very distinct fulvous tip; throat and crop quite bare; breast-feathers also in a
rudimentary condition, white, and on the sides of the body small brown feathers growing in the direc-
tion of the flanks, which they are intended to cover; on the head and lower back some long threads
of yellow down; bill brown, yellow along the gape; feet yellowish. In a few days the feathers become
developed, and the whole upper surface rather inclines to rufous, which is prettily relieved by little
white edgings to the feathers, which are most conspicuous on the hind part of the head. The white
eyebrow is distinctly indicated at a very early stage. Some nestlings are darker than others.

On leaving the nest. Upper plumage sandy tinged with buff, the centre of the feathers dark brown with a

Obs.

very broad edging of sandy colour, becoming white at the tip of the feather; crown of the head a little
darker and more rufous; lores, feathers in front of and round the eye, eyebrow, and sides of the neck
behind the ear-coverts buffy white; ear-coverts sandy, slightly marked with brown; wing-coverts and
quills sandy brown, with a broad margin of buff, before which is a narrow line of blackish, both inner
and outer webs being margined in this manner; tail-feathers sandy brown with buff edgings, within
which is seen the same black line running parallel to the outer margin as on the wings; outer tail-
feather all white, except the margin of the inner web; outer web of the penultimate white; under
surface of the body creamy buff, the upper breast prettily marked with longitudinal streaks of brown,
which colour occupies the centre of the feather, and is margined with buff on each side; under wing-
coverts buffy white with a slight grey tinge.

By the time that the second brood have left the nest and can fly, which takes place about the end of
July, the young of the first brood are in full moult and putting on their adult plumage. The quills and
tail-feathers are cast and renewed; and at this season of the year it is not uncommon to see Larks
without tails or scarcely able to fly for want of their strong pinions: the last feathers to be resumed are
the primary coverts; and bird-catchers can tell at a glance, by an examination of these feathers, whether
they have caught an old or a young bird; for in the latter the edges to these plumes are buff, and not
rufous like the rest of the margins to the wing-feathers. The young bird, when his plumage is com-
pleted, is more rufescent than at any other time of its life; but, in addition to this, it may nearly
always be told by the rounded feathers of the crest, which are always distinctly margined with rufous
or buff; the spots on the throat, too, are more numerous.

Varieties.

Perhaps no bird varies more than the Common Sky-Lark, and scarcely a week passes without
some /usus natwre in connexion with this bird being recorded. White, black, and party-coloured
specimens are not uncommon, the second more often happening to be birds kept in cages; but
perhaps the best-known variety is the cream-coloured one, which is far from uncommon. Mr.
Mummery, of Margate, believed that the latter constituted a different species, and named it
A. isabellina, declaring that he could prove it to be distinct on anatomical grounds; no one has

38F2

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4

since determined that it is any thing else than the Common Sky-Lark, and we cannot see any
difference in structure in the specimens lent us by Mr. Gurney.

Obs. The Sky-Larks which inhabit the Old World are one and all closely allied to each other; and so
nearly do some of these species approximate, that in many cases it is almost impossible to draw the line of
demarcation. Mr. G. R. Gray, in his ‘ Hand-list, enumerates sixteen species of true Alauda, of which we
may at once dismiss six peculiar to Africa as unnecessary to the present discussion. Those that remain are
the following :—A. arvensis, A. triborhyncha, A. gulgula, A. japonica, A. malabarica, A. hermonensis, A. re-
boudia, A. cantarella, A. celivox, and A. montana, of Crespon (nec Brehm). Of these we consider A. hermo-
nensis and A. reboudia to belong to Calandrella; but none of the remaining Larks can be passed over by any
one who desires to write a true history of the Common Sky-Lark. We may at once observe that all the above-
mentioned species are credited with a peculiar habitat, with the exception of A. cantarella, which was originally
described from Italy, and has been recorded by various writers as an inhabitant of nearly every country east-
ward as far as China. Our experience of this so-called species convinces us that a specific separation of
A. cantarella from A. arvensis is impossible. After a careful examination of a large series of Sky-Larks, from
all portions of the known world, we are fain to admit that from Egypt and South-eastern Europe, along the
whole line of the desert region, a Lark is met with which, in comparison with that of Northern Europe, is
rather smaller, more mealy in plumage, with slightly more grey on the hind neck, and with the stripes of the
breast rather more plainly indicated; but we have been able to find among our examples from other parts of
Europe specimens that agree with every variation of this so-called A. cantarella. We have therefore no
hesitation in adding Prince Bonaparte’s name as an undoubted synonym of A. arvensis. That there are
variations in plumage we freely admit ; but of how little value these differences are as specific characters will
be gathered from the following analysis of the birds now before us, which will illustrate the geographical
distribution of A. arvensis and its allies over the Palearctic and Indian regions :—

British Islands. Examples agree with the descriptions above given. Scotch specimens seem to be a
trifle more dingy ; but the darkest in colour are those found in the counties of Northumberland and Durham,
owing probably to the smokiness that pervades those localities. In the south of England the birds which
arrive during very severe weather are much darker than the resident species, and are called by the country
people “ Snow-Larks,” “Scotch or Northern Larks.” ‘Total length 6°5-7-4 inches, culmen 0°5-0°55, wing
3:9-4:5, tail 2°8-3°1, tarsus 0:9-1:0, hind claw 0:5-0°7.

Germany. We are indebted to the kindness of Professor Peters for the loan of a specimen of Brehm’s
Alauda agrestis from the Berlin Museum; and as we have received from Herr W. Schliiter, of Halle, a fine
series of ordinary German specimens, we have been enabled to institute a comparison between Brehm’s
subspecies and the true Sky-Lark. Most of the German birds are precisely similar to English examples,
measuring as follows :—Total length 6:8-7-3 inches, culmen 0°5-0°6, wing 4:4—4°6, tail 2°8-3:0, tarsus 0:95-1-0,

1. A. agrestis. 2. A. arvensis.

5

hind claw 0°5-0°65. The specimen of A. agrestis measures :—Total length 7 inches, culmen 0:55, wing 4°4,
tail 2°8, tarsus 0°8, hind claw 0°4. Great as is the variation in the dimensions of Sky-Larks, it will be noticed
that this specimen is as small as the smallest bird we have yet measured, while it is less than any as regards
the length of the tarsus and hind claw. It would be wrong to base any conclusion on one single specimen ;
but the specific characters given by Brehm hold good to a certain extent; viz. the lores and fore part of the
face are purer white, and the head is of a different shape, the crown being much higher, as the accompanying
woodcut will show. ‘The legs are also smaller in every detail.

The specimen lent us from Dr. Peters is from Thuringia; and we cannot help remarking that A. agrestis
seems to be at least as good a subspecies as A. cantarella.

Italy. The characters given by Bonaparte for his A. cantarella are merely that it is smaller in size
and more obscure in colour, distinctions which can be drawn between Sky-Larks in any country at different
seasons of the year. Thanks to our good friend Count Salvadori, we have received specimens from Piedmont
killed in summer, at which season of the year, if the Italian bird were really distinct, the differences would be
most apparent; but there is not one of the skins in our collection which has not its prototype from other
localities, and we cannot find the slightest characters in which the Italian Sky-Lark differs. Total length
6:5-7:0 inches, culmen 0°5-0°55, wing 4:0—4-4, tail 2°5-2°9, tarsus 0:85-0:95, hind claw 0°55-0°65.

Spain. Scarcely any variation appears in the Sky-Larks of this country ; but, as is often the case in birds
from Southern Europe, the colours are rather purer: one lent us by Major Irby, from Seville, is in full winter
dress, but is more grey than we have usually observed them; this, however, may be a variety. Total length
6:5-7:0 inches, culmen 0°5-0°55, wing 3:9-4°4, tail 25-29, tarsus 0°9-0:95, hind claw 0:4-0°5.

Northern Africa. Two specimens collected by Dr. Sclater in Tunis measure :—Total length 6:3-6°5
inches, culmen 0°5, wing 4°1-4°3, tail 2°6-2'8, tarsus 0°95, hind claw 0:5-0°6. Another in Major Irby’s
collection from Tangier gives the followimg measurements :—Total length 6°5 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 4:3,
tail 2-7, tarsus 0°95, hind claw 0:7. This latter bird is in full breeding-plumage, and is very black on the
back with scarcely any fulvous edgings left, while the throat is more thickly spotted than in any other
specimen we have ever seen. We fancy that in the southern countries of Hurope the breeding-plumage is
more fully assumed than in the northern part ; for we never get such dark birds in summer in England.

Cyprus. Canon Tristram has a specimen from this locality, which has the form of true A. arvensis, but
yet has the plumage of the so-called A. cantarella (auct. nec Bonap.) ; that is to say, the lines on the breast
and flanks are very distinct, and the throat and abdomen rather of a purer white than usual. Total length
7:4 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 4°5, tail 2:9, tarsus 0:9, hind claw 0°55.

Turkey. One specimen, killed in March by Mr. Robson, seems to be absolutely undistinguishable from
English examples in spring plumage; but another, procured in April, differs somewhat from the ordinary birds
of Northern Europe, being much paler in plumage, with the stripes on the breast very small, but distinct, and
has the general appearance of the desert subspecies found in Egypt. The under wing-coverts are much paler
and more tinged with isabelline, having scarcely any smoky grey appearance. This last bird measures in total
length 6°8 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 4°15, tail 2°8, tarsus 0:9, hind claw 0°55.

Crimea. Here we get a bird which has very much the appearance of the Turkish specimen above
described, but yet varies in the direction of the English Sky-Lark, and is one of thsoe examples which
completely unite the subspecies of South-eastern Europe to the northern bird, and render it impossible to
separate them specifically. The under wing-coverts are more white than is usual in British specimens, but
have more of a smoky grey tinge than the Turkish bird, being in this respect perfectly intermediate between
the two. Total length 7-4 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 4:5, tail 2:9, tarsus 0°95, hind claw 0:7.

Egypt. Captain Shelley has a Sky-Lark procured at Alexandria on the 3rd of March 1871, which is
absolutely undistinguishable from the British bird. Total length 7-4 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 4:6, tail 2°9,
tarsus 0:9, hind claw 0:6. But the same gentleman himself procured at Fayoom three specimens of a Lark
which we cannot affirm to be the true A. arvensis, but still they do not present enough characters to enable

ol.

6

them to be distinguished as a species. They are rather smaller, have a more distinct white eyebrow, and have
the stripes on the breast more plainly developed. This race is the Alauda cantarella of authors, but not of
Bonaparte, as we conceive; for we believe that his Italian bird is a myth. Total length 6-1-6:8. inches,
culmen 0°5-0°55, wing 4°1-4°4, tail 2°6-2°8, tarsus 0-9, hind claw 0:-4-0°5. Two of these birds have very short
hind claws, owing probably to the nature of the ground they frequent. In speaking of this subspecies in
future we shall employ the name of E. intermedia of Swinhoe, which we know to be applicable to it, rather
than the very doubtful appellation of EL. cantarella, Bp., by which it has been previously known.

Palestine. Four specimens obtained in this country by Canon Tristram must he referred to L. intermedia ;
but they all vary much, two only being exactly similar to Captain Shelley’s Egyptian birds in the white eye-
brow and distinct breast-spots. Total length 6°5-6°9 inches, culmen 0:5-0°55, wing 4°1-4'6, tail 2°6-2°8,
tarsus 0°9-0:95, hind claw 0°4-0°55.

Cashmere. Two specimens in Lord Walden’s collection seem to be smaller than the usual Sky-Lark,
more rufescent in plumage, and have the stripes on the breast much narrower. The under wing-coverts are
dark chocolate-brown with a distinct tinge of isabelline. Total length 7-0-7°5 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 4:0
(one wing injured by shot, and not measured), tail 2°5-2°9, tarsus 0-9-0°95, hind claw 0°5.

India. The species of true Alauda included by Dr. Jerdon in his ‘ Birds of India’ are only three in
number, viz. A. triborhyncha, A. gulgula, and A. malabarica. The first of these is an inhabitant of the
Himalayas, and is, in our opinion, nothing but A. arvensis of Europe. The wing is supposed to be shorter ;
but an Indian specimen now before us has the wing 4°3 in length, and does not differ from the common
European Sky-Lark in winter plumage. Dr. Henderson has lately brought home from Yarkand a bird which
Mr. Hume has referred to the above species ; but this bird exactly agrees with one of Mr. Swinhoe’s typical
examples of A. intermedia, and we believe that neither of them can be separated from the small form of
A. arvensis occurring in Europe, though they are slightly more rufous in appearance. This small race also
oceurs in North-western India, and is absolutely undistinguishable from Hgyptian examples. We have im our
own collection one from Lahore, collected by Captain C. H. T. Marshall; and Canon Tristram has another,
procured by the late Captain Beavan at Umballah. A. gulgula is very closely allied to A. intermedia, but is
smaller, and has the under wing-coverts rather more isabelline; it is a perfect diminutive of our Sky-Lark, and
has much the same habits, varying also as much in measurements. ‘The tail-feathers seem to be more pointed,
and the outer feathers more washed with isabelline than in European skins. Total length 5:5-6-3 inches,
culmen 0°6, wing 3°4—3°8, tail 2°2-2°6, tarsus 0°9, hind claw 0:4-0°6 (e mus. Walden, S. & D., A. O. Hume).

Ceylon. We have seen two specimens of Alauda from Colombo, collected by Mr. W. Vincent Legge,
which we suppose belong to A. malabarica. They are exceedingly hke the last-named bird, possessing the
isabelline colour on the outer tail-feathers and under the wing. They are a little more rufous than the
Indian specimens we have examined, and measure as follows :—Total length 5:4-5°7 inches, culmen 0°5-0°6,
wing 3°35-3'4, tail 2°1, tarsus 0°9, hind claw 0°65.

North China, Peking. My. Swinhoe, when he first met with this bird, considered it to be new, and
called it A. pekinensis ; but he now refers it to the true A. arvensis, in which we quite agree with him. The
specimens in his collection, two in number, consist of an old bird in full winter dress, and a bird of the year,
still possessing some remains of its young plumage ; they were both procured in November 1860. We notice
nothing very peculiar about the plumage of either of these birds; the old example is very pale, but this is
owing to the sandy edgings to the feathers assumed during the winter. Both old and young birds have the
third outer tail-feather very broadly bordered with white, and the latter has the throat more spotted than is
usual. Total length 6°8-7:3 inches, culmen 0°5-0°55, wing 4°5-4:6, tail 2:8-3°0, tarsus 0:9-1:0, hind claw
0:7-0'8 (spec. 2 in mus. R. Swinhoe).

China and its dependencies. Besides our Common Sky-Lark, which only occurs in the northern part of the
country, Mr. Swinhoe includes four others, viz. A. cantarella, A. celivor, A. sala, and A. wattersi, of which
we speak in detail as follows :—

7

1. A. cantarella, potius E. intermedia. This we consider to be rightly named, but still adhere to our
opinion that it is a nothing but a small and undistinguishable race ; and we believe that when Mr. Swinhoe has
a larger series of skins from China he will be of the same conclusion. The two specimens are rather more
rufescent than western examples, one of them particularly so. They are both from Shanghai, and measure as
follows :—Total length 5:8 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 4:0—4'3, tail 2°4—-2°7, tarsus 0:9, hind claw 0:5-0°6.

2. A. celivor. Mr. Blyth, who has examined this species with us, and compared it with A. gulgula,
cannot separate the two birds. On an afterexamination of a large series, we notice, however, that A. celivox
is duller in plumage, and has not such distinct edgings to the wing-coverts, but has a much broader eyebrow,
and the outer tail-feather of a purer white. Total length 5°5-5:75 inches, culmen 0:45-0'5, wing 3:2-3°6, tail
2:2-2:4, tarsus 0:9-1:0, hind claw 0°45-0°65. The habitat is given by Mr. Swinhoe as Amoy, Canton, Hainan.

3. A. sala. This name was proposed by Mr. Swinhoe last year for the Sky-Lark of Northern Formosa
and Western Hainan, which differs from true A. celivox in having a very long hind claw, as well as a longer
and more arched bill.

4. A. wattersi. This bird Mr. Swinhoe further separates from A. celivox on account of its “shorter and
more conical bill, long hind claw, large and more numerous pectoral spots, and its want of rufescence. By
its long hind claw and markings it comes nearer to A. sala; but the long curved bill of the latter serves at
once to separate it. It is the Sky-Lark of South Formosa and the Pescadores.”

Japan. Here the variations are of specific importance, and the bird constitutes a distinct species, which
will stand as A. japonica, T.&S. (Faun. Japon.). Compared with true A. arvensis it is smaller and much more
rufous on the upper surface, and the black centres to the feathers are more distinct, and thus the back looks
far more distinctly mottled than in the Common Sky-Lark. It has the wing-coverts and edgings to the quills
very deep rufous, this character being a very conspicuous feature in the Japanese bird. Total length 6:-6-7:0
inches, culmen 0°65-0°7, wing 3°85—4°1, tail 2°65-2°75, tarsus 0°95-1:0, hind claw 0°55-0°7. (Spec. 1 in mus.
S. & D.; 3, Walden; 1, H. B. Tristram.)

Tue Sky-Lark is found all over the Palearctic Region, from the British Islands eastward into
Siberia and Northern China. As will be seen by the above réswmé, a smaller subspecies is met
with in South-eastern Europe, but does not present any characters by which it may be perma-
nently separated.

In Great Britain it is distributed everywhere, ‘‘ breeding even in the extreme north of
Scotland and its isles,” according to Mr. A. G. More. The late Mr. John Wolley observed it
in the Faroe Islands during his visit there; and Herr Sysselmand Miller says it is “ not rare on
the Faroes in April, May, September, and October: a pair bred here.” Von Droste doubts its
passing the Faroes regularly, as it is not found on Iceland, and in America and Greenland it has
been only twice recorded. In Norway Messrs. F. and P. Godman found it breeding on May
25th, at Bodo, where it was ‘‘ abundant in the marsh.” Collett says that it arrives in the neigh-
bourhood of Christiania in March, leaving again in October; and Nilsson states that it is
numerous at Trondhjem and in the Stérdale, extending up as high as Ranenfiord. Lowenhjelm
found it breeding in Lapland, in the parish of Stensele, 65° N. latitude, and Malm at Karesuando.
It occurs at the Varanger Fiord, as Pastor Sommerfeldt records his having heard it singing at
Tana in 1851, and found a nest there the same year. ‘The late Mr. Wheelwright, in his ‘ Spring
and Summer in Lapland,’ writes as follows:—“ The Sky-Lark was one of the earliest spring
migrants; for I saw a pair in the end of April. They kept close to our house for a few days,
when they disappeared; and I never saw any more, nor did J hear of a nest being taken here
(Quickjock).” Von Wright says it is a summer visitor to Finland, and very common, arriving at

ol:

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ol4

8

Helsingfors late in March or early in April. In Denmark Kjerbélling records it as abundant,
arriving the earliest of the spring migrants, and leaving in November; a note by our friend
Mr. Benzon is also given below.

Mr. H. M. Labouchere writes as follows :—‘ Although not so common as in England, this
bird is found in all the different parts of Holland, in the fields, moors, and also in the dunes.
In autumn large flocks of these birds visit us at the same time as the Chaffinches and other
migratory birds, when large numbers of them are netted. I have seen as many as seven hundred
caught in one day. It is chiefly on the dunes or sand hills that this kind of sport, if it
deserves that name, is indulged in.”

Godron states that it is very common in the fields of Lorraine, and partly sedentary; and
Kreener gives it as resident from March to September, living in the fields, but sometimes met
with on the plateaux of Vosges. Degland and Gerbe say that it is common throughout France,
leaving in the month of October in large numbers, though a considerable number remain ; in the
winter quantities are found upon the coast. In Germany they are chiefly migratory, but in mild
winters a considerable number will stay. Seidensacher states, “It arrives in Styria late in
February or early in March, and is common in all fields in the valleys to the end of October, or
even later. I have seen stragglers in December. I cannot say if it occasionally winters with us.
At Neustadt, in Krain, this was certainly the case in the winter of 1859-60.”

Mr. Howard Saunders says that in Spain it is very abundant in winter in large flocks, and he
found it breeding in Aragon. Major Irby tells us that in Andalucia it is chiefly seen as a winter
migrant in great numbers, but some are resident, and breed there. Mr. Vernon Harcourt
records it as a straggler to Madeira.

Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake found it plentiful in Tangier and Eastern Morocco; and Mr.
Salvin observes :—‘ The Sky-Lark is very common about Tunis in February ; but it occurs rarely
in the salt-lake country, the head quarters of A. calandra, A. cristata, and A. brachydactyla.”
Canon Tristram writes to us as follows:—“I have found it breeding on the steppes of the
Eastern Sahara—that is, on the Hauts Plateaux south of the Atlas. It occurs also in the
Sahara in flocks in winter.” Dr. Taczanowski has published the following account of the
species as observed by him in Algeria :—‘ Still more numerous than the Calandra, and, like it,
keeping in flocks and in the same localities. Only once, in December, I saw a male, which rose
and began singing; otherwise they remained quiet. ‘Towards the end of January they became
scarcer, and at the end of February they were only to be met with here and there.” In Malta,
Mr. Wright says, it is “abundant in flocks in October, when great numbers are taken in nets or
shot. A few remain the winter till the beginning of February. It repasses in March and
April.” Count Salvadori states that large quantities come down into Sardinia, some remaining
to breed: and in Italy it abounds during winter, according to Dr. Giglioli; and likewise in
Corfu and Epirus, as observed by Lord Lilford. Mr. W. H. Hudleston found it “ breeding in
the Dobrudscha in company with A. cristata and A. brachydactyla.” Von der Muhle does not
appear to have noticed it breeding in Greece, as he only remarks that “large quantities are
found all over the meadows and fields of the Morea from November to April.” In Turkey
Messrs. Elwes and- Buckley found it common on the plains; and for the following note we are
indebted to Mr. T. Robson, of Ortakeuy :—“ This species is numerous in Turkey in Asia and

9

Europe; and although widely spread over mountain and plain, it changes its situation as cultivation
proceeds, and builds its nest amongst corn fields, meadows, vineyards, &c.; but in this extensive
empire the wilds are their chief abode.” Strickland says that in the neighbourhood of Smyrna
“‘immense flocks of this bird arrived from the northward at the commencement of the severe
weather at Christmas.” From Trebizond it was sent by Mr. Keith KE. Abbott; and Messrs.
Dixon and Ross observe :—“‘Shot on the 30th of November 1843, in the vicinity of Lake
Tajoora, where they were collected into large flocks in the stubble-fields, apparently migrating.
They were very shy.” Canon Tristram, in his essay on the ‘ Ornithology of Palestine,’ writes :—
“A. arvensis we found only in winter, on the sea-coast in large flocks; and it does not appear to
remain in any part of the country in spring. Probably these flocks are migrants from the far
north, as they never penetrate inland. There their place is taken by the closely allied species of
A. cantarella, Bp.*, of which there were myriads in vast flocks about Beersheba in winter,
where there were none of A. arvensis.” As we have already stated, Captain Shelley has
obtained both races of the Sky-Lark in Egypt; and Dr. von Heuglin regards it as “ occasional,
and probably not a regular winter visitor to North Arabia and Lower Egypt.’ In Persia De
Filippi observed it in cultivated fields.

Pallas says that the Sky-Lark is abundant through all Russia and Siberia in temperate
lands, and especially on the grassy plains. Steller observed it not only in Kamschatka, but
equally in the Kurile Islands and in those which lie between Asia and America. Mr. H. Goebel
says that in the province of Uman, in Southern Russia, it is common in summer, being one of the
first birds to arrive in spring. Lehmann, during his journey to Bokhara, says it is found on the
Emba steppes and on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, as for instance on the island of Peschnoi,
on the 23rd of April. Dybowski and Parrex state that it is common in Dauria; and Radde
found the Sky-Lark nesting on the southern slope of the Munku-Sardik up to an altitude of
6000 feet, but did not see it on the borders of tree-growth or on the marshy Alp tundras on
the north-east Sajan. On those high mountains and on the Kossogol plateau they were singing
on the 12th (24th) of July. He further records it as found on the east of the Chingan moun-
tains, common at the mouth of the Dseja, on the Amoor, in the Bureja mountains, and very
common in Mongolia.

Von Middendorff records them from several localities, amongst others, the Sea of Ochotsk.
He says that his birds agree with the European species. In Northern China it also occurs in
winter, having been procured by Mr. Swinhoe at Peking.

Captain C. H. T. Marshall discovered the Sky-Lark in North-western India; and Mr. Hume
writes as follows concerning the bird found in that locality :—‘‘ A specimen of a Sky-Lark sent
me from near Lahore by Captain C. H. T. Marshall appears to me to be precisely identical with
the European species. I sent it to M. Verreaux, who remarks, ‘This, as you rightly conjectured,
is Alauda arvensis. I have compared it with more than a hundred European specimens, and
cannot discover the slightest difference.’” We have also one of Captain Marshall’s specimens
in our collection, and indorse M. Jules Verreaux’s opinion so far, that it consists of the small
subspecies, and not the large northern form. We have already expressed our belief that A.
triborhyncha is nothing more than A. arvensis; and we now add a note published by Mr. Blyth

* A. intermedia of this work (S. & D.).
3G

oy

Rn

16

10

in his commentary on Dr. Jerdon’s ‘ Birds of India’:—“ A specimen lately received from Dr.
Jerdon thus marked by him, differs in no respect that I can perceive from the European A.
arvensis, not even in the proportions of its primaries; and the closed wing measures 4°5 inches.
Mr. Gould, however, refers it to A. moreatica, Bonap., in which I fail to perceive sufficient
distinction.” When this last-named title was published we have been unable to discover.

The Sky-Lark occasionally visits Greenland, and has been met with in the Bermudas.
Canon Tristram writes to us:—‘‘I do not know whether I ever mentioned in print that I got
the Sky-Lark (a storm-tried waif) in Bermuda after an easterly gale.”

Macgillivray’s account of the habits of this species is excellent, as usual; and we cull the
following remarks from his work :—‘'Towards the end of autumn the Sky-Larks congregate in
large straggling flocks, generally keeping by themselves, although occasionally mingling with
small birds of the Passerine and Bunting families. In open weather they frequent the stubble-
and ploughed fields, where they pick up the seeds of oats, wheat, barley, polygona, and other
plants. Like the Deglubitores and many of the Cantatores, they use a large quantity of sand
and gravel, consisting chiefly of grains of quartz, to aid the process of digestion. I believe their
food during the winter consists almost entirely of seeds, although remains of insects may now
and then be found in their gizzards. At this season they employ only their ordinary flight,
which bears some resemblance to that of the Fieldfare, being performed by slight undulations,
and several consecutive flaps of the wings, with short alternate cessations. They generally hover
over a field, or fly about in curves, before they alight, which they do in rather an abrupt manner,
but not so rapidly as the Corn- and Yellow Buntings. On alighting they disperse, and move

‘about, not by leaps, like most small birds, but by an alternate action of the feet, in a half-gliding,

half-startful manner, keeping their legs bent and their breasts consequently close to the ground.
When in any degree alarmed, they crouch, draw in their neck, and remain motionless until the
object of their apprehension has disappeared. Should a person walk up to a flock, he may get
quite close to it before the birds think it necessary to rise; and on such occasions they do not all
take flight at once, a few here and there rising in succession. Indeed, unless the ground be all
gone over, many will remain and allow their companions to fly off. Their movements while
rising are rapid and wavering, so that, until they are at some distance, it is difficult to shoot them.
Owing to their habit of crouching, it is by means easy to perceive them while on the ground,
especially if they are among stubble; and as their motions are quick, they traverse a considerable
space in a short time. When there is snow on the ground, they betake themselves to corn-yards,
and search the tops of the stacks for seeds ; but in frosty weather, when the ground is clear, they
prefer settling on the spaces between or around the stacks. If disturbed and forced to fly off,
they do not, like the Buntings, Chaffinches, and Sparrows, with which they then associate, perch
on the neighbouring trees or walls, but remove toa distance. During this season they merely
utter a short chirping note as they fly, although occasionally a bright day, even as early as
January, will elicit their song. The song of the Sky-Lark is familiar to most persons, even those
who in cities have exchanged the love of nature inherent in humanity for the love of gain,
fashion, and vicious excitement; but were it not, it would be as difficult for me to describe it as
it would be for a musician to imitate it. Sometimes the Lark sings on the ground, perched on a
clod, or even crouched among the grass; but generally in commencing its song it starts off, rises

11

perpendicularly or obliquely in the air, with a fluttering motion, and continues it until it has
attained its highest elevation, which not unfrequently is such as to render the bird scarcely
perceptible. Even then, if the weather be calm, you hear its warble coming faintly on the ear
at intervals. It has been alleged that the Lark ascends in a spiral manner; but my observation
does not corroborate the statement. It rising it often passes directly upward, but with the body
always horizontal or nearly so, then moves in a curve, and continues thus alternately, but without
a continued spiral motion. At first, the motion of the wings is uniformly fluttering, but after-
wards it shoots them out two or three times successively at intervals, and when at its greatest
height exhibits this action more remarkably. When it descends, the song is not intermitted,
but is continued until it approaches the ground, when it usually darts down headlong, and
alights abruptly. Frequently it resumes its song after alighting, and continues it for a short
time, but more commonly it stops when it has reached the ground. Often the Lark may be seen
hovering over a field, in full song, for a considerable time, at a small height. On the 4th May
1837, I observed a Lark perched on a half-burnt whin branch, where it remained singing a long
time. I have often seen it perch on a wall, and several times on a hawthorn bush in a hedge;
but it never, I believe, alights on tall trees.

“The song of the Lark is certainly not musical; for its notes are not finely modulated, nor
its tones mellow; but it is cheerful and cheering in the highest degree, and protracted beyond all
comparison. Ina sunny day in April or May, when the grass-fields have begun to resume their
verdure, it is pleasant to listen to the merry songster that makes the welkin ring with its sprightly
notes; in the sultry month of July, still more pleasant is it to hear its matin hymn while the
dew is yet on the corn; and in winter should you chance to hear the well-known voice on high,
it reminds you of the bright days that have gone, and fills you with anticipation of those that are
to come. No doubt much of the pleasure derived from the Lark’s song depends upon association ;
and to him who finds delight in wandering over the green fields, along the daisied margin of the
clear stream that winds in the bottom of the pastoral glen, or upon the ferny brae, where ‘ the
lang yellow broom,’ and ‘blossomed furze unprofitably gay,’ shoot up amidst the wild thyme,
yarrow, and blue bell, it is pleasant to listen even to the ‘skirl’ of the Corn-Bunting, the see-saw
song of the Tit, the creaking cry of the Partridge, or the singular crake of the Land Rail; but,
independently of circumstances and associations, the song of the Lark imparts an elasticity to the
mind, elevates the spirits, and suspends for a time the gnawing of corroding care. ‘The mellow
song of the Merle or Mavis is apt to inspire melancholy, especially if heard in a sequestered
valley toward the close of day, and the feelings which it excites have perhaps as much of a
depressing as of a soothing tendency; but the carol of the Lark, like the lively fife, excites pure
cheerfulness, and might with propriety be prescribed as an antidote to dulness. It is not merely
music that we look for in the song of birds, but variety, and the expression of passions, feelings,
and wants. Were all our warblers to tune their throats according to rule, we should become
sickly and sentimental, fill the valleys with sighs, and groan from the mountain-tops; but the
loud war-whoop of the Eagle, the harsh scream of the Heron, and the croak of the Raven are
antidotes to the bewitching melody of the Black-cap and Nightingale. I have endeavoured to
trace a repetition at regular intervals in the strains of the Lark; but its modulations seem to

have no rule. In confinement this bird sings every whit as well as when at large; and when
362

317

318

12

rapidly perambulating the square bit of faded turf in its cage, it enacts its part with apparently
as much delight as when mounting ‘towards heaven’s gate.’ ‘This bird always reposes on the
ground at night, squatting frequently in the barest places. Its principal enemies, besides Man,
are Polecats, Weasels, Merlins, Sparrow-Hawks, and Kestrels. ‘The latter sometimes devour the
young birds, which also fall a prey to the quadrupeds mentioned. I remember seeing in a grass-
field many years ago, a number of Larks hovering over a particular spot, and incessantly uttering
cries that seemed to me indicative of anxiety or distress. On going up, I observed a Polecat
rush through the grass and disappear. It had been disturbed while in the act of eating the
young birds in a nest, and had killed the whole; for those which remained had the head bitten
through.”

Yarrell gives the following particulars :—*“ The strong attachment of the parent Lark to its
eggs and young has long been known; and a remarkable instance is thus described by Mr. Blyth
in the second yolume of ‘The Naturalist.’ ‘The other day some mowers actually shaved off the
upper part of the nest of a Sky-Lark without injuring the female, which was sitting on her
young ; still she did not fly away, and the mowers levelled the grass all round her without her
taking further notice of their proceedings. A young friend of mine, son of the owner of the
crop, witnessed this, and about an hour afterwards went to see if she was safe, when, to his
great surprise, he found that she had actually constructed a dome of dry grass over the nest
during the interval, leaving an aperture on one side for ingress and egress, thus endeavouring
to secure a continuance of the shelter previously supplied by the long grass.’ Two or three
instances are recorded of the Sky-Lark moving its eggs under the fear of impending danger;
and Mr. Jesse, in the fourth edition of his ‘ Gleanings,’ adds the following communication made
to him by a clergyman in Sussex, who, during a previous harvest, ‘was riding gently towards
Dell Quay, in Chichester Harbour, with two friends, where, having passed the toll-bar, the road
is of good elevation, and separated by a short quickset-hedge on each side from the fields, over
which there is a commanding view. When in this situation, their attention was attracted by a
shrieking cry; and they discovered a pair of Sky-Larks rising out of the stubble, and crossing the
road before them at a slow rate, one of them having a young bird in its claws, which was dropped
in the opposite field at a height of about thirty feet from the ground, and killed by the fall. On
taking it up, it appeared to have been hatched about eight or nine days. The affectionate parent was
endeavouring to convey its young one to a place of safety; but its strength failed in the attempt.’ ”

Regarding the migration of the Sky-Lark, the following note is given by Thompson :—* In
the ‘Annual Register, under the date of January 10, 1814, it is stated that ‘the Hillsborough
packet, on the passage from Portpatrick to Donaghadee, was literally covered, on the rigging and
deck, by a flock of Larks.” Messrs. Gray and Anderson also state, in their ‘ Birds of Ayrshire,’
“‘some winters ago immense flocks of Larks appeared during hard weather in some fields close to
the town of Girvan. On rising from the ground, the cloud of birds appeared so dense as to
obscure objects in the line of their flight. Large numbers were killed on the telegraph-wires ;
and after the flocks had passed it was found that many birds had been mutilated, their wings being
torn off by the wires.” Mr. Stevenson, in his ‘ Birds of Norfolk, likewise writes as follows :—* Our
home-bred birds also perform, during the winter months, a kind of partial migration, shifting
their ground repeatedly, according to the state of the weather. Not unfrequently after severe

13

frosts, when scarcely a Sky-Lark has been visible for weeks, we find on the first bright sunny day
the stubbles are filled with them ; but these soon leave again with the least indication of returning
cold; and thus they come and go till spring has fairly commenced and all our northern visitants
have again passed over us to their distant homes. Yarrell, referring to the migration of this
species, mentions having received a communication from the Rev. R. Lubbock, of his having
witnessed from Caister Point, near Yarmouth, ‘the arrival of Sky-Larks from the sea;’ and the
same has been noticed on several occasions during the month of October, by the Rev. E. W.
Dowell, at Blakeney. They arrive, he says, ‘all day long in small flocks; and I have observed
that these birds, and indeed most of the small land-birds, reach our shores in greater number
towards the afternoon. Larks frequently burst into song when they make the land.’ On the
Suffolk coast they have also been seen to arrive in the same manner ; and their return in February,
in ‘innumerable flocks,’ is remarked by Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear. It would seem, more-
over, that these flocks are not merely confined to the daytime, from the fact of specimens being
frequently picked up dead, having flown against the windows of the lighthouses on the coast.”

Mr. A. Benzon sends us a note on the Sky-Lark in Denmark :—‘ This bird, called in Danish
Sanglerke, Graslerke, and Marklerke, is everywhere common in the flat country, and places its
nest on the ground, forming it of straw lined with fine grass, the eggs being placed with the
points inwards. Its first sitting, deposited in April, never exceeds four in number, whereas in
June, when the weather has become milder, and the supply of food more ample, it often lays
five eggs. I have never seen an albino of this species; but I know that one has been seen on
Jutland.”

Dr. E. Rey writes to us that he observed it in Portugal from March to May, and in Germany
has taken eggs of this bird from the 16th of April to the 25th of July. The average size of one
hundred eggs in his collection is 24:1 by 16°8 millims., the largest measuring 25°5 by 17-0, and
the smallest 20°6 by 16 millims. respectively. In number they vary from four to seven.

Mr. Hewitson gives the following particulars:—‘“The eggs of the Sky-Lark, though very
rarely differing so much as to cause a difficulty in identifying the species, are nevertheless subject
to much variety, both in form and colour: some are large and oval; others are pyriform, like
those of the Waders; some are of the deep sombre brown which marks the eggs of the Titlark ;
others are tinted with green, and are, I think, the most characteristic of the species; whilst a
few, and these are of rare occurrence, are so much less closely freckled, as to leave a light ground-
colour. In a nest, which I found in Derbyshire some years ago, were two of these varieties: one
of them resembled a good deal the eggs of the Woodlark, both in size and colour; the other was
still lighter, the markings smaller, and not unlike eggs of the Pied Wagtail. ‘These were in the
same nest with three others of the usual size and colour. There is yet another variety, which I
had almost forgotten to mention, on which the chief part of the colouring is concentrated in a
deep zone round the larger end; and in two or three specimens which I have seen, the same
deeper colouring was centred in a finger-like mark on one side only. Like the eggs of many of
our smaller birds, they are occasionally white.”

We have a series of the eggs of this bird, out of Dresser’s collection, before us, all British-
taken. The ground-colour of these eggs is dull grey, occasionally with an olive tinge; the
underlying shell-markings are pale purplish and light brown; and the overlying surface-blotches,

319

UO

14

which are closely scattered all over the egg, sometimes forming a ring round the larger end, are
dark nut-brown.

The birds figured in the Plate represent an adult male and a young bird just able to fly, in
our own collection. The bird in spring plumage is described from a specimen received from
Ms. W. Schliter, of Halle, to whom we are much indebted for a beautiful series of Sky-Larks in
all states of plumage; and the different stages of nestlings are chiefly taken from examples lent
by him and specimens procured by ourselves in England.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.
a. Durham (H. EH. For). 6. Leeds (J. McLeannan). c. Oxfordshire (P. L. Sclater). d, e, f, g, h, i. Hamp-
stead (C. R. Davy). j, k. Cookham, Berks (W. Briggs). 1,m,n,0, p,q. Cookham, Berks (R. B. Sharpe).
7. Hoddington, Hampshire (P. L. Sclater). s, t,u,v,w,2,y. Pagham, Sussex (R. B. Sharpe). z,a',U', c',
d',e', f',g', h', 7. Germany (W. Schiiiter). 7’, k',l',m'. Piedmont (Salvadori). mn',o!. Tunis (P. L. Sclater).
p'. Constantinople (7. Robson). q'. Asia Minor (T. Robson). 7'. Crimea (H. Whitely).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, b. Orkneys (H. B. T.). c. Castle Eden, Durham (H. B. 7.). d. Larnaka, Cyprus (H. B. 7.). e. Palestine
(A. B. T.).

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a. Beersheba, Palestine (H. B. Tristram).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

a, 6, c, d. Leadenhall Market, var. (J. H. G). e. Stockton-on-Tees (Green). jf, g, h, 7. Seaton, Durham
(J. H. G.). 7, k,l m, n. Greatham, Durham (J. H. G.). 0. Norwich (Gunn). p. Northrepps, Norfolk
(J. H. G.). gq. Hampstead (Davy). r. Eastbourne, Sussex (J. H.G.). s, ¢. Spain (J. H.G.). u. Moscow
(J. H. G.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. Cookham, Berks (J. Ford). 6. Seville (H. S.).

E Mus. Rk. G. Wardlaw Ramsay.
a, 6. Whitehill, Lasswade (R. G. W. R.).

E Mus. L. H. Irby.
a. Seville (LZ. H. 1.). 6. Tangier (Olcesse).

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.
a, 6. Avington, Hampshire (G. #.S). c. Alexandria, Egypt (G. E.S.). d,e, f. Fayoom, Egypt (G. Z. S.).

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.
a, b. Peking (R. S.). c,d. Shanghai (R. S.). e. Wilderness of Judea (H. B. Tristram).

E Mus. Berolinensi.
a. Schleswig (Gloger). 6. Thuringia (Brehm, var. A. agrestis, Br.).

EOE

WOOD- LARK.

ALAUDA ARBOREA.

Ne

ALAUDA ARBOREA.

(WOOD-LARK.)

Alauda arborea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 287 (1766).
Alauda nemorosa, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 797 (1788).
Alauda cristatella, Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 499 (1790).
Lullula arborea, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 92 (1829).
Galerida nemorosa, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 316 (1831).
Galerida arborea, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 317 (1831).
Galerita musica, Brehm, Naumannia, 1859, p. 279.
Galerita anthirostris, Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p. 279.

Alouette lulu, French ; Baumlerche, Heidelerche, German ; Boom-Leeuwerik, Dutch ; Alondra
de Monte, Spanish; Trddlarka, Swedish ; Skovlerke, Hedelerke, Danish; Trelerke, Nor-
wegian ; Mehtaleivo, Finnish; Javronok lesnoi, Russian; Skowronek borowy, Polish.

Ligure notabiles.

Montb. Pl. Enl. y. 503. fig. 2; Naum. Vog. Deutschl. iv. taf. 100. fig. 2; Gould, B. of Eur.
iii. pl. 167; Yarr. Brit. B.i. p.417; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. Afb. xviii. fig. 4; Schl. Vog.
Nederl. pl. 149; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. tab. xvi. fig. 3; Gould, B. of Gt. Br. pt. xvi.; Bettoni,
Ucc. Lomb. ii. tay. 61; Sundey. Sy. Fogl.

$ ad. supra brunneus, collo postico pallidiore, pilei cristati dorsique plumis medialiter nigris utrinque fulvo vel
pallidé rufescente marginatis: uropygio et supracaudalibus cinerascenti-brunneis unicoloribus: tec-
tricibus alarum brunneis, fulvescente lavatis, minimis exttis conspicué albis: remigibus et ala spuria
saturaté brunneis, extts albido limbatis, secundariis fulvescente marginatis: caudaé saturaté brunnea,
rectricibus duabus ceutralibus cineraceo lavatis, reliquis vix cinerascenti-albo terminatis, exterioribus
gradatim terminatis et marginatis: loris et supercilio distincto pileum circumeunte fulvescenti-albis :
regione parotica rufescenti-brunnea, supra nigricante: genis et collo laterali albicantibus minuté nigro
longitudinaliter striatis: subtus albicans, mento ipso immaculato: pectore superiore nigro longitudi-
naliter striato: hypochondriis cinerascentibus angustissimé brunneo lineatis: subalaribus albicantibus,
imis cinerascentibus, plumis carpalibus brunneo notatis: rostro brunneo, mandibula carned: pedibus
pallide carneo-brunneis : iride saturaté brunnea.

® mari haud dissimilis.

¢ autumn. magis fulvescens, et lineis pectoralibus obscuratis: remigibus magis conspicué rufescente margi-
natis: abdomine magis distincté fulvescente tincto.

Juv. obscurior: pilei et dorsi plumis laté medialiter nigricantibus conspicué albicante limbatis: tectricibus
alarum et primariis late fulvescente marginatis et terminatis, secundariis fascia marginali nigra et fulva

limbatis: subtus similis adultis, sed clarits albescens, et lmeis pectoralibus minoribus: cinctu capitali
conspicueé albo.

nN

2

Male adult, spring. Above brown, each feather with a central stripe of blackish brown, and edged with
rufous; feathers of the head striped down the centre with dark brown and edged with rufous, forming
a short, full crest; a light spot behind each nostril and a broad yellowish-white stripe from the back
of each eye to the nape, where they form an irregular and indistinct collar; rump- and upper tail-
coverts greyish brown; tail dark brown, the two central feathers much lighter in colour, and broadly
edged with light brown, the outer feather on each side dirty white towards the tip, and having the outer
web bordered with white, the next feather on each side with a large white spot at the tip, and the next
with a similar smaller one; quills dark brown, narrowly edged on the outer web with white ; secondaries
tipped and edged with dull rufous; primary coverts blackish brown, tipped with light buff; lesser
coverts the same as the back, but lighter, and having the entire centre dark; lores grey; ear-coverts
rufous, edged with dark brown, the feathers on the side of the neck bordering the auriculars being dirty
white; underparts dull yellowish-white; sides of chin, throat, and breast profusely spotted with dark
brown; flanks indistinctly striped ; under tail-coverts white, buff at the base of the feathers ; under wing-
coverts white, the lowest ones ashy ; beak dark brown; under mandible pale flesh-coloured; legs pale
flesh-brown; iris dark brown. Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 3:9, tarsus 0°8, hind toe, with
claw, 0°85, hind claw 0:4.

Male, autumn. Upper parts more fulvous, the rufescent edgings to the feathers being much broader ; under-
parts tinged with buff, the pectoral stripes beg rather more obscured, and tinged with rufous.

Female. Similar in plumage to the male.

Young. Above generally darker than the adult, each feather being very dark brown in the centre, and
narrowly edged with pale yellowish-buff; primaries similarly margined, the secondaries with a double
margin of black and fulvous, and having a gloss of metallic purple; underparts clear white; pectoral
markings smaller than in the adult; the band round the head, cheeks, and sides of the head clear
white.

THE present species is generally distributed throughout Central and Southern Europe, rarely
penetrating far north, and ranging to the east to the Ural, or at least but very rarely occurring
beyond that range of mountains. With us in England it is a local species, occurring in some
parts and not observed in others, but everywhere rather rare than otherwise.

According to Yarrell, it inhabits Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Devonshire,
and a few occur in Cornwall; it is also found in Wales. North of London it is found in Suffolk,
Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Lancashire; in Norfolk Mr. Stevenson finds it
by no means numerous, and now confined almost entirely to the western parts of the county. As
regards its range in Scotland, Mr. Robert Gray refers to instances on record of its having occurred
in Forfarshire, Ayrshire, Dumbartonshire, Caithness, Banffshire, and Aberdeenshire, and even as
far north as Orkney, a specimen having been shot in Mr. Dunn’s garden, at Stromness, on the
20th of February, 1844. In Ireland it is resident, but very local; Thompson states that it is
found in the counties of Down and Antrim, in well cultivated and wooded parts. During the
breeding-season it is to be met with, according to Mr. More (Ibis, 1865, p. 124), “chiefly in the
south of England, and is apparently rare or wanting in some of the eastern counties. It nests
only occasionally in Essex, and is not included in either of the lists which I have received from
Lincolnshire, though the county is mentioned by Yarrell.” Respecting its nidification in Scotland
we are indebted to our friend Mr. J. A. Harvie Brown for the following note:—“ That Alauda

3

arborea has bred in Stirlingshire once there is no doubt, and that it has bred oftener there is
every reason to believe, though unfortunately there is no corroborative evidence of its having
actually done so on more than one occasion. In 1863 I took four eggs in Torwood, about two miles
from our house, and satisfied myself at the time of the bird’s identity. Before that date I had
also seen the bird in Torwood ; but since then, having almost invariably been from home during
the nesting-season, and not having any sufficiently reliable person to search for the nest in my
absence, I have neither seen the birds nor again procured the nest, although one containing four
eggs was brought in by our gamekeeper’s son, which I believed to be those of Alauda arborea.
I quote the following note from my ‘ Egg-Book’ in reference to the above capture :—‘ The bird
scuttled away along the ground from the nest from almost beneath my feet... .. On taking wing
it flew away into the wood. The nest was placed in the face of a sloping bank in a “ride” in
the wood.’ Mr. Robert Gray has seen this species also at the Bridge of Allan, in the same
county, as mentioned in his ‘ Birds of the West of Scotland’ (p. 124), and it has been observed
in various other parts of Scotland. Iam not aware, however, that any other eggs beside the
above have been procured.”

In Norway, Mr. R. Collett informs us, it is found in the most southern and south-eastern
districts, as in Aremark, Edsberg, and at Fredrikshald, where it is tolerably numerous. At
Christiania it is rare, but is found there annually, and breeds in certain favourable localities, as
on the open parts bordered by fir-woods above Riis, Gaustad, and Haugerud, and at Fornebo
and Nesodden. It arrives in April, in flocks of eight or ten individuals. Professor Rasch has
observed it late in September. In Sweden it is found in the southern portion of the country,
but, according to Professor Sundevall, ranges only as high as Gefle, where Dresser also met with
it. Nilsson, on the other hand, places its northern limit at the island of Gottland, where it is
rare. It has been met with breeding in Skane, where it arrives in March and leaves again in
September. In Finland it is not a common bird; but, according to Von Wright, a few appear
every spring near Helsingfors, and leave after a stay of a week or two; however, in the autumn
it has not been observed. It breeds at Uskela, in Abo Lan. Dresser never observed it during
his stay in that country. With regard to its range in Russia, Mr. Sabandeff writes to us that it is
found throughout Central Russia, but more often seen during migration. It breeds in Kazan
and Simbirsk, and, according to Cherkazo, in the Government of Kharkoff, as also in that of
Kieff, as stated by Kessler. Sabanieff did not observe it on the Ural, but considers that it may
be met with on the western slope. Eversmann found it breeding in the Governments of Kazan
and Viatka; but Meshakoff records it as rare in the Government of Vologda. Meves only
observed it once near Schliisselburg.

On the northern coasts of Germany and in the Baltic provinces it is not a common bird;
and Naumann even refers to it as not occurring there. However, Mr. Hintz refers to it as a
regular summer visitor to Pomerania, arriving in March and remaining to breed. It has been
known to occur thus far north in the winter season; and Mr. Taczanowski writes that he has
twice seen this Lark in Poland during the winter—on one occasion in January, when the bird was
observed for several days on the outskirt of a wood at Lubartow, and rose singing in the air
during the time the sun was shining, as if it were spring, although the ground was covered with
snow. As regards its occurrence in Denmark, Mr. Benzon writes to us as follows:—«<In

lod

+

4

Denmark it is called Skovlerke and Hedelerke, and sometimes Lijnglerke, and is not common
with us; even during migration in March and April it is only occasionally observed. I do not
know any instance of its breeding on the islands; but it breeds here and there on Jutland.” It
is found throughout Northern and Central Germany, but it is nowhere as common as the
Sky-Lark. In no locality is it really plentiful, but restricts itself to certain small districts. It is
a true migrant, leaving in the autumn to winter in the south, and returning again in the spring.
Dr. E. Rey, in his ‘Ornis von Halle,’ states that it generally arrives there early in March, but
only a few remain to breed. From Bitterfeld to Dessau it becomes more numerous. He pro-
cured nests from the 4th to the 27th of May, containing four and five eggs.

In Holland and Belgium it is likewise much rarer than the Sky-Lark; and in the latter
country it occurs regularly during migration in autumn, and again in March, when it is found in
small flocks in the fields and meadows. Baron von Droste Hiilshoff includes it in his work on
the ornithology of Borkum as rare; but he found it breeding on the dunes; and Mr. Labouchere
writes that it breeds in some parts of Holland.

According to Degland and Gerbe it is common throughout France, sedentary in some parts,
as in the Landes and in the department of Var, and migratory in others, as near Paris and in some
of the northern departments. In Provence it is, according to MM. Jaubert and Barthélemy-
Lapommeraye, very common during the autumn migration, but rare in spring. In the far south
of France it is rarely seen in summer; and in Spain, as we are informed by Major Ivby, it
seldom remains to breed. In this latter country, he writes, it is not at any time abundant, and
appears to be, as in England, very local. They are more numerous in the spring, from February
to the end of April, when they leave for the north. Mr. Howard Saunders found it tolerably
common in Southern Spain during the autumn and winter, some few breeding near Granada.
In Portugal it is, according to the Rev. A. C. Smith, local and not common. Canon Tristram,
who compared the specimens obtained by Mr. Smith with British and continental specimens,
remarks that the Portuguese bird is rather darker than these latter.

Passing eastward again we find this species (according to Bailly) not so common in Switzer-
land and Savoy as the Sky-Lark, and frequenting especially the bushy localities and vineyards.
It leaves Savoy during the cold season, but does not migrate far, as it arrives back in Southern
Europe early in February. Dr. Girtanner writes that it breeds in Switzerland. In Modena,
according to Doderlein, it is resident throughout the greater part of the year, and breeds; but
on the approach of winter, its numbers being increased by accession from the north, the majority
take their departure for the south. Almost the same occurs in Sicily, where a few pairs remain
to breed in spring, the majority returning to the north.

In Malta (Wright, Ibis, 1864, p. 60) it is less rare than the Crested Lark, but cannot be
considered common. It appears at the same season, and Mr. Wright has observed it offered for
sale with Sky-Larks. Lord Lilford observed it commonly at Corfu during the winter; and large
flocks remain to winter in Greece, where it is, strictly speaking, a winter visitant, though,
according to Dr. Kriiper, a few pairs are occasionally found breeding in the mountains; and
Lord Lilford likewise states that a few remain to breed in Corfu. It is common in Turkey
during the winter season, and is said by Mr, Robson to be resident near Constantinople. On the
coasts of the Black Sea it is recorded by Professor Nordmann as rare; and he only twice

5

observed small flocks of six or eight individuals, near Odessa. Although a migrant throughout
Central Europe, it is, strange to say, a resident not only (as above stated) near Constantinople,
but also in Palestine; for Dr. Tristram, who procured it there, writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 287) as
follows:—“ Of the typical Alaudine, Alauda arborea, L., is the only one which we found
breeding; it remains all the year in the country, wintering in the hills about Jerusalem in
small flocks, and dispersing into the neighbourhood of oliveyards and woods in the breeding-
season. It is not an uncommon bird.” It ranges as far south as Lower Egypt, but is rare
there, as the only instance we know of its occurrence is one recorded by Brehm. It is, how-
ever, according to Loche, common in Southern Algeria, especially in the winter, where it
frequents the bush-covered localities, and is found in small bands of about fifteen individuals,
but never in large flocks. Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake does not include the Wood-Lark in his list of
the birds of Morocco; but we are informed by Major Irby that it occurs during the winter
season in the vicinity of Tangiers. It has not been found on the Canaries or the Azores.

Unlike the Sky-Lark, which frequents the open treeless and bushless plains and fields, the
Wood-Lark affects less-cultivated ground where trees and bushes partially cover the country.
As its German appellation, Heidelerche (Heath-Lark), implies, it frequents the heath-covered
plains where trees are in the immediate neighbourhood; and, according to many observers, it
appears to prefer conifer growth to non-evergreen groves. In localities where the soil is sandy
and partially covered with second growth, larger trees being sparsely scattered here and there,
this species is generally numerous; but it does not frequent the dense forest. In its habits it is
lively and sprightly, fond of the society of its congeners, and not quarrelsome, but rather more
shy than the Sky-Lark. It frequents the ground far more than is commonly supposed, and
indeed only perches occasionally on the outer branches, chiefly during the breeding-season when
singing. It seeks its food almost, if not solely, on the ground, and runs with celerity and ease.
It roosts on the ground in open places close to the woods, under weeds or grass, or in the old
weed-covered furrows, and retires early to rest. It is more affected by the cold weather than the
Sky-Lark, and migrates earlier to the southward than that species. Its song is sweet and flute-
like, more melancholy than that of A. arvensis, and is generally uttered from the top of some
tree, or else when the bird is on the wing. It rises to some height before commencing, then
ascends, singing, higher and higher, throwing itself from side to side, hovers and floats in the air,
and, when the song is ended, drops with closed wings to the ground again. It sings not only in
the mornings and evenings, but also at other times of the day and in the night, especially at
midnight.

The Wood-Lark, like the Sky-Lark, places its nest on the ground, usually in some place where
it is well concealed. The nest is constructed of grass, straws, and moss, lined with fine bents, hair,
and wool, and is a more compact structure than that of the last-named bird. The eggs, usually
four or five in number, vary somewhat in colour and markings. In a series now before us out of
Dresser’s collection the ground-colour is white, in some with a grey, and in others with a slight
reddish tinge, and the markings, which are minute and scattered closely over the egg, generally
collecting somewhat at the larger end, are reddish brown, olive-brown, or dark nut-brown. In
one or two specimens there is a blotch at the larger end, and besides these surface-spots there are

E

6

‘generally a few light brown and purplish shell-spots. In size they vary from 22 by 74 to 34 by 28

of an inch.

The figure of the adult bird in the Plate is taken from a specimen in Dresser’s collection
obtained near Bristol in October 1869, that of the young bird from one in Canon Tristram’s
collection, obtained at Safed, the descriptions being taken from the same specimens ; the descrip-
tion of the male in spring plumage is taken from an example in Dresser’s collection, obtained in
Sjelland in March 1871 by Mr. A. Benzon.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, b,c. Bristol, October 1869 (Davy). d. Wales, October (Davy). e, g. Sjelland, March 1871 (A. Benzon).
f. Ortakeuy, Turkey, April 29th (Robson). g. Genoa, October 1857 (H. E. D.).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

a, 6. Pembroke. ec. Near London. d, e. Avranches.

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. Jericho. b,juv. Safed, 20th of May (H.B.T.). c. Zebdany, 13th of June. d. Boghar, 30th of May (H.B.T.).

E Mus. A. B. Brooke.
a. Riviera, spring (4. B. B.). 6. Riviera, winter (A. B. B.).

Genus AMMOMANES.

Alauda apud Lichtenstein, Verz. Doubl. p. 28 (1823).
Melanocorypha apud Gould, Voy. Beagle, Birds, p. 87 (1841).
Phileremos apud Von der Miihle, Orn. Griechenl. p. 38 (1844).
Mirafra apud G. R. Gray, Gen. of B. ii. p. 383 (1844).
Calandrella apud Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Avium, i. p. 244 (1850).
Ammomanes, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. i. p. 125 (1850-51).

Annomanes apud Bonaparte, Cat. Parzud. p. 8 (1856).

Tue Desert-Larks approach more closely to the true Larks than to any other genus, and form
a natural link between them and Calandrella, to which they are also very closely allied. They
inhabit the sandy desert portions of the Palearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, two
species being found in the Western Palearctic Region. Affecting arid deserts, they are shy
and wild, but otherwise to a large extent resemble the Crested Larks. Their flight is weak ;
but they run with great speed, and squat and hide when frightened. Their song is agreeable,
though somewhat monotonous, and is said to resemble that of Calandrella. They feed on insects
and seeds, and build a slight, neatly formed, cup-shaped nest of grass, which they place on the
ground, and deposit several rich cream-coloured eggs blotched with brown and dull rufous.

Ammomanes deserti, the type of the genus, is a uniform greyish or rufescent isabelline-
coloured bird; it has the beak moderately strong, rather long, the upper mandible overlapping
the lower one, and curved downwards towards the tip; nostrils round, placed in the fore part of
the nasal depression ; wings rather long, the first quill short, but much longer than the coverts,
the second shorter than the sixth, the third, fourth, and fifth nearly equal, the fourth generally
the longest; tail moderately long, very slightly emarginate; tarsus covered in front with five
indistinct large and three inferior scutelle, and posteriorly also scutellate; claws weak, except
the hind claw, which is elongated and nearly straight.

67

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290

DESERT LARK.
AMMOMANES DESERTI.

215

AMMOMANES DESERTLI

(DESERT-LARK.)

Alauda deserti, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 28 (1823).

Alauda isabellina, Temm. Pl. Col. 244. fig. 2 (1838).

Phileremos isabellina (Temm.), Von der Miihle, Orn. Griechenl. p. 38 (1844).
Mirafra deserti, G. R. Gray, Gen. of Birds, Subfam. vi. (1844).
Melanocorypha isabellina (Temm.), Riipp. Syst. Uebers. p. 78. no. 307 (1845).
Alauda lusitania (Gm.), Degland, Orn. Kur. i. p. 405 (1849, nec Gm.).
Calandrella deserti (Licht.), Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 244 (1850).
Ammomanes deserti (Licht.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 125 (1850).

Mirafra phenicuroides, Blyth, J. A. Soc. Beng. xxii. p. 583 (1853).
Melanocorypha deserti (Licht.), C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 121 (1855).
Melanocorypha isabellina, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 121 (1855).
Melanocorypha arabs, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 122 (1855).

Melanocorypha galeritaria, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 122 (1855).

Annomanes deserti (Licht.), Bp. Cat. Parzud. p. 8 (1856).

Annomanes isabellina (Temm.), Bp. tom. cit. p. 8 (1856).

Ammomanes tsabellina (Temm.), Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 34.

Ammomanes fraterculus, Tristram, P. Z. 8. 1864, p. 434.

Ammomanes lusitanica, Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 45 (nec Gm.).

Ammomanes lusitana (Gm.), Salvadori, Ucc. d’'Ital. ii. p. 133 (1872, nec Gm.).

Figure notabiles.
Temminck, Pl. Col. 244. fig. 2; Bree, B. of Eur. ii. pl. to p. 188.

¢ ad. corpore supra pallidé rufescenti-isabellino, subtts albo vix isabellino tincto: gutture nigrescente
indistincté striato: remigibus pallidé fuscis extus rufescente isabellino marginatis, secundariis intimis
et tectricibus alarum superioribus dorso concoloribus: rectricibus centralibus rufescenti-isabellinis,
versus apicem griseis et centraliter brunneo notatis, reliquis ad basin rufescentibus, versus apicem
sordidé brunneis, duabus externis in pogonio externo fere ad apicem rufescentibus: subalaribus pallidé
rufescenti-isabellinis: rostro pallidé et sordidé flavo, pedibus pallidé schistaceis vix viridi tinctis:
iride fusca.

2 ad. haud a mare distinguenda.

Adult Male (Egypt). Upper parts pale rufescent isabelline; underparts white, slightly washed with
isabelline on the abdomen and flanks, and with very indistinct dark stripes on the throat; quills pale
sandy brown with a greyish tinge, margined on the outer web with rufescent isabelline ; innermost
secondaries and wing-coverts coloured like the back; rump and upper tail-coverts rather more rufous
than the back; central rectrices reddish isabelline or pale sandy rufous, becoming grey towards the

330

2

tip, and marked with dull brown in the centre, remaining rectrices pale rufous at the base, and
gradually darkening till they become dull sooty brown toward the tip, the two outer feathers on each
side with the outer web rufous nearly to the tip; under wing-coverts pale rufescent isabelline; bill
dull yellow, with a greenish shade; legs pale greenish slate; iris brown. Total length about 6} inches,
culmen 0:6, wing 3:9, tail 2:8, tarsus 0°85, hind toe with claw 0:55, hind claw 0°27 ; first primary short,
only 0:33 longer than the coverts, and 1-7 less than the second, second 0°25 less than the third, third
and fourth equal, being also the longest.

Female. Similar to the male.

Young. According to Mr. Blanford the young differ from the adult in beimg generaily more rufous, in
having the basal portion and margins of all the rectrices pale dull ferruginous, with only the terminal
portion dark brown, the size of the dark spot being smallest on the outer pair. The greater portion of
the quills too, including all the basal part, is the same dull pale rufous; and there are pale rufous
edgings to the feathers of the upper parts and breast.

Obs. Some authors have used Gmelin’s name of Alauda lusitana (Syst. Nat.i. p. 798, 1788) for the present
species ; but I have not done so, for the following reasons :—Gmelin founded his species on the Portugal
Lark of Latham (Syn. ii. pl. ii. p. 893), which the latter author describes as having “ the upper part of
the plumage cream-colour; each feather dusky brown in the middle; coverts and quills edged with
grey ; underparts yellowish white, deepest on the breast; tail as the upper parts, some of the outer
feathers yellowish white.” This description, which it is stated in a footnote was taken from a drawing,
does not agree with A. deserti; and I think it probable that the bird described was a cream-coloured
variety, or partial albino, of one of the commoner species. Nor does it appear that any authentic
specimen of the true A. deserti has ever been obtained either in Portugal or Spain. I have seen two
so-called specimens of A. deserti from Spain, both of which were nothing else but cream-coloured
varieties of the common Sky-Lark and the Crested Lark, and Mr. Saunders tells me that he entirely
disbelieves its occurrence there.

THE present species inhabits Northern Africa, straggling but rarely, if ever, to Europe proper,
and is found eastward to Cashmere.

It is said to have occurred in Portugal and Spain; but I have failed in tracing any authentic
instance of its occurrence in those countries, and think that pale cream-coloured varieties of
other Larks have been mistaken for this species. Indeed its occurrence in Europe north of
the Mediterranean appears to be somewhat doubtful and uncertain. Cara recorded it from
Sardinia; but Salvadori never met with it, and doubts its occurrence, stating that specimens in
the Cagliari Museum labelled as being this species are nothing but varieties of Alauda arvensis.
It is stated to have occurred at Malta by Mr. C. A. Wright, who writes (Ibis, 1864, p. 61) that
the capture of a single specimen, of which the skin is in the possession of Signor Schembri,
entitles it to a place in his catalogue of the birds found there; but I am in some doubt as to
whether this may not refer to the Lesser Desert-Lark (Ammomanes cinctura, Gould), of which
species I obtained a specimen from Mr. Wright with some other birds some years ago. Temminck
(Man. d’Orn. iv. p. 638) speaks of it as being common in Greece; but Von der Miihle (J. ¢.) states
that it is very rare on the elevated plains of Tripolitz and elsewhere, and by no means common
as Temminck says. Erhardt records it from the Cyclades; but Lindermayer writes that he never
met with it in Greece. I do not find it recorded from anywhere else in Europe proper; but it is

5

common in Palestine, where, however, according to Canon Tristram (Ibis, 1866, p. 287), “it is
confined to the Dead-Sea region and the southern wilderness.” He considers that the greyer
and darker form constitutes a distinct species from the paler rufescent-isabelline bird, and says
that the latter “is the least common, being found only in the highlands close to the Dead Sea
in very small bands.” As above stated, however, I am unable, after having examined a series of
specimens from various localities, to find any specific distinction between the dark and the light
race. Mr. C. W. Wyatt met with this species in the Sinaitic peninsula, where, he says, it is
common amongst the higher parts of the mountains, but less abundant lower down.

In North-east Africa the Desert-Lark is abundant; and Von Heuglin (Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 685)
says that “it appears to be a resident in Egypt, Northern Arabia, and Nubia, southwards to 15°
N. lat., and likewise occurs in the Abyssinian coast region, possibly as far as the Somali country,
but is not found in the mountains of Habesch. It is found in pairs on the border between the
cultivated country and the desert, as well as in the desert itself, especially near the caravan roads.
Its song is poor, and the call-note lisping; it is generally seen on the ground, but occasionally
on a low bush; it runs swiftly, and usually quite straight; and it feeds on insects, durrah seeds,
and the seeds of the various desert-plants.” Mr. KE. C. Taylor writes (Ibis, 1867, p. 64) that he
found it abundant near Cairo in January, and shot it close to the walls of the city. Near
Assouan he found only the darker form (A. fraterculus, Tristr.). Dr. Leith Adams speaks of it
(Ibis, 1864, p. 25) as being “not uncommon on the deserts of Nubia, and usually seen in small
flocks.”” Mr. Jesse obtained a specimen at Koomaylee in June 1868, where it was not plentiful,
but more so at Amba in August; and Mr. Blanford speaks of it (Geol. & Zool. of Abyss. p. 390)
as “not rare to the west and north-west of Massowa on rocky and stony ground amongst thin
bushes.”

In North-western Africa it is common in the sandy plains; and Major Loche, who considers
that there are two distinct species of the larger-sized Desert-Larks in Algeria, and describes the
one under the name of Annomanes isabellina and the other under that of Annomanes deserti,
states that it is common in the Algerian Sahara, but does not occur near the coast. Canon
Tristram says (Ibis, 1859, p. 422), it ‘occurs first on leaving the Hauts Plateaux in small
numbers, but is more plentiful further south, inhabiting the open plains, where it is difficult to
conceive how it finds subsistence. Its lateral range is wide. I have obtained it from the
frontiers of Morocco to Arabia Petra. It is sedentary, and breeds both in the Algerian
Sahara and in the wilderness of Judeea.” Mr. Taczanowski says (J. f. O. 1870, p. 42) that “it is
met with on the south side of the Atlas, and about midway between Batna and Elkantara it is
numerous;” and Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., speaks of it as having been found by him at Laghouat,
and thence as far as Gardaia on the bare stony plains, and less commonly on the hill-sides.

To the eastward it is found as far as India, and was met with in Persia by Mr. Blanford,
who says that ‘‘it is extremely common in Baluchistan and on the coast of the Persian Gulf, but
it becomes scarce and local in the highlands of Persia. Among the barren hills of Baluchistan
this was almost the only bird which was abundant.” It is not recorded from Turkestan by
Severtzoff; but Dr. Jerdon (B. of India, i. p. 423) speaks of it as inhabiting Afghanistan and
Central Asia, and spreading into Cashmere and the Punjab Salt range; and Mr. A. O. Hume,
who found it in Sindh, writes (Stray Feathers, i. p. 211) as follows :—‘ This in and about the

37

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4

hilly portions of Sindh is the Lark par excellence ; in the barest and most desolate hills, absolutely
devoid of the slightest trace of vegetation (all about Duryalo they had had no rain for more than
two years when I was there), this bird was abundant. From the very northernmost to the
extreme southern point of Sindh it was equally plentiful in suitable localities; and all the way
up the Mekran coast I met with it whenever and wherever we landed. It is a perfectly fearless
and familiar bird, and, when shot at, generally drops, if not wounded, at a few yards distance and
seeks safety by squatting, when it is impossible, even at a couple of yards distance, to make out
its whereabouts, so perfectly does its sober garb harmonize with the barren localities it affects.
Further north it is equally common in the Salt range, in the hills that encircle the Peshawur
valley, and Hazara.”

In its habits the present species is essentially a desert-bird, being found in the desolate,
sandy, and wild localities, where its sober, dull, isabelline garb harmonizes closely with the soil ;
and it appears that its plumage always assimilates with the nature of the soil, being darker and
greyer in some localities and more isabelline or rufescent isabelline in others, according to the
prevailing tinge of colour of the surroundings; and like most of those birds whose plumage
closely resembles the colour of the soil, it squats at the approach of danger and trusts to the
concealment afforded by the difficulty in distinguishing it. Mr. Taczanowski says that in its
habits it most closely resembles the Crested Larks, being met with in pairs during the breeding-
season, and at other times found in small companies, often seeking for food on the roads. Major
Loche states that it frequents the sand plains, to the colour of which its plumage assimilates
closely, so much so that it is almost impossible to distinguish it. It is shy and difficult of
approach, runs with great speed, and can squat and hide in any uneven part of the ground
with ease. Its flight is weak; and it seldom flies any distance. It feeds on insects and small
seeds. Its song is, he says, agreeable, but not varied, and to some extent resembles that of the
Short-toed Lark. He does not speak of its building any nest, but merely says that the eggs are
deposited in a small depression in the soil, generally under shelter of a stone, and that they are
usually four in number. Dr. Tristram, however, gives more concise details respecting its nidifi-
cation, and says (/.c.) that the nest is neatly formed of grass, and placed in a depression in the
ground, under a tuft of grass, and that the eggs, four in number, in size are nearly equal to those
of the Crested Lark, but never so elongated, measure 11 lines by 8 lines, and are of a rich cream-
colour, blotched, especially towards the large end, with brown and red spots.

Three eggs of this Lark in my collection, two obtained by Mr. Cochrane near Jericho on
the 24th April, 1864, and one obtained by Major Loche in Algeria, most nearly resemble the
eggs of the Crested Lark, are creamy grey, closely marked with purplish grey underlying shell-
markings and dull brown surface-spots. ‘The one from Algeria has the surface-spots of a darker
and more greyish brown, they being chiefly collected at the larger end. In size they measure
from 28 by $3 to 2% by 28 inch.

In shade and tone of coloration the Desert-Lark is subject to great variation ; and I can only
account for it by supposing that they vary in colour according to the nature of the soil where
they are found. From Algeria, as well as from North-eastern Africa, I find rufous and grey
birds, some striated on the throat, and others without any striations; and from Palestine I find
both forms and some specimens whick are fairly intermediate; but from Cashmere I have only

5

the darker and greyer form; and the two specimens from Abyssinia in the collection of Lord
Walden are peculiarly dark, both on the upper surface of the body and also on the underparts,
and the tail and wings are darker: but one of the Cashmere birds is nearly as dark as either of
these Abyssinian specimens. ‘The following table will show the variation in measurements of
specimens from different localities :—

Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

inch. inches. inches. inch.
Algerian) 92) 4). 0;05-0;7, 3°80-3'9 2°80-2:°9 0°85-0°9
Palestine. . . . . 0°55-0-65 3°70-3'8 2-65-2°7 0:85
Egypt. . . . . . 0:60-0:67 3°55-3'82 2°65-2°7 0:85-0'9
Abyssinia. . . . . 07 3°65-3°8 2°75-2'85 0:9
Cashmere. . . . . 0°55-0°65 3°70—4°0 2:70-2:85 0°85-0°9

The specimens figured are an adult male from Egypt, of the pale isabelline form, this being
the specimen described, and a dark grey bird from Cashmere, both of which are in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,9,6,c,3. Algeria (Fairmaire). d. Egypt (H.B. Tristram). e, f. Egypt (Taylor). g,h. Egypt (Rogers).
i. Egypt (Shelley). k, 3. Nubia, March 1850 (4. Brehm). J. Cashmere, August Ist, 1870. m,@,
n,3,0,2, p,d. Kheura, Cashmere, April 1870 (Henderson). g. Assouan, Nile, January 31st, 1863

(Cochrane).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.

a. El Kantara, Palestine, January 1857 (H. B. Tristram). 6, 3,c, 9. Palestine, January 13th, 1864 (H. B.
Tristram).

E Mus. Lord Walden.

a,3g, 6,3. Amba, Abyssinia, August 19th, 1868 (W. Jesse). c,d. Jordan, January 12th, 1864 (H. B.
Tristram).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. Egypt (Captain Shelley). 6. Algerian Sahara (Loche).

342

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20

GOULD'S DESERT LARK.
ANMOMANES CINCTURA

z7e

AMMOMANES CINCTURA.

(GOULD’S DESERT-LARK.)

Melanocorypha cinctura, Gould, Voy. Beagle, B. p. 87 (1841).
Alauda arenicolor, Sundev. Ofv. Vet. Ak. Férh. 1850, p. 128.
Ammomanes pallida, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 125 (1850).

Alauda elegans, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 122 (1855).
Annomanes regulus, Bp. Compt. Rend. xliv. p. 1066 (1857).
Annomanes elegans (Br.), Bp. tom. cit. p. 1066 (1857).

Ammomanes elegans (Br.), Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 34.

Ammomanes regulus (Bp.), Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 423.
Ammomanes arenicolor (Sund.), Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 137 (1872).

Figura nulla.

Ad. A. deserti similis, sed minor et gracilior: cauda emarginata, rufescenti-isabellina, rectricibus centralibus
valdé et distincté, lateralibus gradatim angustits nigro-fusco terminatis, rectrice extima in pogonio
externo immaculato et in pogonio interno macula minore nigro-fusca instructé: remigibus nigro-fusco
terminatis: rostro et pedibus griseis: iride fusca.

Adult Female (Malta, April 1867). In general colour of plumage resembling A. deserti, but smaller in size,
with the tail differently marked, and the arrangement of the primaries rather different ; first primary
short, fully 1:85 inch shorter than the second, which is the longest, the third and fourth, however,
being almost equal to it in length; all the primaries with dark tips; tail slightly forked, reddish
isabelline in colour, the central rectrices broadly and distinctly terminated with blackish brown, this
terminal band gradually diminishing until on the outermost feather it is merely a dark patch on the
inner web; bill greyish; legs pale greyish; iris brown. ‘Total length about 52 inches, culmen 0:48,
wing 3°5, tail 2:2, tarsus 0°85, hind toe with claw 0°42, hind claw 0:23.

Adult Male (Algeria). Closely resembles the female.

Tuis small Desert-Lark, readily distinguishable from A. deserti, not only by its small size, but by
the distinct band at the end of the tail, inhabits Northern Africa and the Cape-Verd Islands, and
has once occurred at Malta.

In 1869 or 1870 Mr. C. A. Wright told me to get from a friend of his some few skins he
had left with him, and which, having been left out, had been so torn by a cat as to be probably
useless. On obtaining and examining them I found them very much torn, but still all there.
Not caring very much for them in their dilapidated state, I put them carefully aside, and
forgot about them until quite lately, when, turning out some old cases, I discovered the box
containing these remnants, and set to work to see if they could not be turned to some use.

Amongst them I was delighted to find a specimen of Ammomanes cinctura, very much torn, but
4.

336

2

still in such a state that, after working together the pieces, I succeeded in making it up into
quite a respectable skin, much better than many which are sent over by collectors. The label
was still attached to it; and on it was written ‘“A/auda lusitania, rare in Malta,” in Mr. Wright's
handwriting. I lost no time in writing to that gentleman to inquire if he could give me any
further particulars, and asking if the specimen was obtained at Malta, and have just received his
letter in reply, in which he writes as follows:—‘‘'The Lark in question was obtained in Malta.
I picked it up myself from one of the stalls in the market, and took it to England in 1868 with
other rare birds to determine satisfactorily. ‘The parcel was left with a friend in Northampton,
and some of the skins were, as you know, destroyed by a cat. I am glad the Lark has been
saved from the wreck.”

In North Africa it is tolerably common; and is stated by Loche to inhabit the Algerian
Sahara, where, however, it is somewhat rare. Canon Tristram writes (Ibis, 1859, p. 423) that
“it is more strictly confined to the southern Sahara [than A. deserti], never being found in the
northern or rocky districts, and, though not scarce in its localities, is rather solitary in its
habits, not more than two or three being, very rarely, observed together.” Referring to it again
in the same article (p. 424) under the name of Ammomanes regulus, he states that it occurs near
Waregla and in the southern portion of the Chamba territory. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., shot it
in the Mzab country. Mr. G. R. Gray, in his Hand-list (ii. p. 122), gives Lower Egypt as the
habitat of this Lark; but Captain Shelley did not meet with it in that country. Professor
Sundevall, however (J. c.), states that it is found in Lower Egypt and Arabia Petrea; and
Von Heuglin writes (Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 686) that it inhabits the warmer portions of Arabia,
being met with in pairs, occurs in Central and Southern Nubia, probably also at Kordofan and
North Sennaar, on the confines of the cultivated country, and appears to be a resident.

After a careful examination of specimens in the British Museum, and a comparison between
them and a series of examples from North Africa, I cannot discover any specific distinction
between the Cape-Verd and the North-African birds. It is true that the former is, as a rule,
darker and more rufous; but it does not differ in any other respect; and as the individual
variation in colour in specimens of this species from different localities, as in A. deserti, is by
no means small, I cannot look on a shade of colour as a fairly distinctive character, and therefore
unite A. pallida of North Africa with A. cinctura, the latter name taking precedence. First
described by Gould (/. c.) from a specimen obtained at Santiago, it was also observed there by
Dr. A. Dohrn, who writes (J. f. O. 1871, p. 5) that “it occurs not uncommonly on the plateau,
* and Mr. Keulemans sends me the following note:—‘“It is very common in
the plains near the town of Porto Praya, in Santiago, and also on the mountains in the interior
of the island; but I never observed it in any cultivated district. It seems to avoid vegetation as
much as it does water, and occurs nowhere save in desert sandy localities. It is usually met
with in flocks of from three to seven individuals, or in company with another small Lark
(Pyrrhulauda nigriceps, Gld.). During my sojourn in the island I collected about twenty-five
specimens, all of which differed somewhat in tint of plumage. In March I obtained several
young birds, which resembled the old ones, but had a tendency to become spotted on the breast
and sides of the head. ‘The breeding-season is from December to March; but I never succeeded
in finding its nest. It feeds on seeds and insects, and in the stomachs of most of those I

near Porto Praya;’

Oo)
9)

examined I found seeds, the remains of termites, and small coleoptera. Its song is weak, and
resembles rather the warbling of the Whitethroat than the notes of a true Lark. Like the true
Larks it rises to some elevation in the air, though rarely above about thirty to forty feet. Its
native name is Pastor. On any of the other islands I never met with it.”

Canon Tristram (Ibis, 1859, p. 423) describes its flight as jerking and short, and says that
he never noticed it poise itself on the wing. Its notes, he says, “‘are very varied and melodious,
but not powerful. The egg is peculiar, similar in shape to that of Calandrella brachydactyla,
measuring 9 lines by 7, the ground-colour dingy white, and covered over its whole surface by very
minute brown spots, but never blotched.”

I possess one egg of this species, collected in Algeria by the late Major Loche, which in
general character and colour resembles those of Ammomanes deserti; but the markings are rather
darker, and more clearly defined, and it is smaller in size.

The specimen figured and described is the one above referred to as having been obtained at
Malta.

-

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a,@. Malta Market, April 1867 (C. A. Wright). 6,3. Algeria (Fairmaire).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 6. Laghouat, Algeria, November 26th, 1856. 6,2. Guerrera, December 13th, 1856. c. Algeria, Decem-
ber 20th, 1856. d, ¢. Desert, near Hadjira, Algeria, December 23rd, 1856. e. Desert of Souf, January
1857 (all H. B. Tristram).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a, 2. Laghouat, Algeria, November 26th, 1856 (H. B. Tristram).

4.2

337

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Genus CALANDRELLA.

Alauda apud Leisler, Wetterauer Ann. iii. p. 557 (1814).
Calandrella, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 39 (1829).

Melanocorypha apud C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutsch]. p. 311 (1831).
Emberiza apud Franklin, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 119.

Phileremos apud Keyserling & Blasius, Wirbelth. Eur. p. 37 (1840).
Calandritis apud Cabanis, Mus. Hein. i. p. 122 (1850-51).
Alaudula apud Swinhoe, P. Z.S. 1871, p. 390.

Tue Short-toed Larks inhabit the Palearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, four species
being found in the Western Palearctic Region. They frequent open country, both wild and
cultivated ; and in the autumn and winter they collect in large flocks, and, like the Sky-Lark,
range about the plains in search of food. They are very good songsters, their song, which is
uttered in the air, being even more melodious than that of the Sky-Lark. They feed on insects,
seeds, &c., and build a cup-shaped nest of grass-bents, which they place on the ground, and
deposit several greyish white or buffy white eggs spotted and blurred with hair-brown.

Calandrella brachydactyla, the type of the genus, has the bill rather stout, short, com-
pressed, the upper mandible slightly arched, gape-line nearly straight; nostrils basal, oval,
concealed by bristly feathers directed forwards ; crown without elongated feathers; wings rather
long, the first quill obsolete, the next three nearly equal, the third longest; inner secondaries
much elongated, and nearly as long as the primaries; tail moderately long, slightly emarginate ;
legs rather long, the tarsus covered in front with six large and three inferior scutelle, and
posteriorly also scutellate ; claws short, slightly curved, except the hind claw, which is elongated
and nearly straight.

68

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CALANDRELLA BRACHYDACTYLA.

(SHORT-TOED LARK.)

Alauda brachydactyla, Leisl. Wett. Annal. iii. p. 357, “ Germany” (1809).

Alauda arenaria, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. i. p. 343, “ France” (1816).

Alauda arenaria, Vieill. Steph. in Shaw, Gen. Zool. vol. x. p. 515, “ France” (1817).

Alauda testacea, Steph. tom. cit. p. 521, ‘ Gibraltar” (1817).

Alauda calandrella, Bonap. Savi, Orn. Tose. ii. p. 67, “Tuscany” (1829).

Melanocorypha itala, C. L. Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 311, “Italy, Sardinia” (1831).

Melanocorypha brachydactyla (Leisl.), C. L. Brehm, ut supra, ‘‘ Germany” (1831).

Emberiza baghaira, Franklin, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 119, “Ganges, between Calcutta and
Benares.”

Alauda dukhunensis, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 93, “ Dukhun.”

Emberiza olivacea, Tickell, Journ. As. Soc. 1833, p. 578, ‘ Borabhtim and Dholbthm.”

Alauda kollyi, Temm. Man. d’Orn. 1st Suppl. p. 202, “ Dijon” (1835).

Melanocorypha arenaria (Vieill.), Bonap. Comp. List B. of Eur. & Am. p. 38. no. 256,
‘Southern Europe ” (1838).

Phileremos brachydactyla (Leisl.), Keys. & Blas. Wirbelth. Eur. p. 37, “Mediterranean, steppes
of the Caspian” (1840).

Phileremos kollyi (Temm.), Keys. & Blas. op. cit., “ Dijon.”

Allauda brachidactyla, Cara, Orn. Sard. p. 69, sp. 102, “Sardinia” (1842).

Phileremos moreatica, Von der Miihle, Orn. Griechenl. p. 38, “ Greece” (1844).

Alauda calandrella, Bp. Conspectus, i. p. 244, “South and East Eur., Asia, Afr.” (1850).

Calandritis brachydactyla (Leisl.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 122, “‘ Greece” (1850).

Calandritis kollyi, Cab. tom. cit. p. 123, “ N.E. Africa” (1850).

Melanocorypha macroptera, A. E. Brehm, Cab. Journ. 1854, p. 77, “N.E. Africa.”

Melanocorypha brachydactyla (Leisl.), A. E. Brehm, ut supra, “ N.E. Africa.”

Melanocorypha brachydactyla (Leisl.), C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 121, “S.E. Europe” (1855).

Melanocorypha itala, C. L. Brehm, ut supra, “Italy ” (1855).

Melanocorypha obsoleta, C. L. Brehm, ut supra, “ Bokhara” (1855).

Melanocorypha macroptera, C. L. Brehm, ut supra, “ Greece; in Senaar in winter” (1855).

Calandrella hermonensis, Trist. P. Z. S. 1864, p. 434, “slopes of Hermon and Lebanon.”

Alauda calandra, Bonelli, Salvad. Cab. Journ. 1865, p. 271, “Sardinia.”

Calandritis macroptera (Br.), Heugl. Orn. N.O. Afr. p. 695. no. 580, “Lakah and Central
Nubia” (1871).

Calandrella immaculata, C. L. Brehm, E. F. von Homey. Cab. Journ. 1873, p. 194,
“ Spain.”

La Calandrelle, French; isabelle Lerche, German; Carreirola, Portuguese; Zerrera, Ter-

rerilla, Spanish ; Calandrino, Italian; Skowronek krotkopalcowy, Polish.
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aS

rn €

2

Figure notabiles.

Leisler, tom. cit. pl. 19 (fide Vawmann); Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 8; Naumann, Vég.
Deutschl. pl. 98. fig. 2; Gould, B. of Kur. pl. 163; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. pl. 16. fig. 9.

3 ad. supra fulvescenti-arenarius, plumis omnibus medialiter nigricante brunneo notatis: pileo paullo satura-
tiore et vix rufescente lavato: remigibus nigricanti-fumosis, primario primo in pogonio externo cervino,
reliquis vix cervino marginatis: secundariis et tectricibus alarum superioribus nigricanti-brunneis,
rufescente cervino marginatis: caudé brunnescenti-nigra, rectricibus centralibus conspicué rufescente
brunneo marginatis, extimis albis, in pogonio interno areé magné longitudinali fuliginoso-nigricante,
sequentibus in pogonio externo cervino marginatis: subtis albus, pectore et hypochondriis rufescente
cervino adumbratis: facie laterali et regione paroticé brunneo notatis: superciliis albicantibus: pectore
laterali nigricante brunneo notato: rostro pallidé corneo: pedibus pallidé brunneis: iride brunneda.

Adult Male (Turkey). Upper parts sandy grey, the centre of the feathers blackish brown, giving a striated
appearance, crown rather darker than the back, and slightly inclining towards rufous in tinge: quills
blackish brown, the outer web of the first primary dull isabelline, or rufous buff; secondaries narrowly
margined and tipped with isabelline, the inner secondaries very dark in the centre, elongated, nearly
reaching to the tip of the wing; wing-coverts dark brown, margined with rufous buff; tail blackish
brown, the central feathers broadly margined with rufous buff; the outermost on each side white on
the outer web, this colour extending over half the inner web, the next in order having the outer web
margined with creamy white, upper tail-coverts dull sandy brown ; underparts generally white, washed
with buff on the breast; sides of head marked with blackish brown, auriculars dark brown; a creamy
white stripe extending over and behind the eye; on each side of the upper part of the breast an
irregular blackish brown patch; flanks washed with buff; bill dull horn-brown; legs pale brown.
Total length 54 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 3-7, tail 2°25, tarsus 0°85.

Female. Similar to the male.

Young (Baalbec, June 14th, 1864). Upper parts variegated with light reddish brown, black, and white, the
feathers being light reddish brown at the base, then black, and finally tipped with white; quills
blackish brown, edged and tipped with dull creamy yellow; elongated inner secondaries having a
purplish gloss, and being broadly margined with rufous buff; tail as in the adult, but tipped with pale
buff, the central feathers dull rufous brown, indistinctly banded with dark brown, outer tail-feathers
whiter than in the adult; underparts as in the adult, but duller.

Obs. As this species has been described from so many localities it may be well to give a short review of
the specimens I have examined, in order to show the variations to which it is hable. From Germany
I possess no specimens, so commence with

France. A specimen kindly lent to me by Professor Peters, of the Berlin Museum, agrees with skins from
Turkey, Egypt, and the Crimea, as also with the duller-coloured specimens from Portugal. Two birds, how-
ever, from the Basses-Alpes are, again, more rufous, and agree generally with the specimen I myself obtained
at Barcelona, in Spain. They are, however, small.

Spain. Specimens from here agree generally with those from Portugal, excepting that they are a trifle
duller and greyer in colour.

Portugal. Thanks to Mr. W. Schliiter I am enabled to examine six specimens collected in this country
by our friend Dr. E. Rey in April and May 1869. All these specimens have a tendency to become rufous on
the head and breast, and in coloration range from the ordinary average of the French specimens to nearly as

°
3)

rufous as the bright rufous-tinged birds obtained by Canon Tristram at Lebanon; one in particular, obtained
in May, and labelled Alauda cinnamomea, Bp., is identical with Canon Tristram’s C. hermonensis. In several
of these specimens the black on the side of the neck is very fully developed.

Italy. Two specimens from Genoa agree with typical examples ; one has a few small striations on the chest
similar to those in C. pispoletta, but the black markings on the sides of the throat are also well defined.

Greece. One specimen, lent to me by Mr. Seebohm, is peculiarly dark and rufescent; in measurements
~ it agrees with those from Turkey.

Turkey. Seven specimens obtained in this country by Mr. Robson differ in no respect from typical
European examples; one has the black on the sides of the neck very fully developed; and another, a male,
killed in April, has the head washed with rufous, therein resembling Canon Tristram’s specimens of so-called
C. hermonensis.

Asia Minor. Seven birds obtained near Smyrna by Dr. Krier all agree with specimens from Turkey,
except that two males, shot in April, are more rufous in coloration, and agree precisely with examples from
Palestine labelled A. hermonensis by Canon Tristram.

Palestine. Those obtained by Canon Tristram all belong to the variety described by him as C. hermonensis.
He not only obtained the present species but also C. minor, of which he has lent me two specimens obtained by
him at Beersheba, which, compared with Algerian examples, are rather paler, and on the back washed with
sandy rufous, the spots on the breast being more clearly defined.

Egypt. Specimens from here agree very closely with those from Turkey ; and amongst the series I have
before me IJ do not see any that are marked with rufous like those from Asia Minor.

North-west Africa. As with the Crested Larks, I find again a great variety of Short-toed Larks in this
part of Africa. Of the true C. brachydactyla I have one from Tangiers and another from Algeria, the latter
having the head slightly rufous, and otherwise approaching closely to the variety described as C. hermonensis.
Besides these I have before me seven examples of C. minor, three of which are labelled by Canon Tristram
C. deserti, the remainder being marked C. reboudia; but I have carefully compared them with the type of
C. minor and have no hesitation in referring them all to that species.

Persia. Eleven specimens obtained in Persia by Mr. Blanford and Major St. John agree closely with
Spanish and Asia-Minor examples; several have the rufous head of the variety described by Canon Tristram
as C. hermonensis ; and others have the head greyish brown.

India. Seven specimens, from localities mentioned below, agree precisely with Persian examples, except
in being slightly paler; and two, having been kept in confinement, are somewhat abnormally coloured.

So far as I can judge, there appear to be within the limits of the Palzearctic Region the following species
of Short-toed Larks :—
1. Calandrella brachydactyla (Ueisl.), the present species, which inhabits Southern Europe, Northern Africa,
Persia, and India.
2. Calandrella minor (Cab.), which inhabits Northern Africa, Malta, aud Palestine ; full particulars respecting
this species are given in the last part of the present work, as also respecting
3. Calandrella betica, mihi, which appears to be confined to Southern Spain ;

. Calandrella pispoletta, Pall., which inhabits South-Eastern Europe, Persia, India, China, and Siberia.

5. Calandrella leucophea, Severtzoff (Turkestanskie Jevotnie, p. 142). In Mr. Swinhoe’s collection is a
specimen of a Short-toed Lark collected in Turkestan by Mr. Severtzoff, and labelled by him C. leuco-
phea, which appears to be a distinct species. I have also obtained one of these birds from Mr. Severtzoft
through Mr. Meves, and I saw one in the Berlin Museum which was obtained by Eversmann in the
Kirghis steppes. All these specimens agree inéer se, and are of a peculiar light grey colour, looking
very much like very pale grey specimens of C. pispoletta, as they have signs of striations on the breast,
and the wings also resemble those of that species in having the inner secondaries very short.

432

iS

344

4

Amongst those species which I am unable to make out satisfactorily I may name the following :—
Alauda longipennis, Eversmann, Cab. Journ. 1853, p. 283, which is stated to be considerably smaller than

the Short-toed Lark, but to have an equally long wing, reaching nearly to the end of the tail; the bill
is small, and the legs very slender, the mark over the eye being clearly defined. Unfortunately no
measurements are given; so that it is almost impossible to decide to what species it must be referred.
I think it not improbable that C. leucophea may be found to be identical with this bird. Mr. E. von
Homeyer, who has placed in my hands the proof of his paper on the Short-toed Larks which will
appear in the next number of ‘Cab. Journal fiir Ornithologie,’ considers, I find, that the bird to which
I have above referred under the name of C. leucophea is the true Calandrella pispoletta (Pall.), and
describes the species which I have figured in my last number as C. pispoletta under the name of
Calandritis heinei, as a new species. In this, after a most careful examination of what Pallas writes, I
cannot agree with him, but still hold to the opinion that the Volga bird is Pallas’s C. pispoletta.

Alauda testacea, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 526. sp. 153, from Southern Russia, is by some naturalists

included as a synonym of C. brachydactyla; but I cannot consider that Pallas’s description refers to a
Short-toed Lark, and think it more likely to be a Pipit, perhaps Anthus cervinus.

In order to show the relative measurements of the various species of Short-toed Larks from various
localities, I give the following Table :—

Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. ne

inch. inches. inches. inch. inch,
Cal. brachydactyla France. 045-05 384-365 22-24 0:8 -0°35 0:5 -0°52
bs Spain. 0-45-05 33 -3°7 2:35-2:55 0:75-0°3 0°55-0°6

5 Portugal. 0°48-0'55 3:4 -38°75 2°35-2°55 0°7 -0°75 0:55-0°6

Italy. 0°45-0°48 3:5 -3°6 9225-25 = 0'75-0'8 06 = —

55 Turkey. 04-05 385-37 23-25 07 — £05 -06

a Asia Minor. 042-05 386 -3:75 24-26 07 -0:8

Be Egypt. 05 -0°55 34-33 2:2 -2°6 0:75-0:85 0:55-0:65
55 N.W. Africa. 048 — 36-3865 24-25 0:75 — 0:52-0:55
35 Persia. 0:48-0:55 384-37 23-26 0:7 -0°85 0:5 -0°65

9 Turkestan. 05 — 3875— 24 — 08 — O06 —

5 India. 0°45-0°52 34-37 215-24 07 -0°8 0:55-0°6
Cal. pispoletta . China. 045-055 384-36 2:45-2°7 0:75-0° 0:5 -0°55
oS Volga. 0:45-0:48 38 — 25 — 08-082 06 —

5 : Persia. 05-06 386-38 24-26 0:85 — 055-06

Cal. leucophead . Turkestan (Severtzoff). 05 — 38 — 255 — O75 — 0°55 —
Cal. betica . Spain. 0°74 -0°42 3:0 -3-4 1:95-2:11 0°78-0°3 0:6 -0:65
Cal. minor . Algeria. 0°38-0-45 345-36 2:11-2:33 07-08 0:45-0:5
55 Beersheba. 045 — 3855 — 23-235 07 — £05 -06

Tue Short-toed Lark inhabits Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and India, but does not appear

to occur in Siberia.
It is included in the British list as a straggler.

Yarrell (vol. i. p. 488) records an “ example

of the Short-toed Lark having been caught in a net,” near the town of Shrewsbury, “at the end
of October 1841;” and since then several have been met with. Mr. J. E. Harting, in his
‘ Handbook,’ refers to the above occurrence, and also to five others:—two near Brighton, one in
1854 and another in 1858; one in Scilly in September 1854; and two near Southampton, in 1852

5

and 1862 respectively. ‘The two occurrences near Brighton are also recorded by Mr. G. Dawson
Rowley (Ibis, 1859, p. 330) as follows :—“'Two specimens of the Short-toed Lark (Alauda brachy-
dactyla) have been obtained near Brighton. I saw one alive on September 26th, 1854, which had
been caught by boys on the downs, and kept in confinement some time, not being distinguished
from the Sky-Lark. ‘This bird cracked seeds like a Canary, instead of swallowing them whole ;
it was very tame, and ultimately killed and stuffed. ‘The second specimen was killed in April
1858, by a person on the seashore, who saw it come to land, and light, after a short rest, upon
the road, where it immediately began dusting itself. I did not see this bird; but my informant
was the person who killed it, and one who is quite trustworthy: it was afterwards preserved.”

It does not appear ever to have been met with in Scandinavia or Northern Germany ; nor
has it been recorded from Belgium; but Godron speaks of it as rare in Lorraine, and says that
it has been killed near Metz. It is found in France; Degland and Gerbe mention its occasional
appearance near Paris, and state that it occurs in Champagne and Burgundy, and is abundant in
Provence. ‘This last information is also given by Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye, who
state that it “arrives in Provence in March, and leaves in September, collecting into large flocks
before leaving, and is never met with in winter.” In Portugal it must be very common, judging
from the number of specimens sent to me by Dr. E. Rey, all of which belong to the race or
variety described by Canon Tristram under the name of C. hermonensis. Lord Lilford writes to
me, “the Short-toed Lark is exceedingly common in Southern and Central Spain, particularly
affecting rough fallows and the dried edges of the marisma. Another, allied species frequents
the wheat-fields of the marisma, and, as I am fully convinced, a third species the bare open
marisma, where it breeds under the shelter of clods of dry dung of horses and cattle, doubtless
with a view to the concealment of its eggs and young from the innumerable Harriers which are
perpetually quartering over these great plains.” Myr. Howard Saunders also speaks of it as abun-
dant in the plains of Southern Spain.

Von Homeyer found it exceedingly numerous on the Balearic Islands, frequenting every
part of the country, except the mountains and forests. He writes that it sings sometimes in the
air, sometimes when sitting on a stone or clod, generally in the morning or evening; the song is
not particularly good. In Italy it is common; but Bailly remarks that, although found in
Piedmont, it had not in his time extended to Savoy. Savi says that it is common in Tuscany
in the spring and autumn; and Lord Lilford informs me that he found it very common in
Sicily in November 1856. Mr. C. A. Wright writes (Ibis, 1864, p. 60), “this is one of the
most characteristic birds of Malta in spring, and does duty among English residents as the
Sky-Lark, with which it has some habits in common. In the breeding-season, from April to
June, it is abundantly spread in pairs all over the island; and the song of the male is then
constantly heard, encouraging its mate in the labours of incubation. Its mode of ascending in
the air is different from that of the Sky-Lark, consisting of a succession of jerks, which may be
peculiar to the species. It delights in the wastes and desert tracts of the island. At the
commencement of autumn it gathers together in flocks, which appear to be joined by numerous
fresh comers from the north; but all speed away long before the winter sets in.” Lord Lilford
met with it commonly in Corfu and Epirus in winter; and Lindermayer records it as “ numerous
in Greece during the summer, appearing in April, and frequenting the flats near the sea, and

6

fields, especially pastures.” Messrs. Elwes and Buckley write (Ibis, 1870, p. 194) that, “‘ according
to Mr. Robson it is only a summer visitor to Turkey; but we shot specimens at Athens in
January during a sharp frost, and in the Crimea in March. A Short-toed Lark flew on board
the steamer which took us to Kustendji from Odessa.”

From Asia Minor I have many specimens, collected near Smyrna by Dr. Kriiper; and in
Palestine it is recorded by Canon Tristram (Ibis, 1866, p. 286) as a common summer migrant,
revisiting the central country late in spring, and not occurring in the plains or desert in the
winter ; but referring again to it under the name of C. hermonensis, he speaks of it as a per-
manent resident.

It is met with throughout Northern Africa. A. E. Brehm, who divides the Short-toed Lark
of N.E. Africa into two species under the names of Melanocorypha brachydactyla and M. macro-
ptera, writes that it is ‘numerous throughout the whole of N.E. Africa. I observed it on the
17th of March, 1850, at Esneh, in Upper Egypt, and on the 18th, 19th, and 20th between Esneh
and Assuan, migrating towards Europe—again on the 13th of November, on its return journey,
in Chartum; on the 24th and 25th of November and 3rd of December I observed flocks of
several thousand individuals below Woled-Medineh,—and in 1851, on the 3rd and 4th of March,
near Kamlihn, in 15° N. lat., in immense swarms migrating northwards—on the 27th and 28th
of September at Wadi-Halfa—on the 20th of November on Sinai, in Arabia Petrea, singly. In
1852 I saw it on the 9th of January at Fayoum, on the 23rd in Central Egypt, and from the
2nd to the 6th of March near the ruins of Thebes.” Dr. Th. von Heuglin writes that “in
North-eastern Africa it is a migrant, and appears in the autumn early in September, usually in
large flocks, frequenting the fields, the desert lands, and the steppe. During the winter they
collect in enormous flocks at Kordofan, Senaar, and Takah, and in February and March migrate
northward in scattered parties or singly. In Northern Arabia and on the coast of Abyssinia it is
not rare during the seasons of migration.” Mr. Blanford found it not uncommon on the shores
of Annesley Bay, but he did not meet with it in the highlands of Abyssinia; and Captain Shelley
states that it arrives in Egypt in March, and is then met with in large flocks. It is found in
North-western Africa at all seasons of the year. Mr. Taczanowski observed it in the winter in
Algeria, where, he writes, it is rare, but is found to the edge of the desert; in the spring it is
more common: and Canon Tristram states (Ibis, 1869, p. 422) that ‘“‘many flocks occur in winter
in the neighbourhood of the oases and on the northern limits of the Sahara. It breeds abun-
dantly under the slopes of the Atlas, but not, as far as I am aware, in the desert.” Mr. Salvadori
also (tom. cit. p. 315) says that it is “more local in its distribution than C. cristata, its range
being confined to a few favoured spots in the elevated plains. About Ain Beida it is abundant,
and throughout the great piain of El Tharf it may be commonly met with; in the neighbourhood
of Djendeli it also occurs.” Mr. C. T. Tyrwhitt Drake met with it on the open plains of Tangier
and Eastern Morocco; and Mr. T. H. Chambers shot a specimen in Tripoli. Finally it is said
by Dr. Carl Bolle (Cab. Journ. 1857, p. 290) to occur on the Canaries, where it “is a resident,
and distributed over all the islands, at least in Canaria and Teneriffe, where it is numerous, and
to be met with in every field near Santa Cruz, and inhabits not only the grain-country, but desert
places where the vegetation is poor.”

To the eastward it occurs throughout Persia, from which Mr. Blanford lately brought home

7

many specimens. De Filippi records it as being found there in all the desert country ; and
Messrs. Dickson and Ross (P. Z. 8. 1839, p. 119) speak of it as seen at Erzeroom ‘“‘in large flocks.
Only noticed from 21st of April to 28th of May. Frequents fields and the hills.” According to
Dr. Jerdon the Short-toed Lark is “found throughout India, more rare to the extreme south;
and it has not been observed in Ceylon, but is numerous in the Deccan, and thence northwards
to the foot of the Himalayas, but not in the countries to the eastward.” Major Irby also speaks
of it as exceedingly numerous in Oudh and Kumaon.

It does not appear to occur in China, being there replaced by C. pispoletta, which is referred
to by Mr. Swinhoe (Ibis, 1861, p. 255) under the name of Alauda brachydactyla. Nor does it
appear to occur in Siberia, so far as I am able to ascertain, though in a letter just received from
Mr. Taczanowski it is spoken of as “ uncommon in the Daurian steppes ;’ but he doubtless refers
to C. pispoletta, and not to the present species. I have only on one or two occasions had an
opportunity of seeing the present species in a wild state, and cannot say much respecting its
habits from my own experience. It appears to resemble the Calandra far more than any other
species of Lark in its habits, frequents open places, generally dry and arid plains, and is essentially
a ground-Lark. Mr. Saunders states that “in Spain it is abundant in the plains, where it makes
its nest at the side of a small tuft or bush;”’ and Dr. Jerdon writes that it “appears in India in
October and November in flocks, frequenting the bare grass downs, frequently damp spots near
tanks, also grain-fields and ploughed land; and it almost always retires to corn-fields or grass for
shelter during the heat of the day, whence it does not in general issue again till next morning ;
for they are seldom seen flying about or feeding in the afternoon or evening. It feeds almost
entirely on seeds, both runs and hops on the ground, and has a call-note like that of the real
Larks. ‘Towards the end of March in the south, April in the north of India, different flocks
often unite in vast troops containing many thousand birds and quite darkening the air; so close
do they keep together, even when flying. Great numbers are netted in some parts of the country,
or taken by bird-lime, or shot ; for when feeding they keep close to each other. On one occasion,
on the cavalry parade-ground at Kamptee, I bagged twelve dozen birds after discharging both
barrels; and many wounded birds escaped. They get quite fat about this time, and are really
very excellent eating, and they are always called Ortolan by Europeans in India. They leave the
north of India about the end of April or beginning of May; and they breed in the steppes of
Central Asia, Eastern Russia, and also in Northern Africa, placing their nest on the ground at
the edge of a scrub or bush, and laying four to six eggs, usually marked with grey or rufous
spots, but sometimes, it is said, unspotted yellow-brown.” Mr. Osbert Salvin, who found it
breeding in the Eastern Atlas, writes also (Ibis, 1859, p. 315) that, like the rest of its congeners,
it “places its nest on the sheltered side of a bush, the scrubby vegetation which clothes the
whole of that arid district affording the necessary protection for its offspring. The eggs of
this species vary much; even in the same nest hardly two similar ones are to be found. So
different were some of the varieties, that the greatest care was necessary in identifying their true
parentage.”

Its song is said to be sweet and clear, and even more melodious than that of the Sky-Lark ;
but it does not rise so high in the air, when singing, as that bird. Dr. Carl Bolle (Cab. Journ.
1857, p. 290) states that “in the spring the males chase each other in the air, uttering broken

8

strophes of song. In general the song bears resemblance to that of the Sky-Lark, and, like that,
is uttered when on the wing; but it is scarcely so loud or continuous.”

The eggs of this species are not unlike those of the Wood-Lark, but are smaller, and the
spots are much more minute and less distinct. I have specimens from Asia Minor in my collection
which in size average $3, by 26 inch, and are on a greyish-white ground, dotted all over with small
hair-brown spots, these being rather dull and blurred in one or two of the specimens. One has
the spots collected in a ring round the larger end, as is so often the case in eggs of the Wood-
Lark.

It feeds on small seeds of various descriptions, and, during the spring, to some extent also
on insects.

The adult specimen figured and described is in my own collection; and the young bird
described is in that of Canon Tristram.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, b, c,d, 3, e, @. Basses-Alpes, France (Schiliiter). jf. France? (Gardner). g, 2. Barcelona, Spain, May 9th,
1866 (H. E. D.). h,i,j, k. 1, m. Portugal, April 1869 (Dr. Rey). n, 2,0, d. Ortakeuy, Turkey, April
1869 (Robson). p, g. Maslak, Turkey, April 24th, 1869 (Robson). g. Crimea (Whitely). r,s. Egypt,
(Rogers). ¢. Tangiers (Olcese). wu. Algeria (Verreaux). v,w,2,y, 3,2, 9. Smyrna, April (Dr. Kriiper).
aa, d6. Chemkend, Russian Turkestan, March 21st, 1866 (Severtzoff). 66, 3,¢c, 9. Etawah, N.W.
India (W. E. Brooks).

E Mus. Lord Walden.

a, 6,6. Ortakeuy, Turkey (Robson). c, 6, d, 9. Smyrna, April 14th, 1863 (Dr. Kriiper). e, f. Maunbhoom,
India, March 1864 (Beavan). g. Punjab, February 1869. h. Alma, near Huleh, Palestine, May 26th,
1864 (H. B. Tristram.)

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a,@. Merom, May 19th, 1864; 6, ¢. El Sahra, Damascus, June 11th, 1864; c,9. Merom; d,¢. Palestine,
June Ist, 1864; e, juv. Baalbec, June 14th, 1864; f, juv. Foot of Hermon, June 4th, 1864 (H. B. T.).
g, h. India (caged specimens).
E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, d. Malaga, Spain, April 6th, 1872; 5, 3 juv. Malaga, July 29th, 1872; c, d. Valencia, May, 7th; d.
Granada; e, 9. Prat, Mallorca, May 17th, 1870 (4. 8S.). f,g. Genoa, August 30th, 1869; h, 3.
Constantinople, April 16th, 1866 (Robson).

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.
a, b, c, d, 9. Egypt, March 1871; e. Egypt, April 1871 (G. E. S.).

E Mus. Ind. Calc.

a, 6. S.E. Persia, April 26th, 1872; b,c, g,2. S.E. Persia, May 2nd, 1872; d, 9. S. Persia, May 22nd,
1872; e,juv. S. Persia, May 29th, 1872; f, do. S. Persia, June 1st, 1872; g,h, 5d, 2. S. Persia, June
25th, 1872; i,7, 6, @. S. Persia, June 28th, 1872 (W. T. Blanford). k, 2. Shiraz, November 1870
(Major St. John).

E Mus. Berol.
a. France (no. 5408).

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CALANDRELLA MINOR

(LESSER SHORT-TOED LARK.)

Calandritis minor, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 123, “N.-E. Africa” (1850).

Calandrella ferruginea, A. Brehm, Naumannia, 1856, p. 375, “ Kordofan.”

Calandrella reboudia, Loche, Revue et Mag. de Zool. p. 148, “ Algeria” (1860).

Calandrella deserti, Tristr. Ibis, 1866, p. 286, ‘‘ Palestine ;” Wyatt, Ibis, 1870, p. 16, “Sinai,
marshes near Tor.”

Calandritis reboudia (Loche), Heuglin, Orn. N.-O. Africa’s, p. 696. no. 581, “ N.-E. Africa”
(1871).

Calandritis minor, Cab., Heugl. tom. cit. p. 697. no. 582, “ Arabia, Egypt, Nubia” (1871).

Figura unica.

Loche, tom. cit. pl. 11. fig. 1.

3 ad. Calandrelle pispolette similis sed minor, tertiariis longioribus: supra pallidé rufescenti-arenarius, plumis
omnibus medialiter fusco striatis: subtus albus: pectore delicaté fusco striato: hypochondriis rufescente
cervino adumbratis et indistincté striatis: rostro flavicanti-corneo, culmine magis fuscescente: pedibus
pallidé brunneis: iride brunnea.

Adult Male in winter (Hadjira, 23rd December). Resembles C. pispoletta, but is much smaller in size, and
more rufous sandy in colour on the upper parts, not having the grey tinge so characteristic of C. pispo-
letta ; the inner secondaries much longer than in that species, reaching to within nearly half an inch
of the tip of the first primary; underparts white; breast narrowly striated with dark brown; flanks
delicately striped with hght brown, and washed with pale rufous buff; soft parts as in C. pispoletta.
Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 3:5, tail 2:05, tarsus 0°73, hind toe with claw 0°6.

Adult Female in breeding-plumage (El Djem, May 1857, taken on her nest). Rather duller in colour than
the specimen last described, the stripes on the breast less distinct and duller; flanks washed with darker
rufous buff; upper parts duller in colour, the feathers being somewhat abraded and worn.

Tus species, closely resembling Calandrella pispoletta, but differing in being smaller in size and
much more rufous and less grey in colour, is found in Northern Africa and Palestine, and may
possibly occur in Europe, as I have a single specimen obtained in Malta in November 1862 by
Mr. C. A. Wright, who sent it to me labelled C. brachydactyla. In Algeria it is common; and
Major Loche, who described it from there under the name of C. reboudia, writes that it “is very
numerous in the Algerian Sahara, where, after the breeding-season, it collects in small flocks,
affecting the dry arid country, and, being shy, is difficult to shoot.” Canon ‘Tristram writes that
he met with it in Algeria, where it is ‘a permanent resident in the Desert, and has a wide lateral
range, as I have obtained it in the western Sahara, and have received a female, with a nest of
3Q

349

30

2

four eggs, taken a little to the south of El Djem, in the Regency of Tunis;” and Mr. J. H.
Gurney, jun., found it common, in flocks, about Ain-Oussera.

It is not uncommon in North-east Africa, whence it was first described by Dr. Cabanis; and
Captain Shelley writes that it ‘““appears to be a resident in Egypt; for Mr. KE. C. Taylor killed
some specimens in the month of January near Cairo, out of a flock which he found on the
desert. It is, however, of very rare occurrence in the country.” Von Heuglin records it as a
migrant in spring and autumn in Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia, where it is met with in small flocks
wandering in the desert and steppes. Mr. C. W. Wyatt met with it commonly on Sinai, where,
he writes, ‘‘large flocks frequent the sides of the stream which runs through the marshes.”

In Palestine, Canon Tristram writes, “this elegant little bird, the smallest of the group, is
a strictly desert bird, frequenting regions similar to those where it was discovered in the Sahara,
in which it is a permanent resident, and less gregarious than most of its congeners.”

In its habits it closely resembles the Common Short-toed Lark, and, like that bird, feeds on
small insects and various kinds of seeds.

Loche writes that it places its nest on the ground, under shelter of a stone or tussock, and
deposits four or five eggs, which are described by Canon Tristram as being “like large varieties
of C. brachydactyla.”

The specimen figured is one in my own collection, collected in Algeria, and obtained through
My. Fairmaire; and those described are in the collection of Canon Tristram.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a. Malta, November 1862 (C. A. Wright). 6, c. Algeria (Fairmaire). d. Algerian Sahara (Verreauz).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 6. Hadjira, December 28rd, 1856 (H. B. T.). 6, 9. El Djem, May 1857, taken on the nest (H. B. T.).
c,é. El Baadj, January 16th, 1857 (H. B.T.). d. Ain-Oussera, Algeria, March 12th, 1870 (J. H.
Gurney, jun.). e, 3,f, 2. Near Beersheba, February 2nd, 1864 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

ag

. Algeria (J. H. Gurney, jun.).

E Mus. E. Cavendish Taylor.

8

. Cairo, January 1864 (#. C. T.).

E Mus. Berol.
, 3. Egypt (Ehrenberg). Type of Calandritis minor.

CALANDRELLA BATICA.

(ANDALUCIAN SHORT-TOED LARK.)

Calandrella betica, sp. nov.

C. affinis C. minori, sed multo saturatior, alis brevioribus, rostro paulld major: supra saturaté nigricanti-

brunneo, plumis omnibus pallidé fusco marginatis: remigibus nigricanti-brunneis, primario primo in
pogonio externo grisescente arenario marginato, sequentibus vix pallidé brunneo marginatis et apicatis :
secundariis in pogonio externo grisescenti-brunneis: scapularibus et tectricibus alarum dorso con-
coloribus: rectricibus nigricanti-brunneis, vix pallidé brunneo marginatis et terminatis, rectricis externze
pogonio externo pallidé flavicanti-arenario: loris et linea indistincté per oculum versus nucham producta
sordidé fulvescenti-albis : fascié laterali fulvescenti-albida saturaté fulvido notata: gula et gutture albis,
fulvido guttatis: pectore ochraceo lavato et conspicué nigricante brunneo maculato: hypochondriis
rufescente cervino lavatis et saturaté brunneo striatis: corpore reliquo subtus albo, vix cervino adum-
brato: subcaudalibus albis medialiter nigricante brunneo notatis: rostro brunnescenti-corneo: pedibus
pallidé brunneis: iride brunned. Long. tot. 5°5, ale 3°3, caude 2:0, tarsi 0°8, hall. cum ung. 0:6,
culminis 0°45.

Adult (Seville, spring of 1872). Upper parts dark blackish brown, each feather margined with dull sandy

Obs.

grey; quills dark blackish brown, the first primary having the outer web broadly margined with light
sandy grey; rest of the primaries indistinctly edged and tipped with light brown; secondaries similar,
the inner secondaries having the outer web dull greyish brown; scapulars and wing-coverts similar to
the dorsal feathers; tail blackish brown, narrowly edged and tipped with light brown; outer tail-
feathers having the outer web light yellowish white, this colour extending over the shaft along the
centre of the inner web; from the base of the bill an irregular light yellowish streak passing nearly to
the nape; sides of the head and face dull buffy white, marked with dark brown; underparts white ;
throat and breast closely covered with large blackish brown spots, as large or larger than those on the
breast of Alauda arborea; flanks washed with buff, and streaked with large and broad blackish brown
lines; under tail-coverts white, streaked with blackish brown; beak horn-brown; legs dull brown; iris
brown. ‘Total length 5°5 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 3°3, tail 2:0, tarsus 0:8, hind toe with claw 0°6.

After a careful examination of the large series in Lord Lilford’s collection, I can discover no difference
between the sexes of this Lark.

WueEwn collecting in Spain in the spring of 1872 Lord Lilford obtained two Short-toed Larks,
which he at first was inclined to describe as a distinct species, but subsequently, in a letter to the
editor of ‘ The Ibis’ (Ibis, 1873, p. 98), records as Calandrella minor, Cab. (C. reboudia, Loche),

as follows :—

“During my visit to the south of Spain last spring I fell in, near Seville, with a Short-toed

Lark,

which I at once recognized as distinct from the ordinary Calandrella brachydactyla, from

which species it is distinguished by its greyer shade of colouring as well as its distinctly striped
upper surface and breast. Mr. Sharpe, to whom I submitted my specimens, has come to the

3Q2

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conclusion, after careful comparison, that the Lark is not new, but is C. reboudia in full breeding-
plumage.”

Quite lately, when working at the Short-toed Larks, Mr. Howard Saunders brought to me a
single specimen which had been sent to him from the south of Spain, and which he thought
would prove to be distinct. After comparing it with a large series of Short-toed Larks, I was
convinced that it was a perfectly new bird, and advised him to describe it; but on showing it to
Lord Lilford he at once pronounced it to be the same as the two specimens above referred to;
and on obtaining these specimens from Mr. Sharpe this proved to be the case. That it is a per-
fectly distinct and good species there cannot be the least doubt, as the present bird is very much
darker than any specimen of either C. minor or C. pispoletta, and has the breast and flanks very
strongly striped with broad stripes of blackish brown, larger and more distinct than those on the
breast of Alauda arborea. Judging from the series of specimens of C. minor I have examined,
amongst which is one, a female, shot from her nest, and thus in full breeding-plumage, that bird
has the markings much duller and less clearly defined in the summer plumage than in the winter
dress; and had Mr. Sharpe been able to compare the two specimens of the present species with
C. minor in full breeding-plumage, he would at once have seen that it could not possibly be that
bird. Besides the difference in colour, the present species has on the average a shorter wing than
C. minor, the average being 3:0 to 3-4 in the present species against 3°45 to 3-6 in C. minor.

Besides the above three specimens, a large series has just arrived from Spain, all of which
agree tnter sé, thus clearly proving the validity of the species; and Lord Lilford has requested
me to describe it in the present part of my work, and proposes for it the name of Calandrella
betica, after the river on whose banks it was first met with, under which name it will now stand.

Of the habits of C. betica but little is known; and Lord Lilford informs me that he himself
knows “very little about the bird from personal observation, having only seen it in small flocks
in March and April in the wheat-lands on the banks of the Guadalquivir, and believes it to be a
spring migrant to Southern Spain; its nesting-habits and eggs resemble those of C. brachydactyla.
Ruiz has sent some eggs as belonging to this species, which he calls ‘carretera oscura de
marisma.’ I first met with this bird in the Seville market, hanging amongst a bundle of other
allied species and Passer salicicola. I always saw it in small flocks about the corn-land, never
away in the open ‘marisma,’ properly so called. The first specimens were brought to me in
either February or March. Manuel Llano, our chasseur, says that they arrive in the former
month; certainly he could get me none during last winter until the month of February. I
particularly asked Ruiz to let me know whether it does occur during the winter.” If, as Lord
Lilford supposes, this species migrates from Spain during the winter, it will be interesting to
find out whither it goes; for out of numbers of Short-toed Larks I have examined, obtained in
North-west Africa during the winter months, I have not seen one at all approaching the present
species in appearance.

Iam indebted to Lord Lilford for the opportunity of examining the eggs of this species
and comparing them with those of C. brachydactyla and C. pispoletta, from either of which
they are easily distinguishable. They have the ground-colour pure white, and are blotched
with pale purplish-brown underlying shell-patches or spots, and dark hair-brown overlying
surface-blotches. Compared with the eggs of C. brachydactyla, they are smaller, and have the

3

markings very much larger and more scattered over the surface of the shell; and I cannot better
describe them than by comparing them to very minute eggs of Galerita cristata. In size they

vary from 2° by 22 inch to 32 by 23, whereas those of C. brachydactyla in my collection vary
J 40 YY 40 40 YY 40 Y LAGUY yi

from 33 by 2¢ to #3 by 38, and those of C. pispoletta, obtained by Mr. Blanford, from #3 by
7% to $3 by $3. The eggs were unfortunately sent without any nest, which latter I am therefore
unable to describe.

The specimen figured, on the same Plate as (. minor, is the one in the collection of
Mr. Howard Saunders, which, when the Plate was drawn, was the only one 1 had. ‘The bird
described is one of the two first obtained by Lord Lilford, which, together with the large series
he has just received from Seville, he has placed at my disposal for examination.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Lord Lalford.

a, b. Seville, 1872 (L.). c,d,e.f,g,h, 3,%4,j, k, 2. Seville, February 1873. /,m, 2. March 1873. un, 0,
P,% 3,7, 2. April 1873. s, t, u, 3, v, w, v7, 2. May 1873 (Ruiz).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. Malaga, spring of 1873.

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CALANDRELLA PISPOLETTA.

(PALLAS’S SHORT-TOED LARK.)

Alauda pispoletta, Pall. Zoog. Rosso-As. i. p. 626. no. 154, “Southern Russia” (1831).

Alauda pispoletta, Pall., Bp. Comp. List Birds of Eur. & N. Amer. p. 37. no. 250, “ Eastern
Europe” (1838).

Calandritis pispoletta, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 122 (1850-51).

Alauda brachydaetyla, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 255, “ Talien Bay, China” (nec Leisler).

t Alauda (Phileremos) brachydactyla, Radde, Reis. im Siid. v. Ost-Sibir. ii. p. 150, “ Tarei-nor”
(1863, nec Leisl.).

Calandrella pispoletta (Pall.), Swinhoe, P. Z.S. 1863, p. 271, “'Talien Bay, North China.”

Alaudula cheleénsis, Swinhoe, P. Z. 8. 1871, p. 390, “'Talien Bay; not rare at Pekin;
Mongolia.”

¢ ad. supra sordidé fuscus, griseo adumbratus: plumis omnibus medialiter nigro-fusco notatis: remigibus
sordidé nigro-fuscis, extus albido marginatis, secundariis medialiter saturatioribus et pallidius margi-
natis, tertiariis brevioribus quam in Calandrellad brachydactyld: tectricibus alarum fuscis, pallidé
brunneo marginatis: rectricibus externis albis, in pogonio interno linea nigricante brunned notatis,
sequentibus in pogonio interno nigricanti-brunneis et in pogonio externo albis, rectricibus centralibus
nigricanti-brunneis vix pallidé brunneo lavatis et terminatis: loris et regione ophthalmica ochraceo-
albidis stria ejusdem coloris per oculum ad nucham product&é: mento et gula albis: facie laterali brunneo
notata: subtus albidus, pectore et hypochondriis vix fulvescente adumbratis et fusco striolatis : rostro
pallidé corneo: iride brunned’: pedibus pallidé brunneis.

© ad. mari similis.

Adult Male (Volga, April). Upper parts dark earth-grey, the feathers having a central dark mark; quills
dark brown, edged with dirty white; secondaries darker in the centre and lighter towards the edge, the
inner secondaries much shorter than in C. brachydactyla, reaching only to within about an inch of the
tip of the first primary; wing-coverts dark brown, broadly edged with light earth-brown; outermost
tail-feathers white, having a black line on the inner web, the next in order blackish brown on the inner
web, white on the outer web, the remainder blackish brown, imperceptibly edged with pale earth-brown,
the centre ones washed with light brown; above and below the eye a pale, dull, buff-white stripe; chin
white; sides of the neck spotted with dark brown; auriculars marked with brown; underparts white on
the breast, and flanks striped with dark brown; beak dull horn-colour; legs light brown; iris dark
brown. Total length 6-6 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 3°8, tail 2:3, tarsus 0°85, hind toe with claw 0°6.

Female. Similar to the male, but somewhat smaller in size.

THE present species, closely allied to the Lesser Short-toed Lark, and more distantly related to
the Common Short-toed Lark, is found in South-eastern Europe, and ranges eastward to China.
Having been confused with Calandrella brachydactyla by many naturalists, it is by no means easy

396

2

to define its range; but I have fortunately been able to examine a fair series of specimens from
various localities, which enables me to state with some degree of certainty where it is met with.

In Southern Russia it is, according to Pallas, very common on the arid steppes adjoining the
Caspian, where it arrives in flocks in the month of February and spreads over the steppes.
Eyersmann writes that he never observed C. pispoletta on the eastern steppes of South Russia,
but on those of the Caspian, northwards to above Indersk and eastwards to Lake Aral, it is found
in millions. It there inhabits only the most desert portions of the steppe, where the soil is clay,
and there is scarcely any vegetation except straggling Artemisia plants. Again, where the steppe
is more fertile A/auda arvensis is almost equally numerous; and between these two districts both
species occur.. Nearer to the Caspian, where the steppe is barren, C. pispoletta is extremely
numerous, and almost the only bird to be met with. Mr. Sabandeff, referring to Eversmann’s
notes, states that a specimen was observed by him on the boundary of the Ekaterinburg and
Shadrinsk districts, thus further north than it is recorded by Eversmann to occur. Evyersmann
describes (Cab. Journ. 1863, p. 283) a Short-toed Lark under the name of Alauda longipennis,
which may possibly be the present species; but his description is not sufficiently clear, and no
measurements are given. He speaks of it as being smaller than the Short-toed Lark, but haying
an equally long wing, reaching nearly to the end of the tail; the bill is small, and the legs very
slender; the mark over the eye is very clearly defined. The locality from which it is described
is the “‘ Songarei.”

De Filippi speaks of the present species as being found in Russian Armenia; and in Persia
it appears to be common during the breeding-season ; for Mr. Blanford obtained specimens of the
birds, as well as a nest and eggs.

Dr. Jerdon does not record it from India—though, from his stating that some specimens of
the Short-toed Lark have the breast spotless and others spotted, it appears probable that he had
seen specimens of this bird; but it has since been recorded from the plains of India by Mr. A. O.
Hume, who, in a letter to the editor of ‘The Ibis’ (Ibis, 1870, p. 531), writes that, in a large
collection formed for him, in the cold season, in the Sirsa district, by Nizam Oodeen Khan,
he found three specimens of C. pispoletta. It occurs in China; and specimens thence have
been described by Mr. Swinhoe as a distinct species, under the name of Alaudula cheleénsis; but
having compared Mr. Swinhoe’s types with specimens from the Volga, I can detect no differences
on which a species could be founded. Mr. Swinhoe records it as found at Talien Bay, not rare
at Pekin, and, according to Pere David, particularly abundant in Mongolia. I think it probable
that this species occurs in the south-eastern portion of Siberia. Dr. G. Radde refers to a Short-
toed Lark, which I believe to be the present species, as found on the Tarel-nor. Tschihatscheff
met with it in Western Siberia; and Dr. Radde states that he found it in the spring consorting
with A. mongolica, or in small flocks near others of that species, and that it breeds on the north-
eastern end of the lofty Gobi. Von Middendorff writes that Dr. Stubendorff sent him specimens
from the Birjussa of a Short-toed Lark, which I also think may probably have been this species;
but not having had an opportunity of examining any of these Siberian specimens, I am unable to
speak with any degree of certainty.

But little has been recorded respecting the habits of this species, which do not appear to
differ from those of Calandrella brachydactyla. J am, however, fortunate in being able to

3

describe the nest and eggs, which have been placed at my disposal by Mr. Blanford. This
gentleman took the nest on the 20th of May, 1872, to the south-west of Kerman, in South
Persia, and shot the female bird as she left her eggs. The nest is a very slight structure, com-
posed of small faded grass bents, without any regular lining, and was placed on the ground; the
eggs, three in number, resemble those of Calandrella brachydactyla, but are a trifle larger, have
the ground-colour clearer and paler, and the spots somewhat darker and more clearly defined.
Placing these three eggs in a series of those of C. brachydactyla I find I can distinguish them
by the above-mentioned differences. In my collection I have an egg sent to me by Dr. Baldamus
as being that of C. pispoletta, which, however, does not in the least resemble those taken by
Mr. Blanford, and I cannot look on it as genuine.
The specimen figured and described is one from the Volga, in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—
E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 3,6, 2. Volga, April (Méschler) .

E Mus. Ind. Calc.

a, g. East of Shiraz, Persia, May 1872 (W.T. Blanford). 6, 2. South-west of Kerman, S. Persia, May 20th,
1872 (W.T.B.). c, 3. Shiraz, June 1869 (Major St. John).

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.
a,b, §,c, @. Talien, China, June 1860 (R. S.).

E Mus. E. Hargitt.
a,d,6, 2. Volga, April (Méschler).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a,3,5, 2. Volga, April (Méschler).

307

Genus MELANOCORYPHA.

Alauda apud Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 288 (1766).

Melanocorypha, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 322.

Saxilauda, apud Lesson, Compl. Buff. (1837).

Phileremos apud Keyserling & Blasius, Wirbelth. Eur. p. xxxvii (1840).
Calandrella apud Brandt, fide Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 243 (1850).
Calandra apud Dubois, Ois. de la Belg. pt. 1028 (1858).

Pallasia apud EK. F. von Homeyer, J. f. Orn. 1873, p. 190.

Tue Calandras inhabit the Palearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, four species being found
in the Western Palearctic Region. In general habits they are said to resemble the Sky-Lark,
frequenting the open country, and collecting in the winter in flocks. They are very good
songsters, uttering their rich and varied notes whilst circling in the air; and they are said
to have the power of imitating the notes of other birds. ‘They feed on insects and seeds,
construct a somewhat loosely made cup-shaped nest of grass-straws, which they place on the
ground, and deposit greyish-white eggs richly blotched with purplish grey and several shades
of brown.

Melanocorypha calandra, the type of the genus, has the bill stout, rather short, compressed,
subconic, upper mandible curved towards the tip; gape-line nearly straight; nostrils oval, basal,
concealed by bristly feathers; crown without elongated feathers; wings long, pointed, the first
quill very small, the second longest, the third very nearly as long; inner secondaries moderate,
shorter than the sixth quill; tail short, nearly even; legs strong, tarsus covered in front with
six large and three inferior scutelle; claws moderate, slightly curved, except the hind claw,
which is elongated and nearly straight.

69

309

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MELANOCORYPHA BIMACULATA,

(EASTERN CALANDRA LARK.)

Alauda bimaculata, Ménétr. Cat. Rais. p. 37 (1832).

Melanocorypha calandra, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. p. 78 (1845, nec Linn.).
Melanocorypha torquata, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xvi. p. 476 (1847).
Melanocorypha alboterminata, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 124 (1850).
Melanocorypha rufescens, Brehm, Naum. 1856, p. 376.
Melanocorypha bimaculata, Sharpe, Ann. N. H. (4) viii. p. 180 (1871).

3g ad.

estiv. fulvescenti-brunneus, plumis omnibus medialiter saturatius brunneis: uropygio et tectricibus
supracaudalibus fulvescenti-brunneis, pallidioribus, feré unicoloribus: collo postico paulld cinerascente :
tectricibus alarum feré dorso concoloribus, paullo rufescente lavatis, majoribus fulvescente marginatis :
remigibus brunneis, extus cinerascente lavatis et fulvo angusté marginatis: cauda brunne, vix rufescente
tincta, rectricibus omnibus fulvo marginatis et albo terminatis, pennis duabus centralibus exceptis :
loris, supercilio, gutture et facie laterali fulvescenti-albidis, hac rufescente mixt4: regione auriculari
rufescente: corpore reliquo subtus fulvescenti-albo, pectore et hypochondriis magis rufescentibus :
torque pectorali nigra: subcaudalibus fulvescenti-albis: subalaribus brunnescenti-griseis ; rostro brun-
nescenti-corneo, mandibula flavicante: pedibus flavicantibus: iride saturate brunneda.

Ay. hornot. paullo rufescentior, torque pectorali minus distinctaé, punctulis longitudinalibus nigris notata:

rostro flavicante.

Adult male in summer plumage. Above fulvous-brown, the centres of the plumes much darker brown,

Obs.

giving a somewhat mottled appearance, all the feathers being edged with fulvous, especially on the
hinder part of the neck and centre of the back; wing-coverts coloured like the back, but a little more
rufous, plainly edged with fulvous, less distinct on the greater coverts; quills brown, with a slight shade
of ashy grey on the outer web, all the feathers more or less narrowly edged with fulvous, but none of
the feathers tipped with white; tail dark brown, with conspicuous white tips to all the feathers, except
the two central ones, all the rectrices edged more or less broadly with fulvous; lores and a distinct
eyebrow whitish ; cheeks fulvous-white, with a slight mottling of rufous; ear-coverts entirely rufous ;
throat white; rest of the under surface dull white, the upper part of the breast and flanks rufous; a
pectoral gorget black, extending right across the lower part of the throat; on the upper part of the
breast are a few indistinct mottled lines below the black gorget; under tail-coverts whitish; under
wing-coyerts entirely greyish brown; bill horn-brown, the under mandible yellowish ; feet fleshy yellow ;
iris dark brown. ‘Total length 6:6 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 4°75, tail 2:5, tarsus 1:0.

Some specimens are much greyer than others. Others again are more rufous. Some are more white
on the belly, and have the breast much obscured, so that the pectoral gorget is scarcely discernible.
This last dress seems to be the winter plumage.

Young. Similar to the adult, but more rufous in the centre of the back; the gorget more obscure, and the

stripes on the upper breast more indistinct ; the bill likewise seems to be more yellow.

4B2

36

Slop

2

Explanation of the Plate. The front figure represents the typical M. bimaculata, as we believe; on the rock
to the right is seen a specimen of the rufous race found in Palestine by Canon Tristram. On the left
hand a specimen of the true Calandra Lark is seen with wings and tail extended to show the distinctive
characters by which it may always be told from its eastern representative.

Turs species is closely allied to the Common Calandra Lark of Europe, but is readily distin-
guished by two very trenchant characters, viz. by the total absence of white tips to the small
wing-feathers, and by having all the tail-feathers tipped with white, whereas in the ordinary
European species the outer rectrix is nearly all white, and this colour gradually diminishes
towards the centre of the tail.

The acquisition of several specimens from Turkestan, which M. Dode brought over on his
recent visit to England, enabled us to identify the true Alauda bimaculata of Ménétriés, a bird
which has puzzled a great many ornithologists, and which Mr. Blyth and other authors have
been disposed to refer to the genus Calandrella. A further examination of specimens enabled
us to refer the I. torquata of North-western India to the same species, as well as IZ. albotermi-
nata from North-eastern Africa; so that it was found that the ordinary Calandra Lark is replaced
to the eastward by a nearly allied but perfectly distinct species, which ranges from Abyssinia
through Palestine into Central Asia and North-western India. ‘The exact range of the Eastern
Calandra Lark has to be determined; and future research must show where it meets with
M. calandra. The latter species occurs in the Crimea, Mr. H. J. Elwes having lent us two
specimens procured by himself on the battle-field of the Alma; and since writing our account
of that bird, we have received from the same gentleman a specimen from Turkestan. We shall
not be surprised to hear that the indefatigable Mr. Hume has added the common species to the
avifauna of India; and Captain Marshall and his other excellent correspondents in the North-
west Provinces should keep a look-out for the bird; for it is now tolerably certain that the
European Calandra Lark extends into Central Asia with I. dimaculata, though doubtless in
much smaller numbers than the last-named species.

In his recent paper on the present bird (J. c.), Sharpe was able to confirm the assumption
that I. rufescens of Brehm is also referable to the same species; for Canon Tristram possesses
specimens from Palestine which appear to represent Brehm’s species to a nicety. Concerning
these birds he writes in ‘ The Ibis’ for 1868 (p. 208) :—

“Before concluding these notes on the Passerine birds of Palestine, I must state that, on
going through my collection recently in company with the editor of this journal, we were
satisfied that the Calandra Lark of Mount Hermon and Lebanon must be distinguished from the
Common Calandra of the plains and of Southern Europe. It is smaller and more slender, with a
very decided rufous tint on the whole of its plumage; but especially the outer rectrices are
without any white, while in the true JZ. calandra (L.) the outer tail-feathers are wholly white.
But before describing the species as new, I am anxious to have an opportunity of examining
Persian and Afghan specimens.” One of these birds is figured in our Plate; and it will be seen
that it is rather more rufescent in colour than the typical bird in the foreground. Canon
Tristram, however, agrees with us that it is not specifically separable, despite its rufous coloration
and slightly slenderer bill; and there can be no doubt that a great deal of the red colour is
derived from the nature of the ground it frequents.

3

The following short account of the distribution of this species in North-eastern Africa is
given by Dr. von Heuglin :—“ This Lark appears in Arabia and North-eastern Africa, southwards
to the Blue Nile, and in Abyssinia, as a winter visitant. It wanders in flocks about the fields and
steppes, and is very shy.”

When Dr. Jerdon wrote his ‘ Birds of India,’ the present bird had not been known to occur
within Indian limits. He thus writes concerning it:—‘‘One species, WM. torquata, Blyth,
M. bimaculata of Ménétriés, is the Bokhara Lark of some Europeans in the north-west, the Judl
of the natives. It is a favourite song-bird of the Afghans, and is often brought to the Punjab,
Cashmere, and even to Calcutta. It is very like J. calandra, but is considered generically
distinct by Blyth, and named Calandrina, having a longer and less robust bill... . . It is quite
possible that this Lark may yet be found in the extreme North-west Provinces, it being common
in Afghanistan.” Since that was written, Captain C. H. T. Marshall has procured a large
quantity of specimens near Lahore, some of which he was kind enough to give us; and Mr. Hume
tells us that he has about one hundred examples in his collection from the North-west Provinces
of India. Dr. Henderson, in his account of the birds of Yarkand, states that only one specimen
was obtained during the Yarkand Expedition, which he shot on the return journey, at the foot of
the hills leading from Cashmere to the plains of the Punjaub. Mr. Hume, in this same work,
enters very minutely into the points of distinction between the present bird and WV. calandra,
and gives the following interesting account of the species :—“ The Bokhara, or Bugheira Lark,
as it is commonly called, swarms during the cold season all over the trans-Sutledge districts of
the Punjaub and North-western Rajpootana; and a certain number, which find their way further
down, are met with in regularly decreasing numbers as one proceeds southwards and eastwards
in the cis-Sutledge Punjaub, the Duab as far down as Futtehpoor, and Southern Rohilcund.
Dry, sandy, cultivated lands, sparingly covered with the stubble of the grain crops, the giant and
bull-rush millets (Holcus sorghum and Penicillaria spicata), are the places they affect. ‘They have
a very loud and sweet note, and are, I can well believe, grand songsters in the nuptial season ;
but they leave us with the first breath of the hot wind, and breed, it is believed, in Afghanistan,
Bokhara, and Persia.”

In conclusion, we may remark that Mr. Blyth’s name of torquata is by no means inapplicable
to the present bird; for the black band is generally complete across the breast, whereas in the
Common Calandra there is generally a black patch on each side of the chest, which do not
meet across the latter.

The figures in the Plate are taken from specimens in our own collection, with the exception
of the right-hand bird, which is lent to us by our friend Canon Tristram. The descriptions of
the birds are also from examples in our own cabinet, the adult male being a bird killed on the
8th of May, 1866, by Dode, in Turkestan, the young ones being from Lahore, given us by
Captain C. H. T. Marshall, who has done good service towards elucidating the ornithology of
the Punjaub, as Mr. Hume’s pages will show.

365

a64

a

a

a

4

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus, Sharpe and Dresser.
. Turkestan (Dode). 4, e. Lahore, Punjaub (C. H. T. Marshall). d, 3. Punjaub, November 25th, 1867

(A. O. Hume).

. Abyssinia (Verreauz).

E Mus. k. B. Sharpe.

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
. Turkestan (Dode). 6, c. Plain below Baalbec, June 15th, 1864 (H. B. 7.).

. Punjaub, January Ist, 1870 (H. J. E.).

E Mus. H. J. Elwes.
6. Punjaub, December 1869 (H. J. E.).

ri
ie

Peon,

on GF
b i

ae Ce lead FER

eax)

HAMS

“WYONVTIVO WHdANODONV TAIN

MELANOCORYPHA CALANDRA,

(CALANDRA LARK.)

The Calandra, Edwards, Gleanings, pt. ii. p. 122, pl. 268 (1760).

La Calandre, Montbeill. Pl. Enl. v. p. 336, pl. 363 (1778).

Alauda calandra, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 288 (1766).

Alauda collaris, P. L. S. Mill. Syst. Nat. Suppl. p. 1387 (1776, ex Edwards).
Alauda calandre, P. L. 8. Miller, Syst. Nat. Suppl. p. 137 (ex Montbeillard).
Melanocorypha calandra, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 322.

Melanocorypha albiqularis, Brehm, Naumannia, 1856, p. 374.
Melanocorypha subcalandra, id. tom. cit. p. 374.

Melanocorypha semitorquata, id. tom. cit. p. 374.

Calandre, French; Alondra Calandria, Spanish; Cochicho, Portuguese; Calandra, Italian ;
Aluet, Maltese; Kalander-Lerche, German; Iavronok stepnot, Russian.

Fiqure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 2; Gould, B. of Eur. i. pl. 162; Naum. Vog. Deutschl. v.
Taf. 98; Bree, B. of Eur. ii. p. 196.

$ ad. estiv. supra fusco-umbrina, plumis omnibus medialiter nigricanti-brunneis, marginibus fulvescentibus :
uropygio unicolori umbrino, plumis fulvo marginatis, tectricibus supracaudalibus pallidioribus: pilei
plumarum parte mediané brunnea distinctiore: collo postico plus minusve cinerascente, plumarum
linea ventrali vix ita distincté indicaté: tectricibus alarum minimis dorso concoloribus, majoribus
brunneis, rufescenti et fulvo marginatis: remigibus brunneis, primariis extus albido marginatis, secun-
dariis minoribus paullo rufescenti tinctis et versus apicem conspicué albis, fasciam distinctam albam
formantibus, remigibus intimis brunneis, paullulum griseo lavatis et rufescenti marginatis: cauda
saturaté brunned, pennis duabus centralibus laté fulvo marginatis versus apicem albicantibus, rectricibus
reliquis albo terminatis, penultime pogonio externo et apice laté fulvescenti-alba, extima feré omninod
fulvescenti-alb4 ad basin pogonii interni brunnescente: loris et supercilio distincto fulvescenti-albo :
genis albidis brunneo paullulim variegatis: regione auriculari fusco-umbrina: corpore subtus albicante,
hypochondriis fulvescenti-griseis, pectore antico maculis parvis brunneis irregulariter notato: plaga
magna ad latera pectoris summi nigré: subcaudalibus albidis: subalaribus nigricanti-griseis: rostro
brunneo, mandibula rufescente: pedibus livide rufis: iride nigricante.

@ mari similis, sed plaga nigra ad latera pectoris conspicué minore.
3 autumn. paullo rufescentior.

Av. hornot. similis adultis, sed supra saturatior, plumis rufescenti marginatis et albo apicatis: pectoris punc-
tulis minus distinctis: rostro et pedibus flavicantibus.

Male in summer plumage. Above greyish brown, the centres of the feathers very dark brown, giving some-

66

2

what of a striped appearance, all the plumes edged with fulvous grey, more especially those of the
interscapulary region; least wing-coverts grey like the back, the median and greater coverts dark brown
in the centre with very narrow but distinct fulvous edgings; quills dark brown, the primaries margined
with dull white on the outer web, the smaller primaries edged with isabelline colour and very con-
spicuously tipped with white, forming a distinct alar bar, the innermost secondaries tinged with greyish
and margined with fulvous; tail for the most part dark brown, the two centre feathers broadly washed
with rufous, the two outer feathers white, with a tinge of isabelline, only the basal portion of the inner
web pale brown, the next two feathers for the most part dark brown, the outer edge and the tip of the
inner web whitish, all the rest of the feathers tipped with whitish; lores and a distinct eyebrow white ;
feathers round the eye and cheeks greyish white, the latter speckled with brown; ear-coverts greyish
brown; sides and back of the neck rather paler greyish brown than the rest of the back ; under surface
of the body white, the upper breast slightly tinged with fulvous, and covered with minute longitudinal
streaks of dark brown; the flanks greyish, strongly tinged with isabelline ; on each side of the neck a very
large patch of black, which does not meet across the front of the chest; under wing-coverts white,
slightly tinged with buff; under wing-coverts greyish black; beak brown, the lower mandible reddish ;
feet livid red; iris blackish. Total length 7-8 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 5:8, tail 2°8, tarsus 1-05.

Female. Similar to the male in all respects, but having the black patch on each side of the chest smaller.
Autumn plumage. Apparently a little more rufous.

Young. Similar to the adults, but darker above, the feathers margined with buff and tipped with white ;
the spots on the breast less distinct, and the black patches much less developed ; bill and feet yellowish.

Tue Calandra Lark is an inhabitant of Southern Europe, only occurring as a rare and accidental
visitant in the northern portions of the continent. It has been found in most of the countries
along the Mediterranean basin, but is rare in Egypt. It extends into Southern Russia and
perhaps Persia, but the species of the latter country may be J/. bimaculata (Ménétr.). This
latter bird, though really very distinct, has never been well identified as an inhabitant of Eastern
Europe, and we yet require positive information respecting the ranges of these two species of
Calandra Larks.

The present bird has been twice known to have occurred in England. Mr. J. Gatcombe
found one in a bird-stuffer’s shop at Plymouth, which had been obtained in that neighbourhood,
and it is therefore included in Mr. J. Brooking Rowe’s book on the Birds of Devon; while the
second supposed example is in the collection of Mr. Byne, a gentleman who is fast gathering
together a good series of British birds: it was said to have been obtained near Exeter. Mr. C. F.
Dubois has recorded a Calandra Lark as having been caught near the town of Brussels, in October
1855. Naumann says it has been several times procured in Austria, and once near Frankfort-
on-the-Maine, but never in Holland or northern Germany. Borgereve states, on Dr. Gloger’s
authority, that it has once been procured in Silesia. In France, Degland and Gerbe say
it is “common in certain localities of the departments of Var, Hérault, Bouches du Rhone.
According to Lesson it appears sometimes in the departments of Deux-Sévres and Charante-
Inférieure.” Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye state that it is “‘ found in Provence, in the
Camargue and Crau, and on the borders of the Durance and Verdun. Here it is sedentary,
nor is it seen migrating at other places.” Lord Lilford tells us that he found the present species

3

common in most parts of Spain, particularly so near Aranjuez in 1865, Mr. Howard Saunders
has published the following note, to the effect that it is “abundant in the great plains south of
Seville, where it breeds, making its nest in a depression of the ground, often at the depth of three
or four inches. ‘The eggs, though small for the size of the birds, are, however, very distinct from
those of G. cristata. In the Isla Menor, a great place for Bustards, the Calandra is especially
abundant.”’ Major Irby finds it plentiful in winter in Andalucia, chiefly arriving in November,
and leaving the vicinity of Gibraltar in March. “Some few,” he adds, “nest in the plains near
Casa Vieja.” Mr. Gervase F. Mathew writes to us as follows:—‘ The Melanocorypha calandra
is tolerably numerous in some localities near Lisbon, especially on the uncultivated flats in the
neighbourhood of Villafranca and Reguengo.” ‘The Rey. A. C. Smith likewise says that he found
it “common everywhere throughout Portugal, in the open plains and fields.”

Count Salvadori writes to us:—‘‘ This Lark is a permanent resident in Central and Southern
Italy. It is met with on the Maremma Toscana, becoming more abundant in the Maremma
Romana and in the Neapolitan provinces. It is extremely common in many suitable places in
Sicily. In Northern Italy it is of only accidental occurrence.” Bettoni states that in Lombardy
it is rare and migratory, but nevertheless has been found breeding in that province. Mr. E.
Cavendish Taylor says it is generally to be found in the bird-market of Rome during the winter
and early spring. Professor Doderlein, in his account of the Birds of Modena, states that it is
almost a resident, though rather rarer about Bologna than near Modena; some individuals nest
about the lower part of the Po. The same author says that “in Sicily it is resident, and very

abundant in many parts of the island; being a favourite on account of its song, it is frequently .

captured with nets.” Lord Lilford tells us that when in Sicily, in November 1856, he found it
in the barren country near Lercar di Friddi in large flocks. In Sardinia it is common and
resident, according to Salvadori. Mr. A. B. Brooke also found it plentiful in the last-named
island; and Lord Lilford likewise tells us that he perceived it to be very abundant on the plains of the
island of Sardinia, “‘ where, curiously enough, the Crested Lark does not occur.” It may here be
mentioned that Pastor Brehm has made a subspecies of the Sardinian and Algerian Calandra,
which he calls Welanocorypha calandra megarhynchos, and, again, from Dalmatia, another species,
which he names I. albigularis, while yet another species is described as distinct, this common
to Greece and Dalmatia, called WZ. subcalandra. We are sorry to say that no one since Pastor
Brehm seems to have been able to make out these species.

Lord Lilford writes that “a few of this species are to be observed in summer in Corfu, where
they breed. I have never observed this bird on the mainland.” Von der Mihle considers it to
be the commonest Lark in Greece ; but Lindermayer differs from him in this respect, and also does
not agree with the account of its habits given in the work of the above-mentioned author. He
says:—‘‘It arrives in the middle of April, when it is numerous, and leaves late in October.
Many, however, winter in Greece, although Erhardt includes it as a summer visitor to the
Cyclades.” Messrs. Elwes and Buckley found it common and resident in Turkey; and Mr. Robson,
of Ortakeuy, writes to us as follows:—‘'This species is common in Turkey in Europe and in
Asia Minor. In the winter they associate in large flocks; and many of them are shot by sports-
men for the table, as they are large plump birds, and are much in request for eating. They
affect mountains and large plains, but seem to prefer hilly tracts, and are found both on culti-

Ze

368

4

vated and on uncultivated ground. They stay over the year and make their nests on the ground.
The natives admire their song; and a great many are taken when young and kept in cages.
During the storm of February 1871 a large number of these birds were shot; at least two thirds
of them were males.” Professor von Nordmann gives the following account of the distribution
of the species in Southern Russia:—“ It is a true inhabitant of the steppes, never visiting the
mountainous districts, and is therefore not found in the southern part of the Crimea and in the
provinces to the east of the Black Sea, where there are very scanty plains. In Bessarabia and
New Russia there are innumerable quantities of these Larks, and in the autumn and spring,
when they are in flocks, they are sold by sixties in the Odessa market.” Radde also writes that
they remain in Southern Russia all the year round. In the Crimea Messrs. Elwes and Buckley
found it very common near Sevastopol; and Major Irby, who was present in the locality during
the Crimean war, says that it was common and resident there; he also procured its eggs.
Specimens are often received through Mr. Moeschler from the Volga; and Pastor Brehm named
the bird from this locality I. semitorquata; like the other species of this author it has not been
since recognized as distinct. Dr. von Middendorff procured a single example between Krasno-
jarsk and Irkutsk, on the highroad, in April; but his specimen differed considerably from the
general type of the European bird. Dr. Cabanis questions whether von Middendorff’s bird may
not be his MW. alboterminata, which we consider to be the same as J. bimaculata (Ménétr.). We
think this most probable; indeed, as we have stated beforehand, many of the eastern birds
recorded as J. calandra will require re-examination.

At Erzeroom it is stated to have been found by Mr. Keith E. Abbott; and the late Mr.
Strickland says that it arrived during the cold weather at Smyrna. Russell also recorded it from
Aleppo many years ago. Dr. Tristram, writing of the Larks to be met with in Palestine, says,
“The most abundant of all was perhaps the large Calandra Lark, Melanocorypha calandra (L.),
a partial migrant, and wintering in the desert and southern wilderness, but breeding in the corn-
plains and in the north, especially under Hermon. It appears that there are two races of this
bird :—one larger and darker in plumage, which breeds in the corn-plains, identical with the
Calandra of Algeria; the other smaller and more rufous, sometimes almost russet, which remains
all winter near Damascus, and breeds in the uplands.” Thanks to Dr. Tristram, we have been
able to examine the last-mentioned specimens; and we believe that these also are referable to
M. bimaculata. Next as regards the occurrence of the Calandra in Egypt. Riippell states that
he found it common in winter in Nubia and Egypt; but doubtless J/. bimaculata is here again
intended. ‘The true MW. calandra,’ Dr. von Heuglin says, ‘“‘I found only on one occasion, in
March, in company with Crested Larks and Wagtails on the shore of a lagoon near Alexandria,
where a pair rambled shyly about a freshly ploughed field; and again in November, on the road
between Cairo and Suez. Hemprich and Ehrenberg procured it in Arabia Petrea and Hedjas.”
Neither Captain Shelley nor Mr. E. Cavendish Taylor has ever met with it. The latter gentle-
man writes to us:—‘ This Lark I have always found to be conspicuous by its absence from the
avifauna of Egypt, which is the more remarkable as it is a common species both in the Pashalic
of Tunis and in Syria, Egypt being situated about midway between those two countries.”

In Tunis Lord Lilford says he found it common in November and December. In Malta
Mr. C. A. Wright says it is “abundant in flocks in October, when great numbers are taken in

5

nets and shot. A few remain the winter, till the beginning of February. It repasses in March
and April, but in less numbers than in autumn. I have not heard it sing here. My collection
contains a curious cream-coloured variety of this species, with ashy markings on the back and
wings. In Algeria Loche says it is abundant. Dr. Taczanowski also observes :—‘“ Melano-
corypha calandra is very common in cultivated fields of the hill-country, as well as in the desert,
on fields round about the oases: less numerous in the districts lying near the sea, and about
broad pasture-grounds near Lake Fezzara.” Mr. Osbert Salvin found it breeding in the Eastern
Atlas; and Canon Tristram has published the following note:—“'Though swarming on the
coasts, and by far the most common Lark in the Tell, the Calandra soon becomes scarce in the
interior, and can only doubtfully claim a place in the Sahara list. The two specimens I obtained
on its edge are decidedly larger than those of the plains on the other side of the Atlas, measuring
8 inches in length, with beaks more robust and longer than in other specimens, 0-8 inch from
the gape instead of 0°6 inch, but do not exhibit any further specific distinction. The Calandra
is in high esteem by French epicures, and ranks as the best gibier of the Algerian chasseur.”
Mr. J. H. Gurney, who has recently travelled in Algeria, observes as follows :—‘“ Occurs in large
flocks up to the middle of March. This species is very common at Ain-Oussera and Bougzoul ;
but I never met with any among the Larks in the Algiers Market. It is quite unknown in
the Mzab.”

Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, in his paper on the Birds of Tangier and Eastern Morocco, says
he found it on the open plains.

Swainson has given it a place in the Fauna Boreali-Americana on the authority of a dealer,
and afterwards on that of a specimen in the British Museum, said to be from the Fur-countries,
and presented by the Hudson’s Bay Company. This is undoubtedly an error.

As the Calandra is not found in Northern Europe, but few observers have given notices of
its habits. We are indebted to many of our friends for original matter contributed towards the
present account of the species. Mr. Gervase F. Mathew has kindly sent us the following
letter: —“The male on commencing his song springs from the ground, and with a graceful
undulating motion describes a series of large circles until he rises to an immense height; his
song is then clear and beautiful, but at close quarters it is piercing and unpleasant. The call-
note is loud and harsh, and somewhat similar to that of H. miliaria. With the Portuguese it is
a favourite cage-bird, and in many of the streets of Lisbon may be seen hanging outside every
door in cages that are generally much too small. At Gibraltar it is frequent; and many are
caught on the neutral ground by bird-catchers, who use clapp-nets with decoy call-birds. A
heavy price is asked for a good singer. Those I shot at Lisbon afforded fair sport, and were
capital eating.”

The following note is taken from Count von der Miihle’s work on the Birds of Greece
(p. 88) :—‘‘It is undoubtedly the commonest Lark in Greece, and enlivens even before daybreak
the flat country with its song. Its favourite resorts in summer are dried-up swamps and meadows
where cattle graze and here and there wild flowers grow. Here it is continually running about
after insects, and sings incessantly on clods of earth and heaps of mould thrown out of ditches.
When it rises singing in the air, it never soars so high as A. arvensis. It is very companionable,
often going with A. brachydactyla and A. arvensis; and I have often killed all three species at

2R2

310

6

one shot. It nests in open fields, making a carelessly formed nest out of grass straws, which con-
tains from four to five eggs. It migrates in October; but many coming to us from more northern
localities winter in the Morea. It is highly valued as a cage-bird. Numbers are caught near
Patras and Missolonghi, and sold at Constantinople, where a singing Calandra is sold for from six
to eight colonnads. ‘They are very obstinate ; and, when caught old, many will not sing; therefore
young birds are preferred.” Lindermayer’s experience of the bird is different from that of Von
der Miihle: he states that it is never found in large flocks like the Skylark and Short-toed
Lark, but according to his observation always in pairs; and he proceeds as follows:—‘“ Their
favourite places of resort are freshly manured fields, dried-up swamps, and meadows, where they
diligently seek after insects and grain. Their song is powerful and melodious, and they are often
used as cage-birds, and, indeed, form an article of trade, and are sent in dark cages to Constan-
tinople, Smyrna, and Alexandria.” Loche thus describes the bird and its habits:—‘ The
Calandra Lark is common in Algeria. In its habits it is solitary, and is never met with in large
flocks, but only in small families after the breeding-season, and singly at other seasons of the
year. It is wild and wary. Its note is loud and agreeable; and to say ‘to sing like a Calandra’
means to sing well. It has the power of imitating the notes of other birds and, it is affirmed,
the cries of some of the mammals. Its food consists chiefly of insects and worms; but it also
to some extent eats grain. It is fond of dusting itself in the sand. It rears two broods in
the year.”

It is evident, however, that the habits of the present species differ at various times of the year ;
for Dr. Taczanowski, who has also travelled in Algeria, says, ‘‘'‘They always kept in large flocks,
and seemed in general to be rather shy. In March they had not yet separated themselves from
their flocks; but the males were beginning to fly high and sing.” Radde, writing from South
Russia, says, “ A Calandra is rather shy, and builds its nest as early as the end of April. About
the end of May the young are fledged. Its song resembles that of the Crested Lark, but is
somewhat longer. It flies in short bow-like lines, and does not fly any long distance at once.”
Von Nordmann gives the following accounts of the species in Demidoff’s ‘ Voyage’ :—‘‘ The
Calandra Lark is one of the most variable birds, both as regards size and colour of plumage. I
have before me individuals of nearly double the usual size, the beaks of which are thrice as long
as usual. I have seen accidental varieties, some white and others cream-coloured, the latter very
small. The nests of this bird are always on the steppes, and contain four or five eggs. The
young birds are much deeper-coloured than the adults. During the breeding-season the males
may be seen pursuing each other with ardour, performing most peculiar aerial evolutions, rising
to some distance with very gentle motion of the wings, spreading and quavering the tail,
describing large spirals, uttering their sonorous and varied song, which is chiefly borrowed from
that of other birds. In the autumn they collect in flocks, of which some only, as it seems,
migrate southward ; for there are always small flocks wintering in our parts. As Alauda calandra
does not frequent mountains, I am disposed to believe, contrary to Mr. Gloger’s opinion, that
Alauda bimaculata, discovered by M. Ménétries in the mountains of the Caucasus, is a distinct
species from this.”

Mr. Osbert Salvin, in his interesting paper, entitled “Six Months’ Birds’-nesting in the
Eastern Atlas,’ writes:—‘ The large size of the Calandra makes it conspicuous among its con-

7

geners in places where the other species are found. It seeks the pastures and corn-fields more
than the above-mentioned species (Galerida cristata and Calandrella brachydactyla), though in
some places all three are found together in equal abundance. The number of eggs varies from
three to five; they are laid about the second week in May, but some earlier.” Much has been
said in the foregoing pages concerning the song of the Calandra, which appears to render it the
favourite cage-bird in Southern Europe. Mr. Wright says that in Malta “numbers are yearly
imported from Sicily, and kept as cage-birds for their song, which is too powerful for a room.
A good songster is much esteemed, and fetches a high price.” Major Irby tells us that near
Gibraltar “ great quantities are caught with a lantern and a bell at night. Ona windy night I
have known a boy catch seven or eight dozen of this species, along with Alauda arvensis, A.
cristata, and Emberiza miliaria, in a couple of hours’ time.”

The eggs of the Calandra Lark vary considerably in size, and are sometimes as small as those
of the Crested Lark. In Dresser’s collection are eggs from Spain and from Algeria, the latter
collected by Mr. W. H. Hudleston. The largest, a Spanish specimen, measures 1,3, by 32 inch,
and the smallest, an Algerian specimen, 35 by ¢§. The ground-colour is dull grey with a buff
tinge; and the spots, which are closely scattered over the eggs, are of two sorts—the underlying
shell-markings, which are purplish grey and light brown, and the overlying surface-blotches,
which are pale umber and nut-brown.

Dr. E. Rey, who found this Lark common in Portugal, writes us that the average size of its
eggs is 24:1 millims. by 18-5 millims.

The description of the adult male is taken from a Spanish specimen in Lord Lilford’s
collection, killed at Aranjuez in May. ‘The changes of plumage are described from MM. Jaubert
and Barthélemy Lapommeraye’s work, verified to some extent by specimens examined by
ourselves.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.

a. Crimea (Whitely). 6, c. Asia Minor (Rodson). d. Bashan, Palestine (H. B. Tristram). e. Tangier
(Olcesse) f. Savoy (P. L. Sclater).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, b. Berroughuia, Algeria, May 28th, 1856 (H. B. T.). c. Plain of Sharon, February 16th, 1864 (H. B. T.).
d. Bashan, March 16th, 1864 (#.B.T.). e. Sudeir, Wilderness of Judea, February 1st, 1864 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a, b. Aranjuez, May 9th, 1865 (L.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a. Tamak, February 1854 (G. Radde). 6. Malaga, January 2nd, 1868 (H. S.). c. Seville, March Ist,
1870 (H. S.).

371

Be
8

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a. Madrid, December 30th, 1869 (J. H. G.). 6. Bougzoul, Algeria, March 9th, 1870 (J. H. G.).

E Mus. A. B. Brooke.
a, 6, Sardinia, March 29th and May 27th, 1871 (A. B. B.).

240

2

VOINIGIS VHdAYOOONV TSW
MWUWT GAFONIA-3LIHAA

ae:

ao

MELANOCORYPHA SIBIRICA.

(WHITE-WINGED LARK.)

Alauda calandra, Linn.?, Pallas, Reise Russischen Reichs, ii. p. 708. no. 15* (1773) ; op. cit.
iii. p. 697, note (1776).

Alauda sibirica, Gm. 8. N. i. p. 799. no. 31 (1788), ex Pallas.

Alauda calandra, Linn., var. B, Latham, Ind. Ornith. ii. p. 497. no. 17 (1790).

Alauda arvensis ruficeps, Bechstein, Gemein. Naturgesch. Deutschl. iv. p. 121 (1795).

Alauda leucoptera, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 518. no. 147, pl. xxxiii. fig. 2 (1831).

Phileremos sibirica (J. Fr. Gm.), Keyserl. & Blasius, Wirbelth. Europa’s, p. xxxvii. no. 88,
p. 153. no. 85 (1840). |

Melanocorypha leucoptera (Pallas), Bp. Consp. i. p. 243 (1850).

Calandrella sibirica (Gm.), Brandt, fide Bp. loc. cit. (1850).

Calandra leucoptera (Pallas), Dubois, Ois. de la Belg. pl. 102 B (1858).

Pallasia leucoptera (Pallas), E. F. v. Homeyer, J. f. Orn. 1873, p. 190.

(The above by Lord Walden.)
Belokrilot Javronsk, Russian; Skowronek bialoskrzydly, Polish.

Figure notabiles.

Dubois, tom. cit.; Bree, B. of Eur. vol. ii.; Pall. tom. cit. taf. xxxiii. fig. 2.

3 ad. supra grisescenti-brunneus, versus nucham pallidior, plumis omnibus medialiter saturatioribus: pileo
rufescente: supra oculos vitt4é superciliari alba: regione paroticé rufescente, vix albido notata:
tectricibus alarum rufescentibus, majoribus medialiter fulvido notatis et vix flavicante cervino termi-
natis: remigibus nigricantibus, primariis vix albido marginatis et apicatis, scapis albidis, secundariis
conspicué albo terminatis, tribus intimis nigricanti-brunneis, in pogonio externo ad basin albis:
uropygio et supracaudalibus rufescentibus: caudd nigricanti-brunned, vix grisescente brunneo mar-
ginaté, rectrice externa alba, secund& in pogonio externo alb&é: subtis albus, hypochondriis vix
rufescente lavatis: pectore superiore brunneo notato: tibiis rufescentibus: rostro brunnescenti-corneo :
pedibus flavicanti-brunneis: iride brunned.

2 ad. mari similis, sed obscurior: pileo pallidé rufescente: plumis omnibus medialiter brunneo stnatis:
corpore subtiis grisescenti-albo.

Adult Male (Constantinople, 17th February). Head rufous; feathers round the eye extending backwards,
and forming a tolerably distinct eye-brow, white; ear-coverts rufous, slightly marked with whitish ;
back greyish brown, paler on the upper part, each feather having a dark centre, giving a striped
appearance ; rump and upper tail-coverts rufous, each feather with a dark shaft-stripe; wing-coverts
bright rufous, the greater ones with a dark centre, and some narrowly edged with yellowish white ;
quills blackish brown, the primaries narrowly edged and tipped with white, the shafts also being white ;
terminal half of the secondaries pure white, forming a conspicuous alar patch; the three mnermost

Q

74

2

secondaries brownish black, except at the base of the inner web, where they are white; tail brownish
black, slightly edged with light brown, external feather pure white, second with the outer web white ;
underparts white; flanks slightly washed with rufous; upper parts of the breast marked with small but
distinct triangular brown spots; tibia rufous; beak brownish horn; legs yellowish brown; iris brown.
Total length 73 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 4°7, tail 2-9, tarsus 1:0.

Female (Volga, April). Generally resembles the male, but much duller in colour ; crown pale rufous, each
feather with a dark centre; under surface of the body dull white, not so pure in colour as in the male.

Nestling (Volga, July). In plumage much resembling the nestling of the common Sky-Lark (Al. arvensis),
but much larger in size, and having a stouter bill; the breast is also less spotted, the spots being larger
and less clearly defined ; and the feathers on the upper parts are tipped with pure white.

Tuts handsome Lark is found in South-eastern Europe eastward to the Jenesei, and occasionally
wanders into Central and even Western Europe, having been met with in Great Britain. Mr. G.
Dawson Rowley, of Brighton, exhibited a specimen at a meeting of the Zoological Society in
1870 (P. Z.S. 1870, p. 52), which he stated “was caught near Brighton, November 22nd, 1869,
out of a flock of about two dozen of Emberiza nivalis, and is a female. ‘This is, as far as I know,
the first of this species ever captured in Great Britain.” This specimen I then had the pleasure
of examining, and was enabled to convince myself of its being the present species. It was
recorded from Germany as far back as 1795, when Bechstein wrote (J. ¢.) that he “ caught seven
in March 1789, in company with a lot of Wood-Larks, during severe snow weather, under a
sieve before my door. No others were observed, although hundreds of Larks were caught or
died of cold.” It has likewise been obtained in Belgium, as recorded by Mr. C. F. Dubois
(J. f. O. 1856, p. 505), who states that one was caught near Liége in October 1855; and another
was shot the same month in 1856, near Mechlin.

It is said by Count Casimir Wodzicki to be not uncommon in Poland and Galicia; and in
Eastern Russia it is, by the various authors on Russian ornithology, said to be comparatively
common. Mr. Sabandeff informs me that, ‘“‘ according to Bogdanoff, it is common in the black-
earth steppes in the Zarizin and Kameshinsk districts, occurring as far as Saratoff; Eversmann
met with it in the steppes between the Southern Volga and the Ural, and throughout the
Kirghis steppes.” This latter author further writes (J. f. O. 1853, p. 283), that “its range
extends northward to Orenburg, and it is abundant in the neighbourhood of Ilezk.” In Southern
Russia it is stated by Professor von Nordmann (Demidoff, Voy. Russ. Mérid. iii. p. 170) to be
“one of the rarest of our Larks, and has hitherto only been observed in the southern portion of
the Government of Ekaterinoslaf. I have never seen it alive. Pallas states that it is common on
the steppes of the Om and in the Altai country.” I have a specimen from the Crimea; and in
Turkey, Mr. Robson states, it occurs during severe winters; and, judging from the number of
specimens he has sent, it cannot be very rare.

To the eastward it is found as far as the Jenesei, beyond which, Dr. Radde writes, it does
not occur; he met with it in flocks in the Baraba steppe in May 1865.

But little appears to have been recorded respecting the habits of this Lark. Mr. Sabanieff
informs me that “it affects grassy and open districts, and when singing often soars aloft like the
Sky-Lark (Alauda arvensis), but does not ascend so high, and soon returns to the earth again.

3

It arrives in Southern Russia in the spring, much later than Alauda arvensis, and not until the
grass is green. It places its nest on the ground, and lays from four to five dark grey eggs,
spotted with dark brown.” Mr. Artzibascheff (Bull. Soc. Mosc. 1859, ii. p. 58) writes that it is
“tolerably numerous in the low steppes of the Sarpa, less so in those of Erghéni; it nests on
the ground, under a tussock or tuft of grass, in any slight depression in the soil, and deposits,
about the middle of April, from three to five eggs, which are white, dirty grey, or yellowish,
spotted with olive-brown, grey, or reddish markings of different shades, and of greater or smaller
size, and usually more numerous at the larger end; sometimes the spots collect and form a ring
round the larger end of the egg; in size they vary from 22 to 24 millimetres in length and 16
to 17 millimetres in diameter.”

I have in my collection two eggs of this Lark, taken on the lower Volga, and obtained
through Mr. H. F. Moschler, which are dull greyish white, closely marked with dull brown,

resembling small eggs of M. calandra; in size they measure 33 by 3% and 73 by 2 inch -

respectively.
The specimens figured are, in the foreground, an adult male, and in the background an adult
female, these being the specimens described, and, together with the young bird also described,

are in my collection.
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

d,6,c, Sd. Haskeuy, Constantinople, February 17th, 1871. d,e, d. Ismidt, Asia Minor, February 20th, 1871.
f, d. Pendik, Asia Minor, February 20th, 1871. g,/, 2. Havankeuy, Turkey, February 20th, 1871.
z, 6. Ismidt, February 21st (Robson). k, ¢. Crimea (Whitely). 1, 3, m, 2. Volga, April. 2, 2. Volga,
May. o,juv. Volga, July (Méschler). p, 2. Kokand. g. Kirghis steppes (Dede).

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41

MELANOCORYPHA TARTARICA .

XXKIV

MELANOCORYPHA YELTONIENSTS.

(BLACK LARK.)

Alauda yeltoniensis, Forst. Phil. Trans. lvii. p. 350 (1767, descr. orig.).

Alauda mutabilis, S.G. Gmelin, N. Comm. Acad. Sci. Imp. Petrop. xv. tab. xxiii. fig. 2 (1771,
descr. orig.).

Alauda tatarica, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, ii. Anhang, p. 707 (1773, descr. orig.).

Tanagra siberica, Sparrm. Mus. Carls. i. no. 19 (1786, descr. orig.).

Le Tracal, Levaill. Ois. d’ Afr. iv. p. 119, pl. 191 (1805).

Alauda nigra, Steph. Gen. Zool. xiv. p. 25 (1826, ex Levaill.).

Melanocorypha tartarica, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 322.

Saxilauda tartarica, Less. Compl. Buff. 1837.

LIavoronok Tschernoi, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Sparrm. Mus. Carls. i. pl. 19 (3); Vieill. Gal. des Ois. pl. 160 (3); Gould, B. of Eur. iii.
ple lGl (co ets) juv.) (nec 2));) Bree, B. of Kur. i. p. 193 (2).

3 estiv. omninod niger, marginibus plumarum fulvescentibus varius: subtus omnino niger.
3 hiem. omnino niger, passim marginibus fulvescentibus obscurus.

2 estiv. fulvescens, plumis basi brunneis, dorso imo et capite summo cum scapularibus plus minusve brunneo
varius : tectricibus alarum nigricanti-brunneis, medianis dorsalibus rufescentibus, extus fulvo marginatis :
remigibus brunneis, secundariis saturatioribus angusté fulvescenti-albo marginatis, primariis latius :
caudaé brunnea, versus apicem cinerascente, fulvo limbaté; rectricibus, duabus externis exceptis, albo
marginatis: loris et supercilio distincto albidis: genis et regione auriculari brunneis, fulvo variis :
gutture cum colli lateribus et pectore medio toto albo: pectore superiore maculis brunneis subtriquetris
vario: hypochondriis vix rufescentibus brunneo striolatis: subcaudalibus albis, paullo brunneo variis :

subalaribus nigris.

2 hiem. similis preecedenti, sed plumis omnibus laté fulvescenti-albo marginatis, itaque ptilosis albescentior
videtur: tectricibus alarum albido laté marginatis: remigibus brunneis, secundariis rufo tinctis et albo
marginatis: cauda brunned, versus apicem rufescente et albido marginata: subtus alba, pectore
superiore punctulis parvis brunneis vario: hypochondriis fulvescentibus pallidé brunneo striatis.

Male in summer plumage. Kverywhere jet-black, with a few very narrow sandy edgings to the feathers;
the underside often quite black, but the back always retaining some of the light sandy edgings. Total
length 7:5 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 5:3, tail 3°0, tarsus 1:0.

Male in winter plumage. Black as in the summer dress, but has the whole body also thickly covered with
sandy edgings to the feathers.

2

Female in summer plumage. General colour sandy brown, the lower part of the back rufescent ; the feathers
of the head rather distinctly mottled, owing to the dark bases of some of the feathers being visible,
these being less plainly seen on the back and scapulars; wing-coverts dark brown, with sandy edgings,
the innermost ones slightly tinged with rufous ; quills dark brown, the secondaries deeper-coloured, all
edged more or less broadly with sandy, the three outermost primaries distinctly margined with white ;
tail dark brown, greyish towards the tip, all the feathers more or less broadly edged with sandy, except
the two outermost, which are margined with white ; lores and a distinct eyebrow whitish; cheeks dark
brown, with sandy edgings to the feathers; under surface of the body white, somewhat tinged with buff
in some parts, especially on the flanks, which incline to rufous; the upper part of the breast mottled
with brown, this appearance being caused by the showing of the brown bases of the feathers; the fianks
longitudinally striped with brown; under wing-coverts entirely brown; bill yellowish at base, brownish
grey at the point; legs blackish grey; iris brown. Total length 6°5 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 4:7,
tail 2:8, tarsus 0:9.

Female in winter plumage. The principal markings as in the summer dress, but all the feathers of the body
very much paler and more hoary, owing to the broad sandy edgings to all the feathers; the crown,
fore part of the face, and upper part of the breast are only a little mottled with small brown specks; the
wings and tail pale brown, all the feathers tinged with clear buff and broadly edged with whitish; the
under wing-coverts pale brown.

THIS species is an inhabitant of Central Asia, frequenting the Steppes, and migrating westward
into Southern Russia in winter. Its habitat has been erroneously stated by many authors to be
Siberia generally; it is decidedly not, as Dr. Bree states, “an inhabitant of northern climes.”

Forster, who first described the species, found it at Lake Yelton, to the east of the Volga, a
locality we have been unable to discover in the map. Gmelin next obtained it in Astrachan;
and shortly after it was procured by Pallas in Tartary, and named by him Alauda tatarica, not
A, tartarica, as quoted by authors. His accounts of the habits are as follows :—

“¢In summer it lives in the desert lands of Tartary, from the Dnieper to the Irtisch. After
rearing their progeny, they congregate, especially in August, and wander over the brackish places
of the desert throughout the whole autumn, especially in the region of the salt lake Altan (2), or
of the yellow deserts of the Volga, where it is taken in nets for food; it is not inferior to
Thrushes. In Georgia also Giildenstadt observed it plentifully. In the middle of winter, espe-
cially when the snow covers the whole land, in the vicinity of the Volga and the Don, more
particularly in the southern parts, as also in the Crimea, it comes in poor condition to the
towns and suburbs. It is very fond of the saline-flavoured seeds of the Chenopodia and Salsole,
and is easily attracted to the net by scattering oats and corn. The flight is less rapid than
that of the Common Lark, low and short. In summer, when on the ground it emits a feeble
piping, but on the wing its note more approaches that of the true Lark. Its nest is so artfully
concealed, even on the bare desert, that for a long time I was unable to discover it, though I
offered a reward to my followers. At length I found it in my last journey; it was a very
careless structure on the ground, and contained four eggs of a bluish colour, spotted with
yellowish. Young males up to the first autumn are like the females, are rather downy till the
month of August; then they change their plumage, and get perceptibly blacker by putting on
black feathers edged with pale grey, the breast being distinctly black.”

3

Dr. von Middendorff states that he found large flocks of these Larks on the roads through
the Baraba steppe in February; and Dr. Kversmann has written the following account of its
distribution in Central Asia :—

“ Alauda tartarica does not extend its range far north, probably seldom above Indirsk, at
least not as soon as the breeding-season has commenced. I have once in March seen it singly
between Indersk and Uralsk, seeking food on the roads in the midst of swarms of other Larks.
In the winter it frequents the salt-steppes (with other Larks) where the snow does not lie, and
feeds on the seeds of the salt weeds. On my journey to Buchara I saw enormous flocks near the
river Kuwandshur and the lakes Alakul. Between the lower Volga and the Ural it is not
common.”

Herr F. W. Baedeker writes as follows:—‘‘ This bird comes on the Volga in January, and
wanders about, disappearing entirely for a few weeks, and then appears again in March, migrates
in flocks, but only remains for a short time. If there is no snow they remain on the high steppes,
and are then not seen here. When, however, there is a fall of snow they come on the roads, like
Alauda calandra, in search of food, and can easily be shot.”

Professor A. von Nordmann has published the accompanying notes regarding its appearance
in Southern Russia :—

“Does not breed in our parts, but arrives in large flocks towards the autumn, sometimes
about the end of August in the Government of Ekaterinoslaw and the Crimea. I saw it on this
peninsula, in the rocky localities near the promontory of Parthenon, in the month of August
1837.” Radde also has found it common near Cherson and Odessa.

We are not aware on what authority Dr. Bree states that the present species has been
” Naumann, it is true, records it as a European
bird on the strength of the occurrence of four or five examples near Brussels, in March 1850;

“ captured rarely and accidentally in Germany.

but Dr. Borggreve, in our opinion very properly, refuses the species a place among the birds of

Germany. ‘The only authority for its occurrence in Western Europe is the statement of Dubois
that he procured one in the Brussels market, and knew of another captured alive by a M. Croegart,
near Antwerp.

The eggs of this Lark are scarcely known; and even those which are in the best collections
are hardly as well authenticated as they should be. In Dresser’s collection is one egg received
by him from Dr. Baldamus, who wrote that it was taken on the steppes of the Volga by a good
collector; but it is scarcely so satisfactorily identified as we could wish. ‘This egg somewhat
resembles that of a Calandra Lark, measures #6 by 2° inch, and is very boldly marked. The
ground-colour is pure white, and the markings, which are distributed generally over the egg,
are of two sorts, viz. pale underlying shell-markings which are dull slaty brown, and overlying
surface-spots which are bright umber-brown.

The description and measurements have been taken from an adult pair of birds in our own
collection. They are in the fullest summer plumage we have been able to procure, a perfectly
black male being unobtainable. The figures have been drawn from these birds, and the winter
plumages described from specimens in our own collection.

i)
&

330

4

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :-—

E Mus. Sharpe and Dresser.
a, 6, c. River Volga (Moeschler). d, e. South-eastern Russia (Dod.).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.

a. Southern Russia (Parzudahki).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

a. Europe (Verreaux). 6. River Volga (Moeschler).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a,b. $2. Volga (Moeschler).

Genus RHAMPHOCORYS.

Melanocorypha apud Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Av. p. 242 (1850).
Rhamphocoris, Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. xxxi. (1851).

Hierapterina apud Des Murs & Lucas, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. p. 24 (1851).
Alauda apud Malherbe, Faun. Orn. de l’Alg. p. 21 (1855).

THis genus contains only one, very remarkable species, differing considerably from the other
Larks in having a peculiarly large and stout bill, and, to some extent, also in its habits. Full
particulars of the range and habit of this species are given in the following article.

Rhamphocorys clot-bey has the bill very stout, much higher than broad, much curved, the
gape-line straight to nearly the middle, then suddenly bending down for a short distance, and
then slightly curving towards the tip; nostrils basal, round; wings long, pointed, the inner
secondaries not much elongated; first quill small, shorter than the coverts, the third longest ;
tail moderate, slightly emarginate; legs moderately long, the tarsus covered in front with six or
seven large and three inferior scutelle, and scutellated posteriorly ; toes moderate; claws short,
stout, rather blunt, slightly curved, the hind claw elongated.

79

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242

THICK- BILLED LARK,

RHAMPHOCORIS CLOT-BEY,

133

RHAMPHOCORIS CLOT-BEY.

(THICK-BILLED LARK.)

Melanocorypha clot-bey, Bonap. Conspect. Av. p. 242 (1850).

fierapterhina cavaignacii, O. Desmurs et H. Luc. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. p. 24 (1851).
Alauda clot-bey, Malh. Faun. Ornith. de lAlg. p. 21 (1855).

Rhamphocoris clot-bey, Bonap. Comptes Rendus, tom. xxxi. p. 423.

Ad. isabellino-arenarius, plumis indistincté fulvido limbatis: tectricibus alarum medialiter brunneis fulvido
limbatis; remigibus brunneis extis isabellino lavatis, secundariis latius, medianis latissimé albo
terminatis: rectricibus albis, verstis apicem brunnescentibus, isabellino terminatis, duabus mediis
pallidé arenariis: loris et plumis supraocularibus nigricantibus: macula infraoculari longitudinali
alba: facie laterali brunnescenti-nigra, medialiter albo maculata: subtis albidus, corporis lateribus
isabellinis, gutture et pectore medio brunnescenti-nigro maculatis: subalaribus albis, interioribus et
axillaribus fumosis: rostro et pedibus pallidé brunneis: iride brunned.

Adult Male (Saharan plateaux). Head, nape, and back rich sandy isabelline or greyish cream-coloured ;
the feathers on the crown having dark centres giving the head an indistinct striated appearance ; large
wing-coverts dark brown, broadly margined and tipped with rufous isabelline, the smaller coverts being
entirely of this latter colour; quills blackish brown, the first primary having the outer web creamy
white, the remainder being indistinctly edged with dirty white, secondaries very broadly tipped with
‘white, forming a conspicuous white patch across the wing, the innermost secondaries having the brown
washed with rufous towards the tip; scapulars the same as the back; tail white at the base, the outer
feather on each side having merely a large blackish brown patch at the tip of the inner web, the next
with a still larger patch, extending also over the outer web, and each successive feather with less white
and more brown, the central feathers rufous isabelline almost to the base, the central portion washed
with brown towards the tip; upper tail-coverts pale isabelline; chin white; sides of the face and head
black, this colour almost meeting below the chin; below the eye a white streak, and on the side of the
face a white spot in the centre of the black; throat, breast, and underparts generally pure white,
washed with rufous isabelline on the flanks, throat, and breast, down to the abdomen thickly spotted
with black, which spots along the centre of the breast are thickly collected, forming a broad black
patch, the feathers having the terminal portion almost entirely black; under wing-coverts blackish,
broadly margined with white; under tail-coverts pure white; beak and legs pale sandy brown; iris
brown. ‘Total length 7:2 inches, culmen 0°8, height of beak at base 0°5, width of mandible at base 0°37,
wing 4°9, tail 2°8, tarsus 0°83.

Adult Female. Similar to the male, but everywhere paler in colour, the black being less pure, and here and
there washed with rufous buff.

THIS extraordinary species of Lark, so different in form from any other member of the family,
was first described by Bonaparte (ex Temminck) from a specimen sent from Egypt by Clot-Bey,
the physician in ordinary to Mehemet Ali, which is now in the Leiden Museum. Von Heuglin
thinks that the specimen in question may probably have been procured in the western portion of

339

2

Egypt, bordering the Libyan desert; he himself never met with it on the Nile; nor do any speci-
mens appear to have been collected in Egypt of latter years. All that have found their way into
collections appear to have been obtained in Algeria, where it occurs, though even there it is
extremely rare. Canon Tristram, writing on the ornithology of that country, says that “this
grotesque and singular-looking bird is found in small flocks on the mountain-sides south of
El Aghouat. I never heard of it being obtained in any other locality; nor did I ever meet with
it but on one occasion, when I obtained four specimens. In its flight it resembles the other
Larks, and at first sight, from the broad black and white bands on the secondaries, might be
taken for Certhilauda desertorum. It runs with great rapidity, and is very shy.” Mr. L. Tacza-
nowski, who also met with it in Algeria, concurs with Canon Tristram in stating that it is
extremely rare, and further writes that he only saw three examples during the time he was
collecting in Algeria—one in January, near the Tolga oasis, and a pair in March, at the Seriana
oasis; and two out of these three, both males, he procured. He says that it is not a shy bird,
and when frightened up settles again.

Of the habits of the Thick-billed Lark nothing is known beyond what Canon Tristram
states (as above quoted) and what meagre notes are published by Major Loche, which latter we
translate as follows :—‘‘ This species is met with more especially on the plateaux of the Sahara,
between Laghouat and Guerrera, in small families of six or eight individuals; it is shy, and
difficult of approach, runs with great facility, and its flight is strong; it feeds on insects and
seeds; its nest, which is placed in a depression in the ground, is loosely lined with grass bents
and horsehair. The eggs, four in number, are more or less pure white, covered with small reddish
spots, which latter are collected towards the larger end, forming a ring; they bear considerable
resemblance to the eggs of a Shrike; in size they measure about 25 by 16 millimetres.

The birds described, the male bird being the one figured, are in Dresser’s collection, and
were obtained by Major Loche in the Algerian Sahara.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 36,6, @. Algerian Sahara (Loche).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, 3. Algerian Sahara (Loche).

E Mus. D. G. Elliot.

a, 3. Algeria (Verreauz).

Genus OTOCORYS.

Alauda apud Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 289 (1766).
Eremophila apud Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 322.

Phileremos apud C. L. Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 313 (1831).
Otocoris, Bonaparte, Icon. Faun. Ital. Ucc. Introd. (1832-41).
Philammus apud G. R. Gray, Gen. of B. i. p. 47 (1840).
Otocoryx apud Lichtenstein, Nomencl. p. 38 (1854).

Otocorys, Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. xxxviii. p. 64 (1854).

Tue Shore- or Horned Larks inhabit the Palearctic and Nearctic Regions, as also the northern
portions of the Neotropical and Ethiopian Regions, three species being found in the Western
Palearctic Region.

In habits these birds resemble the Sky-Lark more closely than any of the other Larks; and,
like that bird, they frequent open country, nesting on the ground, and in the autumn collecting
in flocks and ranging about in search of food. They run easily and swiftly on the ground, but
seldom perch. Their song is sweet, resembling that of Alauda arvensis; and they utter it whilst
circling in the air. They feed on insects and seeds, chiefly on the latter. They make a loosely
constructed cup-shaped nest of grass-straws, which they place on the ground, and deposit several
yellowish-grey eggs marked with grey and wood-brown.

Otocorys alpestris, the type of the genus, has the bill moderately short, nearly conical, the
upper mandible slightly arched and without a notch; gape straight; nostrils oval, basal, concealed
by stiff feathers directed forward ; head in the adult male with a long erectile tuft of feathers on
each side above the eye; wings long, pointed, first quill obsolete, the second or third longest,
inner secondaries short; tail rather long, slightly emarginate; tarsus covered in front with four
large and three inferior scutelle; toes moderate, claws slightly curved, the hind claw elongated
and nearly straight.

The Shore-Larks were first separated by Boie (/. c.) in 1828 from the genus Alauda under the
name of Hremophila; but as Humboldt had previously applied the name Hremophilus to a genus
of fishes, it must be discarded, as also Phileremos of Brehm, which was given in 1831, it being
preoccupied for a genus of insects. Consequently Otocorys, being the next in order, must stand.

71

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SHORE LARK.
OTOCORYS ALPESTRIS

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OTOCORYS ALPESTRIS.

(SHORE-LARK.)

Lark, Catesby, Nat. Hist. Carolina, 1. p. 32, pl. 32 (1731).

Alauda virginiana, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 367 (1760, ex Catesby).

Alauda alpestris, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 289 (1766, ex Catesby).

Ceinture de Prétre ow Alouette de Sibérie, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. v. p. 61, ‘“‘ Siberia” (1778).

Alauda flava, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 800, “Siberia” (1788, ex Montb.).

Alauda cornuta, Wils. Am. Orn. i. p. 85, pl. v. fig. 4, “ N. America” (1808).

Alauda nivalis, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 519, “ Russia” (1811).

Eremophila alpestris (L.), Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 322, “‘ Europe.”

Hremophila cornuta (Wils.), Boie, tom. cit. p. 322, “America.”

Alauda glacialis, “ alpestris affinis,’ Licht. Preis-Verz. Sdugeth. Vog. &c. no. 59, “* Mexico ”
(1830, dese. nulla).

Phileremos alpestris (L.), C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 513, ‘“ Europe” (1831).

Alauda chrysolema, Wag). Isis, 1831, p. 350, ‘‘ Mexico.”

Otocoris alpestris (L.), Bp. Fauna Italica, i. Uccelli, Introd. “Italy” (1852-1841).

Phileremos cornutus, Bp. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 111, “ Mexico.”

Philammus, G. R. Gray (A. alpestris, L.), Gen. of Birds, p. 47 (1840).

Alauda minor, Giraud, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. York, 1841, no. 16, “Texas” (nec Veill.).

Alauda rufa, Audub. B. Am. vii. p. 353, pl. 497 (1843).

Otocoris alpestris (L.), Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 246, “ Europe, Asia” (1850).

Otocoris cornuta (Wils.), Bp. tom. cit. p. 246, “America” (1850).

Otocoris chrysolaema (Wagl.), Bp. tom. cit. p. 246, “ Mexico” (1850).

Otocorts occidentalis, MacCall, Pr. Ac. N. Sc. v. June 1851, p. 218, “Santa Fé.”

Otocoryx alpestris (L.), Licht. Nomencl. p. 38, “ Siber., Ural, Crim.” (1854).

Otocoryx cornuta (Wils.), Licht. Nomencl. p. 39, “ Mexico, N. Am.” (1854).

Otocorys alpestris (L.), Bp. Compt. Rend. xxxviii. p. 64 (1854).

Otocorys cornuta (Wils.), Bp. tom. cit. p. 64 (1854).

Otocorys chrysolema (Wagl.), Bp. tom. cit. p. 65 (1854).

Phileremos rufescens, C. L. Brehm, Vogelf. p. 122 (1855).

Phileremos striatus, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 122 (1855).

Shore-Lark, Horned Lark, English; Berglerche, German; Fjeldlerke, Norwegian; Berg-
larka, Swedish ; Tunturileivo, Finnish; Javronok-snejny, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 630. fig. 2; Werner, Atlas, Granivores, pl. 4; Kjerb. Orn. Dan.
taf. xviil.; Frisch, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 16; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 16. fig. 13; Naumann,

388

2

Vog. Deutschl. taf. 99. figs. 2, 3; Sundevall, Sy. Fogl. pl. 8. fig. 3; Gould, B. of Eur.
pl. 164; id. B. of G. B. i. pl. 18; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 150; Audubon, /. ¢.;
Wilson, Z. ¢.

3 ad. ptil. est. fronte, superciliis, mento et guld et regione circum maculam nigram in facie laterali albis vix

sulphureo tinctis: pileo antico, loris et macula magna in facie laterali per et infra oculos cum pelta
pectorali magné nigris, plumis nigris in pilei lateribus elongatis: pileo postico, nucha et corpore supra
rufescenti-vinaceis, illis fere immaculatis: dorsi plumis cum scapularibus centraliter brunneo notatis :
remigibus fuscis vix grisescente albido marginatis et apicatis, remige extimo in pogonio externo fere
toto albo: supracaudalibus rufescentibus: rectricibus duabus centralibus rufescenti-fuscis centraliter
saturaté fuscis, reliquis nigricantibus versus apicem vix albido marginatis, rectrice extimd in pogonio
extimo fere ad basin alb&: corpore subtus albo, hypochondriis rufescente lavatis et fusco striatis: rostro
nigricante, mandibula ad basin sordidé griseo: pedibus nigricantibus: iride fusca.

§ ad. ptil. est. mari similis, sed sordidior, pileo brunneo nigro-fusco striato et vix nigro notato.

Piil. hiem. ubique sordidior, dorso brunneo nec rufescenti-vinaceo: pilei plumis valdé flavicante brunneo

marginatis: gulé, gutture et facie laterali flavicante lavatis, peltaé pectorali minus extensd, et macula
nigra in facie laterali flavicante notata.

Adult Male in summer (North Cape, 25th June). Forehead and a Jine over the eye, chin, throat, hinder

portion of the auriculars, and portion bordering the facial patch very pale sulphur-yellow or white, with
a yellowish tinge: fore part of the crown, lores, and a large facial patch extending through and behind
the eye and down the sides of the upper neck, together with a large shield extending over the lower
part of the neck and upper breast, jet-black ; feathers on the sides of the crown above the eye elongated,
forming a tuft on each side ; crown from the centre, nape, back, rump, and scapulars pale brownish red,
greyer on the nape, and redder on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; dorsal feathers and scapulars with
dusky brown centres; quills dark brown, margined and tipped with greyish white, the first primary
with almost the whole of the outer web white; wing-coverts pale reddish brown, also with whitish
margins and tips; the two central rectrices reddish brown, with dark brown centres, the remaining
tail-feathers black, the outermost having the outer web nearly to the base white, the rest being
narrowly edged with whitish at the tip; lower part of the breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts
white; flanks reddish brown, slightly streaked with darker brown, on the upper flanks the reddish
colour extending towards the middle of the breast; bill greyish black, the base of the lower mandible
dull greyish; legs blackish; iris dark brown. Total length about 7 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 4:0,
tail 2:8, tarsus 0°88, hind toe with claw 0:6, hind claw 0°35.

Adult Female. Resembles the male, but is duller in colour, and the black on the crown is replaced by

brown feathers with blackish striations, and the white forehead is similarly obscured.

Male in winter (Salthouse, Norfolk, November). Is much duller and browner than the male above

described; the black on the crown is. hidden by the yellowish brown tips to the feathers; the upper
parts are wood-brown in tinge, without the pale reddish tinge which pervades the summer dress; the
crown is tinged with sulphur-yellow; the black facial mark and the pectoral shield are smaller in
extent, the former marked with sulphur-yellow; and the throat and portions of the head and neck,
which in summer are yellowish white, are now primrose-yellow. z

Nestling. Crown, sides of the head, nape, back, and scapulars blackish brown, marked with round spots of

3

a dull buffy white or pale ochre-colour; quills blackish brown, with a metallic gloss and broadly edged
with pale fulvous buff; secondaries and wing-coverts broadly tipped with pale buffy white; tail very
short, blackish brown, with a metallic tinge, the outer feather with the outer web yellowish buff, the
remaining rectrices bordered with fulvous buff; chin and throat buffy white, slightly marked with
blackish; through and behind the eye an indistinct buffy white streak; breast and flanks blackish
brown, marked with yellowish buff; abdomen and under tail-coverts white.

TuIs species, commonly known by the somewhat inapt name of Shore-Lark, as it is by no means
a shore-bird in its habits, is found throughout Northern Europe, Asia, and America, migrating
into the central districts only when driven down from its northern home at the approach of
winter. It appears to be one of those Asiatic, or at least eastern, species which are gradually
extending their range further westward into Europe, as, in many localities where some years ago
it was an exceedingly rare stragegler, it is now by no means so uncommon. In Great Britain, as
in other parts, this is the case ; and it has during the last few years been tolerably often observed
and killed in the winter or spring. Yarrell only enumerates four occurrences, viz. one near
Sherringham, in Norfolk, in March 1830, one near Yarmouth, one in Lincolnshire, and one
near Redcar. Mr. G. Dawson Rowley states (Ibis, 1862, p. 88) that three were caught near
Brighton in November; and Mr. Stevenson (B. of Norfolk, i. p. 171), referring to the first
occurrence recorded by Yarrell, adds that “‘a second example, purchased by Mr. Gurney some
few years ago, but in what year I am not certain, was also procured at Sherringham; and an
adult male, in Mr. Newcome’s collection at Feltwell, was shot at Yarmouth in November 1850.
Next in order of date are two fine specimens killed on Blakeney Beach, near the Preventive
Station, about the first week in March 1855; these were brought in the flesh to the Rev. E. W.
Dowell, of Dunton, who presented one to the Earl of Leicester, and retained the other in his
own collection. Both, I believe, were male birds. Lord Leicester's certainly was, as I examined
it at the time when sent to be preserved in Norwich. A further interval of seven years now
elapsed without any more examples being observed in this district, when in the winter of
1861-62, between the first week in November and the 11th of January, no less than five were
obtained at Yarmouth, Sherringham, and Blakeney, and about the 24th of April a sixth, also
on the coast of Yarmouth. Of these birds, which singularly enough proved to be all males, the
first was killed at Yarmouth on the 7th of November, the second at Sherringham on the 9th,
the third near Yarmouth (belonging to the Rev. F. J. Lucas, of Burgh) on the 12th, and two
more at Blackeney (I believe, in the possession of Mr. Upcher, of Sherringham) on the 11th of

January, 1862.” In 1870 it appears to have occurred much more frequently than heretofore— |

so numerously that, Mr. Stevenson informs me, about fourteen were shot at Salthouse in January
and some forty specimens in the months of October and November in the same locality, and
about twenty more in January 1871. Mr. Cordeaux (B. of the Humber District, p. 45) says that
it has been shot in the winter and spring both at Spurn Point and Flamborough; and he states
that two were killed out of a flock of twelve near the Speeton Cliffs in the spring of 1866, and
three were shot at Spurn on the 19th February, 1870. It has only comparatively lately been
recorded from Scotland, the first having been obtained in 1859. Mr. R. Gray (B. of W. of Scotl.
p- 118) states that three were obtained out of a small flock in Haddingtonshire in January that

year, and in the winter of 1865 two were obtained near St. Andrews, in Fifeshire. He further
3K

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dI0

4

writes, “I have no doubt that this species is a frequent, if not an annual, visitant to the
eastern shores of Scotland, ranging from the Ythan to the Tweed. In January of the present
year (1870) similar flights to those already mentioned had apparently visited the same estuaries.
On the first of the month a specimen was shot near St. Andrews, and was procured by R. G.
Wardlaw Ramsay, jun., Esq., of Whitehill, Lasswade, who saw the bird before it was skinned.
Mr. Ramsay obligingly forwarded the specimen for exhibition to a meeting of the Natural-
History Society of Glasgow, and has informed me that, when killed, the bird was flying in
company with Snow-Buntings. Lord Binning informs me that a Shore-Lark was shot by a
Dunbar fisherman on Tyne Sands, Kast Lothian, in the end of November 1869, and is now in the
collection of Mr. Balfour, of Whittingham, and also that there is a specimen in the Mellerstain
Collection which was shot in Spittal Sands at Berwick-on-Tweed in 1840. I am, therefore,
indebted to Lord Binning for an opportunity of recording the earliest, and, with the exception of
Mr. Ramsay’s notice, the latest examples of this species that have been taken on the shores of
Scotland.” In Ireland it does not appear to have ever occurred. _

It appears to be rare in Greenland, as Professor Reinhardt (Ibis, 1861, p. 8) only records
the occurrence of a single specimen, which was shot at Godthaab, in October 1835, and presented
to the Royal Museum by Holboll. I do not, however, find any record of its occurrence in
Iceland; and it does not appear to occur in the Feroes. In Scandinavia it is a northern and
eastern species, being found numerously during the breeding-season in the extreme north, but
seldom occurs in the southern and western districts. In a letter just received from Mr. R.
Collett, of Christiania, he writes as follows:—‘‘'The line of migration would appear to be east
of Norway; for it is very seldom met with in the southern districts. ‘Two specimens were shot
some years since near Christiania; and one of my friends saw a large flock late in April 1874 at
Hamar, near Lake Mjosen, and shot several, which he sent to me for examination. These are
the only instances known of its occurrence in Southern Norway.” It breeds numerously on the
Varanger fiord; and notes on its habits, as observed there by Pastor Sommerfelt, are given
below. Nilsson, speaking of its range in Sweden, brings it forward as a special illustration of
the gradual change in our ornithological fauna, and the increasing migration into Kurope from
the east of many species of birds. He states (Skand. Fauna, pp. 443, 444) that “when first
noticed by Linneus in 1758, and Brisson in 1760, it was only known as an American bird.
Later on it was discovered in those parts of Asia which are nearest to the American continent;
and Pallas informs us that in his time it was abundant throughout all Siberia. Thence it
has gradually migrated into the north-eastern portion of Europe, through Russia to Lapland.
Even as late as about twenty years ago scarcely a single specimen had been observed within
the limits of the Scandinavian peninsula. The first who saw and shot it here appears to be
Professor S. Lovén, who saw a flock at Vadsé, in East Finmark. It has since been found by
Mr. Lowenhjelm breeding at Quickjock, and by Mr. Malm in several fell-swamps between
Mortensnes and Vadsé (1841-43).” He further gives many instances of its occurrence in
Southern and Central Sweden of latter years. Mr. Wheelwright met with it at Quickjock, but
did not find its nest. He says (Spring and Sum. in Lapl. p. 290) that it was “the common fell-
Lark; and on this year they appear to have been more common around Quickjock than usual.
On the 28th April I shot the first, a single specimen, close to the house; and after that small

5

flocks of them kept dropping in for about three weeks, when they all left us and went up on the
fells to breed. When in the lowlands they kept in small flocks on the bare patches of cultivated
land which the snow had left by the river-side; and their habits were exactly the same as those
I watched on the coast of Scania in the winter of 1849-50. ‘They were not at all shy, but very
restless, sweeping in small flocks just over the surface of the ground, uttering their feeble single
call-note. They never flew far, and soon pitched again.” In Finland I have observed it during
the spring migration when travelling on the coast, and saw specimens as late as May in the
northern portions of the country. Von Wright says (Finl. Fogl. p. 196) that it occurs now and
then in spring and autumn near Helsingfors. In the extreme north, however, it is common
during the breeding-season; and Professor Malmgren informs me that numbers breed on the
eastern side of the Russo-Lapp peninsula, near Ponoi, at the entrance to the White Sea. In
Northern Russia it ranges very far north, and is extremely common in the Government of Arch-
angel during the summer. Von Heuglin says (J. f. O. 1872, p. 116) that it is one of the com-
monest species on Novaja Zemlia (Nova Zembla) and Waigatch, but he is unable to say how far
north it occurs on that island. He observed and obtained it at Cape Silber, Widder Cape,
Tschirakina, and Kostin-Shaar. Mr. Sabandeff informs me that he believes it breeds in the
Government of Jaroslaf, in Central Russia; and it is, he says, numerous near Moscow during
-migration; and he likewise found it common in the lowlands on the eastern slope of the Ural
during the two seasons of passage. He informs me that it breeds in the Perm Government,
where, however, it is rare. In Germany it is a rare and irregular winter visitant. Naumann
speaks of it (Vog. Deutschl. iv. p. 152) as being rare in Silesia; and in Central Germany, he says,
“it is one of the rarest species. ‘There are only instances of its occurrence near Berlin, in
Thuringia, Baireuth, Hessen, near Strasburg, and even in Switzerland. Only chance ever brings
them to us. That they are very rare in Germany is proved by the absence of specimens in
almost all private collections; and the larger ones get them from North America or Siberia.”
Dr. Hellman (J. f. O. 1855, p. 181) records it from Gotha; and Dr. Altum states (J. f. O. 1863,
p- 118) that one was killed near Gimbte, in Miinsterland, late in January 1861. In Denmark it
is rare, and Kjzrbolling records only four instances of its occurrence in that country. Baron
von Droste Hiilshoff states that two specimens were obtained on the island of Borkum, off the
Dutch coast, by Ahrens, in April 1868; but I do not find it recorded from Holland.

Messrs. Degland and Gerbe say that it is a rare straggler to Belgium and Northern France;
and Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye speak of five or six instances of its occurrence in
Provence. Ido not find it recorded from Spain or Portugal; but it appears to have straggled
down into Italy. According to Count Salvadori (Ucce. d'Ital. p. 134) a specimen was, Savi states,
obtained in October 1829, at Friuli; one was obtained in the Turin market, in October 1869;
two were obtained in the Veronese territory; according to Giglioli (Ibis, 1865, p. 58) two were
sold in the Pisa market in January 1864; and Professor Achille Costa informed Count Salvadori
of a recent occurrence near Naples. It is a winter visitant to Southern Germany. Dr. Anton
Fritsch (V6g. Eur. p. 119) states that at that season of the year it regularly visits Hungary and
Silesia; and the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen informs me that Professor Jeitteles observed it
near Olmiitz, in Moravia, in the winter of 1865. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley (Ibis, 1870, p. 195)
say that in Turkey Mr. Robson met with it in winter in the hills, where, however, it is not

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common. It visits Southern Russia in the winter, but is not common; Dr. G. Radde observed it
in the winter of 1851-52 (J. f. O. 1854, p. 60) here and there in Bessarabia, but commoner in
the Government of Cherson; but it is not found in the Crimea and in the remainder of that
Government past the Dnieper. So far as I can ascertain it does not occur in Africa, being there
replaced by O. dilopha; and though there are specimens in the British Museum said to be from
Northern Africa, there appears to be considerable doubt as to whence these and other skins
belonging to the same lot really came.

To the eastward it is found right across Asia to Kamtschatka, but only in the northern
portions of that continent. Von Middendorff did not observe it on the Taimyr river, and only
obtained one on the Boganida; but on the 4th May he saw it migrating in flocks between
Amginskaja, Sloboda, and the Aldén. Dr. G. Radde observed it in June in the Sajan Mountains,
and says (Reis. im Siid. von Ost-Sib. p. 154) that in the winter season he found it in the elevated
steppes of Dauria. In the Salenga valley and on the Ganse See a few remain to breed; but most
of them migrate further on. On the lst May he met with it in pairs in the Selenga and Uda
valleys. In the Central Amoor he never cbserved or heard of it. Dr. von Schrenck only observed
it in the Amoor country during migration, never in winter. He met with it at the Nicholaieffsk
Post on the 17th September, and on the Upper Amoor on the 5rd October. Pere David says
that it visits the northern portions of the province of Peking, in Northern China, during severe
seasons; and Mr. Swinhoe obtained it through Mr. Fleming from Tientsin. It appears doubtful
whether it occurs in Japan; but Temminck and Schlegel are inclined to believe that it has been
found there, as they saw it depicted in a native drawing. According to Pallas it is met with in
the Kurile Islands and at Kamtschatka.

In the Nearctic Region it is found throughout North America, usually breeding in the fur-
countries, and migrating southward in the winter, but also breeding in some localities tolerably
far south. Specimens from the Western and Southern States are usually smaller and brighter in
colour than those from the north; and when in Texas I was inclined to look on the bird found
there as a distinct species, especially as they remain there throughout the summer; but a critical
comparison of the specimens I there collected, as well as some from Mexico, with my present
series of European and North-American birds, shows me that it is impossible to separate these
southern or the western birds, even as a permanent local form. On the other hand, the bird
from Bogota (Otocorys peregrina, Sclater) is undoubtedly distinct from the present species, which
inhabits North America from the far north down as far south as Mexico. Messrs. Baird, Brewer,
and Ridgway (B. of N. Am. ii. p. 144) say that it is common during winter on the Atlantic coast
from Massachusetts to South Carolina, but is comparatively rare in Maine. I may, however,
here remark that I frequently met with it in New Brunswick, especially during severe weather.
Mr. Dall only obtained one example, on the Yukon; Dr. Suckley states that it is a common
summer resident near Fort Steilacoom, in Washington Territory; and Dr. Cooper found it
around Fort Mohave late in February, and again in May towards the summits of the Providence
range of mountains. Professor Baird further records (Am. Journ. of Science and Arts, xli. p. 30)
the occurrence of three examples in the Bermudas in October and February.

In its habits the Shore-Lark resembles the Sky-Lark, and, like that species, is found in
small flocks during the seasons of migration and in winter, when it straggles down into Central

7

Europe, being, however, most frequently met with in severe weather. I have usually found it
frequenting stubbles or fallow land, and especially places where small patches were left bare of
snow; and in the early spring I saw it in damp places in the lowlands. Like the other Larks it
appears to feed almost entirely on grain and seeds of various descriptions, and I several times
watched individuals searching after seeds in some old stubble-fields where very little snow was
left. When on the wing they much resemble the Sky-Lark, and it is not easy to distinguish
them at some distance from that bird. The breeding-range in Europe is limited to the extreme
north-eastern portion; and although it has been stated (Ibis, 1863, p. 477) to have bred on the
island of Arran, and its nest is said (Zool. 1852, p. 3707) to have been found near Exmouth,
neither of these instances appears to me to be worthy of credit. Pastor Sommerfelt, writing on
its habits and nidification in Kast Finmark, says “it occurs commonly, arriving generally early
in May, but in early springs before that. In the spring it seeks its food in low places, where
springs or the damp causes the snow to thaw early. During the summer it is found in dry,
sandy localities, even where there is but little grass. It places its nest both in the vicinity of the
sea (as, for instance, at Angnes) and also far from it, and does not always build amongst the
grass or moss, but also on the ground amongst the fallen leaves of small birch-bushes. It breeds
at Gamvik and Berlevaag, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Its nest is constructed of straws,
and I have never seen one lined with feathers. Its three to five eggs are generally yellow or
yellowish grey, with blue-grey and brown spots, which often collect and form a ring round the
egg at the thick end. It forsakes its nest and eggs if one merely touches the latter. It some-
times has two broods; thus the eggs have been found at Mortensnes on the 12th May and in
July. On the other hand it has never been found breeding as late as August, when Malm visited
Varanger. The name Sandlerke, stated by Malm to be used in East Finmark, has not been
heard of by either Nordvi or myself. Its Lapp name is worthy of notice, it being called by
those Lapps who take notice of birds (and there are not few who do so) Ruoscha alap (Russian
Snow-Bunting), as it comes to East Finmark from the east, and may often be observed amongst
the Snow-Buntings in the spring.” Mr. Robert Collett, who has also found it breeding in West
Finmark, says (Orn. of Norway, p. 33) “in certain parts it is as numerous in West as in East
Finmark. I found it in the summer of 1872 in all favourable localities on the shores of the
Porsanger fiord, and even at Gjzsveer, west of the North Cape. It prefers the surface of barren
granite rocks thinly covered with grass or lichens, or half-naked boulders. At Vadso they are
common in the streets of the town and in the sandy churchyard, and even breed on Rend,
near Vardo. On the island of Tamsé I observed them repeatedly searching for food close to
the houses, amongst the heaps of refuse.” In a letter just received he writes, ‘‘it arrives in
Finmark early in May, and is a very early breeder, eggs being sometimes found about the middle
of May; and a nest I found on the 19th June, 1874, near Kistrand, on the Porsanger fiord,
contained four young birds at least a week old. Its nest is constructed of dry grass bents, and
is a tolerably loose structure; and the eggs are placed on a soft bed of the pappus or cotton-like
substance which is found on Saussurea alpina or Salix lanata. ‘The nest above referred to was
placed on the ground, amongst the whitish Cladonia rangiferina and a little Empetrum, in the
most sterile portion of the fiord.” I have the nest and eggs of this Lark from the Varanger fiord,
taken on the Ist July: the former answers the description given by Pastor Sommerfelt, being a

d9e

We)

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8

loose structure of fine grass bents; and the eggs, four in number, are yellowish grey, covered with
minute wood-brown spots, and a few underlying, scarcely perceptible, grey shell-markings. In all
the spots are collected much more thickly in a ring round the larger end; and each one has one
or two small blackish brown scratches. In size they average 23 by $¢ inch.

The Shore-Lark is a good songster; and its note, which I myself have never heard, only
having seen it in the winter or spring, is said to resemble that of the Sky-Lark. My friend
Mr. Collett says (/. ¢.) that “as late as, the end of June the males were in full song, and sang
indefatigably. They would ascend into the air, singing as they rose, gyrating for a time at
a considerable height, mounting and descending with a peculiar wavy motion whilst uttering
their modest, somewhat disjointed song. Sometimes, after having descended and when perched
on a stone or on the ground, they would warble a more coherent strain, not unlike the song of
the Sky-Lark, and which is never heard whilst the bird is on the wing.” Mr. Collett says the
stomachs of specimens of adult and young birds he obtained in the summer season contained
coleoptera (chiefly Ortiorhynchus blandus), fine gravel, and traces of vegetable substances.

The specimens figured are:—an adult male, from the North Cape, in the foreground, a very
young bird on the left, and a male in winter, from Norfolk, in the background, these being the
specimens described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the followimg specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,3,6,c,9, d,9. Salthouse, Norfolk, November 1870 (F. Norgate). e, 3. Lapland, July Ist, 1854 (Dahl-
berg). f,3,9,juv. North Cape, June 25th, 1872 (Collett). h,d,i,d3. Zaostrovka, near Archangel,
March 27th, 1873 (Piottuch). k, 3. Volga, Russia, March 7th. J, juv. North America, May 5th, 1871
(Dr. Brewer). m,2. North America (Krider). n, 3g. Bay of Fundy, February 5th, 1862 (H. E. D.).
o, 6. Musquash, New Brunswick, April 6th, 1862 (#7. H. D.). p, 3. San Antonio, Texas, October 28th,
1863 (H. EH. D.). 9,7, 36,2. San Antonio, December 1863 (H. E. D.). s, 3. San Antonio, February
20th, 1864 (H. H. D.). ¢. Near city of Mexico (G. H. White). u. Victoria, Vancouver’s Island, 1868
(J. Hepburn),

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.

a,9. Lapland, 1857 (F. Godman). 6,92. Washington, D.C., December 1859 (Elliott Cowes). c, 6. Wash-
ington, February (Professor Baird). d, 3. Bexar, county Texas, February 20th, 1864 (H. EZ. D.). e,f.
Mexico (G. H. White).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, b,3,¢,9. Norfolk, November 1870 (F. Norgate). d,3. Sweden, May 16th, 1851. e. Pekin, December
12th, 1863 (R. Swinhoe). f, g. North America.

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a,2. Volga, March (Méschler). 6, 3. Galicia, March 15th. c. Salthouse, Norfolk (F. Norgate).

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.
a. Lake Baikal (Dybowski).

leet a

244

J.GKeulemans del

Mintern Bros. imp

EASTERN SHORE-LARK.
OTOCORYS PENICILLATA

OTOCORYS PENICILLATA.

(EASTERN SHORE-LARK.)

Alauda penicillata, Gould, Pr. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 126.

“ Phileremos scriba, Gould,” Bp. Comp. List, p. 37. no. 254 (1838).
Otocoris penicillata (Gld.), Gray, Gen. of B. ii. p. 382, pl. 92 (1844).
“Alauda albiqula, Brandt,” Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 246 (1850).
Otocoris albigula (Brandt), Bp. tom. cit. p. 246 (1850).

Otocoris scriba (Gould), Bp. tom. cit. p. 246 (1850).

Phileremos albigula (Brandt), C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 123 (1855).
Otocoris longirostris, Moore, Pr. Zool. Soc. 1855, p. 215, pl. 111.
Otocoris larvata, De Filippi, Arch. per la Zool. ii. fase. ii. p. 381 (1863).
Otocoris elwesi, Blanf. P. As. Soc. Beng. 1871, p. 227.

Figure notabiles.
Gray, /.c.; Moore, 7. ¢.

3 ptil. est. O. alpestri similis, sed corpore supra pallidiore: lined ad basin maxille, loris, pileo pone fasciam
frontalem albam, plumis elongatis supra oculos, faciei lateribus, gutture et pectore nigris, gula solA,
fascia frontali, lmea superciliari et regione parotica puré albis nec flavo lavatis, facile distinguendus.

© mari similis sed sordidior et brunnescentior, fronte nigra fusco immixto, pileo non nigro sed rufescenti-fusco,

saturaté fusco striato, pectore lateraliter brunnescente notato.

Ptil. hiem. corpore supra brunnescentiore et arenaceo lavato, plumis nigris in capite et collo et plumis albis in
fascia frontali omnibus brunnescente arenaceo valdé marginatis, hypochondriis superioribus et pectore

imo pallidé brunnescente cervino lavatis.

Adult Male in summer (S.E. Persia, 2nd May). Resembles Otocorys alpestris, but has the upper parts
paler, the black on the throat and breast much more extended, and the white portions are without
any yellow tinge; in front of the white forehead a black line passes over the base of the bill, joining
the lores ; upper parts of the breast, sides of the neck and face, throat, excepting a patch covering the
chin and upper part of the throat, jet-black, the patch just mentioned being pure white; tufts above
the eye are exceedingly long, measuring at least 1:2 inch in length; soft parts as in O. alpestris. Total
length about 7 inches, culmen 0:72, wing 4°6, tail 3:3, tarsus 0°85, hind toe with claw 0°62, hind

claw 0°35.

Adult Female (S.K. Persia, 2nd May). Duller and browner in colour than the male ; the black line on the
forehead intermixed with brown, the white frontal patch dirty in colour, the black on the crown
wanting, the head above being light reddish brown, striped with dark brown; the tufts on each side
of the head, however, are long and black; black on the breast not covering quite so large an area as in
the male, and on the sides of the neck and face intermixed with brownish feathers.

Male in winter. Differs from the summer plumage in being rather more faded and more sandy in colour ;
the black and the white feathers on the crown and-the black feathers on the fore part of breast mar-

3H

2

gined with light brown, the former so broadly as to hide the black ; lower part of the breast and upper
flanks pale greyish brown. :

Obs. I observe that Dr. O. Finsch gives (Abh. naturw. Ver. Brem. ii. p. 351) Alauda bicornis, Ehr. MS.,
as a synonym of Otocorys bilopha; and it may therefore not be out of place to remark that I possess
one of Ehrenberg’s original specimens labelled by him Alauda bicornis, without any particulars of
locality, which is undoubtedly referable to the present species, and not to O. bilopha.

Tuis southern and south-eastern representative of our common North-European Shore-Lark
inhabits the south-eastern portion of the Western Palearctic Region, extending eastward into
Northern China.

I cannot state with certainty that the present species inhabits the more elevated mountains
in Asia Minor, but think that it probably occurs there and may be met with in Southern
Russia. Canon Tristram has sent me a specimen from the Caucasus; and he met with it on
Mount Hermon, and writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 288) as follows:—‘‘ Of the beautiful Horned Larks,
Palestine affords the finest species, O. penicillata, Gould, strictly confined to the edge of the
snow-line on the very summits of Hermon and Lebanon, where it consorts with Montifringilla
nivalis and Pyrrhocorax alpinus. It was a beautiful sight to watch these Larks scattered all
over the dome of Hermon, warbling their rich, yet subdued, notes, with erected crest, on the
desolate tops of the rocks which strew the summit. In their action they are very unlike most
other Larks, and do not attempt to soar. Most of the nests were hatched when we arrived at
their breeding-place; and we obtained only one sitting of eggs, very like those of O. alpestris,
but larger, of a greenish white, thickly covered with grey-green blotches. The nests are very
compact and neat, deeper than those of any other Lark, and generally imbedded in a tuft of
Astragalus or Draba, finely lined with grass roots. This species does not assume a yellowish
face in the breeding-season; but has the throat pure white. It may at once be distinguished
from every other by the great extent of black on its breast.” It appears to be a common species
in Persia; and Mr. Blanford brought back a large series from there. It was first described from
specimens sent from Erzeroum; and Messrs. Dickson and Ross, writing on the ornithology of
that district, say (P. Z. 8. 1839, p. 120) that it is “numerous. The specimens sent are not so
bright as the living bird, probably from the effect of the arsenical soap. The males differ from
the females in being of a brighter colour, and in having the black feathers on the top of the
head much more distinctly marked. The yellow gorget of both in winter is bright, and in
summer remarkably faint, while the purple on the nape is vice versé. During the hot months
they are found on the neighbouring mountains, from which they are driven down to the plain in
winter in quest of food, which consists then of the grain found in the dung of cattle, the ground
being at that time covered with snow several feet in depth. They fly in companies of from three
to twelve birds, and are very familiar, especially so in winter, when they may be killed easily with
an ordinary whip. When approched, or in the agonies of death, they erect their horn-shaped
crest quite perpendicularly, with the tips curved inwards. They run on the snow with surprising
rapidity; as soon as the snow has melted on the plain they return to the mountains.” Dr.
Henderson (Lahore to Yarkand, p. 267) speaks of a Lark under the name of O. longirostris,
which I believe to be the present species, and which he says “ was met with from the first pass
above Lé until the expedition left the Karakash valley going to Yarkand, and in the same

3

localities returning. It was usually found near water at from 12,000 to about 15,000 feet.
Where you cease to find moss and running water it is no longer seen ; and in the higher regions
it is, so to say, replaced by Montifringilla hematopygia. Going up every pass-it was met with
to a certain height, where it disappeared; going down the other side of the pass it was again
met with at the same elevation.” He also remarks that it varies considerably in size. Dr. Jerdon
(B. of India, i. p. 429) says that the present species is an inhabitant of the cold regions of
Northern Asia, in winter descending to the plains, and coming south. It has been found in
Nepal, Kumaon, and other parts of the Himalayas. I have examined specimens from India,
and also one from Thibet, in the British Museum, all of which are labelled Otocorys longirostris ;
but though they differ somewhat from Persian and Palestine examples, I cannot do otherwise than
refer them to the present species. ‘They are somewhat larger in size, and have larger and stouter
bills than the general run of specimens of Otocorys penicillata from Persia, Palestine, and Syria.
I do not find that, as represented in Moore’s plate, P.Z. S. 1855 (pl. 111), the sides of the neck
are white (as in O. alpestris); but the black appears to be continuous in all the specimens, except
that in those in winter plumage the feathers on the sides of the neck have light tips, thus making
the black portion of the breast and neck irregular. Judging from specimens in Mr. Swinhoe’s
collection, Iam greatly inclined to doubt the occurrence of true O. penicillata in South-eastern
Siberia or China. Mr. Swinhoe’s specimen from Tientsin, recorded by him (P. Z.S. 1862, p. 318)
under the name of O. penicillata, is certainly not this species, but resembles the pale form of
the Shore-Lark from Southern Russia, usually labelled by Russian collectors Otocorys albigula,
except that it has a larger bill, and bears about the same relation to that form that O. longirostris
does to the present species.

I have been unable to find any original description by Brandt of Alauda albigula; and it
appears that it can only be a MS. name of that author. Otocorys albigula, Bp. (J. ¢.), is certainly
not the pale desert species usually referred to by the Russian authors under that name, but
(from his diagnosis, “fusca: colli lateribus pectoreque ex toto nigris: gula alba”) must be Otocorys
penicillata. If, as appears to be the case, Bonaparte was the first to publish the name of
O. albigula, the pale desert form is still unnamed, and I would propose for it the name of
Otocorys brandti.

This species is smaller and very much paler than Ofocorys alpestris, has the black pectoral
shield narrower, the underparts whiter, and no trace of yellow in the white colour of the head
and throat. It has the black on the head and breast distributed as in Ofocorys alpestris; but, as
before stated, the pectoral shield is narrower; the sides of the neck are not continuously black
as in 0. penicillata, but the black patch through the eye is divided from the black pectoral
shield by a tolerably broad white space; the entire back, nape, and hind crown are pale sandy
isabelline, with a greyish tinge, some of the feathers having indistinct darker centres; wings
very much paler than in 0. alpestris, the primaries narrowly and the secondaries broadly mar-
gined and tipped with white; central rectrices dull pale hair-brown, with greyish white margins ;
remaining rectrices as in O. alpestris; lower part of the breast, abdomen, under tail-coverts, and
under wing-coverts pure white; flanks slightly washed with pale rufous isabelline; culmen 0°52,
wing 4:4, tail 3-3, tarsus 0°82, hind toe with claw 0:6, hind claw 0°32.

The specimen described, my type of this species, is a male, evidently in full breeding-

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plumage, from the Kirghis steppes, in Mr. Swinhoe’s collection. Another specimen, a female,
from the same locality and collection, probably in winter-plumage, has the upper parts rather
darker, the dark centres to the feathers much more fully developed; the white on the forehead
and the black on the fore part of the crown is obscured by light-brown tips to the feathers; and
the black on the sides of the head and on the sides of the breast is to a slight extent similarly
obscured; the underparts are duller and not so pure white as in the male.

This species appears to be very local; it inhabits the Kirghis steppes, and is probably
restricted to the steppes of Southern Russia. It bears to O. alpestris the same relation as
Calandrella leucophea, Severtz. (which likewise inhabits the Kirghis steppes), does to Calandrella
brachydactyla of Southern Europe. Like the Short-toed and Crested Larks, the Shore-Larks
from different localities are subject to considerable variation in coloration of plumage as well as
in size; and in my article on Otocorys bilopha a general review of all known forms, with all the
details I have been able to collect, will be given.

However, to return to Otocorys penicillata, I find that this species, in habits, food, and mode
of nidification, does not appear to differ from the common Shore-Lark. It is found during the
breeding-season in the more elevated portions of the mountains, though, according to Mr. Hen-
derson, it does not occur where moss and running water cease to be found. It is said to sing
extremely well, its song resembling that of the common Shore-Lark.

I give above a description of the nest and eggs of the present species by Canon Tristram,
who found it breeding on Mount Hermon; and I have in my collection two eggs taken by
Mr. Cochrane on Mount Lebanon; in a note sent with them he writes as follows :—‘ These eggs
were taken on the summit of Mount Lebanon, at the edge of the snow, on the way down to
the cedars, on the 24th May, 1864; and both birds were shot.” Compared with the eggs of
Otocorys alpestris from the Varanger fiord, these eggs are larger, much paler in colour, the
markings being almost obsolete, and only one has an indistinct dark zone round the larger end.
In size they measure 25 by 35 inch.

The specimens figured are an adult male (to the right in the foreground) and an adult female
(in the centre), both in full breeding-plumage; and to the left is a distant figure of the male in
winter dress,—these being the specimens described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

EH Mus. H. EH. Dresser.

a, 6. Central Asia (Verreaux). 6. Syria (Cochrane).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
ad, 3,6, Q. Palestine, June 2nd, 1864 (H. B. Tristram).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. Caucasus (Verreaur). 6, c,3,d,e,2,f,¢. Mount Hermon, June 2nd, 1864 (H. B. T:).

E Mus. Brit. Reg.
a, 6,3. Erzeroom (Dickson and Ross). c,é. Mount Hermon. d. Lebanon (H. B. Tristram). e, 3,f, 2.
Kulu, India. g,¢. Thibet (Earl of Gifford).

245

a Tera

eR

ALGERIAN SHORE LARK
OTOCORYS BILOPHA

Mintern Bros

399

OTOCORYS BILOPHA.

(ALGERIAN SHORE-LARK.)

Alauda bilopha, Riipp. in Temm. PI. Col. 244. fig. 1; id. Neue Wirbelth. p. 104 (1835).
Otocoris bilopha (Riipp.), G. R. Gray, Gen. of Birds, Alaudine (1844-49).

Otocornis bilopha, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. p. 78. no. 308 (1845).

“Alauda bicornis, Hempr.,” Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 122 (1850).

Otocoryx bilopha (Riipp.), Licht. Nomencl. Av. p. 38 (1854).

Phileremos bicornis, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 122 (1855).

“ Eremophila khamsin, Lef.” Hartmann, J. f. Orn. 1863, p. 309.

3 ad. corpore supra rufescenti-arenaceo, subtus albo; sincipite, macula magné in facie laterali, pelta pectorali
et plumis elongatis in capitis lateribus supra oculos nigerrimis: fascia frontali, gula et colli lateribus
puré albis: remigibus fumosis, primario primo in pogonio externo albo, reliquis extus rufescente
isabellino lavatis, secundariis extis albido marginatis et eodem colore apicatis, secundariis intimis
elongatis, in pogonio externo dorso concoloribus et in pogonio interno sordidé fuscis: rectricibus cen-
tralibus rufescenti-isabellinis, versus apicem centraliter fusco notatis, reliquis nigricantibus, rectrice
extima utrinque in pogonio externo alba: hypochondriis rufescenti-isabellino lavatis: rostro, iride et
pedibus ut in O. alpestri coloratis sed his pallidioribus.

2 ad. mari similis sed sordidior, sincipite nigricanti-fusco nec nigro, macula in facie laterali et pelt pectorali
minus extensis, ila pallidé fulvido notata.

Adult Male (Algeria). Forehead, the black on the fore part of the crown, and the black facial patch and
pectoral shield as in the common Shore-Lark; but the elongated feathers on the sides of the crown are
very long; hinder portion of the crown and entire upper parts pale rufescent isabelline, more rufous on
the inner secondaries and wing-coverts than on the back; quills dull greyish brown, the first primary
having the outer web white, and the rest washed with rufescent isabelline on the outer web; secondaries
margined on the outer web and tipped with dull white, except the elongated inner secondaries, which
are like the back, but more rufescent on the outer web, and dull brown on the hidden portion of the
inner web; central rectrices coloured like the back, except that they are marked with dark brown in
the centre towards the tip, remaining tail-feathers black, except that the outer one on each side has the
outer web white; throat and sides of the neck round the black facial patch, and between it and the
black pectoral shield, pure white ; rest of the underparts white, on the flanks washed with pale rufescent
isabelline ; under wing-coverts and under tail-coverts pure white; soft parts as in O. alpestris, but the
legs are paler. Total length about 6 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 3°8, tail 2°85, tarsus 0°82, hind toe
with claw 0:6, hind claw 0:3.

Adult Female (Laghouat, 26th November). Differs from the male in having the black on the crown replaced
by dark brown. As in the female of O. alpestris, the tufts on the sides of the head are very short, the
facial patch is small, and marked with pale brown, and the pectoral shield is much smaller than in
the male. J

Tals desert form of our common Shore-Lark, first described by Riippell from Arabia Petrea,

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inhabits North Africa and Arabia, and appears to be an occasional visitant to Southern Spain ;
for Messrs. Degland and Gerbe write that Lord Lilford informed them of its occurrence there, as
also MM. Verreaux, who personally obtained it at the Dehesa de l’Albufera, in Valencia; and
Lord Lilford further writes to me as follows:—“I never myself found Otocorys bilopha in Spain ;
but in 1864 there were several specimens in the Museum at Valencia, which I was assured by
Senior Cisternas were killed there, and I have no doubt as to the accuracy of the fact.” I do not
find that it has been met with anywhere else north of the Mediterranean; but Von Heuglin
(Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 700) says:—‘‘It is met with in pairs and in small flocks in Arabia Petra
and Arabia Felix (namely, about the most rugged rocks near the Gulf of Aqabah), but is not a
mountain-bird. We observed it in April, usually in pairs; and the males were seen in the hottest
part of the day in the most desolate and scorched-up portions of the stony desert. I cannot say
if it is resident; but I never observed it in the cold season in the western and southern portions
of the Sinaitic peninsula.” It appears to be tolerably common in the deserts of Algeria: Loche
speaks of it as found in the desert after passing Laghouat and at Biskra; Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun.
(Ibis, 1871, p. 290) met with it at Tilremt, halfway between Laghouat and Gardaia; and
Mr. Taczanowski (J. f. O. 1870, p. 44) says that he fell in with a flock of eight individuals at
the Tolga oasis, in a small valley in the middle of the Stony Desert, and shot six, one after the
other, with ease. Canon Tristram differs, however, from Loche in his notes respecting its habitat ;
for he writes (Ibis, 1859, p. 421), “it is by no means abundant anywhere in the desert, but
may occasionally be met with in parties of five or six on gravelly slopes, never, so far as my
observation goes, in the sandy districts. JI have found it not far from the dayats.” Mr. C. F.
Tyrwhitt-Drake, in his paper on the birds of Morocco (Ibis, 1869, p. 153), speaks of it as “ found
between Rabat and Dar-el-baida.”

I find very little respecting the habits of this species on record, except what is stated by
Major Loche, who writes respecting its occurrence and habits in Algeria as follows:—‘ This
species, which we met with in the Algerian Sahara after passing Laghouat, and which was
obtained by Dr. Buvry near Biskra, never occurs in the coastal districts, but frequents the sandy
plains, with which its plumage so closely assimilates that it is extremely difficult to distinguish it.
It is usually seen in small companies of four or five individuals, and feeds on small seeds and
insects. It is not shy, and may easily be approached. Besides its call-note, which may be
expressed by the syllables ¢i77-t77, several times repeated, the male has a pleasant song, which it
utters from the summit of any small sand hillock. Its flight is not strong; and it runs much
more than it flies. Its nest is placed in the sand; and in it are deposited three or four, very
rarely five eggs, which are yellowish white, dotted closely at the larger end with reddish spots,
which collect and form a wreath round the end of the egg. The young birds leave the nest
before they are able to fly; but if pursued they run with great celerity, and are most difficult to
catch, as they hide in the depressions in the sand.” .

This being the last of the Shore-Larks which come within the limits of the Western
Palearctic Region, I give, as usual, the following short review of this group, taking Mr. G. R.
Gray’s well-known ‘ Hand-list’ as a basis, the numbers being those used in the said list :—

7734. O. alpestris (L.), the type of Otocorys, is very widely distributed, being found throughout the entire

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northern portion of the Palearctic and Nearctic Regions. Full particulars of its range have already
been given.

7735. O. nivalis = O. alpestris (U.).

7736. O. scriba will stand as Otocorys penicillata (Gould), and differs from O. alpestris in haying the upper
parts paler, the entire sides of the throat black, and the white on the head and throat untinged with
yellow. It inhabits South-eastern Europe, and thence ranges eastward to Thibet. Since writing my
article on this species I have examined Mr. Gould’s beautiful series of Shore-Larks, in which are
several specimens from Kulu of the so-called Otocorys longirostris, which fully confirm the view I pre-
viously took, viz. that these birds are nothing but long-billed and rather large varieties of O. penicillata,
which appears to increase somewhat in size as it is found further eastward, and especially in the length
of the bill. None of these specimens has the black on the sides of the face divided by white as in
O. alpestris; but the sides of the throat are continuously black, though the white patch on the chin
and upper throat is larger than in examples from Lebanon. On the other hand, I find a specimen
labelled by Mr. Blanford himself Otocorys elwesi, which is certainly not the same as those from Kulu,
as the black pectoral shield is divided from the black on the sides of the face by a white patch as in
O. alpestris; and it closely agrees with the specimen from Tientsin referred to in my article on O.
penicillata, and resembles O. alpestris, but is paler, has a longer bill, and the white on the head and
throat is entirely free from any tinge of yellow. As this article was gomg to press Mr. Blanford
brought his type of Otocorys elwesi to me for examination ; and as I find it agrees with Mr. Swinhoe’s
Tientsin specimen, O. elwesi should be removed from the synonyms of O. penicillata, it being merely a

; pale large-billed form of O. alpestris.

7787. O. longirostris is referable to O. penicillata.

7738. O. cornuta=O. alpestris.

7789. O.chrysolema also is the same as O. alpestris, being merely a brightly coloured and somewhat smaller
climatic variety with the differences neither constant nor such as, in a series from various localities,
prove to be of any specific value, as specimens may be found from Western America, Texas, and
Mexico which are absolutely indistinguishable from others from Europe and Asia. I observed amongst
some of the Russian specimens in Mr. Gould’s collection one or two which in size and coloration so
closely resemble my specimens from Mexico, that I should be unable to separate them, except by
the labels.

7740. O. minor=O. alpestris.

7741. O. bilopha is a clearly distinct southern desert form of O. alpestris, differmg in being smaller, pale
isabelline with a rufous tinge in colour, and having no trace of yellow in the white portions of the
plumage. It inhabits Northern Africa.

7742. O. peregrina, however, from Bogota, appears to me to be a perfectly good species, differmg appreciably
and constantly from O. alpestris (which inhabits North America, and with which it never mingles,
being confined to New Granada, where it is resident) in being considerably smaller in size and darker
and richer in colour. As regards colour, my specimen from Vancouver’s Island and one from Mexico
approach nearest to the males of this species in Messrs. Salvin and Godman’s collection, but are not
nearly so dark and bright in tone of coloration.

7748. O. larvata is referable to Otocorys penicillata.

Besides the above species, I cannot but consider distinct the pale desert form usually
labelled by Russian collectors O. albigula; and as this name cannot be used for it, I have
deemed best to call it O. brandti. ‘There are therefore according to the view I take of the
various forms of Shore-Larks, only the following which can fairly be considered good
species :—

3P

402

4

O. alpestris (L.) (Syst. Nat. i. p. 289), which inhabits the entire Northern Palearctic and Nearctic Regions.

O. brandti, mihi. A desert form, resident in the Kirghis steppes.

O. peregrina, Sclater (P. Z.S. 1855, p. 110). A resident in New Granada.

O. bilopha, Riipp. (Pl. Col. 244. fig. 1). A desert form inhabiting North Africa.

O. penicillata, Gould (P. Z. S. 1837, p. 126). Inhabits South-eastern Europe, and is found eastward to
Thibet.

The following Table will show the variation in size of the different species :—

Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.
inch. inches. inches. inch.
O. alpestris . . . England. 0:50-0:52 385-41 2°60-2:75 0°85
A Rr Norway. 0°55-0°57 4:0 —4°2 2°80-2°85 0:86-0°88
s sae foie North Russia. 0:52 43 2°75 0:8
i AP Ge Volga. 0:5 42 2°83 0°84
i. RE, Oh Siberia. 0:52 44 2°95 0:9
es aliens Peking. 0:5 4-1 2°75 0:87
0 See ak Tientsin. 0°62 4°05 29 0:85
es . . . W. of Rocky Mountains. 0°57 4:2 3:0 0°85
3 aaa aa Vancouver. 0:50-0:57 398-40 2°50-2°75 0:85-0°88
5 i renee New Brunswick. 0:50-0:55 4°20-4°3 2°80-2:9 0°85-0°88
33 Belg aie Texas. 0°50-0°6 3:90-4:15 2°60-3:0 0:85-0°9
rs Baga taer Mexico. 0:50-0:55 3:90-4:0 2:8 0:80-0:35
O. brandti. . . . Kirghis Steppes. 0°52 44 33 0:82
O. peregrina . . . Bogota. 0:45-0°52 3°35-3'7 2°20-2°4 0:8
O. bilopha. . . . Algeria. 0°55-0°6 3°75-3'8 2°80-2°85 0:80-0°82
O. penicillata. . . Syria. 0°65 4:5 3°25 0:9
9) ARs S.E. Persia. 0:65-0:72 4:30-4:6 3°15-3'3 0°85-0°9
i a eRe Caucasus. 0°65 4°55 33 0:9
5 Be ges Kulu. 0:75-0:38 4:62-5:05 3°'10-3°6 0:9
Bs eeiein: Thibet. 0:8 51 3°6 0:9

I do not possess the nest or eggs of this species, and can therefore add nothing to the above

description of these by Major Loche.

The specimen figured is the adult male from Algeria, above described.
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :-—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6, 3. Algeria (Fairmaire).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 3. El Baadj, Sahara, January 17th, 1857. 6, 2. Laghouat, Sahara, November 26th, 1856 (H. B. T.).

Section V. OSCINES CULTRIROSTRES.

Family STURNIDZ.

Genus STURNUS.

Sturnus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 290 (1766).
Turdus apud Montagu, Orn. Dict. Suppl. (1813).

THIS genus is represented in the Palearctic and northern portions of the Ethiopian and Oriental
Regions, three species being found within the limits of the Western Palearctic Region.

They are gregarious, frequenting groves, gardens, pastures, old ruins &c.; and they are fond
of attending cattle and sheep, frequently perching on their backs to rid them of the parasitic
insects which infest them. Their flight is strong and swift; and they walk and run with ease.
They feed on worms, insects, and larve of various kinds, which they obtain chiefly on the
ground. ‘Their song is tolerably pleasing; and when tamed they can be taught to whistle tunes
and even utter words. ‘They make bulky nests of grass and roots, lined with feathers and hair,
which they place in a hole in a tree or wall or under the eaves of a roof, and deposit several
uniform pale greenish-blue eggs.

Sturnus vulgaris, the type of the genus, has the bill about as long as the head, straight,
wider than high, blunt at the tip, the edges of the upper mandible extending over those of the
lower; nostrils oblong, placed in the anterior part of the nasal depression, and partly overlain by
an operculum ; gape without bristles; wings long, pointed, the first quill very small, the second
or third longest; tail short, the feathers diverging at the tip; legs strong, the tarsus covered in
front with four large and three inferior scutelle; toes rather long, claws short, curved, laterally
grooved, acute; plumage close; feathers on the head and fore part of the body lanceolate.

WL

405

2

Aine? ti te

ay ys UH ey ten

Ash

rie) igs thaw desig? ey

he
iy
hh

K
bic

246

STURNUS VULGARIS,

Young and ad.in Winter

216

avy 7
ae es

i

Pe uhlinears
nett

{ ae
A
ih

247

COMMON STARLING.
STURNUS VULGARIS

e217

STURNUS VULGARIS.

(COMMON STARLING.)

Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 290 (1766).

Sturnus varius, Meyer, Taschenb. Deutsch. Vogelk. i. p. 208 (1810).
Turdus solitarius, Montagu, Orn. Dict. Suppl. (1813, nec Lath.).
Sturnus solitarius (Mont.), Leach, Cat. Brit. Mus. p. 18 (1816).
Sturnus domesticus, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 398 (1831).
Sturnus sylvestris, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 398 (1831).

Sturnus nitens, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 399 (1831).

Sturnus septentrionalis, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 400 (1831).
Sturnus hollandie, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 1016 (1831).
Sturnus guttatus, Macgillivray, Brit. B. i. p. 595 (1837).

Sturnus indicus, Hodgson in Gray’s Zool. Misc. p. 18 (1844).
Sturnus splendens, Temm., Bp. Consp. Gen. Ay. i. p. 421 (1850).
Sturnus longirostris, L. Bream, Naumannia, 1855, p. 282.
Sturnus tenuirostris, L. Brehm, ut supra.

Sturnus europeus, L.2, R. Blasius, Journ. f. Orn. 1863 8, p. 60.
Sturnus faroensis, Feilden, B. of the Feroe Islands, p. 47 (1872).

Starling, Spotted Starling, Stare, English; Deuit, Gaelic; (Etourneau vulgaire, French ;
gemeiner Staar, German; Spreeuw, Dutch; Estornino, Spanish; Storno, Italian; Sturnell,
Maltese; Stare, Swedish ; Stwr, Norwegian ; Steare, Feroese ; Musta Kottarainen, Finnish ;
Skvoretz, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 75; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 16; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. 12;
Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 27. fig. 8; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 62; Sundevall, Sv. Fog.
pl. 18. figs. 5, 6; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 210; id. B. of G. Brit. iii. pls. 53, 54; Schlegel,
Vog. Nederl. pl. 145; Roux, Orn, Prov. pl. 128; Bettoni, Ucc. Lomb. tay. 28.

3 ad. niger: capite supra, collo, pectore superiore et dorso purpureo nitentibus: regione auriculari purpureo
et viridi immixtis nitente: pectore imo, abdomine, scapularibus tectricibusque alarum czrulescenti-
viridi (zeneo), uropygio et supracaudalibus viridi et purpureo nitentibus: dorso, uropygio, tectricibus
alarum et crisso apicibus pennarum pallidé brunnescenti-albis: capite, collo, pectore et abdomine
immaculatis: remigibus cinerascenti-nigris, versus apicem velutino nigro fimbriatis, in pogonio externo
cervino marginatis: rectricibus cinerascenti-nigris, nigro marginatis et margine exteriore pallideé
rufescenti-cervino: rostro pallide luteo: iride fused: pedibus brunnescenti-incarnatis.

? ad. mari similis, sed sordidior, corpore ubique magis guttato, rostro brunnescenti-corneo.

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2

Juv. corpore supra sordidé brunnescenti-fuliginoso, subttis eodem modo colorato sed pallidiore et albido striato :
mento et gula albicantibus vix pallidé brunneo maculatis: primariis vix rufescente marginatis, secun-
dariis et tectricibus alarum conspicué eodem colore marginatis: rectricibus saturaté brunneis vix
rufescente marginatis.

Adult Male (Christiania, May 1868). Glossy black, with rich purple and metallic-green reflections ; head,
neck, interscapulary region, and upper part of the breast glossed with rich purple, but on the sides of
the head and auriculars there is in some lights a greenish tinge; wings sooty blackish brown, on the
outer webs of the quills margined with rufous buff, inner primaries and secondaries broadly terminated
with velvety black, secondaries on the outer web, and wing-coverts, except at the base, richly glossed
with bottle-green; rump and upper tail-coverts shot with the same colour, though in some lights
showing a trace of purple; tail greyish black, the feathers having a broad dull velvety black border
and a narrow margin of sandy buff; breast and abdomen black, richly glossed with bottle-green; the
feathers on the head, neck, and back are lanceolate; the back, wing-coverts, rump, and anal region are
tolerably thickly spotted with buffy white or dull brownish buff, the tips of the feathers being of those
colours; beak yellowish; legs light reddish brown; iris hazel. Total length about 7°5 inches, culmen
1:1, wing 5:0, tail 2°75, tarsus 1:2.

Adult Female in summer. Differs from the male in being rather duller in colour, more spotted, and having
the beak blackish brown.

Adult in winter. Much duller in colour than in the summer, and with the entire head, neck, and body
profusely spotted with dirty brownish white; in one specimen from Piedmont the back is almost
obscured by the broad reddish buff tips to the feathers, and the breast and underparts are more white
than black, this latter colour only showing through here and there.

Young. Upper parts dull sooty brown, underparts similarly coloured, but with white showing through every
here and there; chin and upper part of the throat white, minutely spotted with pale brown; quills
margined with rufous, the secondaries more broadly edged with that colour, as are also the wing-
coverts; rectrices, like the primaries, very narrowly margined with dull rufous.

Tue Common Starling is generally distributed throughout Europe, being to some extent resident,
but in most localities a partial or true migrant. It occurs in Northern Africa, on the Azores,
and in Asia, where it has been met with as far east as Eastern Siberia.

With us in Great Britain it is resident, but it shifts its haunt to some extent at the two
seasons of migration. Mr. A. G. More, in his article on the distribution of birds in Great
Britain during the breeding-season (Ibis, 1865, p. 130), says that it is found “throughout the
mainland and isles, but is much more numerous in some districts than in others, and it has been
observed to increase very rapidly in some counties where it formerly was hardly known. Sir W.
Jardine marks the Starling as having bred regularly ‘of late years only’ in Dumfriesshire; and
Mr. Archibald Hepburn describes it as ‘a colonist’ in Haddingtonshire.”

In the south of England it appears to be steadily increasing, and breeds now regularly in
many places where formerly it only came for the winter. Mr. Cecil Smith writes to me respecting
its occurrence in Somersetshire as follows:—‘* A common resident, and, I think, considerably
increasing in numbers; sometimes, especially in wet weather, there are immense flocks in some
of the grass-meadows. Though there is plenty of accommodation, and they nest here in con-

3

siderable numbers, they do not, as a rule, roost about here; the greater part of them, collecting
in large flocks about sunset, fly off for some more favoured locality. The irons connecting the
pinnacles of the church tower are a very favourite gathering-place; and shortly before sunset
these irons are generally crowded with Starlings, who, after about half an hour’s chatter, start all
at once for their roosting-place. In Guernsey, where they were unusually plentiful when I was
there in November 1872, I have observed the same thing, large flocks of Starlings flying off in
the evening in the direction of the French coast and of Jersey, in one of which places, I suppose,
they went to roost, as I have watched them fly out to sea as far as I could follow them with my
glass, and they showed no intention of returning.” In Sussex, Surrey, and Kent I have observed
it numerous at all seasons of the year. It is common in the eastern counties; and in Scotland,
though formerly it was rare on the mainland, it is now tolerably common, both there and on the
islands, where from time immemorial it appears to have been very generally distributed. Dunn
states that it 1s numerous in Orkney and Shetland, and frequently builds in the walls of the
houses, so low that the nest may be easily reached with the hand. In Ireland it is common.
Professor Reinhardt states (Ibis, 1861, p. 7) that a single specimen was sent from Greenland by
Holboll to Copenhagen in 1851, which appears to be the only instance on record of its having
been met with in that country; nor do I find any notice of its having occurred in Iceland. On
the Feroes it is, however, common and resident, being, according to Captain Feilden, spread
throughout all the islands. I was at first inclined to consider the Feroese Starling distinct
from our bird, and differing from it in having a much larger and broader bill; but a series of
specimens from various localities proves to me that this character cannot be depended on, but,
as a rule, examples from the Feroe Islands have the beak very large, and especially broad, but
do not in any other respects differ from specimens from other parts of Europe.

In Scandinavia it is common, and is stated by Mr. R. Collett to be resident in Norway.
This gentleman writes that it is very “abundant in the coast-region of Nordland—on Tjott6, for
instance, where large numbers were observed in July 1871; it is found less abundantly in
Lofoten, and is, as a rule, very rare north of those islands. At Tromso it has been repeatedly
observed in the spring and autumn; and stray individuals have also been met with in East
Finmark. In several localities along the coast, single individuals and small flocks have been
found wintering as far north as Vero, in Lofoten; they mostly frequent the sea-shore when in
search of food. Each of the last winters, large numbers were observed round Stavanger, on
Jederen, and ranging northward to the coast of Romsdal; in 1872-73 they were also common
in the neighbourhood of Christiania.” In Sweden it does not appear to range so far north as in
Norway, not being met with, according to Nilsson, above Northern Angermanland and Umea, in
64° N. lat. It is there a migrant, arriving early in the spring. In Finland, Professor Malmgren
informs me, it is spread throughout Southern and Western Finland, tolerably far inland, but in
the northern and north-eastern portions of the country it does not occur. Its range extends
northward on the western coast to Uledborg (65° N. lat.); and in the interior, in Southern Oster-
botten and Tavastland, it does not range higher than 633° N. lat. It occurs throughout Russia,
being found, though rare, my collector writes me, in the Archangel Government. Mr. Sabandeff
informs me that it is “generally distributed throughout Central Russia, and very common in
the south-eastern portion of the Perm Government and throughout the Ural on both slopes.

P2

407

408

4

North of 57° N. lat., on the eastern slope, it is rare, and does not occur north of the Paydinska
Dacha, nor is it found on the Imska.” In the countries bordering the Baltic on the south side,
and throughout Northern Germany, it is common during the summer season, and to some extent
resident, as many remain over the winter, whereas a considerable portion migrate southward
during the cold season. It is common in Denmark during the summer; and a few remain there
over the winter. In Northern France, Holland, and Belgium it is very abundant, and breeds;
but in Southern France it is chiefly found during migration, when numbers appear in Provence,
and some few remain over winter. It occurs in Portugal during the winter, and is also common
in Spain at that season of the year; but the various writers on the ornithology of that country
agree in stating that it does not remain there to breed. Mr. Howard Saunders says that it
arrives in September and leaves again in the spring. In Italy it is numerous in the district of
Modena, where it arrives in March; and in Sicily it is very numerous on the spring and autumn
migrations and during the winter; but Doderlein doubts the assertions of any remaining to breed
there, and believes the statement arises from confusion with S. wnicolor. The same holds good
of the island of Ustica, which he has lately visited. According to Count Salvadori (J. f. O. 1865,
p. 275), ‘* Cara records it as common in Sardinia, and says that they arrive in large numbers early
in August and leave in spring. From this it appears to stay only during the winter in Sardinia,
but I think that some also breed there, as I have seen some very young birds in the Museum of
Cagliari. I must mention that from January to April I have not observed even one bird of that
species. J was very much surprised at not having met with flocks of these birds in March or April
during migration, as is the case in Sardinia.”

Mr, C. A. Wright states (Ibis, 1864, p. 56) that it is common in Malta in September and
October, and remains there the winter; and Lord Lilford writes (Ibis, 1860, p. 136) that it visits
Corfu and Epirus in October, and remains till about the middle of March. He observed immense
flocks near Port Platea, in Acarnania, in January 1858. The late Captain R. Sperling, in his
notes on the ornithology of the Mediterranean, writes (Ibis, 1864, p. 276) as follows :—‘* Enormous
flocks of these birds frequent Greece during the winter. I never saw them anywhere but in the
salt marshes, while during the summer J noticed none at all; I am therefore led to believe that
they migrate more or less. I sawa pretty sight once at Corfu, occasioned by a small Hawk
(probably a cock Sparrow-Hawk*) capturing a Starling out of a large flock of about two hundred.
My attention was first drawn to it by noticing them scattering and condensing in a peculiar
manner, when suddenly down came the fierce little bird on them. ‘The Starlings closed together
till they assumed the form of a black ball, and I believe the whole flock could have been covered
by a sheet; the Hawk missed his quarry, and rose again. On this the flock spread out, and tried
hard to reach a clump of olive-trees; but their active assailant was too much for them, and after
several swoops he trussed one and skimmed triumphantly down with it.” Both von der Mihle
and Lindermayer record it as common in Greece during the winter, and vast swarms roost amongst
the reeds in the large swamps. Sturnus unicolor has not been observed by either of these two
naturalists.

In Southern Germany the Starling is, as in most parts of Europe, common; according to
Dr. A. Fritsch, it breeds but rarely in Bohemia, though as early as July they collect in vast flocks

* Or more probably a Merlin.—H. E. D.

5

and frequent the damp meadows and lakes. I observed it numerous in various parts of the
Danube; Messrs. Elwes and Buckley record it as common in Turkey; and Mr. G. Cavendish
Taylor saw it near Constantinople and in the Crimea.

In Southern Russia, according to Dr. Radde (J. f. O. 1853, p. 57), it arrives, even in late
springs, as early as the middle of March, and in 1853 some arrived on the 10th February; and
Mr. Goebel records it as common in the Uman district, Southern Russia, in the spring and
autumn; but few remain there to breed. In the autumn, he writes, thousands frequent the small
lakes which are overgrown with reeds. Ménétries records it as found in large flocks in the
Caucasus, but states that it leaves in November; and Mr. Strickland met with it in Asia Minor.

In Palestine it occurs, according to Canon Tristram, in winter only, leaving late in February.
It visits also Northern Africa during the winter, but does not appear ever to remain there to
breed. Heuglin (Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 529) says that it is found in Northern Egypt and Arabia
during the winter in small flocks, frequenting pastures and meadows, but that it does not visit
that country every season. He never observed Sturnus unicolor in North-east Africa. Dr. A. E.
Brehm speaks of it (J. f. O. 1854, p. 74) as “resident” in Lower Egypt; but this statement is
not confirmed by any other author on the ornithology of North-east Africa. He observed it at
Fayoom on the 14th February, which agrees with Captain Shelley’s statement that it is numerous
in the Delta of the Nile up to the end of March. In North-western Africa it is likewise common
during the winter; and Canon Tristram writes (Ibis, 1859, p. 293) that “vast flocks of the
Starling resort to the date-forests in winter, and do incalculable damage to the ripe fruit. They
are snared and destroyed by thousands, being prized for food; yet there seems no appreciable
diminution of their numbers till the date-crop is gathered and spring commences, when not
a straggler remains in Africa. They are accompanied occasionally by a few individuals of
S. unicolor.” Mr. Taczanowski also met with it commonly in the mountains of Algeria, but
never saw it in the desert; and other authors on the ornithology of North-western Africa refer
to it as a common winter visitant in Algeria; but Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake records it (Ibis,
1867, p. 428) as uncommon in Tangier and Eastern Morocco, It likewise occurs in the Canaries
and Azores; and Mr. F. DuCane Godman writes (Ibis, 1872, p. 213) that “according to Bolle
the Starling is a regular visitant to the pine-woods of Teneriffe; it is less commonly seen in
Fuerteventura. Perhaps, as it does not breed in the islands, it might more properly be placed
amongst the accidental stragglers. Webb and Berthelot consider it occasional in Canaries; and
Vernon Harcourt gives it in his list of stragglers to Madeira. In the ‘ Azores it is a common
and resident species.” And he further states, in his work on the Azores (p. 30), that it is
“plentiful throughout all the islands of the archipelago. It breeds principally in the sea-cliffs,

and is precisely similar to European examples. When vines were more cultivated it was much -

destroyed, as it was said to feed upon the grapes and to do much mischief in the vineyards;
lately, however, it has not been persecuted, and has greatly increased in numbers.”

To the eastward the Common Starling is found throughout India and in Eastern Siberia;
but, curiously enough, two forms which, though closely allied to our bird, are so far distin-
guishable as to have been described as distinct species, occur in Persia and Cashmere. The
first of these, Sturnus purpurascens, Gould, is very common at Erzeroom and Trebizond; and
the latter, Sturnus nitens, Hume (Lahore to Yarkand, p. 250, pl. 24), is abundant about Srinagar

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and the Cashmere valley generally. Mr. Blanford has lent to me a large series of Starlings
collected by him in Persia and Baluchistan, amongst which I find none referable to Mr. Gould’s
Sturnus purpurascens; but two obtained near Shiraz, in Persia, are, I should say, identical with
Sturnus nitens, Hume, though one is slightly spotted.; and a third, from the Elburz Mountains,
is intermediate between Sturnus nitens and Sturnus vulgaris, and might, with almost equal
propriety, be referred to either. All the remaining specimens are absolutely identical with our
Common European Starling.

I am indebted to Mr. J. Gould for the loan of his types of Stwrnus purpurascens, which I
took to the British Museum and compared with the type of Sturnus nitens, Hume, and find that
they are fairly distinguishable. Stwrnus purpurascens has the head, neck, and breast shot with
rich metallic green, and the rest of the underparts, the back, wings, and wing-coverts glossed
with rich lake-purple; whereas S. vulgaris and S. nitens have the head, neck, and breast glossed
with purple, and the rest of the body, wings, and wing-coverts with metallic-green. I cannot
better describe S. nitens than by saying that it is coloured precisely like S. vulgaris, but is
unspotted, except on the lower part of the flanks, where there are a few obsolete spots. Sturnus
purpurascens is nearly as much spotted as our Common Starling. ‘Two of Mr. Gould’s specimens
of this richly coloured Starling are in full breeding-plumage ; and the third, which is very pro-
fusely spotted and rather duller in colour, havig the beak black, not yellow, appears to me to
be an autumn- or winter-killed specimen. Some of the specimens of S. vulgaris from India are
almost unspotted, and very closely resemble the type of S. nitens; and I think it not improbable
that this latter bird may be merely an old unspotted specimen of the Common Starling.
Dr. Henderson (Lahore to Yarkand, p. 250) states that, though not observed in Cashmere or
Ladak, Stwrnus vulgaris was very common in Yarkand; and according to Dr. Jerdon (B. of

India, 11. p. 322) it is found in India “during the cold weather only in the North-western

Provinces of Bengal, as low down as Monghyr, south of the Ganges, and perhaps still lower,
and as far as Purneah, at least on the north bank of the Ganges. It is, however, much more
common further to the north-west; and I have never seen it out of the valley of the Ganges. It
associates in large flocks, feeding both on grain and on insects among cattle, associating with the
Common and Bank Mynas, and roosting on high reeds at night.” It occurs in Siberia; but
Dr. Radde did not observe it east of the Lower Selenga, and records of its occurrence in the
Bargusin steppes require confirmation; but it is, he states, a common species in the villages on
the Lower Selenga, and the peasants, as elsewhere, place nest-boxes for it on high poles near
their houses; he brought home specimens from the Tunka plains, in the East Sajan mountains,
where he met with it breeding in small colonies, their nests being in hollow branches of old
birch trees; and on the 8th May he heard the young birds chirping. It has been introduced
into New Zealand, and according to Captain Hutton (Ibis, 1870, p. 397) is becoming very
numerous in Auckland.

The Starling is essentially a gregarious bird, and even during the breeding-season they
collect and feed in small flocks in the pastures, and in the autumn and winter vast flocks are
seen. It frequents the pastures, and attends and follows the cattle, frequently perching on their
backs, and assists to free them from the ticks which infest them; frequently large numbers are
to be seen inthe pastures searching amongst the dried dung for worms and beetles, during which

occupation they keep up an incessant chatter. It is most omnivorous, but in the spring and
summer appears to feed chiefly on insects of various sorts, and is especially useful in destroying
caterpillars and other noxious insects which prove so destructive to the crops of grain and forest-
trees. In many parts of Germany and Scandinavia the Starlings are protected, and breeding-
boxes are hung up in all directions to induce them to remain and nest in them. When in
Russia I found that in all the small villages hollow branches of trees cut into sections with
holes bored in the sides were placed in all directions, and were tenanted by swarms of Starlings,
which, the peasants assured me, did infinite good in freeing their crops from noxious insects ;
and no bird is more useful in freeing the oak-forests from that pest which has done such vast
injury to many of the finest oak-groves, Tortriz viridana. It is said to devour young birds and
eges; but I cannot confirm this from personal experience, and should disbelieve it but for the
following statement made by Mr. R. Gray:—“I have often observed Starlings flying in circles
at some height from the ground, and snapping at insects, on which they appeared to prey with
great perseverance upwards of an hour at atime. They appear to practise this habit only on
very hot days, when flies are found in swarms. As a set-off to this useful occupation, however,
these birds are known to search for and deliberately devour the eggs of birds which breed on the
ground, such as Larks and Yellowhammers. I confess that on first hearing this accusation
brought against the Starling, I was reluctant to entertain it; but subsequent observation has
convinced me that, when opportunities offer, the Starling, besides devouring eggs, will not
hesitate to prey upon newly hatched birds. I have seen it repeatedly alight on the rough stones
of a house, to which it clung while it thrust its head and neck into a hole and dragged from it
in succession five young Sparrows, which it leisurely swallowed on the roof of a house. I have
more than once been a witness to such thefts, when stationed at a window only a few feet distant
from the nest.” It feeds also, especially in the winter, to some extent on grain, and has been
known, when the snow is deep on the ground, to eat hawthorn-berries.

The Starling flies quickly and straight, at a great speed, without undulations, with regularly
timed beats of its wings. Flying in flocks they keep very compact, and the entire mass of
birds manceuvre as if one individual. ‘They alight abruptly, and at once disperse in all directions,
running swiftly and with the greatest ease. During the winter season vast flocks are sometimes
seen; and I cannot do better than follow Macgillivray in transcribing some excellent notes by
Bishop Stanley, in his ‘Familiar History of Birds’ respecting the numbers which occasionally
collect together, as follows :—‘ Not far from the church we have mentioned there is a considerable
sheet of water, occupying nearly thirty acres, flanked and feathered on the eastern side by the
old beech-wood, already spoken of as the abiding place of the Jackdaws. Its western margin is
bounded by an artificial dam, which, as the water is upon a much higher level, commands an
extensive view over a flat rich country, the horizon terminated by the faint outline of the first
range of Welsh mountains. This dam, on the finer evenings of November, was once the favourite
resort of many persons, who found an additional attraction in watching the gradual assemblage
of Starlings. About an hour before sun-set little flocks, by twenties or fifties, kept gradually
dropping in, their numbers increasing as day-light waned, till one vast flight was formed,
amounting to thousands, and at times, we might almost say, to millions. Nothing could be
more interesting or beautiful than to witness their graceful evolutions.

411

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8

‘At first they might be seen advancing high in the air, like a dark cloud, which in an
instant, as if by magic, became almost invisible, the whole body, by some mysterious watchword
or signal, changing their course, and presenting their wings to view edgeways, instead of
exposing, as before, their full expanded spread. Again, in another moment, the cloud might
be seen descending in a graceful sweep, so as almost to brush the earth as they glanced along.
Then once more they were seen spiring in wide circles on high, till at length, with one
simultaneous rush, down they glide with a roaring noise of wing till the vast mass buries
itself unseen, but not unheard, amidst a bed of reeds projecting from the bank adjacent to the
wood; for no sooner were they perched, than every throat seemed to open itself, forming one
incessant confusion of tongues.

“If nothing disturbed them, there they would most likely remain; but if a stone was
thrown, a shout raised, or more especially if a gun was fired, up again would rise the mass,
with one unbroken rushing sound, as if the whole body were possessed but of one wing to bear
them on their upward flight. In the fens of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, where reeds are
of considerable value for various purposes, the mischief they occasion is very considerable, by
bearing down and breaking them, as many as can find a grasping hold clinging to the same
slender stem, which, of course, bends and plunges them in the water, from whence they rise to
join some other neighbours, whose reed is still able to bear their weight. ‘This perpetual
jostling and breaking down is the probable cause of the incessant clatter, which continues for
a considerable time—indeed, till ail have procured dry beds and a firm footing.

“Tt has been remarked that the flights of these birds have of late years much diminished,
a fact to which we can speak from our own experience ; for the assemblages which we have just
described as forming so interesting a feature in autumnal evening walks, have long ago ceased,
and it is now a rare thing to see a passing flock of even fifty where, in years gone by, they
mustered in myriads.”

The Starling builds its nest in the hollow of a tree, under the eaves of a roof, or in any
conyenient hole in an old wall or amongst old ruins. According to Macgillivray, in the Hebrides
they select suitable spots in the crevices of rocks, in caverns, or under large blocks, in situations
as inaccessible as possible. ‘I have found them,” he says, “also in large winding holes in grassy
banks on an unfrequented islet, which I conjectured to have been originally formed by rats and
afterwards enlarged by the Starlings. It appears, however, that they also dig holes for them-
selves on the grassy shelves of the rocks.” The nest of the Starling is usually a somewhat bulky
structure, and is constructed of grass, and sometimes roots, and lined with feathers and hair.
Late in April or early in May from four to six eggs are deposited. ‘These latter are somewhat
elongated, oval in shape, and in colour delicate pale blue, with a greenish tinge, the surface of
the shell being exceedingly glossy; in size they measure from 135 by 23 to 14% by 34 inch.

As a cage-bird the Starling is easily domesticated, and soon learns to articulate words and
whistle tunes. Baron R. Konig Warthausen gives (J. f. O. 1870, p. 65) some interesting details
respecting a singing and talking Starling which lived in 1582, and which sang and spoke in Ger-
man and Polish, and had given itself a name in the latter language. Albinoes and partial albinoes
are not very uncommon amongst Starlings; and I am indebted to Mr. E. Hargitt for the loan of
two, one of which is pure white, and the other dull pale cream-coloured with indistinct spots.

9

In the above article I have not considered it advisable to separate the Feroese bird as a
distinct species; for, though the beak is somewhat stouter and larger, the variation in the three
specimens I have examined is considerable, and I find that examples from other localities vary not
alittle. In other respects I find no difference between specimens from the Feroes and other parts
of Europe. Indian Starlings are, as a rule, somewhat smaller in size than our European bird,
and are generally less spotted, but do not otherwise vary. I give the following table of measure-
ments, which will show the variation in size :—

Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

inch. inches. inches. inch.
Sturnus vulgaris . . . Great Britain. 1:18-1:25 5:0 -5:1 2°82-2'85 1:18-1-2
5p a ae Denmark. 1 51 — 275 — 12 —
a ene erc Feroes. 1:3 -1°35 4°95-5°1 2°65-2°9 12 —
56 Se eicfulee Sweden. 1:22 — 4:98 — 29 — 12 —
3 Sues. Ss Finland. 12 — 4:95 — 28 — 1:18 —
99 ppeeiats Italy. 1-15-1°25 4°82—4°95 2°85-2°9 We —
30 cistosits Azores. 1:0 -1:12 4°85-5°1 2°82-2°95 1:15-1:2
5p Meeanee Persia. 1:25-1:33 5:05-5:1 2°8 -2°85 12 —
5 Asia: Baluchistan. 1:22-1:3 50 -5:1 28 -2°9 12 —
Sturnus nitens . . . . Cashmere: type. 1:1 — 4-9 — 245 — 12 —
50 Gb a ro Shiraz. 1:25-1°3 47 495 2:6 -2°9 120 —
Sturnus purpurascens: types . . . . 1-05-1715 5:0 -5:15 2°72-2'8 12 —

On the first Plate I have figured an adult male in full summer-plumage from Norway, and
above, to the right, an autumn-plumaged male from the Feroes; and on the second Plate an
adult female in early winter or autumn plumage, together with a young bird in first plumage,
both being British-killed specimens. Particulars as to locality of specimens described are given
above.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. EH. Dresser.

a, b, c, d, e. London, May 20th, 1870 (R. B. Sharpe). jf. Leadenhall market, London, winter 1867. g, 9.
Kingsbury, Middlesex, January 7th, 1865 (Wharton). h. Pagham, Sussex, July 11th, 1870 (R. B. Sharpe).
i, 6. Cookham, Berks, January 25th, 1870 (Davy). k, 9. Hampstead, Middlesex, February 10th, 1870
(Davy). l,m. Hampstead, Middlesex, April 20th, 1870 (Davy). n, 3. Feroes, May 28rd, 1872 (H.W.
Fielden). 0, p,q. Feroes, 1871 (A. Benzon). r, g. Jutland, May 1870 (A. Benzon). ss. Christiania,
May 1868 (Collett). ¢, 3d. Nystad, Finland, April 24th, 1866 (H. #. D.). u, g. Quickjock, Lapland,
April 30th (Wheelwright). v, dé. Piedmont (Salvadori). w, g. Piedmont, May 1868 (Salvadori).
z, 3. Piedmont, April 10th, 1870 (Salwadori). y, 9. Piedmont, May 19th, 1870 (Salvadori). z, ¢.
Piedmont, May 20th, 1870 (Salvadori). aa, g. Sjelland, March 1871 (A. Benzon).

E Mus. F. DuCane Godman.
a. Cambridge (F.G.). 6. Surrey, May 1857 (F.G.). cc, d, e. St. Michaels, Azores, March 1865 (F. G.).
Q

4i

2
e)

414

10

E Mus. E. Hargitt.

a, albino. England. 4, partial albino. England. c, 2. Cookham, November 10th, 1868 (R. B. Sharpe). d,e.
Ramsgate, November 26th, 1871 (Z.H.). f, ¢. Hampstead, October 25th, 1869 (Davis). g, 3. Purfleet,
December 26th, 1873 (EZ. H.). h, young. West Drayton, June 22nd, 1869 (Paraman). i, 3. Havre,
December Ist, 1873 (Pluche).. k, young. Havre, August 1873 (Pluche). 1, young. Havre, July 6th,

1873 (Pluche).

E Mus. Brit. Reg.
b. Aboyne, October 1871 (R. B. Sharpe). c¢,d,d,e,92.

a, Avington, Hants, November 25th, 1872 (R. B. S.).
g, h, i, k, 1, m,n, 0. Nepal (Hodgson).

Stockholm, April 1867 (W. Meves). jf. Tyre.

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a. North Wales. 6. Somerset. c, ¢. Bexhill, Sussex, January 23rd, 1866. d. Rye, Sussex, January 24th,
1866. e, ¢. Catton, Norfolk, January 6th, 1866 (J. H.G., jun.). f, 2. Castle Eden, Durham, May 15th,
1866. g. Greatham, Durham, November 15th, 1866. h, 29. Norwich, August 1870 (Gunn).

E Mus. Ind. Cale.

a, b, 2, ¢, 8. Gwadar, Baluchistan, December 1871 (W. T. Blanford). d, e. East of Shiraz, June 4th,-1872

(W. T. Blanford). f, 2. Shiraz, June 1870 (St. John). g. S. Persia (St. John). h,2,i,3,k, S.
Shiraz (St. John). 1, 2. Shiraz, 1870 (St. John). m, 3d. Karachi, Sindh, November 18th, 1871 (W. T.

Blanford).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

b,c, d, 3. Valencia, Spain, October 20th. e, 2. Valencia, November.

a, $6. Malaga, January 10th.
f. Lundy Island, March (H. S.).

248

SARDINIAN STARLING.

STURNUS UNICOLOR

STURNUS UNICOLOR.

(SARDINIAN STARLING.)

Sturnus unicolor, “ De la Marm.” Temm. Man. d’Orn. ed. 2, i. p. 133 (1820).
Sturnus vulgaris unicolor, Schlegel, Rev. Crit. Ois. d’Eur. p. 57 (1844).

Etourneau unicolore, French; Tordo, Spanish; Estorninho, Portuguese; Storno nero, Stur-
neddu, Italian; Zerzour, Arabic; Zarzor kehal, Moorish.

Figure notabiles.
Temm. Pl. Col. 111; Bonap. Icon. Faun. Ital. tab. 33. fig. 1; Vieill. Gal. des Ois. pl. 91;
Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 211.

3 ad. niger: corpore supra et subtis, remigibus versus apicem et secundariis in pogonio externo pulchré
violaceo nitentibus: dorsi plumis et plumis in corpore inferiore elongatis et lanceolatis: rostro flavi-
cante, ad basin ceerulescente: pedibus pallidé brunnescentibus: iride brunnea.

2 ad. brunnescenti-fuliginosa, nec nigra, vix purpurascente violaceo nitens: caudd et alis ut in mare sed
brunnescentibus nec nigris.

Adult Male (Madrid, 19th May). Entire plumage unspotted, jet-black, glossed with rich violet-purple, not
reddish purple, as in portions of the plumage of Sturnus vulgaris ; wings and tail velvety black, glossed
with purple only on the outer webs and apical portions of the feathers; feathers on the underparts
especially much more elongated and lanceolate than in Stwrnus vulgaris; bill yellow, bluish at the
base; legs brownish flesh-colour; iris dark brown. Total length about 7:5 inches, culmen 1:05,
wing 5:0, tail 2°5, tarsus 1:2.

Adult Female (Seville, May). Resembles the male, but is much duller and paler in colour, lacking to a

large extent the rich purple gloss, and the general ground-colour of the plumage is sooty brown,
instead of jet-black.

Winter plumage. I do not possess a specimen in winter dress; but, according to Loche, at this season of
the year both sexes have a few small white spots on the back and abdomen, and it doubtless has the
beak blackish and not yellow.

Young. Resembles the young of Sturnus vulgaris, but is darker in colour.

Obs. An adult female sent to me from Sardinia by Count Salvadori is far richer-coloured than any of the
other specimens from Spain, and is nearly as bright in colour as the adult male.

Tue Sardinian or Unspotted Starling inhabits Southern, and more especially South-western
Europe, North-western Africa, and has been met with by Canon Tristram in Palestine. It has
been in error recorded from Scinde, the Punjab, and Cashmere, Sturnus nitens, Hume, having

been mistaken for it.

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2

In Northern and the northern part of Central Europe it has not been known to occur;
but, according to Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye, a solitary example was obtained in the
month of May by M. Jouffret at Draguignan, in the Department of Var. In Portugal it is,
however, Professor Barboza du Bocage states, common; and Dr. E. Rey writes (J. f. O. 1872,
p. 146) that he saw a flock of about twenty individuals in the valley of Lagos, in that country ;
and as they were going in and out the crannies of the rocks, he thinks that they were breeding
there. I found it common near Madrid, in Spain; and Lord Lilford informs me that he found
it “very abundant in Andalucia; it breeds in the holes of old buildings, under the eaves of
houses, and also (but, I think, not so frequently) in hollow trees. Its habits seem to resemble
very closely those of Sturnus vulgaris, which in Southern Spain is a winter visitor, the present
species being a constant resident. At Aranjuez we shot a bird which looks very like a hybrid
between the two species; but the natives declared that ‘ Estornino,’ as they call S. vulgaris, never
remained in the country during the summer. JS. wnicolor is common enough in New Castile, but
becomes scarcer to the north of the Guadarrama, and I do not recollect to have noticed it in
Aragon, Navarre, Catalonia, or in the Basque provinces.” Mr. Howard Saunders also informs me
that “this species arrives in Spain in spring, and takes the place of S. vulgaris, which is the sole
representative of the genus from autumn to that time. The ‘tordo,’ as the Spaniards call
S. unicolor (distinguishing it from S. vulgaris, which is ‘estornino’), is abundant from spring to
autumn from Andalucia to Galicia; but on the east coast it is much rarer, and even at Granada
it is not very numerous. In some parts this species frequents the dove-cotes in great numbers;
and it is also found breeding about the houses in large towns and cities; it is also very partial to
holes in trees in the woodlands. Its flight is remarkably rapid, far more so than that of the
common species. The keeper of the lighthouse on the summit of the island of Dragonera,
against which numbers of birds dash themselves during the night-flights, told me that out of the
basketfuls of birds he had picked up, he never knew a ‘tordo’ that had not its skull completely
fractured owing to the velocity with which it struck the glass of the lantern, whereas many of
the Common Starlings and other birds were merely stunned. In Catalonia and the Eastern
Pyrenees it is rare; only one specimen is recorded as having occurred at Perpignan.”

In Italy it is common. Salvadori writes (J. f. O. 1865, p. 276) that he never met with it
in the more elevated portions of the country, but always in the plains, where they search for
insects with the Crows in damp places. At night they leave the fields and pass the night on
roofs of houses. He observed them in the pigeon-caves at Cape St. Hlias, near Cagliari, in
company with Columba livia and Cotyle rupestris.

Malherbe (Mém. Ac. Roy. Metz, 1843, p. 133) states that it inhabits the mountainous
districts in the interior of Sicily, and is common at Lentini, Caltagirone, Troina, &c., where it
is sedentary; and Lord Lilford found it common and sedentary in the Island of Sardinia. It
has occurred in Malta, as Mr. C. A. Wright writes (Ibis, 1864, p. 56) that ‘““Schembri includes
this species from two specimens shot out of a flock of five or six many years ago.” Neither
Von der Miihle nor Lindermayer ever observed it in Greece; but Lord Lilford (Ibis, 1860,
p- 137) met with it at Corfu. It is said to have occurred in Southern Germany; but Naumann
(Vog. Deutschl. xiii. p. 231) speaks with doubt of its having occurred in Dalmatia and Hungary,
and apparently has no particulars as to any specific instance of its capture. Canon Tristram met

3

with it in Palestine, and writes (Ibis, 1867, p. 367) that it visits the Plain of Sharon, but does
not, as in Algeria, remain to breed, and departs at the end of February. It is not recorded by
any of the writers on the ornithology of North-east Africa as having been met with in that
country; but it occurs in the north-western portion of that continent. In Algeria, according to
Loche, it is much less common than Sturnus vulgaris in the provinces of Algiers and Oran; but
he states, on the authority of Malherbe, that in Constantine it is more numerous than that
species. Malherbe himself (Mém. Ac. Roy. Metz, 1843, p. 153) says that he obtained specimens
from Ghelma and Oran, which were killed in the month of December. Mr. L. Taczanowski
only observed a few between Jemmapes and Ajmokra. Mr. O. Salvin (Ibis, 1859, p. 313) “saw
it at Kef, in the Regency of Tunis, subsequently at Djebel Dekma, and lastly at Zana;” and
Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, in his notes on the ornithology of Tangier and Eastern Morocco
(Ibis, 1867, p. 428), found it “ more common at Tetuan than at Tangier.”

The Sardinian Starling is recorded as having occurred in India; and Dr. Jerdon states
(B. of I. ii. p. 332) that it is common in Scinde, the Punjab, and Cashmere; but subsequent
investigation has proved that the present species does not occur there, but has been confounded
with an allied though perfectly distinct form, Sturnus nitens, Hume, which, though unspotted, in
coloration much more closely resembles the common Starling than the present species.

When in Spain in 1866 I frequently saw this Starling, and found it tolerably common near
Madrid in the month of May, when it was breeding. In its habits and note it closely resembles
our common Starling, and is quite as noisy at its nesting-place as that bird. I saw a colony
which evidently had their nests in the hollow branches of a grand old white poplar tree; but,
owing to the size of the tree, and not having ropes with us, I could not succeed in exploring
the holes into and out of which they were flying, and, as my stay in the neighbourhood was very
short, I never had an opportunity of taking their eggs with my own hands. In their flight they
resembled Stwrnus vulgaris, and when seated on the tops of the lofty trees they uttered the same
clear prolonged whistle that is so characteristic of our common Starling. Their nest is con-
structed like that of the common Starling, being merely a loose lining of grass, straws, and
feathers placed on the bottom of the hole which it has selected for the purpose of nidification.
The eggs, from four to six in number, closely resemble those of the common Starling. Specimens
I have in my collection from Spain are, if any thing, a trifle deeper in colour.

Temminck (/.¢.) states that the present species was described by De la Marmora in a paper
read before the Royal Academy of Sciences at Turin, 28th August, 1819; but I could find no
such paper, and Professor Newton has called my attention to a statement by Bonelli (Mem. dell.
Real. Accad. dell. Sc. di Torino, xxv. p. 261) which clearly shows that the paper was never
published.

The specimens figured are an adult male shot by myself and a female obtained near Seville,
both being in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

M

417

418 | es :

EK Mus. H. HE. Dresser.

a, 6. Casa de Campo, Madrid, May 19th, 1866 (2. EZ. D.). 6, 2. Seville, Spain (Ruiz). c, 2. Seville,

Spain, May 10th, 1869 (Howard Saunders). d, 3. Vigo, Portugal, July 28th, 1871 (Captain Sperling). ~
e,3d,f,2. Sardinia, March 1863 (Salvadori). g,3. Seville (Ruiz). h,d juv. Piedmont, May 20th;
1870 (Salvadori).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, b,c,d,3,e,2. Seville, May (Rwiz).

E Mus. E. R. Alston.
a, 3. Seville, May 10th, 1869 (Ruzz).

249

Hanhart imp

PURPLE-WINGED STARLING.

PURPURASCENS

STURNUS

STURNUS PURPURASCENS.

(PURPLE-WINGED STARLING.)

Sturnus purpurascens, Gould, P. Z. S. 1868, p. 219.
Sturnus unicolor ( purpurascens’), Severtzoff, Turk. Jevot. p. 64 (1873).
Sturnus poltaratskyi, Finsch, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 713.

Figura unica.
Gould, B. of Asia, part xx.

Sturno vulgari similis sed vix major, tectricibus alarum et corpore subtus purpureo nec viridi-ceruleo niten-

tibus facilé distinguendus.

Adult Male in summer (Erzeroom). In general appearance, at the first glance, resembling Sturnus vulgaris ;
but the arrangement of colour is different; head and neck glossed with greenish steel-blue ; back also
glossed with greenish steel-blue varied with purple; wings altogether glossed with lake-purple, whereas
in Sturnus vulgaris they are altogether glossed with greenish steel-blue ; breast and lower parts generally
glossed with purple; soft parts as im Sturnus vulgaris. Total length about 7:5 inches, culmen 1'1,

wing 5:2, tail 2°7, tarsus 1:2.

Obs. In all stages of plumage this bird resembles Sturnus vulgaris, except that the wing-coverts, scapulars,

and underparts are glossed with purple.

CoMPARATIVELY speaking, but little is known respecting this Starling, which, until quite lately,
was only known to inhabit the neighbourhood of Erzeroom and Trebizond; but recent researches
have shown that it ranges from Asia Minor to the Chinese portion of the Altai range, and into
North-west India. First described from Erzeroom, it has since been found there in great abun-
dance; and I am indebted to my friend Mr. Zohrab for several very fine specimens shot by him
near that town. Mr. C. G. Danford shot two out of a flock to the north of Cesarea, in Asia
Minor, and he also obtained several others in the Euphrates valley. Dr. Severtzoff records
it from Turkestan; there are examples in the British Museum from Northern Persia and
Yarkand; and Dr. Otto Finsch found it breeding at Lake Marka-kul, in the Chinese High
Altai, at an altitude of about 5000 feet. Dr. Finsch, who describes the specimen he obtained
there as distinct under the name of Stwrnus poltaratskyi, makes several errors respecting its
range. He states that it is found in N.W. India, Persia, Baluchistan, and as far east as the
Yennesei, and that there are fifteen examples in the British Museum; but he doubtless relied
on the coloration of the back only as a characteristic, his specimen being one which has the back
unusually blue-green, and did not remark the colour of the wing-coverts; for most of the speci-
mens he refers to from the above localities prove to be nothing but ordinary Starlings (Sturnus
vulgaris), though his type is certainly a Purple-winged Starling.

Judging from the series of examples of these two species which I haye examined, I find that

ON

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420

2

the coloration of the back is very variable ; for in one specimen from Asia Minor, in the collection
of Mr. Seebohm, the entire back and rump are glossed with lake-purple, and in the one above
described these parts are almost entirely glossed with greenish steel-blue, there being only a
tinge of purple on the sides of the back. Again, several of the other examples vary considerably
in the quantity of blue or purple on the back; in fact there is a complete gradation between
the one form and the other. The only characteristics to be relied on to discriminate between
this species and Sturnus vulgaris are as follows, viz.:—Sturnus purpurascens always has the
Wwing-coverts and entire underparts of the body glossed with purple, whereas Sturnus vulgaris
has these parts glossed with steel-blue or greenish steel-blue. I may take this opportunity of
expressing my indebtedness to Mr. Seebohm, who first pointed out to me that the coloration of
the wing-coverts is the only constant character. Mr. Zohrab informs me that he found the
present species at Erzeroom in company with Stwrnus vulgaris, and that he could not detect any
difference between the habits of the two species; and Mr. Danford also found both species in
the Kuphrates valley. Iam indebted to Mr. Zohrab for eggs of this Starling, which are similar
both in coloration and size to the eggs of Sturnus vulgaris.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,3, 6,2. Cesarea, Asia Minor, March 22nd and 28rd, 1879. c,¢. Azizieh, Asia Minor, March 12th, 1879
(C. G. Danford). d, e, f. Erzeroom (Zohrad).

E Mus. J. Gould.

a, b. Erzeroom (types of Sturnus purpurascens).

E Mus. H. Seebohm.

a, 6. Asia Minor, May 18th, 1876 (C. G. Danford). 6,3. Biridjik, Euphrates valley, February 14th, 1879
(C. G. D.). ¢, 2. Azizieh, Asia Minor, March 12th, 1879 (C. G. D.).

E Mus. Brit. Reg.

a. Marka-kul, Chinese High Altai, type of Sturnus poltaratskyi (Dr. O. Finsch). 6. Yarkand. c. Elburz,
N. Persia, August 6th, 1872 (W. T. Blanford).

Genus PASTOR.

Turdus apud Linneeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 294 (1766).

Sturnus apud Scopoli, Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 130 (1769).

Pastor, Temminck, Man. d’Orn. p. 83 (1815).

Psaroides apud Vieillot, Nouv. Analyse, p. 42 (1816).

Merula apud Koch, Baier. Zool. p. 242 (1816).

Acridotheres apud Ranzani, Elem. Zool. iii. pt. v. p. 177 (1823).
Boscis apud C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1282.

Gracula apud Cuvier, Regn. Anim. i. p. 378 (1829).

Pecuarius apud Temminck, Man. d’Orn. iii. p. 76 (1835).
Thremmaphilus apud Macgillivray, Hist. Brit. B. i. p. 613 (1837).
Nomadites apud Petenir, fide Bonaparte, Cat. Met. Ucc. Eur. p. 44 (1842).

THis genus contains but a single species, which, though tolerably closely allied to Sturnus, is in
several respects sufficiently different to entitle it to generic rank; and this view has very generally
been taken, as may be seen by the above array of generic titles bestowed upon it.

In habits the Pastor roseus resembles the Starling, being gregarious, frequenting, by choice,
pastures where cattle are found, and consorting with Starlings. It feeds on seeds, fruits, and
insects, especially, it is said, on locusts and grasshoppers.

It breeds in colonies, and nests usually in a hole in a wall or rock, making a very slight
nest, and depositing glossy pale bluish-white eggs. It is somewhat remarkable that these
colonies do not nest regularly in the same place, but large flocks breed in a locality one season,
where the next season none are to be seen.

Pastor roseus, the type of the genus, has the bill moderately long, the upper mandible
curved towards the tip, slightly notched, and slightly overlapping the lower mandible; nostrils
oval, placed in the anterior portion of the nasal depression; feathers on the crown elongated,
forming a distinct full crest; wings rather long, broad, the first quill very short, the second
longest, the third being nearly equal; tail moderate, even or slightly emarginate; legs and feet
strong and stout, the tarsus covered in front with four large and three inferior scutelle; claws
strong, curved, acute, laterally grooved.

73

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PASTOR ROSEUS.

(ROSE-COLOURED STARLING.)

Turdus roseus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 294. no. 15 (1766).

Turdus roseus, Linn., Pallas, Reise Russischen Reichs, ii. p. 491, note (1773).

Turdus seleucis, Forskal, Descr. Animalium, p. vi. no. 16 (1775).

Sturnus roseus (Klein), Scopoli, Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 130. no. 191 (1779).

Turdus seleucis, Gm. tom. cit. p. 837. no. 126 (1788), ex Forskal.

Sturnus asiaticus, Wirsing, fide Latham, Ind. Orn. i. p. 344. no. 59 (1790).

Pastor roseus (Scopoli), Temm. Man. d’Ornith. p. 83 (1815).

Psaroides roseus, Vieillot, Nouv. Analyse, p. 42. no. 134 (1816).

Merula rosea, Koch, Syst. der Baier. Zool. p. 242 (1816).

Acridotheres roseus (Scopoli), Ranzani, Elementi di Zoolog. iii. pt. v. p. 177. sp. 1 (1823).

Merula rosea, Aldroy., C. L. Brehm, Lehrbuch Naturgesch. europ. Vogel, i. p. 279 (1823).

Boscis rosea (Linn.), C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1823, p. 1282.

Gracula rosea (Linn.), Cuvier, R. An. i. p. 378 (1829).

Sturnus roseus (Aldrov.), Pallas, Zoograph. Rosso-As. i. p. 420. no. 71 (1831).

Acridotheres roseus (Linn.), Bp. Iconogr. Faun. Italica, Uccelli, pl. (1832-42).

Pastor peguanus, Lesson, Bélanger, Voy. Indes Orient. Zool. p. 268, “‘ Pegu,” av. juv. (1834).

Pecuarius roseus (Linn.), Temm. Man. d’Ornith. iii. p. 76 (1835).

Thremmaphilus roseus (Linn.), Macgillivray, Hist. Brit. Birds, i. p. 613 (1837); op. cit. iii.
p- 723 (1840).

Gracula rosea, Cuvier, Sundevall, Physiograph. Sallskapets Tidskr. p. — (1837); Strickl.
Ann. N. H. xviii. p. 304. no. 34 (1846).

Merula rosea (Linn.), Keyserl. & Blasius, Wirbelth. Europa’s, p. 170. no. 160 (1840).

Nomadites roseus, Petenir, fide Bp. Cat. Met. Ucelli Eur. p. 44 (1842).

Acridotheres roseus (Linn.), Orazio Antinori, Naumannia, 1856, p. 404.

Pastor roseus (Linn.), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. KE. I. C. Mus. ii. p. 539. no. 811 (1856-58).

Pastor roseus (Linn.), Jerd. Birds of India, ii. p. 333. no. 690 (1863).

(The above by Lord Walden.)

Rose-coloured Starling, Pastor, or Cow-bird, English; Martin roselin, French; Storno
marino, Italian; Rosenstaar, German; Kamenisti Skworez, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Edwards, Nat. Hist. Birds, i. pl. 20; D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 251; Levaillant, Ois. d'Afrique,
ii. pl. 96; Bonaparte, /.¢.; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pls. 18 & 19; Kjeerboll. Orn. Dan.
taf. liv.; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. pl. xxii. figs. 19, 20; Sundevall, Svensk. Fogl. pl. Ixix. fig. 3 ;
Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 212; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 63; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl.

pl. 147.
ON

424
2

3 ad. capite, collo et pectore superiore nigris purpureo nitentibus: pilei plumis elongatis: dorso, uropygio
scapularibusque pulchré roseis: remigibus et rectricibus nigris vix viridi nitentibus, primariis in pogonio
interno saturaté nigricantibus: pectore imo et abdomine pallidé rosaceis: tibiis et subcaudalibus nigris :
subalaribus quoque nigris, sed rosaceo marginatis: rostro rosaceo, ad basin nigricanti-brunneo: pedibus
saturaté brunneis: iride castaneda.

2 ad. mari similis sed ubique saturatior: capite, collo, alis et cauda fusco lavatis: dorso et corpore subtus
brunnescente adumbratis: subcaudalibus conspicué albicante rosaceo marginatis.

Juv. adulto dissimilis, nec cristatus: corpore supra pallidé grisescenti-ochraceo: pilei plumis medialiter pallidé
brunneo notatis: remigibus saturaté brunneis, primariis extus cervino marginatis, secundariis et tec-
tricibus alarum rufescente cervino conspicué marginatis: rectricibus saturaté ochrascenti-brunneis,
pallidiore marginatis: mento albido: gutture et pectore albidis, cervino limbatis et vix brunnescente
cervino striatis: abdomine albido: hypochondriis et subcaudalibus pallidé cervinis, his medialiter
pallidé brunneo notatis: rostro flavicante, versus apicem brunneo: pedibus brunneis.

Adult Male (Genoa, June 1871). Head, neck, and fore part of the breast glossy black, with purple
reflections; feathers on the crown and nape clongated, forming a thick, heavy crest; back, scapulars
(excepting the outermost, which is black), and rump delicate rose-colour ; wings and tail deep black,
glossed with green ; the inner webs of the primaries dull blackish, lower part of the breast and abdomen
delicate rose-colour; thighs and under tail-coverts glossy black ; under wing-coverts black, margined
with pale rose-colour; beak rose-coloured, dark brown at base; legs dull brownish ; iris rich reddish
brown. ‘Total length 8:3 inches, culmen 0:95, wing 5:0, tail 2°7, tarsus 1-3.

Adult Female (Genoa, June 1871). Differs from the male in being everywhere much duller in colour; the
head, neck, wings, and tail are washed and marked here and there with brownish; the rose-colour is
deadened by being washed with brownish white, and has a dirty appearance ; and the under tail-coverts
are broadly margined with dirty white, tinged with rose-colour.

Young bird of the year (Smyrna, July 24th, 1871). Head, neck, back, and rump greyish buff, or light sandy
grey, the feathers on the crown, which is not crested, having slightly darker centres; quills dark brown,
margined with dull buff; secondaries and wing-coverts broadly edged with rufous buff; tail dull sandy
brown, all the feathers having lighter edges; chin white; throat white, washed with buff, and striped
with dull sandy buff; rest of the underparts pale buff, except the centre of the abdomen, which is
white ; beak yellowish, brown towards the tip; legs brown.

Tue Rose-coloured Starling inhabits Southern Europe and India, occasionally straggling even
into far northern countries; and there are consequently but few parts of Europe which have not
been visited by it.

It is one of those stragglers which from time to time visit our islands, being met with at
irregular intervals, usually in the summer or autumn; and examples have been obtained in most
parts of the United Kingdom. Amongst other occurrences during late years I may refer to one
recorded by Mr. G. Dawson Rowley (Ibis, 1861, p. 118), of a male bird which was shot near
Southampton amongst some Starlings which were feeding on cherries. Mr. J. Brooking Rowe
also states that one was obtained, in June 1851, near King’s Tamerton, another at Chudleigh on
the 15th of July, 1851, one at Sephington in July 1852, and one at Prowle Point on the 13th of
May, 1871. Mr. Stevenson, writing from Norfolk, says that “this beautiful species, as will be

9
oO

seen by the following list of specimens, has occurred in many instances in this county; but,
although appearing with a strange regularity between 1853 and 1856, I know of no examples,
either seen or procured during the last nine years. It is noticeable, also, from the subjoined
records, that these birds usually visit us in autumn, appearing singly and in various stages of
plumage; but occasionally a straggler is met with during the summer months, at which time
they are more frequently observed in the southern counties.

“1853, August 23. A nearly adult male, near Wymondham, now in the collection of
Mr. Newcome, of Feltwell. This is no doubt the same bird recorded by Mr. Gurney in the
‘ Zoologist’ (p. 4053) as killed ‘near Norwich’ about the same date.

“1855, August 14. An adult male was killed at Hevingham, and came into the possession
of Mr. Alfred Master, of Norwich, whose brother, Mr. George Master, of Duke Street, Grosvenor
Square, London, has another Norfolk specimen, which, strangely enough, some three or four
years before, was shot in the same locality, and, I believe, from the same tree, during the cherry-
season, the man who killed it being engaged on his cherry-tree at the time. On the 23rd of the
same month, a male was killed at Sherringham, which is, I believe, in Mr. Upcher’s possession.

“©1856, September. A female, near Yarmouth; and on October 7th, an adult male at

Hunstanton.”

Mr. Cordeaux records the occurrence of one on the 26th of August, 1866, on Cottingham
Common, near Beverley, and of another near Scarborough in July 1863. Mr. Robert Gray
writes that it ‘has occurred in almost every county of Scotland, from Berwickshire to the Orkneys
on the east, and from Wigtown to Sutherland on the west; but I have not heard of its occurrence
in any of the outer islands. In 1853 a pair (male and female), which I examined, were shot
in the outskirts of Glasgow, and were presented to the Andersonian Museum by Dr. Hugh
Colquhoun; and on the 7th of August, 1868, I had an opportunity of seeing a male specimen
which had been shot on the previous day by one of Mr. Harvey’s servants at Hundred-acre farm,
within two miles of the city. It was seen flying about with a flock of common Starlings. A
specimen in my own collection was obtained near Cupar, in Fifeshire, in the autumn of 1865.
Specimens have also been obtained in Perthshire, Ross-shire (near Dingwall in several instances),
Sutherlandshire, and Caithness-shire. In Aberdeenshire it has occurred frequently. Mr. Angus
sent me the stomach of one crammed with beetles, which was shot near Aberdeen in June 1867;
and Professor Dickie has obligingly sent me word of another killed about the same time within a
few miles of that city.

“Mr. John Wilson has informed me, through Mr. Angus, that in the summer of 1840 the
nest of this species was obtained in a burrow in a sandbank near Methlick, in Aberdeenshire.
On the nest being destroyed by some boys, the birds removed to another sandhole about a mile
distant; but Mr. Wilson does not think they succeeded in rearing a brood.

“In the Orkneys it has occurred several times; and Dr. Saxby states that he shot two
specimens at Balta Sound, in Shetland—one on 10th of August, 1860, the other in September
1863. Both were males.” Thompson writes that it “has at uncertain invervals, during summer
and autumn, visited all quarters of Ireland, including the range of the most western counties.”
It does not appear to have been observed in Iceland ; but, according to Mr. H. C. Miiller, it has
been twice killed on the Feroes—in October 1853 on the Kollefjord, and in September 1855 at

3N2

426

4

Naalsoe. It has not been recorded from Norway; but Sundevall states that it occasionally visits
Sweden, and has even been met with in Lapland. He writes that eight specimens have occurred
in Sweden at various times during the last thirty years. It has been met with at least once in
Finland, as there is a specimen in the Helsingfors Museum obtained near Abo. Mr. Sabaniieff
does not record it from Northern Russia; but it occurs as far north as Saratoff. Borggreve writes
that it has not unfrequently been met with in North Germany during the summer. Most have
been shot in Silesia; according to Naumann a male was caught near Halle in 1827. It has
repeatedly occurred on Heligoland; and Gitke writes that from eight to ten were obtained there
between the middle of July and the middle of August 1855.

Myr. Fischer informs me that one was shot at Brondshoi, in Denmark, on the 22nd of
November, 1866; and Schlegel refers to two instances of its occurrence in Holland—one at
Haarlem on the 14th of July, 1856, and another near the village of Erzinge, in the province
Groningen. It has also, Baron von Droste writes, occurred at Norderney, in East Friesland, in
1856. Godron writes that it has been obtained near Metz; and Degland and Gerbe state that
it sometimes occurs in considerable numbers in the spring migrations in the south of France.
Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye write that in Provence immature specimens are obtained
nearly every year, whilst old birds do not make their appearance so frequently; but when they
do, they are invariably in breeding-plumage. In Spain, Mr. Howard Saunders writes, it is “a
rare visitant, though it has several times occurred on the east coast, and once near Seville.”

Passing eastward we find it in Italy. Both Savi and Salvadori record the occurrence of this
species, which at one time or another has, been obtained in almost every province of Italy ; and in
June 1871 the latter saw two flocks, and succeeded in shooting one specimen ; many others were
also obtained during the same month. I am also indebted to the Marquis Doria for two speci-
mens obtained at Genoa. In Sicily and in Sardinia it has occurred at rare intervals; and
Mr. C. A. Wright, writing on the birds of Malta, states that “this elegant species is rare here,
and visits us very irregularly. Examples have been taken in spring,autumn, and winter. A
specimen was killed on the 7th of August, 1855, at Citta Vecchia, the old capital of the island ;
and since then three or four others have been obtained—three of them at the Marsa, at the head
of the Grand Harbour; the fourth was a bird of the year, which I purchased in the market in
the first week of November 1858. Since then I have not seen any others.” Lord Lilford met
with it at Corfu, where, he writes, “they arrive occasionally in great numbers, early in June, and
haunt the orchards, feeding almost entirely on mulberries. In 1857 very few visited the island,
and I only obtained one specimen; but in June 1858 the mulberry-gardens were full of them for
some days, and I obtained specimens in abundance and in all their different states of plumage.
As far as my own observation goes, they are not easily approached, and have the same habit as the
Golden Oriole, of remaining motionless amongst the thick foliage, allowing the tree in which they
are concealed to be shaken or beaten without stirring. These birds remain only a few days on
the island, and are well known to the Corfiote peasantry by the name of ‘ Mulberry-eaters,’
okauvopaya. And, according to Lindermayer and Von der Miihle, it “ occurs irregularly in
Greece, small flocks appearing in May, and again passing south in August;” but it has never
been found breeding in that country, though Lindermayer observed it on the islands in June
and July.

5

It has been met with from time to time in Southern Germany. The Ritter von Tschusi
Schmidhofen kindly informs me that it often occurs in Hungary and Seibenbiirgen, but seldom
in large flocks. Early in June 1871 a flock numbering several hundreds appeared at Ponowitsch,
in Krain. He himself shot a female in his garden at Salzburg. Stragglers are observed now
and then in almost all parts of Austria; and Dr. Anton Fritsch states that it has repeatedly been
obtained in Bohemia, and cites instances of its having been met with at Prague in 1837 and
1838 (Vobdoril), Stiahlan in 1855 (Ziva, iii. p. 383), Sezemin near Pardubic in 1859, Sobotka in
1862 (Merlinger), Podebrad in 1865 (Hoffmann), Rosendorf near Teitschen in June 1868
(Zimmermann), Dobrichovic near Prague in the summer (Lokaj), Wittingau (Mus. Frauenberg),
and on several occasions at Pardubic (Hromddko). Messrs. Elwes and Buckley write that in
some years it is “ very abundant in Bulgaria, but does not come regularly. It is one of the
latest summer visitors to arrive, as the flocks do not make their appearance before the latter
end of May, when they at once take up their quarters in a sandpit, or bank of earth, and
commence nidification. ‘The nests are made at- the end of a hole bored in the earth like a
Sand-Martin’s, sometimes to a considerable depth. ‘The eggs are like a Starling’s, but much
more glossy and of a paler blue. Near Milchova, in the Dobrudscha, we saw the breeding-
place of a large colony; and Mr. Barkley informed us that, in the summer of 1867, a cutting
on the Varna and Rustchuk Railway was frequented by two or three hundred of this species.”
It is by no means an uncommon bird in Southern Russia, and has been referred to by almost all
the Russian travellers. Von Nordmann met with it near Odessa. Eversmann writes that it is
very common on the Southern Don, the Volga, and the Ural, and northwards to Saratoff and
Orenburg; and Radde says that numbers arrive in Southern Russia with the locusts, on which
they feed, and in destroying which they are most useful. It is common in Asia Minor, where,
as below stated, Antinori met with it breeding; and Dr. Kriper writes to me that “it arrives at
Smyrna early in May, and on the 14th of May I saw large flocks. Both this and last year they
bred here [at Smyrna] in large colonies, nesting amongst the stones in the mountains. Early in
July the young birds appear on the plains; and early in August they all disappear, the last being
seen on the 15th of August. During the breeding-season they make raids on the mulberry trees.
The young birds eat, besides grasshoppers, large numbers of mulberries. In July thousands are
killed and sold for the table.” In Palestine, Dr. Tristram writes, “it is not even a winter
visitant, but occasionally appears in vast flocks. It is well known to the natives as the Locust-
bird, from its habit of preying on that destructive creature, whose flights it generally follows.
We found it in 1858, but not in 1864. It has been known to breed in large colonies in
Palestine, but not for many years past. So at Smyrna numbers of nests were taken in 1858,
while since that year it has scarcely been seen there. The behaviour of the Pastor in Syria
reminds us of that of the Waxwing further north, an erratic rather than a migratory bird.”

In Africa it appears to be an extremely rare bird; and, indeed, Professor Sundevall doubts
its occurrence there. However, Dr. von Heuglin states that he saw one in Egypt, which had
been killed on the 25th of August, 1864, near Djizeh; and Loche writes that it is “ of accidental
and very irregular occurrence in Algeria, generally in spring, with flocks of Starlings.” Levaillant
describes this species from South Africa; but Mr. E. L. Layard says:—‘‘This is denied by all
subsequent authors; and I believe the species never visits South Africa. It has certainly

J

6

never appeared in any of the collections I have examined ; and some have been from up as far as
the Zambesi.”

To the eastward it occurs through Persia into India. Abbott met with it at Trebizond, and
Russell at Aleppo. De Filippi states that it is “ very abundant in the Caucasus, Armenia, and
the west of Persia, becoming rarer towards the east;” and Dr. Jerdon writes that “it is found
throughout the greater part of India, most abundant in the south and south-west, rare towards
the north and north-east, and, apparently, not known in Assam and Burmah, unless P. peguanus,
Lesson, be the immature state of this bird.” Major Irby records it from Oudh and Kumaon as
“common in flocks in January and February. All the specimens which I examined were of a
much paler rose-colour than those which I have seen in the Crimea, where it was very common
in May and June;” Dr. Leith Adams speaks of it as “very gregarious, and abundant during the
harvest months in the Punjab, and destructive in barley-fields; whole districts have been
devastated by this bird. Not seen on the Himalayas; common around Poonah, in the Deccan.
It is often seen associating with Acridotheres tristis;” and Captain Beavan met with it at
Barrackpore in February, and further writes as follows:—‘“ Perulia, Maunbhoom, April 1864.
Enormous flocks of these birds may be seen every evening flying to the islands in the lake here,
where they roost in trees, together with Acridotheres tristis and Sturnopastor contra, Herons and
Cormorants; but the flocks of P. roseus are by far the largest, and, when they rise suddenly from
the trees on hearing the report of a gun, create a rushing sound, and appear like a vast animated
cloud. They fly, too, much faster than the allied species, and may be easily distinguished from
the latter by their arrowy flight, which is very similar to that of the common English Starling.
They have only lately been noticed here, and, as the breeding-season of most birds is already
far advanced, can scarcely have time, one would think, to get to Western Asia, as supposed by
Dr. Jerdon, for the purpose of nidification.” Major Franklin records it from the “ Ganges
between Calcutta and Benares, and in the Vindhyan hills between the latter place and Gurrah
Mundela, on the Nerbudda;” and Colonel Sykes obtained it in Dukhun. It was also observed
in flocks in January in the Andaman Islands by Captain Beavan; and Mr. E. L. Layard saw it at
Point Pedro, in Ceylon. It does not appear to have been met with by any of the Siberian
travellers, and is not.included by Mr. Swinhoe in his list of the birds of China.

The Rose-coloured Starling bears great resemblance to the common Starling in its habits
and mode of nidification. Like that bird it associates in large flocks, and frequents places where
cattle are found; it feeds on grubs and insects of various sorts; and stragglers are often met
with consorting with Starlings. Von Nordmann has given a long and detailed account of the
habits of this species as observed in the south of Russia (Demidoff, ‘ Voyage dans la Russie
Méridionale,’ vol. i11. pp. 307-334). He states that in the neighbourhood of Odessa the birds
arrive in flocks, but already paired, about the middle of April; their flight and general habits in
chosing a roosting-place &c., are very similar to those of the Starling, with flocks of which they
may often be seen mingled; but they scarcely ever perch upon the backs of cattle as their
congeners do. In spite of their brilliant plumage, a flock of these birds, when perched upon the
Robinia viscosa, might easily be passed unnoticed, the rosy tints of their plumage harmonizing
with the colour of the flowers of that tree. At night they select trees of thick foliage for their
roosting-place, and are fond of mounting to the highest branches. ‘They are at this time

7

insectivorous: their favourite article of diet consists of grasshoppers ; and they follow up the flocks
of these insects with greediness; indeed it is a common belief in the Crimea that large flocks of
the birds foretell the arrival of swarms of these devouring insects; but this is by no means
invariably the case. However, the Tartars and Armenians, in consideration of the services of the
Rose-coloured Pastors, treat them as sacred birds, notwithstanding the ravages which they
commit amongst the ripe cherries, and later on amongst the mulberries, their numbers being
increased by the birds of the year, which afterwards separate from their parents till after the
moult, when both old and young reunite until their departure in September. Von Nordmann
did not actually discover the nesting-place of this species—although, from the appearance of very
young birds about the middle of June, he felt persuaded that they had been reared not far from
the spot in Abasia where he was. Respecting its habits in India, Dr. Jerdon writes that “it
usually makes its appearance in the Deccan and Carnatic about November, associated in vast
flocks, and committing great devastations on the grain-fields, more especially on those of the
Cholum or Jowaree (Andropogon sorghus), whence its familiar name in the south. Mr. Elliot, in
his MS. notes, quoted in my catalogue, says, ‘is very voracious and injurious to the crops of
white jowaree, in the fields of which the farmer is obliged to station numerous watchers, who,
with slings and a long rope or thong, which they crack dexterously, making a loud report,
endeavour to drive the depredators away. ‘The moment the sun appears above the horizon they
are on the wing; and at the same instant shouts and cries and the cracking of the long whips
resound from every side. The Tillyers, however, are so active that, if they are able to alight on
the stalks for an instant, they pick out several grains. About 9 or 10 o’clock, a.m. the exertions
of the watchmen cease ; and the Tillyers do not renew their plundering till evening. After sunset
they are seen in flocks of many thousands retiring to the trees and jungles for the night. ‘They
prefer the half-ripe jowaree, whilst the farinaceous matter is still soft and milky. When they
can no longer get grain they feed on various grasses and other seeds, flower-buds, fruit, and also
on insects, seeking them on the ground, but are rarely seen with cattle in India. Their Telugu
name is derived from the name of a plant whose fruit they are particularly fond of. Mr. Blyth
remarks that ‘they visit the neighbourhood of Calcutta only at the end of the cool season, when
flocks of them are not unfrequently observed upon the arboreal cotton-trees then in bloom.’
Burgess states that he has seen them busily feeding on the flowers of the leafless caper, a shrub
very common in the Deccan on the banks of the larger rivers. Dr. Adams says that ‘it is very
abundant in the Punjab, committing great havoc on the grain there.’ In the north-west of
India, and in Afghanistan, they devour large quantities of mulberries in spring, hence called
the ‘ Mulberry-bird’ in the north west, disappearing afterwards. They at times, however, feed
much on insects, and are called the ‘locust-eater’ in Persia, according to Chesney. They do not
breed in this country, quitting the south of India in March, but lingering in the north a month
or so longer. It is ascertained that they breed in vast numbers in Syria and other parts of
Western Asia, in rocky cliffs. Burgess states his belief that they breed in India somewhere, and
was informed by a native that they do not breed in the Ghats. This, however, is doubtless
totally without foundation. Mr. Layard states that one year he saw large flocks of these birds
in July, and they remained only a week and then disappeared. They were entirely unknown to
the natives. Burgess also states that in 1850, towards the end of August, he saw a large flock

429

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8

of the Rose-coloured Starlings feeding on insects in an open field. These instances of their
appearing so early are very unusual, and more especially their occurrence in Ceylon in July, by
which time the young could only have been just fledged. Most of the birds met with in India
are, of course, young birds in imperfect plumage.” The Rose-coloured Starling breeds in South-
eastern Europe and Asia Minor. When on the Lower Danube I was assured that large numbers
breed in the neighbourhood of Tschernavoda ; but I was too early to have any chance of obtaining
their eggs. The best record of their breeding-habits that I know of was published by the Marquis
O. Antinori in ‘Naumannia’ (loc. cit.), and translated by Dr. P. L. Sclater in the ‘ Zoologist’ for
1857, p. 5668, as follows :—“ The Rose-coloured Pastors began their passage on their northern
migration through the neighbourhood of Smyrna this year about the 15th of May; for on this
day I found myself in the field and I observed several large flights passing rather from south-
west to north-east than from south to north as on the following days. One of these flights
passed so close over me that I managed to kill four out of them at one shot. They were all
young birds of the first or second year; and as in the whole flight I did not perceive the beautiful
red colouring of the old male (which can be easily distinguished in the air) I concluded that it
consisted only of young birds of that age. This supposition was further confirmed by the fact
that out of the various individuals procured by other sportsmen on the same day not one had the
plumage of the third year. Iam sure that the complete plumage of the adult is only attained
at the end of the third year, perhaps not until the fourth; for some young birds which have been
kept in cages in the vicinity of Smyrna since last year have hardly yet attained their full plumage,
which is exactly such as is described by Professor Bonelli in Temminck.

“On the 14th of May, when again in the field with Herr von Gonzenbach, we saw an
immense multitude of old birds passing at a small elevation over the new English churchyard
and alongside and over the old castle which commands the city; and when near a mineral spring
called, Ligea, on the left of the Gulf of Smyrna, on the 26th of May, about sunrise, I saw, to my
great delight, large flights of these birds sitting so closely packed together upon the trees as to
make them look as if they were all covered with red flowers. On the 29th, 30th, and 31st of
May and following days, up to the 5th of June, the flights were most numerous; after this term
they ceased and the birds became stationary. ‘The flights were no longer rapid, high in the air,
large in numbers, and directed towards the north, but slow, low-flying, small in numbers, and
going in every direction of the compass. ‘The fields were full of them, and the gardens were full
of them, and in the villages they sat on the roofs of the houses. ‘These facts convinced us that
the birds were nesting in the hills surrounding the Gulf; but in spite of all-our efforts, owing to
the dense ignorance of the inhabitants, and the unconquerable idleness of the peasantry, we
could obtain but very few eggs, for which we had to pay dear, and that not until the 27th of
June. As all of these eggs had the embryo more or less developed, and were besides rotten, it
was clear that they had been taken whilst under incubation, and had been laid at least a fortnight.
The man who brought them told us that he had collected them upon a hill seven miles off in the
interior, and that the Turks had caught him in the act, and beaten him and driven him away.

“The possession of these eggs determined Herr von Gonzenbach and myself to undertake
ourselves the search for them at once; and on the morning of the 30th of June we set out for the
village of Bournatut, where we were assured that the gardens and surrounding hills were full of

9

Rose Starlings: and we were quite rewarded; for not only on the road which we passed along,
but even in the streets of the village, upon the moss-grown walls, and on the trees of the courts
and gardens, we had fine opportunities for making close observations of these peculiar birds.
Whilst we were waiting for a guide at the door of one of the houses, a young Rose Starling flew
through the window into the room, and was instantly captured by the owner and given to us.
Many others were around us, following their mothers about with a very peculiar chirp; and we
at once perceived that we had come too late to procure eggs.

_ © After we had promised our guide a good reward for assistance, we set off for the mountains.
I must here mention that the rather high and rugged hills which hem in the sides of the Gulf of
Smyrna and the valley and Gulf of Bournatut, particularly towards the north, and form the foot
of the higher hills, consist of surface-beds of limestone, covered with large erratic blocks of
granite of different shapes and sizes. ‘These massive stones, heaped one above another, leave no
place for vegetation of any sort except the Asphodelus ramosus. Our way then lay northwards
towards these pathless mountains; and after a wearisome ascent up the empty bed of a torrent,
on whose banks the beautiful MVeriwm oleander and the charming agnocasto grew luxuriously,
we arrived, after a good hour, at the foot of the higher range above mentioned. All along our
road, in the bed of the torrent, we had found Rose Starlings in great plenty; they came down to
drink, first alighting on the ground, and then on the oleander bushes, where they seemed to
vanish like magic as they mixed their gay colouring with the flowers of the oleander. We had
hardly begun to mount the hill before we noticed another thing; there was not a stone or block
which was not covered with the white excrement of these birds, they resorted there in such
multitudes; but how great was our astonishment when we saw at a distance of about 200 metres
above us the rocks covered with white, looking as if lime had been spread out for 200 yards
square! On arriving there we found a real camp and a battle-field in one; the nests were in
thousands, some quite open and uncovered, others so concealed among the blocks of: stone that it
was necessary to turn them over to find them; some were more than a foot below the surface ;
and others were beyond arm’s length. The nests were often so close together as to touch
one another. They were made with but little care: the birds content themselves with a slight
hollow in the ground, in which are placed some dead stalks of the agnocasto, and, in a few
instances, a lining of grass. I observed many in which the eggs lay on the bare earth. This
sort of nesting exposed them to a great many enemies, which were roaming about them on all
sides. For that reason I said that we had found a battle-field as well as an encampment; for, to
give you an idea of the quantity of nestlings destroyed by jackalls, martens, wild cats, rats, &c.,
judge when I tell you that in a space of about five yards square I counted fourteen pairs ot
wings and three remains of old ones. Besides, who can tell the number of eggs destroyed by
snakes? Indeed it is wonderful how the Rose Starlings can propagate at all in spite of all these
enemies; and if, on the one hand, this is due to its immense numbers, so also, on the other side,
something must be allowed to the care with which it broods over and watches its eggs, and the
quickness with which the young grow and attain their plumage. Although, from what I have
before related concerning the migration, they could not have arrived here before the first days of
June, and so could not have begun their nests until from the 6th to the 8th of that month, yet
it is quite certain that on the 25th (or at most the 27th) of that month the young had left the

30

431

10

nest. Indeed our observations on the spot answer completely to the account given to us by the
people in Bournatut on the 30th—namely, that the young with their parents had then already
arrived in the gardens four or five days,—and to what was told us by a chasseur whom we met,
who said that he had found a great number of young full-fledged in the nest on the 22nd of
June in a different locality from this. For this reason we found amongst large numbers of nests
only two with young unfledged; all the others were flown. Of eggs we found but very few, all
addled, and not more than two in a nest.

“These eges measure, on the average, 15 lines in long diameter and 94 lines in short
diameter. I say on the average, because we did not find two exactly alike, some being pear-
shaped, others elliptical. Some are fleshy white, others pearl-white with a tinge of blue; some
have a few small, dark specks at the thick end. ‘The shell is very beautiful, strong, and shining.
Although the general number of eggs may be two or three (judging from the number of young
which were in company with their parents on the first days of their flight), yet it may never-
theless often amount to four or five.

“The great difference in number between the males and females which I spoke of in my last
letter, having found eight males out of ten individuals procured, is reducible to a much smaller
proportion ; for although the difference exists, it appears greater, because most of the birds were
procured at the breeding-time, when the females were passing most of the day on the nest.
Another fact leads towards the same conclusion—namely, that the males whilst the females are
sitting can go off by themselves in search of grasshoppers, and then, with grasshoppers in their
beaks, fly away back to the mountains, no doubt in order to feed the sitting female, or, later in
the season, the young. ‘The perseverance with which the Rose Starlings search for grasshoppers
seems to have its origin not so much in regard for their own supply of food as in an instinctive
desire of destruction or antipathy against them. ‘The Rose Starlings dart down upon them and
kill them, uttering continual cries and squalls, and leave the greater part of them untouched on
the earth.

“*One morning as I was observing, for half an hour together, five Rose Starlings, I saw two
or three of them dart down suddenly from the tree to the earth, in order to kill some grass-
hoppers which appeared between the swathes of a mown field of grass, and leave them without
eating them. ‘The birds are so far from shy, that a person can easily remain within four or five
paces of them without frightening them; and on the trees they will remain with still greater
confidence.

“The old birds are very careful of their young; and directly one of them calls, up comes
the male or female directly to lead it out of harm’s way. ‘The young seem able to feed without
assistance directly they have flown; and the old ones only lead them about in order that they may
find their food more easily. The quick development of the young enables them to leave the old
after the expiration of from ten to twelve days; for I assure you that to-day the greater part of
the old birds have disappeared, and the young are already assembled together in flocks.”

The eggs of the Rose-coloured Starling somewhat resemble those of the Starling, but are
much paler in colour. I have several in my collection, obtained by Dr. Cullen near Kustendjie,
in Turkey, which, when first received, were delicate pale French grey in colour, but have now
faded nearly to pure white, and, indeed, can only be distinguished to be pale bluish white by

il

placing them by the side of pure white eggs. In size they vary from 13% by $G to 1-8; by #2 inch;
and the shell is very smooth and glossy in texture, quite as much if not more so than in eggs of

the common Starling.
The specimens figured are a magnificent male sent to me by the Marquis Doria, and a young

bird of the year, obtained by Dr. Kriiper near Smyrna, these and an adult female, also sent by
the Marquis Doria, being the specimens described.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6,6, 2. Genoa, June 1871 (Marquis Doria). c,d, e, f, . Parryville, Turkey, May 25th, 1871 (Robson).
g, 6 juv. Smyrna, July 24th, 1871 (Dr. Kriiper). h, i, 7, k. N.-W. India (Burton).

E. Mus. Baron A. von Hiigel.

a, 6 ad. Southern Russia, May. 4, 2 ad. Crimea, May 1869 (W. Schliiter). c, 2 ad., d, 5 juv. Smyrna,
July 1871 (Dr. Kriiper).

302

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Family CORVIDE.

Genus PYRRHOCORAX.

Coracia apud Brisson, Orn. p. 3 (1760).

Corvus apud Linnzus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 158 (1766).
Gracula apud Scopoli, Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 42 (1769).
Pyrrhocorax, Tunstall, Orn. Brit. p. 2 (1771).
Graculus apud Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 91 (1816).
Fregilus apud Cuvier, Rég. Animal. i. p. 406 (1817).
Frigilus apud Swainson, Classif. of B. ii. p. 268 (1837).

Tuts genus forms a very distinct group of the Corvidee, differing more especially in the form of
the bill and coloration of the bill and legs. ‘Two species only are included in the genus, both of
which are found in the Western Palearctic Region, and range throughout the Eastern Palearctic
Region to China, being also found in the northern portion of the Ethiopian Region. They
frequent rocky portions of the higher mountain-ranges and high cliffs bordering the ocean. In
general habits they resemble the Jackdaw, with which species they not unfrequently consort.
They are gregarious, even during the breeding-season; but though not very wild, they are wary
and cautious. They feed on insects of various kinds, worms &c., and grain; and their note
resembles that of the Jackdaw, but is clearer and shriller.

They construct a rather large cup-shaped nest of sticks lined with roots, wool, and hair, and
deposit several creamy white eggs, sometimes tinged with pale green, and marked with faint
purplish grey and hair-brown blotches.

Pyrrhocorax graculus, the type of the genus, has the bill long, compressed, rather stout at
the base, but curved and tapering to a point; nostrils basal, covered by close stiff feathers
directed forwards; wings long, pointed, the first quill short, being about equal to the short
secondaries, the second shorter than the sixth, the fourth longest; tail moderate, even; tarsus
long, covered in front with four indistinct large and three inferior scutelle ; toes stout, scutellate ;
claws rather short, stout, curved, acute.

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201

|.RED-BILLED CHOUGH.
PYRRHOCORAX GRACULUS

2.ALPINE CHOUGH.
PYRRHOGORAX ALPINUS.

289

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! PYRRHOCORAX GRACULUS.

(RED-BILLED CHOUGH.)

Coracia, Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 3 (1760).

Coracia cristata, Brisson, tom. cit. p. 6 (1760).

Corvus graculus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 158 (1766).

Corvus eremita, Linn. tom. cit. p. 159 (1766, ex Briss.).

Gracula pyrrhocoraz, Scopoli, Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 42 (1769, nec Linn.).
Corvus docilis, 8S. G. Gmelin, Reise durch Russl. iii. p. 365, pl. 39 (1774).
Le Crave ou le Coracias, Montbeillard, Hist. Nat. Ois. iii. p. 1, pl. 1 (1775).
Graculus eremita (Gm.), Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 91 (1816).

Coracia erythrorhamphos, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. viii. p. 2 (1817).

Fregilus graculus (L.), Cuvier, Reg. Animal, i. p. 406 (1817).
Pyrrhocorax graculus (L.), Temm. Man. d’Orn. i. p. 122 (1820).
Pyrrhocorax rupestris, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutsch]. p. 175 (1831).
Fregilus europeus, Lesson, Orn. p. 324 (1851).

Frigilus erythropus, Swains. Classif. of Birds, 11. p. 268 (1837).

Fregilus himalayanus, Gould, P. Z. 8. 1862, p. 125.

Fregilus graculus, var. orientalis, Dybowski, J. f. O. 1868, p. 332.
Fregilus graculus, var. brachypus, Swinh. P. Z. 8. 1871, p. 383.

Chough, Cornish Chough, Red-legged Crow, English; Crave, French; Steinkrahe, Steinrabe,
German; Grajo, Jucala, Spanish; Klushitza-grion, Bortevschik, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 255; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 12; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 28.
fig. 4; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 57. fig. 2; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 219; id. B. of
G. B. iui. pl. 62; Roux, Orn. Prov. pl. 137.

Ad. coracino-niger, corpore supra chalybeo nitente, alis et cauda supra violaceo-chalybeo nitentibus: rostro et
pedibus rubris, unguibus nigris: iride fusca.

Juv. adulto similis sed colore obscuriore, pedibus et rostro sordidé rubescenti-aurantiacis nec rubris.

Adult Male (Islay, Scotland, November 1867). Entire plumage jet-black, glossed, more especially on the
upper surface of the body, with steel-blue; upper surface of the wings and tail more richly glossed with

steely violet ; iris brown; beak and legs vermilion red, the former almost coral-red ; claws black. Total

length about 163 inches, culmen 2:0, wing 10:9, tail 5°5, tarsus 2:07.
Female. Undistinguishable from the male in size or plumage.

Young. Resemble the adult, but are duller in colour. Mr. J. Lumsden, jun., informs me that he has had
FQ

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at

2

the young from the nest of various ages, and has carefully noted down the colours of the beak and legs.
When the bird has short feathers, and before it is able to fly, the beak and legs are pale dull brownish
orange; but as the bird grows these soft parts gradually become reddish orange, and then red as in
the adult.

ESSENTIALLY a frequenter of rocky localities, the Chough is a tolerably local species; but its range
extends throughout Central and Southern Kurope, and Northern Africa eastward to China.

It is met with in Europe as far north as Great Britain, where it inhabits the cliffs which
fringe our coasts, but is a very locally distributed bird, and does not seem to have ever been
observed on our east coasts, except in Berwickshire, though found on the south and west side of
England. Mr. A. G. More writes (Ibis, 1865, p. 132) that it inhabits “the rocky headlands of
the south and west coasts from the Isle of Wight to Ross and Sutherland. .... According to
Pennant it formerly nested on Dover cliffs; he states that a pair brought from Cornwall escaped
and stocked these rocks, though the well-known passage from Shakespeare seems to imply an
earlier origin. It is believed to be now extinct in Sussex and Kent; and a very few pairs now
remain on the Isle of Wight and at Purbeck. On the east coast a few pairs only are known to
breed, about St. Abb’s Head and near Fast Castle, in Berwickshire.” In a letter from Mr. Cecil
Smith, of Taunton, that gentleman writes to me as follows :—“ In three of the western counties
(Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset) the Chough is pretty common in such localities as suit it, and is,
thanks to its having crept into the Sea-bird Act, increasing in numbers, especially in North
Devon. In Somerset it appears to be nearly extinct. Not very long ago a few used to breed
regularly on the cliffs near Mine Head; but one year their nests were destroyed by some masons
who were employed about the harbour-works, since which time these birds have never returned
to their old quarters. The last appearance of the Chough in Somerset that I have heard of was
in April 1868, when a pair made their appearance at Bagborough, just under the Quantock
Hills, but quite away from the sea, and appeared disposed to build in the church-tower, but
were unfortunately shot by the keeper after they had been about there for a few days. These
two birds were supposed to be escapes; but I examined them soon after they were killed, and
could find no trace of their having been in confinement: they were perhaps tamer than usual ;
but I have seen Choughs in other places come about houses for food, especially about the light-
house at Lundy Island, much as I was told these birds did at Bagborough. The stomach of one
of these birds which I examined contained a few oats, probably picked up about the stable-yard,
some grubs, and several half-digested remains of earwigs. At Lundy Island and on the opposite
coast of Wales there are a good many Choughs, and, as in North Devon, they are probably
increasing in numbers since the Sea-bird Act. I hope they may soon reestablish themselves in
Somerset. In Guernsey I have found the Chough common in most parts of the island; indeed
it appears very much to take the place of the Jackdaw, which is not numerous there. I have
also seen a good many in the islands of Jettoo, Herm, Sark, and Alderney.” Mr. Howard
Saunders informs me that “it is tolerably abundant at Lundy Island, off the coast of North
Devon, and, where not persecuted, is found along the greater part of the Devon and Cornish
precipices. It is less abundant in Dorsetshire. It is common in many parts of Wales; and in
the lofty crags of the north-west of Ireland it is really numerous, as also at Rathlin Island.”
Yarrell states that it is found in the Isle of Man, especially in the southern part and the rock

3

called the Calf of Man. In Scotland it is much less numerous than in England; and Mr. Robert
Gray writes (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 162):—-‘It appears to have been at no distant date a much
commoner bird than it now is, and to have inhabited inland situations from which it has now
utterly disappeared. The Chough is mentioned by Don in his Forfarshire list as a resident
species in the mountains of Clova, and is likewise referred to by Pennant, who states that he
found it ‘in the furthest parts of Glenlyon and Achmore.’ About the same period it appears
to have frequented the rocks at the Corra-Linn Falls, on the Clyde; and twenty years after-
wards, namely in 1794, the Rev. John Lapslie included the species in his list of birds found in
the parish of Campsie, in Stirlingshire.

“The most recent instance of the bird being met with in an inland locality is one which
was shot and preserved at Crowfordjohn, in Lanarkshire, in the winter of 1854. In all these
localities the Chough has long ago become extinct; and the species is now wholly confined to the
sea-coast. Yet in many places once distinguished for Red-legged Crows, it has of late years
become very scarce. Thus at Burrow Head and the Mull of Galloway on the south-west coast,
Troup Head on the north, and St. Abb’s Head on the south-east, the bold and precipitous
rocks fronting the sea were at one time inhabited by considerable numbers of these birds, while
now a few straggling pairs are all that remain; indeed it may be questioned if a single Chough
has been seen at either Troup Head or St. Abb’s for the last ten or fifteen years. It would
almost seem as if some fatality were connected with the Chough in this country, as in nearly all
the old and now deserted haunts of the species which I have visited I can find no apparent cause
for its disappearance.

“That the encroachments of man can have had little or no bearing on the subject is, I
think, evident, from the fact of the Chough’s haunts being for the most part remote and
inaccessible.” It is, he adds, still found on the west coast of Skye, where it breeds in limited
numbers; and on the south coast of Ayrshire, and along the coast of Wigtownshire, extending
to the Mull of Galloway, Burrow Head, and the borders of Kirkcudbrightshire it is still
sparingly met with, though in some spots where flocks might have been seen twenty years
ago, a solitary pair at most remain. In Ireland, Thompson writes (B. of Ireland, i. p. 298), it
is “more generally diffused around the rock-bound shores of Ireland than British authors
would lead us to believe it is on those of Scotland and England. It may be met with in such
localities in the north, east, south, and west of the island.” It does not inhabit Greenland,
Iceland, the Feroes, Sweden, or Norway, nor has it been met with in Finland; but my collector
in Archangel assures me that he has seen it there, and describes the bird with great accuracy.
Sabaniieff states that it is common in the Ural from Tagela, and is by no means rare in the
Ekaterinburg and the Krasnoufim Ural; but neither Hoffmann nor Eversmann mentions it.
Borggreve writes that it does not occur in North Germany, nor has it been met with in
Denmark. Baron De Selys-Longchamps inserts it in his work on the fauna of Belgium on
the strength of Degland’s assertion that he obtained it in the market of Lille in 1825; and
Degland and Gerbe state that it is merely of accidental occurrence in the north of France,
though resident in the Alps, Pyrenees, and the high mountains of Provence. Mr. Howard
Saunders informs me that he observed it on the coast of Brittany. Professor Barboza du
Bocage speaks of it as being not rare in Portugal; and Dr. KE. Rey writes (J. f. O. 1872, p. 145)

440

4

as follows:—‘‘I found this species very common in the valley that runs from Villa do Bispo
down to the Atlantic Ocean. They passed to and fro with such regularity that I could kill
several without any trouble at all. At the end of the valley I found the nests, but in a place
where I could not possibly reach them. This colony was composed of thirty or forty pairs,
some of which were busy building; and this was the reason for their regular flight, as they were
bringing from the fields the roots of different plants for their nests.”

The various authors on Spanish ornithology record it as found in that country: Mr. Howard
Saunders speaks of it (Ibis, 1871, p. 221) as being ‘‘abundant in the mountain districts, especially
at the back of the Sierra Nevada, where it appeared to be more numerous than P. alpinus.”
Dr. A. E. Brehm observed it in several localities in Spain, especially near Murcia, where it is
said to have settled only a few years ago. It is a resident in that country. Passing eastward,
again, I find it recorded by Bailly as ‘sedentary in Savoy, but nowhere numerous; and the
only localities where it may always be met with during summer are the Alps of Maurienne,
Mont Cenis, especially near the summits of perpetual snow, and the higher portions of Faucigny.
It is furthermore met with in the more elevated regions of the Bauges and Tarantaise, where
scattered pairs may be seen, which, however, after the period of nidification, leave these localities
to resort to more elevated portions of the Alps.” In Switzerland, according to Naumann, it is
everywhere rarer than the Alpine Chough, and inhabits the most elevated portions of the country,
as the Ormonder Mountains, near Aigle, in Canton Leman, the mountains of Wallis, St. Bern-
hard, and the southern chain of the Alps generally, which divide Wallis from Italy. In Italy it
is met with throughout the mountainous parts of the country, and in the Islands of Sicily and
Sardinia; in which latter island, Mr. A. B. Brooke writes (Ibis, 1873, p. 248), it is common on
the higher ranges in the centre of the island, but there are none in the Monte-Limas range. In
Southern Germany it is stated by Naumann to occur, though very rarely, in Bavaria, Styria,
Karnthen, and the Tyrol, and equally rarely in the Jura and Vogesen Mountains; but Seidensacher
informed me that he had only seen the Alpine Chough in Styria; and later authors on South-
German ornithology make but little reference to the present species. Both Von der Mihle and
Lindermayer record it from Greece. ‘The former states that it is most common on the Cita
Mountains, in Rumelia; and Lindermayer writes that he met with it on Mount Hymettus, and
further north on the Parnassus, the Cita Mountains, on Taygetus, the Parthenon Mountains,
near Tripolizza, and in Acarnania. Neither Lord Lilford nor Messrs. Elwes and Buckley ever
met with it in Turkey proper; but the latter gentlemen remark (Ibis, 1870, p. 191) that they
got a specimen from Mr. Robson which was obtained at Kara Hissr, in Asia Minor. Professor
von Nordmann says that it does not inhabit the portion of Southern Russian where he collected,
but that it is abundant in the Caucasus. Canon Tristram says that he never observed the
common Chough in Palestine; nor has it been recorded from Egypt; but it is said by Von
Heuglin to inhabit the mountains of Arabia Petreea, and is found in Abyssinia, in which latter
country Mr. Blanford writes (Geol. & Zool. of Abyss. p. 395) that he once met with it on the
Wadela plateau, near Gazo, at an elevation of 10,500 feet, but did not secure a specimen.

In North-west Africa it is stated by Loche to inhabit only the highest mountains of Algeria,
such as those near Djelfa and Boghar, where it breeds. Mr. O. Salvin says that he used not
unfrequently to see it about the hills which surround the plain that holds the Marsh of Zana;

5

and Canon Tristram writes (Ibis, 1859, p. 292) as follows:—‘'The Chough is very local, and
known to the Arabs by the name of ‘Ogreeb Hamraiah’ (the Red Crow). It came under my
observation only at two very distant points on the edge of the Sahara, viz. the cliffs of Bokhari,
south of Algiers, and the gorge of El Kantara, south-east of Constantine, the key of the desert
and the first of the oases. In both these localities I obtained eggs—in 1856 at Bokhari, in 1857
at El Kantara. The Chough thus barely gains a claim to be held a bird of the Sahara, not
penetrating so far south as his rival and persecutor the Jackdaw, though in winter he descends
beyond Biskra to feed, returning to the cliffs at night. It is interesting to observe one of our
northern coast-birds in a scene so strangely different, and bearing a similar relation to the Jackdaw
as he does on the English cliffs. The Alpine Chough has not yet been observed in Algeria.”
Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt-Drake observed it at Tetuan; and it also inhabits the island of Palma.
Mr. F. DuCane Godman remarks (Ibis, 1872, p. 214), “it is singular that this bird, which is
so very common in the island of Palma, should not occur elsewhere in the Archipelago. It
breeds in the clefts of the walls of the old crater. I can detect no difference between the Palma
birds and those I have in my collection from other parts of Europe.”

The Asiatic Chough has been by many authors considered to be specifically distinct from
the European bird, and was first described as distinct by Mr. Gould (/. c.) under the name of
Fregilus himalayanus, chiefly on account of its larger size; but after a careful examination of a
large series of specimens from various localities in Europe and Asia, I cannot find any specific
distinction. In coloration there is certainly no difference; and as regards measurements, the
following table will show how specimens from the same locality vary in size :—

Culmen. | Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

inches. inches. inches. inches.
Islay, Scotland,d,2 . . . . 1:90-2:4 10°5-11°9 5°5-6°0 2 07-2'3
Dorsetshire coast . . . . . 21 10:3 55 2:05
Palma, Canaries,d,2. . . . 2°20-2°5 10:2-11:0 5:7-5'8 2:00-2°1
Kara Hissr, near Trebizond . . 271 12:0 6:2 2:0

> IER WASS 5 96 6 0 6 6 6 Cal 11:5 6:2 11

Darjechnep eels alge emery leo 11:9 6:1 2:05
IBRESAINP 5 5 6 a 8g 8 eG I 11°4 6:4 21
Sikkim oy ay a) we 9O= 225 11:3-12°4 6:4-6°7 2:10-2:35
Hwaitai Hien, China . * - . 1°98 11:0 6:2 271

Mr. Blanford gives the measurements of specimens from Sikkim as follows:—Male. Bill
from gape 2°3 inches, wing 12°75, tail 6°5, tarsus 2.4. Female. Bill from gape 2-0-2°3, wing
11-5-12°3, tail 5-8-6°8, tarsus 2°2-2:35. And he compares them with a male from Switzerland,
which measured—bill from gape 2°41, wing 12°17, tail 5:52, tarsus 2:07.

As will be seen from the above specimens, those from Scotland and Sikkim vary most, and
the largest of those I have measured is one from Sikkim obtained by Captain Elwes; but another
from the same locality is as small as the average of Scotch specimens.

To the eastward the common Chough is found in suitable localities as far as China. De
Filippi observed flocks of this species and P. alpinus at Demavend; and Mr. Blanford writes that
it is “common in many of the Persian hills. I met with it first between Bamptr and Narmashir,

441

442

6

in April, at not much more than 4000 feet above the sea, and thence saw it here and there
throughout the country, by no means keeping always to the highest elevations; for I saw many
in June at a place barely 5000 feet above the sea-level. Indeed, to the north they appeared to
range higher than to the south, keeping to the higher parts of the Elburz for instance ;” to
which Major St. John adds :—it “‘is very common in Western Persia in suitable localities, and
keeps in immense flocks. I have never seen it in the lower valleys. P. alpinus is certainly much
less common. The only time I have seen it was when the specimen in the collection was obtained
on the Kotal-Doktar pass, between Bushire and Shiraz, 4000 feet above the sea.”

Severtzoff says (Turk. Jevotnie, p. 63) that it is resident throughout Turkestan, being met
with during the summer at an altitude of from 8000 to 14,000 feet, but in winter is found lower
down. In India, Dr. Jerdon writes, it is “found in the Himalayas in flocks near the snows,
some of them migrating with the Jackdaws to the plains of the Punjab in winter ;” and Dr. Leith
Adams says that it abounds in Kashmir. It is recorded from South-east Siberia by Dr. Radde |
and Dr. Dybowski, the former of whom states that he observed it when ascending the Sochondo,
as well as near the Munko-Sardik above the tree-growth, and in the latter mountains even as
high as the glaciers; and Dr. Dybowski writes (J. f. O. 1868, p. 332) that it is resident in Dauria,
and in some localities (as, for instance, at Kira, Bukukun, and Altan) it builds on the roofs of
dwelling-houses and in the churches. He says that the natives hold this bird in great esteem,
and believe that where it is found no deaths can occur from bites of mad dogs. Should a person
be bitten by a mad dog, he goes to where the Choughs are found; and should they meet him
flying round and uttering their loud cry, it is believed that he will recover, but if not, then he
will die. Dr. Dybowski was informed at Kira that since the birds settled and commenced to
breed there no one had been bitten by a mad dog. In some notes communicated by Dr. Dybowski
to Mr. 'Taczanowski it is stated (J. f. O. 1872, p. 454) that it is found in the steppes near Lake
Kosogol, and breeds in the rocks near the Onon river, where he observed them in March carrying
building-materials for their nests.

Mr. Swinhoe states that it inhabits North China, and has been procured near 'Tientsin; and
Pere David says that it is common and resident in all the high mountains of North China and in
Mongolia. But I do not find it recorded from Japan. According to Mr. Swinhoe (Ibis, 1866,
p. 131) there is a specimen in the India Museum labelled as being from Java; but further proof
as to its occurrence there appears to be wanting. It does not occur in the Nearctic Region.

In its habits the Chough, like the Jackdaw and the Rook, is gregarious; and even during
the breeding-season it forms small colonies. It is essentially a rock-frequenting bird, and breeds
in the rocks, placing its nest in some deep fissure or cave, generally in an inaccessible position ;
but sometimes, as above recorded by Dr. Dybowski, it breeds in church-towers and even in the
roofs of dwelling-houses. It is a resident wherever it is found, only moving somewhat lower
down the mountains in the winter season, probably shifting its quarters to amore suitable place
for obtaining food. It feeds on small insects of various kinds, grubs, beetles, &c., and to some
extent on grain. Some authors affirm that it feeds on carrion; but I find no confirmation of this
statement. It searches for its food in the pastures and amongst the rocks, and walks about with
ease after the manner of the Rook or Jackdaw. Its flight is irregular, something like that of
the Jackdaw; and it is said to indulge not unfrequently in gambols and evolutions of various

7

sorts on the wing. Its note somewhat resembles that of the Jackdaw, but is clearer and more
shrill.

Captain Elwes, who has had ample opportunities of observing the habits of the Chough, both
in Scotland and elsewhere, sends me the following note:—‘“'The Chough is found in the island
of Islay in considerable numbers, but strangely enough does not appear to frequent any of the
northern or outer Hebrides. It is most abundant on the west side of the island, about Kilcho-
man, where at least forty or fifty pairs roost every evening in the cliffs above the church. They
do not associate with the Jackdaws which resort to the same roosting-place, but keep together
in small flocks, soaring up and down about the rocks, with their broad rounded wings widely
spread, and showing the tips of the quills separated and curving upwards. Their flight at this
time is something like that of a Woodpecker, but without much forward motion; and their wild
peculiar cry, which may be heard at a great distance, is constantly uttered. The birds appear
to be always in pairs, even in winter, and probably pair for life, like the Raven. In the morning
they disperse over the island in small parties, feeding on the grass-land and about the roads,
where they turn over the droppings of cattle in search of insects. Though not so wild as the
Raven or Crow, they are, like other members of their family, wary birds, easily alarmed, and not
to be approached very closely if they see you take notice of them. ‘Their flight when moving
about the country is strong and hurried, but not rapid; and their course is very erratic, and never
in a direct line like that of a Rook. It breeds in May, making its nest in holes and fissures in
the cliffs, where it is most difficult to get at them.

_ ©The Himalayan Chough, though somewhat larger in size, does not differ in habits or cry
from the British bird. I found it abundant in the Lachen and Lachoong valleys of Northern
Sikkim, at from about 9000 to 16,000 feet elevation, but not on the Chola or any of the outer
ranges. It feeds about the yakherds’ camps, turning over the dung and stones for insects; but it
also eats seeds and berries.

“In Lycia, the south-western part of Asia Minor, I also found this bird in 1874. It fre-
quents the high mountains near the coast, but descends to the plains to feed. I procured one
specimen, which is exactly similar to others from different parts of Kurope.”

The nest of the Chough, which, as above stated, is usually placed in a fissure in the rocks,
is a tolerably large structure, constructed of old sticks and well lined with roots, wool, and hair;
and the eggs, from four to five in number, are pale creamy white, some having the ground-colour
almost white, whereas others have it darker and with a faint greenish tinge, and all are marked
with faint purplish underlying shell-markings and hair-brown surface-spots and blotches, some
being but slightly marked, whereas others are tolerably closely covered with spots and blotches.
In size a series in my collection, from Lundy Island and the Welsh coast, vary from 17% by 145
to 13% by 128; inch.

The specimen figured, on the same Plate with P. alpinus, is one obtained at Islay by Captain
Elwes, being the bird described, and is in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

Ai. 4

8

E Mus. H. HE. Dresser.

a. Islay, Scotland, November 1867 (H. J. Elwes). 6, 3. Islay, 1867 (Crawshay). c. Dorsetshire coast.
d. Darjeeling, India, 1873 (A. Anderson). e. Kashapant, Bussahur, India, February 21st, 1871 (Capt.
Marshall). f. Uachen valley, Sikkim, October 5th, 1870 (W. T. Blanford).

E Mus. H. J. Elwes.

a, 3, 6,9. Islay, Scotland, March 1867 (H. J. #.). c. Kara Hissr, near Trebizond (Robson). d. Himalayas
(Tweedie). e. Sikkim (H. J. H.). jf. Hwaitai Hien, China, September 20th, 1868 (R. Swinhoe).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a,d, 6,9. Palma, Canaries, May 4th, 1871 (F. D. Godman). c, 3, d,2. Islay, Scotland (H. J. Elwes).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a, 3. Islay, Scotland, March 1864 (A. W. Crichton). 6, 3,c¢, 2. Swanage, Dorset, December 24th (R. Haynes).
d, 3,e,2. Sierra Nevada, Spain, January 1873. f,3. Near Malaga, Spain, February 2nd, 1872.

E Mus. Ind. Cale.

a,2. Near Niriz, east of Shiraz, June 4th. 6,¢. Abadeh, June (Major St. John). c. Elburz Mountains,
January. d. Elburz Mountains, February (W. T. Blanford).

PYRRHOCORAX ALPINUS,

(ALPINE CHOUGEH.)

Corvus pyrrhocorax, Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 31, pl. 1. fig. 2 (1760).

Corvus pyrrhocorax, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 158 (1766, ex Briss.).

Le Choquard ou Choucas des Alpes, Montbeillard, Hist. Nat. Ois. iii. p. 76, pl. 6 (1775).
Pyrrivocoraz, Vieill. (Choucas des Alpes, Montb.), Analyse, p. 36. no. 95 (1816).
Pyrrhocorax alpinus, Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 90 (1816).

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax (L.), Temm. Man. d’Orn. i. p. 121 (1820).

Pyrrhocoraz alpinus, var. digitata, Khr. Symb. Phys. fol. z (1829).

Pyrrhocorax montanus, C. L. Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 176 (1831).

Frigilus pyrrhocorax (1..), Swainson, Classif. of Birds, ii. p. 268 (1837).

Pyrrhocorax planiceps, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 61 (1855).

Choquard des Alpes, Choucas des Alpes, French; Alpendohle, Alpenkréhe, German; Grajo,
Spanish; Gracchio, Italian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 331; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 11; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 28.
fig. 5; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 57. fig. 1; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 218; Roux, Orn.
Prov. pl. 138.

Ad. niger, dorso et collo cum pectore purpureis, alis et caudé supra chalybeo nitentibus: rostro flavo: iride
fused: pedibus rubris, unguibus nigricantibus.

Juv. sordidior, nitore nullo: rostro nigricante, ad basin flavo: pedibus nigricantibus nec rubris.

Adult Male (Switzerland). Entire plumage glossy black, with purple reflections on the back, and to a slight
extent on the neck and breast, and a rich bottle-green gloss on the wings and tail; beak yellow, with
an orange tinge; iris brown; legs and feet dark vermilion-red; soles blackish; claws blackish horn.
Total length about 15:5-16 inches, culmen 1:2, wing 10°3, tail 6:0, tarsus 1-7.

Female. Similar to the male.

Young (fide Bailly, Orn. Sav. ii. p. 147). On leaving the nest the young birds have the plumage dull and
brownish in tinge; the beak is yellowish at the base, but otherwise blackish; the legs are blackish,
with a little red only in the articulations. After the first moult (say, about the end of September) the
tarsi are nearly brown and the beak yellowish, and a few greenish reflections may be observed on the
new feathers, especially on the wings. In the following spring, before the month of May, they attain
the full adult plumage.

Tuts Alpine bird has even a more restricted and local range than the Red-billed Chough, being
k2

44.5

2

almost solely restricted to the larger mountain-ranges in Europe, and found in Asia in the elevated
ranges of the Himalayas.

It does not occur in Great Britain, Scandinavia, nor in Northern or Central Europe, except
in the elevated mountain districts of the latter. It has not been recorded from other portions of
France besides the Alpine districts, in the south-eastern departments, and in the Pyrenees; and
even in Provence it is rare and confined to the most elevated districts. Professor Barboza du
Bocage includes it in his list of birds found in Portugal, without comment; and Dr. E. Rey
writes (J. f. O. 1872, p. 145) that he shot one near Sagres in that country, but never observed it
on any other occasion. It has, however, been met with in Spain; and Dr. A. E. Brehm states
that in the more elevated mountains throughout that country it is not rare, and is resident.
Near Murcia it is always to be met with, he adds, at an altitude of about 800 feet. Mr. Howard
Saunders also records it (Ibis, 1871, p. 221) from Southern Spain, where, he says, it frequents
the same localities as P. graculus, but at a higher altitude. Passing eastward we find it
common in Switzerland and Savoy, where, Bailly says, it inhabits the entire chain of the Alps,
frequenting the most elevated regions during the summer, and only descends from these heights
during severe weather; and Salvadori writes that it inhabits the Apennines and their spurs, but
has not been authentically recorded from Sicily or Sardinia. Lord Lilford writes (Ibis, 1860,
p. 136) that he has had many opportunities of closely observing its habits in the mountains near
Nice and in Piedmont, and he adds that he observed a pair in Epirus, in May 1857, when
chamois-hunting in the Acroceraunian mountains above Khimara, about forty miles north of

Corfu; and it is recorded by both Von der Miihle and Lindermayer from Greece, where it is a
resident in all the mountain-ranges, descending in flocks into the lowlands during winter.
Mr. Hudleston saw numbers on Mount Parnassus and the Taygetos; and Lindermayer says that
it breeds on the first-named mountain. I do not find it recorded from Turkey; but it occurs in
Southern Germany; and the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen says (J. f. O. 1875, p. 149) that a
flock of from twenty to twenty-five individuals frequented the Kapuziner and Monchs Mountains
in Southern Austria, and were often seen on the fortress; and he adds that in severe winters it is
not unfrequently seen in the streets of Salzburg. Sabanaetf, in his MS. notes on the ornithology
of the Ural, does not include the present species, but only P. graculus; but Eversmann states
(J. f. O. 1853, p. 290) that P. alpinus is also met with in the more rocky portions of the Ural,
though very much rarer than the common Chough. I have no data as to its occurrence in Asia
Minor; but Canon Tristram met with it in Palestine when crossing the Lebanon, and found it
in considerable numbers near one of the highest passes south of the Ainat, always, however, in
parties of five or six, but distributed along the whole ridge. emprich and Ehrenberg record
it (l. c.) from Syria; and it has been said to occur in North-east Africa; but it appears that the
data as to its occurrence there rest on very slender grounds, as only Hasselquist records it from
Egypt, and none of the later collectors have met with it. Von Heuglin observes that, according
to Dr. Schimper, it has been met with at Semién, in Abyssinia, but he himself never observed it
in any part of North-east Africa; and Captain Shelley states that he considers its occurrence in
Egypt very doubtful. It has not been recorded from North-west Africa; and although Von
Heuglin says that Bolle met with it on the Canaries, this is a mistake, as the species referred to
by Dr. Bolle is Pyrrhocorax graculus, and not the present species.

3

To the eastward it is met with as far as the Himalayas. Messrs. Blanford and St. John
record it from Persia as ‘common on the slopes of Demavend, the high volcanic cone north-east
of Tehran ;” and Mr. Blanford adds that he himself did not meet with it. Severtzoff states that
it is resident in Turkestan, in the south-western district, at an altitude of from 8500 to 10,500
feet, and occurs during the summer as high as 14,000 feet. Dr. Jerdon (B. of India, ii. p. 319)
writes that it inhabits the higher ranges of the Himalayas, where it lives in flocks, and feeds on
various fruits. Further east than the Himalayas it does not appear to occur, and I do not find
it recorded from China, where P. graculus alone occurs.

In its habits the Alpine Chough closely resembles our British red-billed bird; but it is more
especially an alpine bird, frequenting the more elevated portions of the mountains in the imme-
diate vicinity of the glaciers and eternal snow.

Its flight is swift; and it frequently hovers or glides with outstretched wings in circles,
especially when descending from any altitude, or when ascending. It usually flies at a great
altitude; and when it descends into the valleys it is a sure sign of snow or rain. Naumann
remarks that this species foretells the weather with great accuracy, and that should it, after
having taken up its quarters in the high mountains in the spring, return to the less-elevated
localities, it may be taken for granted that there will be a fall of snow.

It feeds on insects of various descriptions (which it either picks up off the ground or
searches for amongst the crevices of the rocks), seeds of various sorts, berries, and grain; and it
is said to cause no little damage amongst the freshly sown grain of the mountain peasants when
other food is scarce. Asa rule it is a wary and shy bird, difficult of approach, and suspicious of
any intruder, even when it inhabits localities where a human being is xarely seen, and there
cannot have been any molestation on the part of man. When in captivity, however, it is stated
by Bailly to become exceedingly tame, and exhibits the greatest attachment to its master.

Its note is said to resemble somewhat that of the Jackdaw ; and Naumann compares it to
the syllables Arii, krii, kiow, and says that another note resembles the words jatk, jack. Bailly
says that when flying backwards and forwards with food to their young they continually utter
plaintive cries, which he compares to the syllables kia, kia. During the spring and summer the
Alpine Choughs live in pairs or, when the young are hatched, in families; but late in the season
they join and form large flocks, which frequently contain a very large number of individuals.
According to Bailly they pair for life, and are remarkably true to each other. About the end
of March or the commencement of April they take possession of their breeding-places, which,
should they not be disturbed, they use year after year in succession; and about the middle of
April or early in May, according to the altitude where the nesting-place is, they commence to
construct or repair their nest, which is placed in a fissure in the rocks or in an old cave, or else
amongst the ruins of some old deserted tower or castle. ‘The exterior portion of the nest, which
is a large and bulky structure, is composed of twigs, grasses, and roots worked together and
intermixed with lichens and mosses; and the inside lining is composed of leaves, hair, and fine
roots. The eggs, from four to five in number, are incubated by both male and female in turn,

the term of incubation being about eighteen or nineteen days; and when the young are hatched ~

they are tended with the greatest care and solicitude by their parents.
I possess eggs of the Alpine Chough, obtained in Switzerland, which resemble those of our

446

4

common British species (P. graculus), but are smaller in size, measuring only from 14% by 135
to 14 by 1,3; inch.

The specimen figured (on the same Plate with Pyrrhocorax graculus) and described is an
adult male from Switzerland in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, g ad. Usern, Switzerland (Nager-Donazian). 6, 2 juv. Piedmont, January 1870 (Count Salvadori).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a, 3, 6,2 ad. Usern, Switzerland, summer. c,?. Usern, spring.

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, @. Pass of Afka, Lebanon, June 18th, 1864 (H. B. T.).

Genus NUCIFRAGA.

Nucifraga, Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 58 (1760).
Corvus apud Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 157 (1766).
Caryocatactes apud Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 93 (1816).

Tue Nutcrackers are essentially Palearctic birds, being found only in the Palearctic Region,
ranging south into the Himalayas, with the exception of one species, Nucifraga columbiana,
which inhabits the Nearctic Region, and which has very generally been separated generically
from Nucifraga under the name of Picicorvus columbianus; but Mr. Sharpe considers that there
is no generic distinction between it and our Palearctic Nutcrackers. Only one species inhabits
the Western Palearctic Region, its range being given in the following article. In habits the
Nutcrackers resemble the Jays; but they frequent conifer-woods in the more elevated mountain
districts, and feed chiefly on the seeds of conifers, eating also nuts, fruit, and insects. Their
flight is heavy and Jay-like, and their note a harsh prolonged screech. ‘They breed very early in
the season, when the snow is still on the mountains, and construct a heavy cup-shaped nest of
sticks lined with grass and moss, which they place on a conifer tree in the mountains, and
deposit pale greenish-white eggs marked with pale liver-coloured dots.

Nucifraga caryocatactes, the type of the genus, has the bill rather long, smooth-surfaced,
stout, straight, tapering to a point, gape-line straight; nostrils basal, covered by bristly feathers
directed forwards; wings moderately long, broad, the first quill shorter than the secondaries, the
second shorter than the sixth, the fourth longest; tail moderately long, broad, rather rounded ;
legs and feet stout, the tarsus covered in front with six large and three inferior scutelle; claws
stout, curved, acute.

449

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NUTERACKER.

NUCIFRAGA CARYOCATACTES:

250

NUCIFRAGA CARYOCATACTES.

(NUTCRACKER.)

Corvus caryocatactes, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 157 (1766).

Nucifraga guttata, Vieill. N. Dict. v. p. 354 (1816).

Caryocatactes maculatus, Koch, Syst. d. Baier. Zool. i. p. 93 (1816).
Nucifraga caryocatactes, Leach, Syst. Cat. M. & B. Brit. Mus. p. 18 (1816).
Caryocatactes nucifraga, Nilss. Orn. Suec. i. p. 90 (1817).

Nucifraga caryocatactes, 'Temm. Man. i. p. 116 (1820).

Nucifraga brachyrhynchos, C. L. Brehm, Lehr. eur. Vég. p. 104 (1823).
Nucifraga macrorhynchos, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 103 (1823).
Nucifraga platyrhynchos, C. L. Brehm, Isis,.p. 973 (1833).

Nucifraga hamata, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 975 (1833).

Nucifraga minor, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 970 (1838).

Caryocatactes guttatus, Nilss. Skand. Faun. i. p. 149 (1835).
Caryocatactes caryocatactes, Schleg. Rev. Crit. i. p. 55 (1844).
Nucifraga alpestris, Brehm, Naumannia, p. 274 (1855).

Nucifraga arquata, Brehm, tom. cit. p. 274 (1855).

Casse-noix, French; Nussheher, Nussknacker, Nusskréhe, German; Notenkraker, Dutch;
Nocciolaja, \talian; Noddekrige, Danish; Notkraka, Notkndicka, Noddekrage, Norwegian ;
Pahkinadhakkinen, Finnish ; Soyka-turecka, Polish; Kedrowka, Orechowka, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 50; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 10; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. 12;
Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 13. fig. 10; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 58. fig. 2; Sundevall,
Sv. Fogl. pl. 19. fig. 4; Gould, B. of Kur. pl. 215; id. B, of G. B. iii. pls. 65,66; Schlegel,
Vog. Nederl. pl. 142.

$ ad. corpore chocolatino-brunneo, pileo et uropygio saturatioribus immaculatis : corpore subtis maculis ovatis
albis majoribus, supr’ minoribus numerosis adsperso: gula albo striata: alis nigris supra nitentibus,
secundariis vix albido apicatis: caudé nigra, rectricibus intermediis albo apicatis, que albedo in ceteris
augetur: supracaudalibus nigris, subcaudalibus albis: rostro et pedibus nigris : iride fusca.

2 mari similis.
Pullus adulto similis sed multo sordidior et pallidior: plumis omnibus laxis, maculis sordidé albis terminatis :

pileo et uropygio immaculatis: alis et cauda ut in adulto coloratis sed sordidioribus, tectricibus alarum
albo terminatis, supracaudalibus nigricanti-fuscis, subcaudalibus albis.

Adult Male (Upland, Sweden, 12th August). Body above and below blackish chocolate, profusely spotted
with drop-shaped white marks, which are largest on the breast and most sparingly scattered towards
x

451

2

the vent and rump, those on the upper part of the throat being long and narrow, not drop-shaped as
elsewhere ; crown and nape unspotted uniform blackish chocolate; rump very slightly spotted ; under
tail-coverts pure white; wings black, on the outer web of the inner primaries and secondaries glossed
with greenish black, some of the latter with very small white spots at the tip; tail glossy black, on the
central feathers narrowly, and on the outer ones broadly terminated with white; legs and bill black ;
iris dark brown. Total length about 12 inches, culmen 2°2, wing 7°75, tail 5°5, tarsus 1°85.

Female. Undistinguishable from the male in plumage.

Nestling (Bornholm, May 1862). Head, neck, back, and underparts generally dull dirty brown, each
feather having the shaft dirty white, which colour in many widens at the tip into a drop-shaped spot,
all these feathers being very loose in texture ; wings and tail as in the adult bird, but duller in colour;
wing-coverts tipped with dull white ; under tail-coverts dirty white.

Obs. In the Himalayas there are two forms of Nutcracker, which, though closely allied to our European
bird, are still sufficiently distinct to form good species. The first of these (Nucifraga hemispila) is,
according to Dr. Jerdon, found throughout the Himalayas, chiefly frequenting the pine-forests. In
Sikkim it is rare, and is said to be more abundant in the interior, where pine-forests are more preva-
lent, and occurs at lower levels than in British Sikkim. The second species (Nucifraga multimaculata)
has only been found on the hills of the North-western Himalayas and Cashmere. Of N. hemispila I
have one specimen, obtained by Mr. Blanford in Sikkim, at an altitude of 12,000 feet, in the month of
September. It differs from N. caryocatactes in having the flanks and abdomen unspotted, the upper
surface of the body beig also only spotted on the upper part of the back; the outer tail-feathers have
also much more white on them than in N. caryocatactes, covering an area of 2 inches in length against
0-9 in N. caryocatactes. Of N. multimaculata I have three specimens from the Himalayas, obtained
through the late Dr. Jerdon. These differ from N. caryocatactes in being much more profusely
spotted than that bird, the spots being also much larger; the secondaries, primary coverts, and some
of the primaries are also tipped with white, and the white on the tail-feathers covers a somewhat larger
area than in N. hemispila. The measurements of the various specimens of these three species (N.
caryocatactes, N. hemispila, and N. multimaculata) will be seen from the following table :—

Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.
inches. inches. inches. inch.
Nucifraga caryocatactes. . . Sweden, g. 22 775 5:5 1:85
55 53 Wee onn GO, ~ Qo ey 2 5:2 1°65
5 5 Bidens Ural, 3. 2:05 74. 5:3 16
oF 5 . . . Piedmont, g. 2:0 74 a2 17
A Ss . . . Switzerland. 1:8 75 5:3 1°65
Nucifraga hemispila. . . . Sikkim. 1:75 83 6:0 1:75
Nucifraga multimaculata . . Himalayas. 1:8-1°65 7°9-8'3 6:1-6°6 1:6-1-7

THE range of the Nutcracker extends over the entire northern and central portion of the Pale-
arctic region, from about 63°-64° N. latitude down to Italy in the western portion, and Japan
in the eastern portion of that region; but in most localities it appears at irregular intervals—
sometimes in large numbers, and at other times either very rare or at least much less numerous.
With us in Great Britain it is but a straggler, a single specimen occurring now and then.
Pennant (Brit. Zool. App. p. 488) appears to have been the first to record it as a British species,

3

and states that one was killed near Mostyn, in Flintshire, on the 5th of October, 1753.
Mr. Harting, in his Handbook, enumerates altogether nineteen instances of its occurrence in
England, five of which refer only to the bird having been seen but not obtained. Latham
records the capture of one in Kent; Montagu says one was seen near Bridgewater in 1805, and
one obtained in North Devon in August 1808, in which year one was recorded from Cornwall ;
Yarrell refers to one seen near Hooe Lake, in Cornwall; Selby to one seen in Netherwitton
Wood, Northumberland, in 1819; Moore to one obtained in Devon in 1829; Fisher to one
obtained near Yarmouth on the 30th of October, 1844; Borrer to one obtained near Alfriston,
Sussex, in September 1844; Rusticus to one obtained near Godalming, and one seen near
Guildford ; Webb to one obtained on Clandon Common, Surrey, in 1847; Green to one obtained
off Yarmouth ; Robson to one procured near Whitehaven; Foster to one obtained at Wisbeach
in November 1859; Rowe to one seen at Saltram, Devon, in October 1862; Stevenson to one
obtained at Gorleston, near Yarmouth, in October 1864; Harting to one procured near Wakefield
in 1865; and Gurney to one obtained at Christchurch, Hants, on the 6th of November, 1868.
In Scotland it has only been recorded as having occurred on four occasions. Macgillivray says
that a specimen in the University Museum at Edinburgh is said to have been killed in Scotland ;
a second, in the collection of Mr. Arbuthnot, of Peterhead, and a third, belonging to Mr.
Henderson, of Edinburgh, were both killed in Scotland; and Mr. Robert Gray (B. of W. of
Scotl. p. 188) records a fourth as having been obtained at Invergarry, in Inverness-shire, in
October 1868. In Ireland it has not occurred.

In Scandinavia it is resident, but much commoner at some times than at others. Mr. Collett
informs me that ‘‘ it breeds here and there in the forests of Southern Norway, but not regularly
at the same place. It generally appears irregularly in the autumn in various parts of the
country up to Trondhjemsfiord. Printz found a nest at Land in 1854. Periodical appearances
of large flocks take place in all parts of the country, as in 1835, 1844, and especially in 1847,
and to some extent in the intervening years, in both the southern and western portions of the
country up to Trondhjemsfiord. It has often been found breeding, as on several occasions at
Porsgrund and Skiensfiord in the years 1840-48 according to Schrader. Of late years there
has been no large migration, but this species has been numerous in certain localities, as in
Smaalehnene and Nedernes, Stavanger, Sondfiord, and Oerkedalen. The most northerly
known boundary of its range is Stoerdalen in 633° N. lat.” In Sweden, Sundevall (Sv. Fogl.
pp. 114, 115) says that, excepting in the year 1844, so remarkable for Nutcrackers, he does not
find any certain record of its occurrence further north than Upland and Wermland. In 1844 it
was recorded from Quickjock in 67° N. lat., Sorsele in 653°, and Lycksele and Jemtland, and
from those localities it was spread southward through Upland, Ostergéthland, Wermland, and
Bohuslain, to almost all portions of Skane. Stejneger says that it breeds commonly at Hesselskog,
in Dalsland, in the parish of Kihl, in Orebro-Lin and Upsala. In Finland, according to Von
Wright (Finl. Fog]. p. 80), it is chiefly found in the south-western portion of the country. In
1844 they literally swarmed from June to November, and one was obtained in Kittila-Lapland
in December. He saw two in Laukkas in the summer of 1846; and in 1847 and 1850 several
were seen in Rautalampi in September. Mr. Sabanaeff informs us that it breeds, though rarely,
in the Governments of Jaroslaf and Moscow, and he has met with it during the summer season

x2

45°

454

4

near Toula. In the months of September and October it is tolerably numerous in Central
Russia. In the northern portion of the Government of Perm it is one of the commonest species,
and is sedentary there. It is always found on the low branches, and feeds on caterpillars, larve,
and the seeds of conifers. In the north-east it also feeds on the seeds of the cedar, and occa-
sionally destroys eggs and young birds. Mr. 'Taczanowski confirms what Mr. Sabandeff tells me
respecting its abundance in the Government of Perm, and adds that it abounds in the Solikamsk,
Shadrinsk, and Verhotursk districts, but is rare in Ural, southward of Ekaterinburg, though
common on the western slope and in the woods in the Ufim district. Mr. Taczanowski also
writes to me respecting its occurrence in Poland as follows :—“ The Nutcracker comes to Poland
during the autumn migration, but not every year, and in very unequal numbers. It is, however,
but seldom seen in great quantities. During the whole time I have studied ornithology I have
never found it abundant. Since 1844 numerous bands were then met with during the autumn,
migrating in the same manner as Jackdaws and Jays, flying dispersed, not at a great altitude, in
the same direction. All the forests were full of them. ‘They merely pass through our country,
not remaining during the winter. Professor Kessler, after having said that the Nutcrackers are
seen every year during migration in greater or smaller numbers in the month of September and
in the first half of October (old style), continues as follows:—A remarkable exception occurred
in 1844 during the autumn preceding a very snowy winter: that winter the Nutcracker appeared
in the district of Kieff on the 15th of August (old style), and in about three weeks from then all
the forests, groves, and gardens were full of them; but soon after they disappeared by degrees.
According to Nordmann they were also seen near Odessa, which is an unusual circumstance.
Since that time they have been observed in numbers in Poland on only two or three occasions.
Since I have taken up ornithology as a study I have but once seen and killed an individual in
the summer. ‘This occurred in the month of June; and the bird was moulting, which I did not
think could be natural, as it was not the usual moulting-season. Count Wodzicki states that the
Nutcrackers breed in the mountains of Galicia.”

The Ritter von Tschusi Schmidhofen gives (in a. pamphlet lately published) so careful a
résumé of all the available information as to its range in Germany, that I cannot do better than
translate his remarks 7m eatenso, as follows :—‘ In the northern portions it appears in large flocks
at irregular intervals, but breeds in many portions in the south. Zander says that it is at times
numerous in Mecklenburg in October and November, as in 1836 and 1844; whereas in 1895
and 1859 it was rare, and other years it does not occur at all. In 1864, according to Cordes-
Tetrow, it was common throughout Mecklenburg, and numbers were caught in snares, all of
which had short thick bills. Mr. E. von Homeyer says that it seldom visits Pomerania, but
when it appears it is in large numbers, as in October 1832 and October and November 1836 ;
in 1844 large numbers appeared, and a few remained until the summer of 1845. Hintz watched
a pair which frequented the Vangaroe district, near Schlosskampen, throughout the summer of
1853, but did not succeed in finding the nest. In the autumn of 1859 it was again numerous,
and, the winter being mild, several remained ; and Hintz was told that a pair nested in the neigh-
bourhood of Biitower, and two eggs were taken out of their nest; later on the bird was shot
near the nest. In the autumn and winter of 1864-65 numbers again appeared at Quistorp and
Manow, and nine were snared in September. In Eastern Prussia the forester Wiese found it

5

common all along the Russian frontier, especially near Pillau. In the autumn of 1868, according
to Kuwert, numbers appeared ; and he is of opinion that its appearances there depend on the
forest-fires in Russia, as about twenty years previously, when large tracts in Russia were destroyed
by fire, the road from Tilsit to Konigsberg swarmed with Nutcrackers, which flew singly or in
flocks, and settled at intervals, as their flight was heavy, on the trees skirting the road; and the
migration lasted more than eight days without interruption. A few remained behind in the
forests of Eastern Prussia. In Brandenburg it is rare, and, according to Gloger, not common in
Silesia; but a pair were killed in the Sudeten, which belonged to the race named by Brehm NV.
brachyrhynchos. In some seasons numbers are found in the forests in the lowlands, and nest in
the lower and central portions of the mountains. Thienemann found an empty nest in the Riesen-
gebirge, the first that is recorded in any collection. Mr. A. von Homeyer, who frequently visited
the Riesengebirge, often saw it in August 1867 in mixed conifer-growth near St. Anna-Capelle ;
and as he also observed it on the 16th of May, 1869, at Steinseiffen, it is probable that it
occasionally breeds in the mountains of Silesia. Tobias records its occurrence in numbers in
Oberlausitz in 1827, 1836, and 1844; and a pair is said to have nested at Neusalz a. O. on a high
oak (??), and were so little shy that they could be easily watched. Another pair is said to have
nested in the Petersdorfer district ; and Thienemann, in a letter, said that a pair bred in Saxony,
but when the nest was discovered it contained fledged young. In Anhalt, according to Habicht,
a few appeared in the spring of 1851; several pairs were seen in the Georgsgarten, near Dessau ;
but though they were seen carrying twigs and nesting-materials, the nest could not be found ;
but Thiele states (Naumannia, 1857, ii. p. 45) that, according to Mr. Schmidt, a gardener, a pair
bred there and hatched their young, which were several times seen. The same year it bred in
the forest of Oranienbaum, in the district of Glashau, as also in the castle-garden there. The
nest was not found; but, according to Picht, two young birds were shot in July. Baron Konig
Warthausen told Blasius that young birds were seen at Oranienbaum from March to July, and
several were shot. In 1864 and 1865 Passler observed it in the autumn; and on the 30th of
March, 1868, a youth found in the Netlitzer district a nest containing four eggs, one of which
came into the possession of Dr. Baldamus. In Brunswick it appears on the plains in large flocks
during migration; and at Hochgeiss, in the Oberharz, it was seen during the nesting-season, and
young birds were aiso observed. In 1820, according to Mr. C. L. Brehm, numbers appeared in
Thuringia both in the mountains and the plains; and Speerschneider speaks of it (Naumannia,
1854, p. 175) as by no means a rare visitant, though not equally common every year or in every
district. In 1844 and 1845 several were killed at Rudolstadt and Blankenburg; and he met
with it commonly at Paulinzelle in 1847. He did not observe it in the more elevated portions
of the Thuringian forest. Romer states that it has appeared on five occasions during the last
thirty years in Nassau, being usually seen when the hazel-nuts were very abundant.

“Numbers were seen in Hessen in 1821, and appeared even in the gardens of Mainz; and,
according to Jager, it occurred commonly at Wetterau in 1802, 1803, 1804, 1807, 1835, and
1844; and, according to Meyer, it was very numerous in the same years on the Ysenburger forest,
where, at the so-called Gehspitze, several were seen in October 1864. Mr. A. von Homeyer saw
a large number on migration near Frankfort-on-the-Main in September 1856; and again in 1859
he found it common. Baron yon Droste Hiilshoff says that numbers were seen in Westphalia in

45

5)

456

6

1825, and a few visited the island of Borkum, off the coast of Holland. Siedhof also states that
it was common in East Friesland in the autumn of 1844. In Bavaria it occurs, according to
Jackel, in many localities, being both a resident and a partial migrant in the high mountains
the Alps near Salzburg, the forests of Bavaria, and various localities in Central and Upper
Franconia. On the 30th April, 1799, Wolf obtained in the mountains near Hersbriick a young
bird which had portions of down still amongst the plumage; and a young man who accompanied
Professor Hornschuch on his journey to the Tyrol shot a specimen in May 1826, in a fir-wood
near Regensburg, which a pair of these birds frequented. On the 4th March, 1850, a pair were
shot, whilst pairing, near Wiesen, in the Bacher forest; and in the years 1802, 1803, 1804, 1807,
1814, 1821, 1822, 1835, 1836, 1844, 1849, and 1850 they literally swarmed in most portions of
the country, appearing again, though in much smaller numbers, in 1851 and 1854. Brandt
states that a pair bred in the Landgericht Nordhalben in 1850; and on the 28th June an old
bird with two young ones, which could not have left the nest more than a couple of days, were
seen. In the districts of Schwaben and Neuburg to Leu it is rare, and only observed during the
spring and autumn migrations, but is periodically somewhat commoner.

“Tn Wiirtemberg it breeds, according to Landbeck (Syst. Aufzaihl. Vog. Wiirtemb. p. 19),
in the old conifer-woods of Wildbad, Kniebis, Rippoldsau, Freiersbad, &c.; and Von Heuglin
states (Naumannia, 1850, p. 67) that it breeds tolerably numerously, not only in the old conifer-
forests of the Schwarzwald, but also in some of the non-evergreen woods through which conifer-
growth is scattered, as, for instance, near Tuttlingen and Mihlheim, on the Danube. Vogel
obtained a full-grown young bird in the summer of 1843, not far from Schramberg, and in 1844
watched two old birds on the 10th March, and obtained three young ones about the middle of
July at the same place. It breeds in the Schwarzwald of Baden, and Schiitt obtained several
nests, with eggs, on a portion of the Kandel in 1861 and 1862. In Austria it is numerous in all
the alpine forests, though not so common or numerous in the central or subalpine portions of
the mountains, and during migration is common in the lowlands. It visited Bohemia in 1844
and 1850 in large numbers, more especially the vicinity of Franzensbad, where Palliardi met
with it. According to Fritsch (Journ. f. Orn. 1871, p. 202), Zimmermann obtained three examples
near Bensen in October 1863, and quite young birds were seen in the Isergebirge. It is also
said to occur commonly in the vicinity of Budislav. I never observed it on the Austrian side of
the Riesengebirge, though doubtless it is found there, as Mr. A. von Homeyer found it on the
Prussian side; nor did I see it during my wanderings through the Bohmerwald; but the district
forester, Novotny, showed me a stuffed specimen which was shot in the Sattawa district in May
1870. It doubtless breeds there, but probably only in small numbers, and it certainly inhabits
the lower spurs of the mountains. Schwab says that numbers are seen during migration in
September and October in Moravia; in 1846 they were common in all the forests, though only
rare in 1850 and 1852; but in the middle of the year 1850 so many appeared near Drahomischl
that a forester shot thirty in one day. About the middle of September 1864 several appeared in
the wooded localities near Olmiitz, and in October they were numerous. In Silesia they appear
as sporadically as in Moravia. In Lower Austria it is common at Semmering (where Finger
obtained recently fledged young on the 29th June, 1853), and on the Schneeberg and Oetscher
and their spurs, and also in the mountain-forests of the Danube above Krems. I observed it in

7

the latter district, especially on the J auerling, at an altitude of 3036 feet above the sea-level, at
all seasons of the year; and it is a bird well known to the peasantry. In September 1864 they
were very common, and I observed that small birds, such as Finches, Titmice, &c., mobbed them.
On the 23rd May, 1867, I shot a male at Arnsdorf; and the keeper who accompanied me obtained
a young bird just fledged. Early in June 1867, at Heinrichschlag, a forester found fledged
young; and the same year, about the middle of May, a nest, with three eggs, was found on the
Jauerling, but was destroyed. In the mountains of Upper Austria it is nowhere rare, and,
according to Brittinger (Brutvog. Oberésterr. pp. 75, 76), has been observed near Gmunden,
Spital on the Pyhrn, Sandel in the Mihlkreis, and in the Innkreis; and the royal forester
Grill records a nest containing young birds as having been found in the Langbaththal in 1858.
In the Salzburg district it is found breeding almost everywhere in the mountains. Count
Gourcy-Droitaumont shot a very small form at Salzach-Au, which C. L. Brehm (Isis, 1833,
p- 970) described under the name of Nucifraga minor. Althammer speaks of it as common in
Northern ‘Tyrol, where it breeds, and appearing periodically in Southern Tyrol. According to
Wiedemann it occurs almost everywhere in the more elevated conifer-woods, at an altitude of
from 3500 to 4000 feet, and is especially common near Innsbruck, close to the Upper Lanser-
Alpe, in the cedar-growth, where many breed. Baldamus saw in July 1863 several families in
the low larch-growth near the Oetzthal-Gletscher, and in 1864 obtained several clutches of eggs
from there. Professor Huber met with it in the Zillerthal in January 1856, where it was
numerous close to the villages. According to Professor Gredler it occurs in the Sarnthal, on the
Reiterjoch, Joch-Grim, &c. Bruhin observed it at all seasons in the Vorarlberg district; and in
Styria it is common, especially in the upper portions of that country. It has been frequently
found breeding at Bruck a. Mur; and Dr. Fiister obtained nests with eggs there. On the
Judenburger and Weit-Alps it occurs everywhere; and late in May 1856 young birds, just able
to fly, were observed. In July 1871, when ascending the Sirbitzkogel (7578 feet above the sea-
level), I found an empty nest, near which I saw both old and young birds. Mr. Hanf obtained
a nest with four eggs from the Jacobsberg on the 29th March, 1872; and Seidensacher observed
it in Southern Styria, in the Bachergebirge. In Karnthen and Krain it is nowhere rare in the
mountains. Fiedler saw numbers in July 1872 near Heiligenblut; Ktister records it as occurring
in the Littoral district, but rarely, during migration. Fiedler states that but few are found in
Croatia and Slavonia; and in Siebenbiirgen, according to Bielz, it is a partial migrant, being
usually found in the more elevated mountain-forests, visiting the lowlands in larger numbers
during the autumn. Hausmann saw it commonly on the so-called Pojana, near Kronstadt, in
localities where the hazels abounded, and observed it throughout the winter in the Schuler-
gebirge, though he never met with it at a greater altitude than 5000 feet. Hermann met with
it in the Bihargebirge, from the foot of the Vlegiasza to Retyiczel, and in the more elevated
portions of the Jarathal, on the Hargitazug, &c. In the mountains of Hungary it is nowhere
rare; Petényi obtained a nest near Altsohl. In the northern portion of the Neutraer district it
is, according to Nagy, a resident, and during the winter occasionally visits the forests surrounding
the town of Neutra. Jeitteles records it from Zips. In 1838, and again in 1852, large numbers
appeared in the Tokay vineyards and at Miskolcz. It visits Sirmien now and then, is a migrant
‘in the non-eyergreen forests of Buckowina, and occurs off and on in Galicia; Schauer frequently

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saw it in the Tatra mountains. According to Count Wodzicki it breeds there, at an altitude of
from 4000 to 5000 feet. Schauer informed me that he shot, in July 1856, many young birds
(which had remains of down on the head and nape) in the Stanislauer mountains; and Professor
Braun found a young bird, unable to fly, in a wood near Lemberg.” In Denmark, Mr. Benzon
writes, “it is called Neddekrige; and I have never heard the name of Pletfugl (which Kjerbolling
gives it) used. It occurs sporadically in the late autumn and winter, some years in considerable
flocks; and many are snared together with Thrushes, and numbers shot; for they are not shy.” In
Denmark, also, the Nutcracker has been found breeding; and of Mr. Benzon’s most excellent and
copious notes on the nidification of this bird a translation will be found below. In Holland and
Belgium it occurs but rarely ; Baron De Selys-Longchamps says that several were taken in snares
in the latter country in September 1836. De la Fontaine speaks of it as occurring at irregular
intervals, generally during the autumn, in Luxemburg; and Godron says the same regarding its
occurrence in Lorraine. Degland and Gerbe write that it occurs at irregular intervals in Nor-
mandy, Lorraine, and Languedoc, Basse-Provence, and Northern France. In 1844 specimens
were killed at Douai, Dunquerque, Abbeville, Dieppe, Troyes, and in several parts of Belgium.
Von Tschusi Schmidhofen says that Dr. Baldamus informed him that the Abbé Caire found the
nest and eggs near Saniéres, in the Basses-Alpes, as early as 1846. Dr. Companyo records it from
the Eastern Pyrenees as occurring only during very severe winters, and being rare, only coming at
irregular intervals.

Lord Lilford writes to me stating that he himself never met with it in Spain; but it is known
in the mountains of Aragon, and is recorded as having been met with in Estremadura by Captain
Cook Widdrington. Mr. Howard Saunders says (Ibis, 1871, p. 222) that Major Irby saw one
at Cordova, said to have been killed there, and that Lopez-Seoane mentions it as “rare in the
pine-woods of the Sierra Nevada in May.” Passing eastward, again, I find it recorded as common
in Switzerland, where, Mr. Gatcombe informs me, he found it everywhere in the wooded mountain-
passes. Of later years only has its nest been found there, though it has long been known to
occur there during the breeding-season. Vogel obtained several nests with eggs from the Jura;
and Von Tschusi Schmidhofen says (Der Tannenheher, p. 31) that Dr. Stdlker obtained a nest with
three eggs in Graubiinden, taken on the 22nd March, 1872. Dr. Stolker and Von Miller record
it from St. Gallen and Appenzell, Tschudi from the canton Glaurus, De Salis from Graubiinden,
Saraz from Engadin, where it occurs as high as 9000 feet, Vogel from the canton Solothurn,
where it breeds, Dr. Rohnert from above Zermatt; and Von Tschusi Schmidhofen himself records
it as common in some parts of the canton Freiburg, as on the Barra and in the valleys of Charmey
and Laun. Canon Tristram (Ibis, 1863, p. 169) stated that he obtained eggs of the Nutcracker
from the valley of the Sixt, in Savoy; but subsequently these proved not to belong to this species.
Both Cara and Salvadori record it as occasionally appearing in Sardinia; and Lord Lilford writes
to me as follows :—“ I found this species very abundant in the mountains in the neighbourhood
of the Col de Tenda and San Martino de Lantosca, not far from Nice, in August 1858. Our
guides assured me that the Nutcracker bred commonly in the pine-forests of that district, and
certainly described accurately the nest and eggs; they said that the birds nested early in the
year, long before the snow melted, and that the eggs were consequently not easy to obtain.
The name they gaye this species was ‘ Elva,’ or ‘ Eleva.’” Doderlein considers that its apparent

9

rarity in Sicily may partly be owing to the fact of its not being generally known to sportsmen;
however, individuals have been obtained at Villica and Ficuzza. Mr. A. B. Brooke writes to me
that it is not uncommon in the large pine-forests in the Maritime Alps, about ten miles north
of St. Remo, where he saw them repeatedly during winter, generally in small flocks of seven or
eight individuals. He saw a specimen in the Museum at Cagliari, which is stated by Cara to
have been killed near Aritzu, in the Gennargentu mountains. Ido not find it recorded from
Greece. “In Southern Russia,” Mr. Sabandeff informs me, “‘it is only met with during migration,
and mostly in the spring, in the Governments of Kiew, Charkoff, Orel, and Voronege. In the
south, for instance in Odessa and near Sarepta, it does not occur every year. In the first districts
it is seen in September and beginning of October. About the same time they migrate near
Moscow. That is, according to my observations, in 1866 it migrated in the middle of September,
in 1867 in the beginning of October; in 1869 the first were seen in the beginning of September,
in 1870 about the 20th September, in 1871 in the beginning of September; in 1872 they were
seen about the first week in August, but were not observed earlier.” Von Nordmann says that
he did not see it in Abasia, Mingrelia, Imeritia, or the Crimea, and only in the northern portions
of Bessarabia and Cherson.

To the eastward it occurs throughout Siberia to Japan and the northern portions of China.
Middendorff found it common on the Jenesei, but not ranging above 64° N. lat. On the Stanowoi
mountains it was especially numerous on the heights, in some parts not far from the sea-coast.
On the 11th of July the young could fly well. Middendorff remarks on the difference in size of
the beaks, and states that in the same flock he observed specimens with beaks varying from
42 to 55 millims. in length. Von Schrenck records it as common throughout the Amoor country
at all seasons of the year. He procured it in July, at Hadshi Bay, in the autumn at the
Nikolaieffsk Post, and in the winter on the island of Saghalien, in mixed larch, birch, and aspen
woods, also in the spring at the mouth of the Gorin river. Dr. G. Radde observed the Nut-
cracker in the Eastern Sajan, nearly as high as the boundary of tree-growth (7000 feet). Here,
on the 29th of July, they were feeding on the unripe seeds of the cembra, and practising their
young in flying. When thus employed the small flocks often united in the air, rising higher and
higher, flying irregularly here and there, but keeping to a certain area, some occasionally rising
almost out of sight; suddenly, however, they would drop down swift as lightning one after the
other in succession, and collect on the top of a pine to recommence their aerial evolutions.
They would often pass along some distance in a straight line above the trees. On the 17th of
July he saw the first lot on the west coast of the Baikal thus practising, and on the 19th he met
with a flock of at least five hundred of these birds. In the Bureja mountains this species is rare,
and only met with occasionally. Captain Blakiston (Ibis, 1862, p. 326) obtained a specimen
from a birdcatcher near Hakodadi, in Japan, in September, which he sent home to Dr. Sclater,
who compared it with European specimens, and could detect no material difference between
them; and Mr. R. Swinhoe saw a live specimen at Peking (which a native brought to the
Museum for sale), and subsequently purchased three specimens, all females. According to Von
Tschusi Schmidhofen there is a specimen in the Vienna Museum which Count Hahn obtained at
Tschi-fu, in the Gulf of Pe-tschi-li, in China, in the month of July.

In its habits the Nutcracker somewhat resembles the Jay, but is a less lively and active
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bird, and, instead of frequenting the green woods of the plains, it inhabits the dreary pine- and
cedar-woods in the more elevated mountain districts. It moves about with great ease and
facility amongst the trees, and hops lightly from branch to branch in search of food, often
plucking the hazel-nuts from the slender outer twigs (which will not bear its weight) whilst
fluttering in the air. When it has selected a conifer-cone it holds it firm with its foot and works
out the seeds with its powerful bill, and in like manner holds hazel-nuts fast and breaks the
shell with blows of its beak, in order to extract the kernel. It feeds on the seeds of various
kinds of conifers, hazel-nuts, beech-nuts, acorns, berries, insects and snails, and small vertebrates.
The stomach of one I possess, sent to me by Mr. Collett, contained rowan-berries and kernels
and small pieces of hazel-nut shells; and that of another, also obtained by Mr. Collett, contained
small fragments of hazel-nuts and acorns and numerous shells of various Helices. Specimens
obtained by the Ritter von Tschusi Schmidhofen in September had been feeding on Geotrupes
vernalis, Prionus, sp.t, and Carabus, sp.t; and the stomachs of others contained specimens of
Vespa germanica and Vespa rufa, which had been swallowed with their stings. Mr. Jackel, who
examined the stomachs of many shot in 1844, found them containing almost solely insects such
as Helops ater, Hylurgus piniperda, Forficula auricularia, Carabide, Curculionide, Locustella
viridissima; and one contained about twenty-five caterpillars of a species of Noctua. Petényi
found in the stomachs of specimens shot by him various species of Pecilus, Harpalus, Ancho-
menus, Dytiscus, Colymbetes, and Hydrophilus. It is said to take young birds out of the nest,
and birds out of snares, and devour them; and Naumann records that one tried to get a call-bird
out of its cage, and only left it when it was approached so near as nearly to be taken with the
hand.

Its flight is heavy, and seldom protracted; and, according to Von Tschusi Schmidhofen, its
call-note is a harsh prolonged krah, krah, kréh, or krith, kriih—whilst uttering which it jerks the
wings and tail. This call is uttered frequently, and may be heard at a great distance. When
frightened it utters a harsh note, like dscherr, dscherr, somewhat resembling the call-note of the
Missel-Thrush.

For long the nidification of the Nutcracker remained, like that of the Waxwing, enveloped
in utter obscurity; and even now the eggs are a rarity in most collections. The first naturalist
who appears to have obtained undoubtedly authentic eggs was the Abbé Caire, who procured
several nests near Saniéres, in the Basses-Alpes, in 1846. Petényi obtained a nest with four eggs
near Altsohl, in Hungary, about 1850. In 1858 the Imperial Forester Grill found a nest con-
taining young birds in the Langbaththal, in Upper Austria; and, according to Hintz (J. f. O.
1861, p. 496), a nest was found in the Butower district in 1860. Mr. Schiitt (J. f£. O. 1862,
p. 125) found a nest, on the 19th March, 1862, at Waldkirchen, in Baden; and in the same year,
in May, Messrs. Theobald and Fischer found the first nests on the island of Bornholm, but they
were empty. In 1863, in April, they found a nest with three naked young, and in 1864, on the
23rd March, they took the first eggs. In 1864 Dr. Baldamus obtained from the forester Franz,
at Schlanders, in the Tyrol, two nests with eggs on the 26th March, and on the 6th and 8th
April three others, also containing eggs. On the 23rd March, 1867, a nest with four eggs was
obtained at Bruck a. Mur, in Styria, and sent by Seidensacher to Lord Lilford. After Seiden-
sacher’s death three nests, each containing four eggs, were taken near Hochschwab early in

11

April 1868, and sent by Professor Huber to England. One of these came into my possession.
Dr. Baldamus found two nests near Tiefkasten, in Switzerland, in May 1867; and a nest con-
taining four eggs was obtained in March 1868, in the Niedlitzer district in Anhalt. Mr. Sten-
strom obtained a nest with small young ones in Dalsland, in Sweden, in April 1868, and in April
1869 he took another containing three eggs. Fiister obtained three nests, each containing three
eges, near Bruck, in Styria, in April 1870; and Stenstrém obtained a nest with four fresh eggs
in April 1870, in Dalsland, Sweden. In July 1871 the Ritter von Tschusi Schmidhofen found
an empty nest on the Sirbitzkogel, in Upper Styria; and in March 1872 Mr. Hanf obtained a
nest with four eggs, taken at the same place; and the same year Dr. Fiister obtained two nests
near Bruck, in Styria, taken on the 15th March. Mr. Meves, of Stockholm, obtained a nest with
three eggs, taken in Wermland, Sweden, on the 10th April, 1872; and Dr. Stélker obtained a
nest with three eggs taken in Graubiinden, Switzerland, in March 1873. Besides the above,
other nests have been taken; and M. Fairmaire, the dealer, in Paris, obtained several lots of
eggs from Switzerland, many of which I have seen, and am convinced that they are really
Nutcrackers’ eggs. Mr. Alfred Benzon, of Copenhagen, has sent me copious notes on the
nidification of this bird in Denmark, which I translate as follows :—‘‘It was supposed to breed
in the woods of Moen and in some parts of Seeland, where it is said to to have been seen and
shot during the summer season; but the only place where I know for certain that it breeds
is Almindingen, on Bornholm, a wood planted on that otherwise heath-covered island, this
wood consisting chiefly of hornbeam (Carpinus betulus, L.), oaks (Quercus pedunculata, Ehr., and
Quercus sessiliflora, Sm.), and pine (Abies excelsa), in which last species of tree the Nutcracker
builds its nest. Besides the trees above enumerated, a few birch (Betula verrucosa, Ehrh.), larch
(Larix europea, DC.), aspen (Populus tremula, L.), and ash (Hraxinus excelsior, L.) are scattered
through the wood; but the hazel (Corylus avellana, L.) is scarcely found there, though hazel
bushes are round almost every peasant’s hut, of which not a few are in the neighbourhood.
When, in 1862, I, in company with my friends, Messrs. Fischer, Erichsen, and Theobald, visited
this place on the 22nd May, we observed in a pine, close to the top, on a bare branch, resting
against the main stem, a nest, about eighteen feet from the ground; and in the branches near it
at least five partially down-clad young Nutcrackers flew or hopped about with difficulty from
twig to twig. We could not catch one, as they were warned by a sharp cry from the old bird,
resembling the words gré, gré, gré. Next day we found another nest, though placed higher up,
also in a pine tree; and near it several young birds were flying about, which appeared to be
older than those we saw on the previous day; of these Mr. Fischer shot three, one of which was
sent to Professor A. Newton, and the other two are in my collection and that of Mr. Fischer.
We found several more nests, all old ones, and all placed on conifer trees, which grow on the
peat-covered stony ground. When we made the above-recorded discovery the breeding-habits of
the Nutcracker were still veiled in mystery, and even the well-known collector Thienemann did
not possess authentic eggs; so we determined to visit this place the Hollie mg year rather earlier,
so as to get the eggs. Next year Messrs. Erichsen and Theobald visited the above-mentioned
locality on the 9th of April, and found a Nutcracker’s nest, about Ul feet nou the ground, in
a pine tree, built like those we found the previous year. The old bird flew noiselessly off, and

they found, not eggs, but three almost naked, and still blind, young ones, about a week old;
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these young ones had a little greyish white down on the head and back, and the shafts of the
wing-quills just commenced to show. On the 23rd March, 1864, however, a nest containing
four fresh eggs (subsequently sent to Professor Newton) was found. On the 15th of April, 186,
a nest with three incubated eggs was found, these being the eggs we sent to you; and on the
30th April the same year, another nest with four fresh eggs (now in Mr. Theobald’s collection)
was found. In 1866 none were found; but on the 12th April, 1867, a nest with four eggs (now
in Mr. Fischer’s collection) was taken; on the 21st March, 1868, one with five eggs (now in
Mr. Erichsen’s collection), in 1869 one with five eggs (now in my own collection), and on the
19th April, 1870, another with five eggs (in Mr. Erichsen’s collection) were found. In 1871
again none were found; but on the 27th Aprii, 1872, a nest containing four eggs was taken; and
these are also now in my collection. Having now had an opportunity of examining thirty-four
eggs, out of eight nests, three uninjured nests, and three young birds, I will with this material,
together with what notes I have taken, give you the result of my observations.

“The Nutcracker is a noisy, fearless, sometimes foolishly trustful bird, which during the
breeding-season, however, is so altered in its habits that it becomes silent, and so shy and quiet
in its movements, that a casual observer would consider that its breeding-haunts were deserted
in the spring and summer season; and this is probably the reason why its nest, which cannot be
mistaken for that of any other bird, is so se'dom observed or taken, although it is often, as on
Bornholm, built close to paths or roads. ‘The nest is, as stated, placed in a pine tree, from ten
to thirty feet above the ground, usually on a bare branch, and resting against the main trunk,
under the top of the tree, which acts as a roof, or sometimes in the green top of the tree itself.
From being built against the trunk it is more or less oblong; and three nests, A, B, and C, the
two former being now in my collection, and C being the one I sent to Professor Newton, measure
as follows:—Nest A, taken April 15th, 1865: outside measurement 280 and 330 millimetres in
diameter, 150 high; inside, 105 in diameter, 50 deep. Nest B, taken April 19, 1870: outside,
250 and 400 in diameter, 125 high; inside, 100 in diameter, 30 deep. Nest C, taken May 23rd,
1862: outside, 260 and 560 in diameter, 156 high; inside 40 deep,—all these measurements
being in millimetres. From these it will be seen that the cup of the nest is small in proportion
to the entire structure, which is composed of twigs of birch, larch, &c., and interwoven with
lichens, especially Kamalina polymorpha, Ach., and in one nest Usnea barbata, Linn. Many of
the twigs are covered with lichens; and some of the birch twigs are quite fresh, and are covered
with buds. On this foundation there is a tolerably thick (65 to 70 millimetres) bed of earth of
a light grey colour, which seems to have been collected in an adjoining field; this earth is not
worked into a solid substance with the bird’s spittle and clay, as in most nests in the construction
of which earth is used, but is loose, and on being analysed proved to consist chiefly of sand
containing a deal of iron and the rotten mould of decayed wood. ‘The inside lining of nest A
consists entirely of Usnea barbata, whereas in nest B it is mixed with bast and dry grasses, and
in both nests there is a layer of dry grass, on which the eggs are placed. The third (nest C), in
Professor Newton's possession, resembles nest B; but as it was carefully described by Mr. Fischer
in the ‘ Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift,’ Band ii. p. 62, I need give no further description of it. It
_ seems that the eggs are deposited (as far as those found on Bornholm are concerned) from the
middle of March to the end of April; and the difference in time does not appear to be dependent

13

on weather ; for the four eggs taken in the unusually mild spring of the present year (1872) were
obtained as late as the 27th of April. It is impossible to say with any degree of certainty if the
Nutcracker breeds twice in the year; but I do not think it improbable, as a forester on Bornholm,
who knows the habits of this bird well, assures me that he has seen old birds feeding their
young as late as September. In number the eggs vary from three to five; for we found one nest
containing three eggs, incubated, four containing four, and three containing five eggs; and it has
been noted, from those nests which were discovered when the bird had commenced laying, that
she deposits one daily.

““Tn size the eggs vary from 32 by 24 millimetres to 34 by 26 and 35 by 25 millimetres, the
normal size being 33°5 by 24-5 millimetres. From this it will be seen that the egg of the
Nutcracker rather exceeds those of Perisoreus infaustus and Turdus viscivorus in size, but is
smaller than the egg of the Magpie. ‘They are oval in form, scarcely tapering towards the small
end; the grain of the shell is very fine, about as in eggs of Totanus glareola, and is composed
of round grains which, under the microscope, show a few warty elevations, which are found
more especially at the ends, there being more at the small end; these warts are seldom elongated
in shape, and are isolated in position, not run together in a network as, for instance, in eggs of
Garrulus glandarius. Ihave not found in any the long furrows which are clearly visible in
eggs of the Magpie and other corvine birds. ‘The pores in the shell are very fine, and evenly
distributed over the surface, which is smooth and polished like a piece of cream-laid paper.
Like all thin-shelled eggs, when first blown they are clear, but get afterwards duller; the
ground-colour is pale whity blue, just washed with greenish, but varies somewhat in tone. As
regards the markings, it was impossible to distinguish between shell- and surface-spots in the
eggs we first found, as the thinly scattered isolated dots looked merely like bright-coloured shell-
spots; but in several of the eggs found later on, the shell- and surface-spots were clearly distin-
guishable. Both shell- and surface-markings consist of fine dots and spots, which vary greatly
in number, as some eggs are almost unspotted, though never without a few fine dots, very pale
in tinge, whereas others are strongly marked with spots, like light-coloured eggs of Perisoreus
infaustus; but these spots are always evenly distributed over the entire surface of the shell:
the spots vary in size, from the minutest dot to a blotch nearly 3 millimetres in diameter; but
the normal size is about 0°5 to 1 millimetre. The underlying shell-spots are in colour dirty
grey, sometimes tinged with violet, and are often very faint in tinge. ‘The surface-markings are
greyish brown, and much richer in tone than the shell-markings. In the eggs taken this year
(1872) the surface-spots are on the shell-spots; thus the eggs have double markings, not
observed in those previously taken. And I may further remark that the markings vary in eggs
out of the same sitting, as one of those last taken was very strongly marked, the others being
much less spotted, which arises, I believe, from the supply of colouring-matter becoming less
after depositing one or two eggs: thus the one first deposited will be coloured brightest, and the
remainder will be paler, according to the order in which they are laid. In the inside the eggs
usually appear to be light green, owing to the colour of the shell shining through; but when the
inside skin is thick they appear almost white. The yelk is light yellow, and the white of the egg
clear and colourless. So far as my experience goes, the egg of the Nutcracker can only be mis-
taken for those of two other species, viz. that of Perisoreus infaustus, which, however, is smaller,

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coarser in the grain of the shell, and has more, larger, darker, and less regularly distributed
spots, which are often collected at the larger end, and furthermore the small dots are wanting,
and the shell has not so polished an appearance.

‘“‘The other species is the Magpie, pale and small eggs of which bird approach, at times, in
appearance those of the Nutcracker; but the shell of these is stouter, coarse-grained, and has
elongated furrows, the ground-colour is darker, the shell-markings richer in tone, the small dots
are absent, the surface-spots are larger and more unevenly distributed, and the shell is not so
polished. Eggs I saw in Paris, which came from the Pyrenees, and were said to be those of
the Nutcracker, appear to me to be merely varieties of those of the Magpie; and I should say
that those figured in Baedeker’s work, ‘ Die Kier der europaischen Vogel, are likewise Magpie’s
eggs, as they are much darker in colour than authentic Nutcracker’s eggs and are also more
spotted, the spots being irregularly distributed, and there appears to be a total absence of the
small dots.

““The young birds have the legs brownish grey, and not black as in the adult. In their
stomachs I found portions of nut-kernels and insects; and near the nests I always found a small
heap of nut-shells, all split from the pointed end; most of them being fresh, they could not have
been there long; and from this circumstance I judge that the Nutcracker stores up food for the
winter in well sheltered places.”

As comparatively so little has hitherto been known respecting the nidification of the Nut-
cracker, I will offer no excuse for adding in detail a translation of some excellent notes published
by Mr. Vogel, and lately sent to me. ‘This gentleman, who found this bird breeding in the
Jura, Canton Solothurn, Switzerland, writes (Die Fortpfl. des Tannenh. St. Gallen, 1873) as
follows :—“ In the unusually favourable spring of 1868 I at last succeeded, after some trouble
and exertion, in finding a pair of birds, which by their continued restlessness and calling drew
our attention to them; the locality was a precipice in the Jura chain, about a thousand feet
above the valley, where the forest was mixed conifer and deciduous growth. ‘These birds, which
were carefully watched, soon became quieter, and commenced making the foundation of their
nest. For this purpose they made use of dry dead twigs; and the noise they made in breaking
them off, which in the dead stillness of the forest could be heard at a great distance, kept my
clever collector continually on the track of the birds when busy with the construction of their
nest. As soon as they had broken off a suitable twig they flew silently up the mountain further
than the eye could reach, and always returned by the same way to procure more material.
After earnest and careful watching, following them step by step, now losing the track and again
taking up the clue, we at last approached the nesting-place, which was about a mile distant, and
soon discovered the pine tree on which the nest was being built. I then, however, avoided
visiting the tree so as to avoid disturbing the birds and thus making them forsake the nest.

“On the 15th of March the nest contained four eggs; and several days later, as no more
were deposited, it was taken. I did not dare to peril by too eager curiosity this the first
oological treasure placed before me ; and it seems that I was right; for in 1869, the season being
unfavourable, neither nest nor eggs were obtained: and it seemed as if in 1870 we should have
the same bad luck; but about the middle of May a nest with eggs was discovered and brought to
me. In 1872, however, I was unusually fortunate, as I discovered four nests, and could then

16

arrange to allow one clutch to hatch out, and thus make some observations on the incubation
and bringing-up of the young..... The nests of the Nutcrackers which bred on the Solothurn
Jura were built at altitudes of 2500 to 3500 feet above the sea-level, in open positions where
the sun could shine on them, and on heights sloping to the south or south-east, often near the
plateaux of the main mountains, or on one of the smaller ones, always in mixed woods and on a
pine or silver-fir tree of 6 to 9 inches diameter, at a height of 15 to 25 feet, the nest being
placed on a main branch on the sunniest side of the tree.

“‘ Not one of the nests was on a non-evergreen tree, but all on conifers, generally in a bunch
of firs at the edge of a non-evergreen grove where plenty of sunshine was to be had, but still
where the nest would be well hidden. Most of the nests, however, were well visible to any one
standing below the tree; and one was piaced on an old half-dead bough, though plenty of more
favourable places were close at hand. The nests measure from 27 to 30 centimetres in diameter,
and from 15 to 18 in height; the cup of the nest is 13 centimetres wide and 8 deep; thus it is
rather more than half-globe-shaped. ‘The first foundation consists of about half a centimetre of
thick or thin twigs of almost all sorts of trees, such as ash (Mrazinus excelsior), beech (Fagus
sylvatica), pine (Pinus abies), silver fir (Pinus picea), common fir (Pinus sylvestris); on these
twigs all sorts of mosses still remain, giving the outside of the nest a peculiar appearance. On
this first foundation a more or less thick layer of peaty stuff or small bushy plants with earth-
covered roots is placed, making a somewhat solid mass, and increasing the height to about
3 centimetres. ‘The sides of the nest are constructed of dry twigs of the above-named trees; or
often fresh twigs with the foliage still attached are used; and through these are plaited the
slender twigs of various forest-bushes, such as Ligustrum vulgare, Corylus avellana, Lonicera
periclymenum, Lonicera xylosteum, and Crategus oxyacantha. The lining of the nest, however,
is composed of quite different materials, being chiefly beard-moss (Usnea barbata), grass bents
of Dactylis glomerata, Bromus, and Carex, as also common moss (Hypnum), and especially the
bast or inner bark of the ash, these materials being rather arranged in order than carefully
woven together.

“The nest of the Nutcracker, compared with those of allied species, resembles more that of
the Crow than of the Jay; and the nest of the common Jay (Garrulus glandarius), which in
former years has so often done duty for the Nutcracker’s nest, is totally different. Taken all in
all it is not a very artistic structure, though peculiar, and, especially when new, pretty, as the
bright fresh mosses and green twigs stand out well from the remaining dark materials of the
nest. As is the case with many other species, the Nutcracker in some cases makes a much more
artistic nest than in others; and a second nest, after the first has been destroyed, is much smaller
and more carelessly made than the previous one.”

Mr. Vogel gives a most careful description, with measurements in tabular form, of six nests
with eggs which came under his notice, which I may briefly summarize as follows:—The first
nest was found on the 15th March, 1868, and contained four eggs, which in appearance most
resembled Magpie’s eggs, and in size varied from 33 by 25 to 35 by 25 millimetres; the second
nest, taken on the 18th of May, 1870, contained four eggs similar in appearance to those in the
first nest, and in size varying from 33 by 24 to 35 by 24 millimetres; the third nest was found on
the 10th March, 1872, and likewise contained four eggs, which, however, resembled those of the

465

466

16

Jay, and in size were smaller than those above mentioned, measuring from 30 by 24 to 32 by 24
millimetres; the fourth nest only contained three eggs, resembling Magpie’s eggs, all measuring
34 by 24 millimetres, and was taken on the 17th March, 1872. ‘The fifth nest was found on the
19th of March, 1872; and Dr. Vogel did not take the eggs (which were four in number, in
appearance resembling Magpie’s eggs), but let them hatch out, in order that he might make
observations on the incubation, and on the rearing of the young. ‘The sixth nest was taken on
the 25th of April, 1872, and contained four eggs, in appearance resembling Jackdaw’s eggs, and
in size measuring from 33 by 26 to 34 by 26 millimetres.

All the above eggs were fresh when found. As regards their weight, Mr. Vogel gives the
exact weight of each egg separately ; but I refrain from going into such details, and only say
that, when full, the weight varied from 850 to 1150 centigrammes, and, when blown, from 40
to 70 centigrammes per egg, the average weight being 1059 centigrammes when full, and 57
centigrammes when blown.

In stating that the eggs in the above-mentioned six nests resemble those of the Magpie,
Jay, and Jackdaw, Mr. Vogel expressly adds that he has stated this as the eggs approach nearest
to those of the birds mentioned, but that the egg of the Nutcracker is in general a most charac-
teristic egg, and can seldom be mistaken by an oologist.

With regard to the fifth nest, the eggs of which were not taken, Mr. Vogel writes as
follows :—‘‘ This nest was so advantageously placed, being tolerably low on the precipice, and
close to an easy but seldom used mountain-path, that we decided to let it remain, so as to watch
the progress of incubation and the bringing-up of the young. On the 14th of March the second
egg was deposited, and the last two by the 19th of the same month; thus the bird had deposited
her four eggs at intervals of from two to three days, which, I take it, must be put down to the
severe season of the year, food not being abundant. From the time the last egg was deposited
the female sat close, and did not appear very shy. Her head could be seen from some distance ;
and when under the nest one could see her peeping curiously over the edge of the nest to see
who was below. Her tail was not so visible, being held upwards, so that it showed but little
over the edge. Only when the tree was knocked, or on any one commencing to climb it, did she
silently and quickly leave the nest and disappear ; but directly the danger appeared to have passed,
she was on the nest again in an instant. When the nest was taken, on the 18th of May, 1870,
five of us watched the nest closely after the female had slipped off, in order to see her return; and
after having waited for about forty minutes I approached close to the nest and found her on it,
sitting quietly as if nothing had happened. She had passed our corden unobserved, which could
only have been done by dropping down from some altitude into the middle of the pine group,
and slipping quietly from twig to twig to her nest. ‘The female alone incubates, the male taking
no share in that duty; but, on the other hand, he provides her most assiduously with food. In
so doing he is most attentive; and the female in receiving it imitates her progeny by fluttering
with her wings and uttering the well-known sobbing notes. She sits very close, and only leaves
the nest for the purpose of voiding her excrements, returning again within a quarter of a hour.

“As before stated, when we first began to watch the nest the bird was by no means shy; but
from being continually disturbed she became more and more frightened, and would at last leave
the nest before we approached, and I was compelled to give orders that she should not be any

17

further disturbed. On the 7th of April we found three naked, blind young ones in the nest, and
one egg, which was afterwards hatched. Thus, as the term of incubation extended over eighteen
days, I surmise that the young emerge from the eggs from seventeen to nineteen days after the
time when the female commences sitting. We kept away from the nest for some time, and again
visited it just when the parent birds were busy feeding the young. From afar we could hear
the latter calling for food; and the parents now, directly any danger threatened, betrayed their
anxiety by uttering a harsh note of alarm, and would not leave the neighbourhood of the nest.
This alarm-note is corvine, but somewhat modulated, and is not unlike the alarm-note of the
Missel-Thrush.

“On the 25th of April I had the youngest of the four birds taken out of the nest, killed,
and sent to me at Zurich, so that I could take notes of its nestling-plumage, and also examine
the contents of its stomach. This latter I found to contain half animal and half vegetable
matter, the former consisting of fragments of snails (Helix ericetorum, Mill.) and of three species
of insects (Otiorhynchus niger, O. villoso-punctatus, and some sort of Hister, which I could not
quite make out). The vegetable matter consisted of fragments of the fruit of Juglans regia,
Linn., of the common hazel (Corylus avellana, Linn.), and of the three-cornered seeds of the
mountain-ash.”

Most birds allied to the Crows feed their nestling young almost, if not entirely, on insect
food; and, as Mr. Vogel justly remarks, it shows the wonderful provisions of nature that the
young of this species, which are hatched at a season of the year when it would be almost
impossible to procure a sufficient supply of insect food, should be able to subsist equally well on
vegetable matter. Mr. Sabanaeff informs me that it breeds in the Government of Perm, in
Russia, nesting in April. He found numbers of their old nests in the Ural, in conifer trees at no
great altitude. He informs me that, owing to their habit of carrying off seeds of conifers, and
especially of the cedar, to great distances, they become unwitting agents in the propagation and
distribution of those trees.

I have two clutches of the eggs of this species in my collection—one obtained from Pastor
Theobald, consisting of three eggs, taken on Bornholm, April 15th, 1865, and the other taken
in Styria in April 1868. The ground-colour of these eggs is pale whitish sea-green; and the
markings are pale liver-brown and small in size. The eggs from Bornholm have the spots very
much smaller and more sparingly scattered over the surface of the shell than those from Styria.
In size they vary from 143 by 23 to 144 by 14%.

Before closing this article I must express my acknowledgments to the Ritter von Tschusi
Schmidhofen, who, hearing that I was on the eve of publishing my article on the Nutcracker,
wrote to request me to defer so doing until he could place at my disposal the mass of materials
he had collected, and which he was on the eve of publishing. Having just received a copy of
his monograph ‘ Der Tannenheher,’ I am enabled to extract from it, as will be seen above, many
interesting details respecting the range and habits of the present species.

The specimens figured are those I have described, the adult bird being in my collection, and
the nestling in that of Professor Newton.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—
§ Z

467

4638

18

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,3. Upland, Sweden, August 12th, 1871 (Meves). 6,3. Wermland, Sweden, 1869 (Meves). c,2. Falsterbo,
Sweden, August 6th, 1868 (7. Buckley). d,Q. Christiania, October 18th, 1872 (Collett). e, 3. Ural,
June 20th, 1868 (Sabandeff). jf. Switzerland (Fairmaire). g, 3. Bergamasca, November 1868
(Salvadori). h, pullus. Basses-Alpes (Fairmaire). ,

E Mus. Baron A. von Hiigel.

a. Denmark, 1871. 6, 3. Switzerland, autumn, 1871. c, 3. Glaurus, Switzerland.

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. Geneva (H. B. T.). 6. Switzerland, 1861 (H. J. Elwes).

E Mus. A. Newton.
a, pullus. Bornholm, May 1862.

Genus PERISOREUS.

Lanius apud Linneeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 138 (1766).
Corvus apud Sparrman, Mus. Carls. fasc. iv. (1786-89).
Garrulus apud Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. xii. p. 478 (1817).
Pica apud Wagler, Syst. Av. Spec. 20 (1827).
Perisoreus, Bonaparte, Comp. List, p. 27 (1838).

Tus group forms, as it were, a sort of link between the Nutcrackers and true Jays, and contains
four species, three of which (Perisoreus canadensis, P. obscurus, and P. capitalis) inhabit the
northern portions of the Nearctic Region, and the fourth (Perisoreus infaustus) the northern
portions of the Palearctic Region. ‘These birds are fearless and tame to a degree, appearing
to welcome rather than shun the presence of man. They inhabit forests and groves, appearing to
prefer conifer to non-evergreen woods. ‘Their flight is Jay-like, but silent; for they move about
with scarcely any more noise than an Owl. ‘They feed on insects, berries, small birds, and
mammals, and will devour meat hung up to dry. ‘Their note is loud, weird, and harsh; but they
also utter at times a low, rather mellow sound. They breed very early in the season, like the
Nutcrackers, constructing a strongly built cup-shaped nest of lichens and twigs lined with finer
lichens, grass, and a few feathers, which they place on a conifer tree. The eggs, from three to
five in number, are pale greenish white marked with purplish grey and brown clearly defined
blotches.

Perisoreus infaustus, the type of the genus, has the bill like that of Nucifraga, but shorter
and comparatively broader; nostrils basal, covered by stiff feathers directed forwards; wings
snort, broad, rounded, the first quill shorter than the inner secondaries, the second shorter than
the ninth, the fifth longest; tail long, slightly graduated; tarsus long, strong, covered in front
with four large and three inferior scutelle; toes moderate; claws curved, acute, moderately long ;
plumage soft and lax,

76

469

Oa
vn

208

SIBERIAN JAY
PERISOREUS INFAUSTUS

154

471

PERISOREUS INFAUSTUS.

(SIBERIAN JAY.)

Lanius infaustus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 138. no. 25 (1766).
Le Geai de Sibérie, Buff. Ois. ii. p. 154 (1774).

Corvus infaustus, Sparrm. M. Carl. fasc. iv. pl 76 (1786-89).
Corvus sibiricus, Gm. Syst. Nat. 1. p. 373 (1788).

Garrulus infaustus, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. xii. p. 478 (1817).
Pica infausta, Wagl. Syst. Av. spec. 20 (1827).

Corvus mimus, Pall. Zoog. Rosso-As. 1. p. 395 (1831).
Perisoreus infaustus, Bp. B. of Kur. p. 27 (1838).

Ulykkesfugl, Gjertrudsfugl, Danish; Lavskrige, Rodskjwre (literally Lichen-Jay and Red
Magpie), Norwegian; Lafskrika, Rodtjuxa, Swedish; Gnofsak, Kukhainen, Lapp;
Kuusanka, Kuusankandrhi, Finnish; Rousha, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Montbeillard, Pl. Enl. p. 608; Werner’s Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 9; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 215;
Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. pl. 350; Sundevall, Svensk. Fog]. pl. 19. fig. 2.

3 ad. pileo toto et nucha saturaté nigricanti-fulvis: fronte pallidiore: collo, gutture, pectore et dorso pallidé
cinereis, héc vix rufescente lavato: uropygio supracaudalibusque leté ferrugineis: rectricibus ferru-
ginels, vix cinereo apicatis, duabus intermediis saturaté cinereis: remigibus nigricanti-fulvis, in pogonio
externo fusco-cinereis: primariis ad basin ferrugineis: tectricibus alarum minimis scapularibusque
dorso concoloribus: tectricibus superioribus fusco-cinereis, in pogonio externo ferrugineis: abdomine,
hypochondriis, crissoque pallidé ferrugineis: rostro et pedibus nigris: iride brunnea.

9 ad. haud a mare distinguendus.
Juv. adulto similis sed saturatior.

Adult Male (Christiania, Norway, December). Crown and nape sooty brown, gradually fading in tinge as it
joins the colour of the back; forehead rather paler than the crown, and the feathers covering the
nostrils dirty yellowish brown; back and scapulars dull lead-grey, washed, more especially towards the
rump, with pale reddish brown; rump and upper tail-coverts bright foxy red; tail bright foxy red,
slightly tipped with grey, except the two central feathers, which are pure lead-grey; quills sooty brown
on the inner web, brownish grey on the outer web, some of the primaries being marked with rufous at
the base of the outer web; larger wing-coyerts similar in colour to the quills, but having the outer webs
marked with bright rufous, which colour in some pervades almost the entire outer web; lesser wing-
coverts brownish grey; chin, throat, and breast grey, rather purer in colour than the back; abdomen,
flanks, and under tail-coverts rufous; beak and legs black; iris brown. ‘Total length 12-5 inches,
culmen 1:05, wing 5:6, tail 5°7, tarsus 1:4.

472

Female. Similar to the male.

Young (Quickjock, 14th June). Differs from the adult bird in being much duller in colour, and the rufous
portions of the plumage being not so bright.

THis aberrant Jay is in Europe an inhabitant of the high northern districts of Scandinavia,
rarely, if ever, straggling into Northern Germany; but in Asia it is found as low as the island of
Saghalien. It has not been met with in Great Britain, Iceland, or Greenland; but as regards its
occurrence in Scandinavia, Mr. Collett informs me that it breeds numerously in the interior of
Lapland, more especially in the eastern part, and but sparingly to the south towards the forests
of Trondhjems stift, more commonly, however, to the south of Trondhjems fiord. Numbers are
found in all the conifer-woods of Hamar stift, which cover the highlands, as in the Gudbrandsdale,
Osterdale, and in Valders down to Land—in the highlands round Mjosen, as, for instance, on the
Spreifjeld of Thoten—and here and there down to Nordmarken, near Christiania, in the Nume-
dale, on Modum, and in Lier. It has even been known to breed as far south as 593° N. lat. in
Christiansands stift, in Thelemarken, and during the autumn has been met with at Nees iron-
works, in 583° N. lat. Thus in Norway it is found over an area embracing eleven degrees of
latitude. It is generally met with during the breeding-season in the upper part of the fir-region,
and has never been observed on the west coast of Norway where the pine does not grow.
Professor Sundevall records its range on the Swedish side as ‘“‘ above that of the Common Jay.”
It is said to occur as far south as the Dal-elf, in about 603° N. lat., but it is not common below
62°. Northwards it is met with as high as the conifer-growth extends, and even into the birch-
region. At Alten and in Kast Finmark it is numerous in 70° N. lat., but is not found at Ham-
merfest. It seldom wanders far from its summer haunts; and its winter quarters are therefore
much the same as those it inhabits at other seasons of the year, though stragglers occasionally
wander further to the south. ‘Thus it has been recorded as having been seen near Stockholm,
and even in Smaland; but these occurrences require corroboration. Dr. R. Sundstrém also
refers to the above-recorded occurrence at Stockholm, and further states that one was killed in
the month of May near the town of Askersund, in Southern Nerike. It is, he states, “ most
common in the conifer-woods of Norrland and Lapland, but is found in Northern Wermland in
the autumn and winter. In the high north it is exceedingly tame; and no bird is more curious,
for it cannot refrain from examining any strange object. If one meets with a family of Siberian
Jays in any quiet place, they can be shot down one after another; for they merely fly to the next
tree when a shot is fired. On the fells it is generally found in the conifer-region, but sometimes
penetrates into the birch-region.” On the Finnish side it is met with in the high north; but
Von Wright records it as having occurred as far south as Helsingfors, where, however, it is
rare. I saw several above Abo, and thence up to Uleaborg, when travelling along the coast,
generally meeting with them on the sides of the roads which are cut through the forests. It is
not uncommon in Northern Russia. Mr. Meves met with it tolerably often in the large woods
in the Archangel Government, more especially when travelling from Onega to Archangel and to
Kargopol; and Mr. Sabandeff informs me that it “breeds in the Governments of Jaroslaf,
Wladimir, and even Moscow, but rarely in the last Government. It is probably found during
the summer near Odoeff, in the Government of Toula; and Eversmann states that it breeds in

3

the forests of the Government of Kazan. In the mountains of the Central Ural it is tolerably
common, but nowhere so numerous as the Nutcracker and the Jay. It breeds in the pine-woods
in the month of April.”

Professor Sundevall doubts its ever having occurred in Germany ; and certainly the record of
its occurrence in Silesia, referred to by Gloger, is open to doubt. Naumann also writes that it
has been met with once in the Tatra mountains and twice in Silesia, without, however, giving
very close details; and it is possible that he may have been mistaken. It has not been recorded,
as I am informed by Mr. Benzon, in Denmark in this century; but in the last, about 1770, it was
taken alive, at least twice, on Christianso, near Borgholm, and was in the possession of a
thoroughly good ornithologist, Johann Dietrich Petersen, who wrote, for that time, a most
remarkable work, ‘ Christiansés Fuglehistorie, which was not printed, but is in two folios of MS.
in the Royal Library at Copenhagen.

To the eastward the Siberian Jay is found throughout the Amoor country, where it was met
with by Von Middendorff, Radde, and Schrenck. ‘The first-enamed of these travellers ‘“‘did not
observe it further north than Turuchansk; but near Jakutsk, in the Stanowoi mountains, and on
the southern shores of the Sea of Ochotsk, it was numerous.” Dr. Gustav Radde met with it
near Lake Baikal and in the Lower Angara valley, but never in the Bureja mountains. During
the three months he wandered through the forests of the Baikal he only once saw it; but later on
he observed it about 60 versts below Irkutsk, in a pine-forest; and here it is said at times to be
numerous during the summer. Von Schrenck observed it most numerous at the mouth of the
Amoor, and on the island of Saghalien, and near the Nikolaieffsk Post saw it almost daily from
August to February. In June and July he met with it scarcely less frequently in the conifer-
woods of the Bay of Castries and at Kidsi. Higher up the Amoor it is rarer, but was met with
on the Lower Ussuri. Messrs. Dybowski and Parvex merely record it as being rare in Darasun.
In its habits the Siberian Jay is fearless and confiding, and reminded me much of its close
relation in America, Perisoreus canadensis, which, from its tameness, and its habit of frequenting
the hunters’ camps and sharing with them the produce of the chase, has acquired the name of
Camp-bird and Moose-bird. Several times when out shooting in the wild forests of Finland, and
seated, eating my frugal meal, I have been startled by the appearance close to me of the Siberian
Jay, or by hearing its weird melancholy cry in my immediate proximity; for the bird flies so
silently that it drops on to a twig near one like a leaf wafted by the autumn wind.

The notes of the Siberian Jay are strange and weird. Wheelwright not inaptly speaks of its
call-note as a‘‘mew;” for though it may best be expressed by the syllables #ah, tah, it has a
distant resemblance to a screaming mew. Mr. Collett informs me that besides this note, which,
with modulations, is the only one I have ever heard, ‘“‘it sometimes utters a few mellow and
flute-like notes, though these latter are but seldom heard.”

“When passing through the large pine-woods in the southern valleys of Norway, where the
death-like silence is only at long intervals broken by a passing flock of Titmice, accompanied by
some Golden-crested Wrens and a few Creepers (Certhiw), my attention has been suddenly
attracted by a peculiar clucking note from the nearest tree, caused by a flock of the Siberian Jay,
which, with every sign of curiosity, were gazing at us from the lower branches of the firs. They
are not shy birds; and, far from flying away on our approach, they hover noiselessly still nearer to

2X

47:

474

4

us; the same clucking note (which cannot be expressed in words) is heard once more, and they
soon again disappear in the same silent manner.”

The food of this bird consists of insects, small mammals, and, to some extent, berries of
various kinds. Pastor Sommerfelt states that when it has young it feeds them on reindeer meat,
which it steals when hung up to dry by the Laps. Like the Common Jay, it is said to attack
and devour young and weakly birds. Mr. R. Collett writes to me that “in the stomachs of
individuals snared in the woods in the neighbourhood of Christiania in the autumn and winter
I have found, besides rowan berries, bilberries, and various seeds, remains of a Sorex pygmeus,
and larvee of several insects (Geometride and Noctue). Like the Common Jay they also feed on
other birds, and are said to kill and eat Thrushes and other species of birds that are caught in
snares. Iam sure that this predatory instinct is well known to other birds, and I have some-
times seen it mobbed by them as if it were a true bird of prey. In the summer of 1871, on the
Dovre, my attention was attracted by a shrill scream of anxiety uttered by a Redshank (Totanus
calidris), which was convoying her newly hatched young on a marsh covered with small, scattered
fir trees; and I observed that a Siberian Jay was fluttering over the brood and clearly intended to
seize one of them.” Dr. Sundstrém confirms what Mr. Collett says, and further states that “it is
more destructive to small birds than the Common Jay, and kills great numbers of them. It will also
feed on dead black game, Hazel-Grouse, and Ptarmigan which have been caught in snares.” The
Siberian Jay breeds not uncommonly in East Finmark (Lapland), and is there a resident. Pastor
Sommerfelt writes that he obtained eggs taken in April and as late as the early part of May;
according to that gentleman the bird commences to sit directly the first egg is deposited, in order
that the eggs may no tbe damaged by the severe cold, which is often as much as 20° Réaum.
below zero during the season the bird is sitting. Nor will the bird leave her nest however much
noise is made, nor yet when the tree is climbed, but she sits crouched close on her eggs, and
when lifted off and thrown on one side will immediately return to the nest, even whilst the
intruder is close to it. Mr. R. Collett, who has taken the eggs of this bird in Norway, informs
me “that the nest is not easy to obtain, as the snow at that season lies very deep in the forest.
In March or April it builds its very peculiar nest close to the stem of a pine or fir tree; it is
constructed principally of grey lichens ( Usnea barbata and Everina sarmentosa), closely interwoven
with dry fir twigs stripped of their spines, a few of its own feathers and those of the Ptarmigan
being inserted here and there; fragments of conifer foliage, pieces of other lichens (Parmelia
saxatilis), and the thin membranous bark of the fir are also interspersed. In the bottom there
are stalks of dry grass; and, as unusual materials, I have seen leaves and fragments of a wasp’s
nest. The outside diameter of the nest is 140 to 150 millimetres, inside 60 to 87 millimetres,

height 110 to 120 millimetres. The eggs are from three to five in number, length 29 to 33

millimetres, breadth 20 to 22 millimetres; the size, however, varies considerably in the same
nest. In the southern parts of the country the eggs are often laid in the latter end of March or
early in April, in Lapland hardly before April. This bird sits very close, and can sometimes be
taken with the hand when on her nest.”

To Professor Newton I am indebted for the following details respecting the nidification
and habits of this bird, as observed by the late Mr. Wolley and himself in Lapland :—< I think
it may be confidently asserted that up to the year 1853 no one had placed on record the

5

positive discovery of the eggs of this bird. Its empty nest had been found by Herr Malm
some thirty years ago (Naturhist. Tidsskr. 1845, p. 193), and there was Professor Nilsson’s
statement of what the eggs were said to be like (Skand. Faun. 2nd ed. Foglarna. i. p. 185);
but this seems to have been all that was known. In ‘ Naumannia’ for 1853 (p. 425), Dr. Bal-
damus describes two eggs from Finland, which he thought could scarcely be those of any
other bird; but the warning of his concluding observation, ‘Noch unsicher,’ is fully borne out
by the figure of one of these eggs which he gave in the same journal next year, and is as
unlike what we now know to be the egg of Perisoreus infaustus as can be required to prove
that his supposition was unfounded. At the meeting of the German Ornithologists’ Society at
Gotha in July 1854, Dr. Kjerbélling exhibited one of two eggs and part of a nest which he had
obtained from West Finmark, and ascribed to this species. He said (Naumannia, 1854, p. 310;
Journ. fiir Orn. 1854, p. 1xi) that the eggs agreed in size with those of Turdus iliacus, but were
‘mehr rundlich und zugespitzt,’ which seem to be rather contradictory epithets. The history of
the eggs is not stated; and I must be pardoned for expressing my belief that the Doctor was
mistaken either in assigning them to the Siberian Jay or those with which he compared them to
the Redwing. However, be that as it may, in this same year (1854) Mr. Wolley certainly
obtained eggs of Perisoreus infaustus. These, three in number, were, as he was subsequently
told by the finder, Johan Samuel Mantuvaara, in a nest made principally of ‘ tree-hair’ (/upw),
built about two fathoms from the ground in a small Pinus sylvestris, very thick and close in its
branches, much overgrown with the same lichen. It was early in the spring, there was still
much snow, and he was on a hill near Rowtos-jarwi cutting timber; when the tree fell it touched
another, and the bird flew out. These three eggs, though much damaged, are now in my possession.
The following year (1855) Mr. Wolley obtained five perfect eggs out of fourteen, the contents of
four nests found by Johan Eric Rowa—two with four, and two with three eggs in each. These
nests were mostly in small trees near bogs, and so low that they could be reached by the hand
when standing on the snow; but one was halfway up a much bigger tree. The nests were con-
spicuous enough, made of sticks and lichen, but not near together. One of Johan’s brothers
looked for two days without finding a nest, but in this way he got to know the ground the birds
frequented. ‘In the morning they collect in flocks to feed; and when a pair is seen to leave the
rest they can sometimes be traced to the nest; but the flight is performed in a way to avoid
observation. _ At its nest the bird is generally quite silent; but while one is climbing up it will
make a little noise. When suddenly started from the nest it flies straight off; but when it has
young it will scarcely leave the tree, and scolds roundly at an invader. The best way to find a
nest is to quarter the ground regularly; and the skidor-marks enable this to be done with great
accuracy. ‘The search is best made in the night, when the snow bears, and of course in places
known to be frequented by the birds.’ In some nests, according to the statement of this man,
whose words were taken down by Mr. Wolley, there were young hatched in the first week of
May; but a fresh nest was found towards the end of that week or the beginning of the second
week ; and as the bird did not know of the discovery, she afterwards laid three eggs, which were
in due time taken. Just before St. Hric’s day (18th of May) eight nests, with young, were found
by Johan and his brothers. They thought that it was in the habit of collecting feathers for the
lining of its nest in the preceding autumn.

5x 2

475

76

6

“Mr. Wolley also writes of the same year (1855):—‘ This season Ludwig and Anton tried
hard with my direction and assistance to find the eggs in Muoniovaara. We put meat in the
woods, and watched early and late. Plenty of birds came; but we could not make out their
nests. At last Ludwig found one early in April without eggs. I also examined it. Later in
the season the tree was cut down; so I have not secured the nest*. It was some twenty feet up
in a Scotch fir. In May Ludwig found a nest near it with young. He put them in a cage; but
the mother let them out by opening the fastening. This nest is before me. It is made at the
bottom of a considerable quantity of old branches, mostly bleached and barkless, and in some
cases covered with black lichen, then a lighter-coloured lichen, and on the top feathers with a
little hare’s down, spider’s nests, and so forth. The thicker part of three other nests is here—
two from Rowa, and one from Mantuvaara. They are a considerable thickness of feathers, lichen,
spider’s web, silvery bark (such as is found in Bramblings’ nests), &c. The feathers are mostly
Capercally and White Willow-Grouse. The Mantuvaara nest is mostly made of cock-Capercally
with a few Lapp-Owl’s feathers; and as the latter bird was so scarce last winter, it would almost
favour the notion that the feathers had been collected previously. The Mantuvaara nest was
sent with an egg, which I have given to Mr. Newton. The same lad found it who sent me the
eggs last year.’ :

** Besides the six perfect eggs already mentioned as having been obtained in 1855, eight more
were brought the same year to Mr. Wolley. In 1856 he did not reach Lapland till too late in
the season to take a nest himself; but several were found by his collectors. In 1857 more were
found, one of which with its three eggs he sent by Dr. Nylander to the Museum at Helsingfors;
and on the 17th of May he had the satisfaction of taking one with his own hands, though it
contained but a single addled egg and two young birds some two days oldf.

“Mr. Wolley was very anxious to obtain and bring alive to England some of these birds.
There was no difficulty about snaring as many as one liked; but, though so tame and familiar
when at large, there was at first no getting them to feed in a cage. At last the effort was
successful ; and when he and I left Muoniovaara in 1855 we had five examples, healthy and
brisk, with us, all of which were finally safely deposited in the Zoological Society’s large aviary,
where, I regret to say, they did not very long survive, their death being attributed (rightly or
not, I know not) to the painting of the aviary while the birds were yet in it. On the way home
we stopped for a week at Stockholm ; and there these birds created a great sensation. Each in a
cage to itself, they were placed at the open windows of our hotel, which looked on a market-
place; and their loud and varied calls kept a crowd of small boys in constant excitement. The
boys would imitate the Jays’ cries; and the Jays kept replying to the boys. I could only wonder
at the forbearance of the neighbours and the police; but I rather think some of them were a
good deal diverted by the whole proceeding. More sprightly and cunning birds than those Jays
cannot well be, whether caged or not. In their own woods one hears their deep, ringing kook, kook,

* “ About the middle of April in this year Mr. Wolley left Muoniovaara for Norway.”—A. N.

+ “The egg which I exhibited to the Zoological Society, 10th Dec. 1861 (P. Z.S. 1861, p. 396), and then
said that I believed it to be that of Nucifraga caryocatactes, is, I now hardly doubt, that of Perisoreus
infaustus.”—A. N,

7

kook, followed by a series of noises which sounds like a conversation carried on by two or three
people in an unknown tongue. One puts up a family party off the ground where they have been
feasting on the berries ; and away they go through the trees with their wavering unsteady flight,
every here and there a gleam of sunshine catching their tails; and turning them into gigantic
Redstarts. Or when one halts for any purpose, there comes a Siberian Jay, at first stealthily; but
soon, if he sees no sign of danger to him, and a possible legacy in the shape of scraps of food,
he displays himself openly, perching almost within arm’s length, swinging his tail like a Bull-
finch, and turning his head on one side like a Redbreast or a Bluethroat, now erecting his crest
and ruffling his long loose plumage, now shaking it all compactly down, calling his neighbours if
there be an appearance of entertainment, talking to them as they approach, or thinking aloud if
they are slow to come. ‘There is no wonder that these birds excite the attention of all whose
business is among the great forests of Lapland; but, so far as I know, Mr. Wolley was of
opinion that they were never regarded by Lapps or Finns as birds of bad omen: on the contrary,
the woodsman who is discomfited by the call of Parus cinctus rather looks upon the Kukhainen
as a harbinger of good luck; and the name of Olycksfogel, by which, according to Linneus, it is
known to Swedes, was most likely given to it by some wandering settler of that nation. Linnzeus,
in perpetuating the idea thereby conveyed, seems to have been disposed to revenge himself on the
species for its pilfering his provisions when he was in Lulea Lappmark ; and he adds to his notice
of it ‘audacissima avis, que nobis prandentibus swpe coram cibum abripuit’! I first made the
acquaintance of this bold robber in the valley of the Tana, and in my subsequent course was
always glad when I encountered it. At Muoniovaara I saw én situ the nest from which Ludwig
took the young birds whose mother liberated them from captivity as above mentioned.”

Mr. A. Benzon informs me that he possesses “several nests obtained in Lapland and Norway,
which are constructed outside of small twigs, dry straws, lichens, and marsh-cotton, and lined
with marsh-cotton. They measured outside from 170 millimetres in diameter by 70 millimetres
in height to 200 by 80 millimetres, inside about 75 millimetres diameter, and from 40 to 50
millimetres deep.” I am indebted to Mr. Robert Collett for a very beautiful and well-preserved
nest of this bird obtained by him in Norway. This nest is built almost entirely of the long
pendent lichen (Usnea barbata) so common in the northern forests, twigs, chiefly of the larch
and pine, and a few roots. ‘The lining is composed of the same lichen as is used in the construc-
tion of the foundation, and a few grass bents; and here and there on the edge are pieces of a grey
paper-like wasps’ nest placed as if for ornament.

Fifteen eggs of the Siberian Jay in my collection vary in size from 1,8; by #§ to 142 by 33
inch, and in colour from dirty white to pale greenish white, spotted and blotched with purplish
grey underlying shell-markings, and lighter or darker hair-brown surface spots, which are generally
dark, large, clearly defined. ‘Though in one or two they are spread tolerably evenly over the
surface of the shell, they are, as a rule, collected closer round the larger end.

The specimens figured and described are both in my own collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

47

478

8

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6 adult. Christiania, Norway, December 7th, 1871 (R. Collett). 6,9. Quickjock, Lapland (H. W. Wheei-
wright). c,juv. Quickjock, June 14th, 1865 (Wheelwright). d,d. Darasun, Dauria (Dybowski).

E Mus. A. Newton.

a, 6. Muoniovaara, Lapland, August 15th, 1855; 6,2. Muoniovaara, August 25th, 1855; ¢, juv. Tana, below
Polmak, July 4th, 1855 (A. N.).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a. Lapland.

&

Genus GARRULUS.

Garrulus, Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 46 (1760).

Corvus apud Linneeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 156 (1766).
Glandarius apud Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 99 (1816).
Lanius apud Nilsson, Orn. Suec. i. p. 75 (1817).

Tue true Jays, of which, according to Mr. Sharpe (Cat. B. Brit. Mus. vol. iii.), there are altogether
fourteen species known, inhabit the Palearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, five species
being found in the Western Palearctic Region.

They frequent forests, groves, and gardens, are habitually shy and wary, shunning the
presence of man, and feed on insects, fruits, &c., as also on small birds and mammals; and they
frequently rob other birds of their eggs, which they suck. Their flight is direct and strong; and
their note is loud, discordant, and harsh. They construct a rather large cup-shaped nest of sticks
and twigs lined with fine roots and grasses, which they place on’a tree or bush, and deposit
greyish or greenish-white eggs spotted with pale brown.

Garrulus glandarius, the type of the genus, has the bill moderately long, stout, the upper
mandible curved towards the point, the lower one also curved upwards from about the centre;
gape-line straight ; nostrils basal, covered by bristly feathers directed forwards; plumage on the
crown full, and inclined to form a crest; wings rather short, rounded, the first quill shorter than
the inner secondaries, the second shorter than the eighth, the fourth or fifth longest; tail long,
even or slightly emarginate; tarsus long, covered in front with five large and three inferior
scutelle ; toes moderate; claws rather short, stout, curved, acute.

Ua

204

COMMON JAY.
GARRULUS GLANDARIUS.

122

481

GARRULUS GLANDARIUS.

(COMMON JAY.)

Corvus glandarius, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 156 (1766).

Glandarius pictus, Koch, Syst. Baier. Zool. i. p. 99 (1816).

Garrulus glandarius, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. and B. Brit. Mus. p. 18 (1816).
Lanius glandarius, Nilss. Orn. Suec. i. p. 75 (1817).

Glandarius germanicus, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 180 (1831).

Glandarius septentrionalis, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 180 (1831).

Glandarius robustus, Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p, 180 (1831).

Glandarius teniurus, Brehm, tom. cit. p. 273.

Glandarius leucocephalus, Brehm, tom. cit. p. 273.

Jay, Jay Pyet, English; Screachag-Choille, Gaelic; Geai ordinaire, French; Eichelheher,
Nussheher, German; De Viaamsche Gaai, Dutch; Gato, Portuguese; Arrandajo, Cabezon,
Spanish; Ghiandqja, Italian; Skovskade, Danish; Neddeskrige, Norwegian; Notskrika,
Swedish ; Hohkandrhi, Paskandérhi, Finnish ; Soika, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 8; Naum. Vog. Deutschl. ii. taf. 58. fig. 1; Gould, B. of Eur.
iii. pl. 214; Yarr. Brit. B. ii. p. 116; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. Afb. xii. fig. 3; Schl. Vog. Nederl.
pl. 143; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. tab. 27. fig. 10; Sundev. Sv. Fogl. pl. 19. fig. 1; Gould, B.
Gt. Br. pt. 1.

Ad. supra pallidé vimaceo-cinerascens, dorso postico vix in cinnamomeum vergente: uropygio et supracau-
dalibus puré albis: pileo cristato vinaceo-rufescente, fronte et regione anteoculari albis, plumis medialiter
nigro quasi lineatis et indistincté cinereo transvermiculatis: regione paroticd et collo laterali vinaceo-
rufescentibus: genis omnino nigris, fasciam mystacalem magnam formantibus: tectricibus alarum
minimis sordidé castaneis: majoribus extimis et primariorum tectricibus argenteo-cyaneis nigro et
minus conspicué albo transfasciatis, majoribus intimis velutino-nigris: primariis brunneis extus laté
cineraceo-albo limbatis, secundariis nigris extus dimidio albis ad basin cyanescente et nigro transfas-
ciatis, remige intimo plerumque castaneo ad apicem velutino-nigro: cauda nigra, subtis pallidiore:
gutture fulvescenti-albido: corpore reliquo subtus pallidé vinaceo-rufescente, hypochondriis et sub-
alaribus vix cinnamomeis: abdomine imo, crisso et subcaudalibus albis: rostro nigricanti-brunneo :
pedibus diluté rufescenti-brunneis: iride pallidé argentescenti-cyanea.

Adult Male (Hareskoy, Zeeland, Denmark, September 13th). Head covered with a thick full crest, whitish
in colour, each feather with an oblong central black mark, giving a striated appearance to the head;
nape and back delicate light brownish vinous, on the back washed with grey, and paler towards the
rump, which latter, with the upper tail-coverts, is pure white; tail black, the outer feather on each side
blackish brown ; primaries blackish, the outer web dull white; secondaries rich velvety black, each with

Z2

2

a long white patch on the basal half of the outer web, the innermost secondary rich chestnut, with an
oblique black patch at the tip; wing-coverts dusky black on the inner web, and on the outer web
barred with black, white, and pale blue alternately ; from the base of the bill, passing below the eye, a
long black patch; chin dull white; lower part of the throat, breast, and underparts generally dull buffy
white, dull reddish on the flanks; under wing-coverts dull reddish buff; vent and under tail-coverts
dull white; beak blackish brown; iris bluish white; feet and legs light reddish brown. Total length
15 inches, culmen 1:5, wing 7°2, tail 6:5, tarsus 1:5.

Female. Similar to the male, but somewhat duller in colour.

THE Common Jay is found throughout Kurope, from the central and northern parts of Scandi-
navia down to Algeria, and eastward to the Ural. In Great Britain it is a common bird,
sedentary in most parts, and, according to Mr. A. G. More, found during the breeding-season
“as far north as the middle of Scotland.” Macgillivray describes the Jay as ‘“‘ found here and
there in the woods skirtmg the Grampians, from Forfar to Dumbarton, and in all the more or
less wooded districts southward.” Colonel Drummond-Hay marks the Jay as breeding regularly
in Perthshire; and Captain Orde describes it as occurring in Argyleshire “‘ wherever there is
much copse-wood.” In Scotland, Mr. R. Gray writes, it is “‘in some districts now rare through
the persecution of gamekeepers; but in others it appears to maintain its ground in spite of all
attempts to destroy it. The Dumbartonshire woods, especially those in the neighbourhood of
Loch Lomond, still give shelter to limited numbers; and in many parts of Argyle and Inverness
shires the species is still a conspicuous ornament. I have seen it in pairs in the higher reaches
of Shemore glen, Loch-Lomond-side, frequenting a thin clump of trees on the hilly slope, about
a thousand feet above the sea-level. Mr. William Hamilton has informed me that this bird is
common in the woods of upper Loch Fyne; and the Rev. Alexander Stewart of Ballachulish has
sent me word that it has, of recent years, become rather common in the district of Lochaber,
Inverness-shire. ‘'Ten or twelve years ago,’ writes Mr. Stewart, ‘there was not a Jay in this part
of the country; but within the last few years they have been seen occasionally about Nether
Lochaber, and north, as far as Glengarry, along the woods skirting the Caledonian Canal, and
about Lochiel’s seat of Achnacarry. According to Mr. Shearer (see Proc. Royal Physical Soc. of
Edinb. vol. ii. p. 358), it is found even in Caithness. The species appears to have occurred but
once in Shetland.”

There are few parts of England where the Jay is not common. We have ourselves found
it in the northern and western counties, as well as in Devonshire, Sussex, Surrey, Kent, and
the other southern counties. In some parts of Kent it is especially numerous. Mr. Stevenson
writes that it is “common throughout the year, breeding in Norfolk, and, like Pica caudata,
would seem to receive, at times at least, considerable accessions to its numbers in autumn. Every
sportsman knows the small flocks of these birds which occasionally present themselves during a
day’s covert-shooting ; and many a gamekeeper, who prides himself on the extinction of ‘ vermin,
is suddenly disgusted, on his rounds, by finding more noisy Jays, during one day’s round, than he
has had a chance of shooting in a twelvemonth. Yet these, most probably, are but native-bred
birds, which, forming themselves into companies, as is their custom late in the season, rove from
one plantation to another in search of acorns and berries as food becomes scarce during sharp

3

weather. ‘he far larger bodies, however, occasionally observed, can scarcely be accounted for
in the same manner, of which a very memorable instance occurred near the coast in an adjoining
county, and is thus given by Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear :—‘ Some years since, as two gentlemen
were sporting at Tunstall, in Suffolk, distant about five miles from the sea, they observed an
extraordinary flight of Jays passing in a single line from seaward towards the interior. This
line extended further than the eye could reach, and must have consisted of some thousands.
Several of them were killed as they passed; but the firmg at them did not occasion the rest to
deviate from their line of flight.’ I have also observed these birds in some years to be extremely
plentiful in spring, and have known many pairs killed as late as the beginning of April, when
they may be supposed to pass us again on their return northwards.”

It is not uncommon in Scandinavia, as high as about 64° N. lat., or somewhat higher. Our
friend Mr. Collett records it as common in Norway, breeding from the lower portion of the
southern and eastern provinces up to Snaasen, in Trondhjem Stift (64° N. lat.); along the west
coast it is rarer, but has been observed at several places, such as Ryfylke (by Bahr), Etne in
Hardanger (by Sommerfeldt), at Bergen (by Koren), and at Nordfjord (by Krogh). On the fells
it disappears in the upper part of the fir-region. On the Swedish side it is met with about as
far north as in Norway; and Wheelwright considered that it occasionally straggles into Lapland.
Dresser met with it commonly in all parts of Finland, where, according to Von Wright, it is
found throughout the year, even in the northern and central portions. ‘Throughout the whole
of the forest-region of Russia it is, as Mr. Sabanaeff informs us, a common species, and is more
especially found in pine and oak woods. It is everywhere sedentary, or at least nearly so.
During the winter season it is tolerably rare in the Governments of Jaroslaf and Moscow; but on
the Ural numbers are found at all seasons of the year. Mr. Sabanaeff informs us that the Jay
found in Perm, and even in Simbirsk and Kazan, is an intermediate species between G. glandarius
of Europe and G. brandti from the Altai; but specimens sent to us by him from the Ural belong
certainly to the latter species, and on comparison with typical examples of Brandt's Jay from
Japan we fail to find any difference. The Ural range is therefore, we conclude, the eastern
boundary of the range of the Common Jay; and here it meets Garrulus brandti, which species
extends from the Ural through Siberia into Japan. Our Common Jay is a numerous species
throughout the Baltic Provinces, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and France,
chiefly frequenting the non-evergreen woods and groves. Professor Barboza du Bocage records
it as common in Portugal; and Major Irby informs us that it is “resident and abundant in the
Cork Wood, and to be met with on most of the wooded hills and mountain-sides in the vicinity of
Gibraltar. Occasionally seen in winter on the ‘ Rock,’ though not regular in appearance. I only
saw them in the winters of 1870-71 and 1871-72.”

Mr. H. Saunders also writes that in Southern Spain it is “abundant in all wooded districts,
except those south of Seville, where I never met with it. Near Granada and further north it
breeds plentifully.” In Southern France, Switzerland, Savoy, and Italy it is everywhere common
and, as elsewhere in Europe, sedentary. Mr. A. B. Brooke writes to us, saying that it is extremely
common in Sardinia at all seasons of the year; and Dr. H. Giglioli states the same as regards the
neighbourhood of Pisa. Lord Lilford and Captain R. M. Sperling both found it abundant and
breeding in Epirus and Corfu; and the various writers on the ornithology of Greece all agree in

485

484

4

saying that it is common throughout that country. Dresser met with it everywhere on the
Danube where there were oak-forests; and we have received several specimens from Mr. Robson,
obtained by him in the neighbourhood of Constantinople. Here it meets the Black-headed Jay,
which, in that country, appears to be the most numerous species. Professor von Nordman, who
speaks of the Black-headed Jay as a mere variety of the common species, writes that “the
Common Jay is very common in Bessarabia and New Russia, but in the Crimea and the Caucasus
it is replaced by the Black-headed Jay.” In September he says he saw individuals intermediate
between these two species near Sou Dagh, in the Crimea; but we have never been able to find
any specimens such as he appears to refer to, unless he can have had young examples of the
Black-headed Jay. In the forests of Abasia and the mountains of Ghouriel the Black-headed
Jay alone occurs; but Ménétries refers to the present species as being found in the forests of the
Caucasus and Lenkoran, but not higher up the mountains than about 3000 feet above the sea.
Mr. Blanford lately brought back a Jay from Persia which differs considerably from our common
species, being smaller, not so grey on the back, and having a much darker crest. In Asia Minor
the Black-headed Jay replaces the present species, which is also not found in North-eastern
Africa; but as regards Algeria we consider that the bird referred to by Loche, under the name
of Garrulus minor, Verr., is nothing else but the Common Jay.

In its habits the Common Jay is wary and shy; and though its presence is usually heralded
by its harsh discordant cries, it is very difficult of approach, and knows well how to keep out
of gunshot. It is no favourite with the gardeners, on whose crop of peas it often levies black
mail with impunity; and its taste for eggs also brings it under the ban of the gamekeepers,
in whose collection of “vermin” nailed against a barn-door, or hung on a convenient tree
at the edge of some wood, the bright-coloured wings of the Jay are often conspicuous. It
is often followed and mobbed by various species of small birds, proving that they look on
it as an enemy, and with justice, as it frequently kills their young and sucks their eggs.
Macgillivray writes that “it is not less shy and suspicious than the other species of the
Corvine family, although it frequents gardens for the purpose of feeding on the fruit, as well as
beans and peas, of which it seems to be particularly fond. Its food, however, is not confined to
these objects; for it also searches for worms, larvee, and snails, plunders the nests of small birds,
and pounces on mice and sometimes birds. The principal substances which I have found in its
stomach in winter were acorns, mixed with fragments of quartz. It is scarcely gregarious,
although for some weeks the members of a family keep together, in which case it is almost
impossible to procure one of them, as they flit before you in the woods, taking care to keep
beyond reach of a shot, and uttering at intervals their ordinary harsh scream. ‘The flight of the
Jay in an open place is somewhat similar to that of the Magpie or Missel-Thrush, being direct,
and performed by quick beats, with short cessations at intervals. It glides through the woods
and thickets with great ease and dexterity, flits along the hedges, and rarely approaches the
habitation of man, except in search of food for its young, its affectionate concern for which will
induce it to brave dangers from which on ordinary occasions it would shrink.” As a cage-bird it
is often to be met with about the country villages; and its bright plumage, together with its
power of mimicry, render it a great favourite with the cottagers. Referring to this, Yarrell
writes that ‘young birds are easily brought up from the nest, soon become very tame, and in

5

confinement appear to prefer meat to any other description of food. Although the most common
notes of the Jay are harsh and grating, the bird in captivity soon becomes an amusing pet, from
the facility with which it imitates the sound of the human voice, and indeed almost any other
sound that is to be heard sufficiently often to afford the opportunity of acquiring it.” Montagu
says that it will sometimes in the spring utter a sort of song in a soft and pleasing manner, but
so low as not to be heard at any distance, and at intervals introduce the bleating of a Lamb, the
mewing of a cat, the note of a Kite or Buzzard, the hooting of an Owl, and even the neighing of
a horse. ‘These imitations are so exact, says Montagu, even in a natural wild state, that we have
frequently been deceived. Bewick says, ‘‘we have heard one imitate the sound of a saw so
exactly that, though it was on a Sunday, we could hardly be persuaded that there was not a
carpenter at work in the house.” A correspondent in the ‘Magazine of Natural History’
says, “I have heard the Jay perform an uninterrupted song. It mocked the Greenfinch most
inimitably ; and it was a considerable time before I could persuade myself that it was an imita-
tion. But what amused me most of all was, its imitation of the neighing of a horse. This was
so near the truth, that some companions who were with me were a long time before they could
be convinced that the sounds proceeded from a bird. The neighing was very subdued and
suppressed, but it bore the most striking resemblance to the neighing of a colt at a distance ;
indeed, so close was the imitation, that, without a sight of the bird, no person could possibly, I
think, be persuaded that the sound proceeded from such an agent. ‘These imitations were
accompanied, occasionally, with more subdued and melodious notes.”

“T have been favoured with a communication on this subject from G. W. Edgington, Esq.,
Surgeon, of Binfield, in Berkshire, who, at the time of writing, had a male Jay that became an
excellent mimic before it was twelve months old. “The calling of the fowls to their food and the
various noises of the fowls themselves were given in perfection ; but the crowing of the cock was
not managed so well. The imitations of the barking and cry of the house-dog could not be
distinguished from the sounds made by the original.”

The food of the Common Jay consists during the summer season of various insects, worms,
fruit, mice, birds’ eggs, and young birds, and, according to Naumann, small frogs. It is fond of
taking its share of garden-fruit; and many of our readers are doubtless aware of its partiality for
peas. In the autumn and winter it feeds on nuts, berries of various kinds, and especially on
acorns, of which latter it often stores away a considerable quantity, and will thus sometimes
plant oaks by storing away the acorns in the ground and forgetting them.

Like many other birds the Jay is subject to albinism, and we have seen several specimens
partly white, though none altogether of that colour. Mr. J. T. Moggridge, however, in a letter
to ‘ The Ibis’ (1863, p. 158), says he saw in the Jardin des Plantes this species in a cage, ‘‘ the
bird being entirely white as to plumage, having dark eyes, while its beak, tarsi, and feet were
flesh-colour.” ‘The Jay is an early breeder, laying in April, or, according to some naturalists,
even in March; the nest is a somewhat bulky structure of sticks and twigs, inside rather neatly
finished, and lined with grasses and fine roots. It is usually placed in a high bush or a tree, and
tolerably well concealed. ‘The eggs, usually six in number, are greyish white or greenish grey,
thickly speckled with pale brown dots and spots, which in some are collected at the larger end.
In a series in Dresser’s collection, obtained in England, North Germany, Styria, and Finland, the

485

436

6

measurements vary from 1% by 26 to 143 by #5 inch. Mr. Benzon writes to us respecting its
habits and nidification in Denmark as follows :—‘ It occurs in most of our forests; but its shy
nature causes it to hide its nest, so that it is but seldom found; and as it rarely brooks others
near its breeding-place, they nest only here and there. It is a most destructive bird, and not
only sucks the eggs of other birds, chiefly of Thrushes, but kills their young. After the
breeding-season large flocks of this noisy bird range through the woods, and are most numerous
in the forests of North Zeeland, being there less molested; it probably breeds occasionally twice
in the season, as I have eggs obtained in May and on the 10th of June, whereas it usually lays
in April, and, according to Kjeerbolling, as early as March. Eggs in my collection measure from
29 by 21-5 to 33°5 by 24 millimetres.” Dr. Rey informs us that he has found eggs in Saxony
from the 24th of April to the 9th of June; one nest was placed so low on the branches of ‘an
oak-tree that he had no difficulty in looking into it, though standing on the ground. He further
states that, although six appears to be the usual number of eggs, as many as seven are often
found. The average of a hundred eggs he measured he gives as 31°6 by 23, the largest measur-
ing 30 by 23, and the smallest 29 by 21 millimetres respectively.

The specimens described and figured are in Dresser’s collection; particulars as to locality
are given above.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a. Kent (H. E. D.). 6. Surrey (H. HE. D.). c. Near Reading, February 5th, 1870 (C. Howlett).. d, 3, ¢, 9.
Zeeland, Denmark, March 1871 (A. Benzon). f, 2. Stockholm, April 18th, 1864. g, ¢. Gibraltar,
April 21st, 1872 (Major Irby). h, 3,1, 2. Piedmont, June and February (Count Salvadori). j, 3.
Olympus, Macedonia, November 6th, 1869 (Dr. Kriiper). k, 2. Petna Hore, Turkey, December (Thos.
Robson). 1, juv. Belgium (Dubois).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, 6. Epping Forest, July 1863 (J. H. Harting). 6. Castle Eden (H.B.T.). c, 2. Hampstead, January 2nd,
1866 (H. M. Upcher).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a, 3. Lilford, Northants, March 1866 (ZL.).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

a, 2. Wolsingham, April 20th, 1867, 6. Keswick, October 1870. c. Norfolk, December 27th. d, 3. Moscow,
September 1869 (J. H. G.). e, d juv. Sparham, Norfolk (F. Norgate).

29

BRANDTS JAY..

GARRULUS. BRANDTI

121

487

GARRULUS BRANDTL

(BRANDT’S JAY.)

Garrulus brandéii, Kversmann, Add. Pall. Zoogy. ii. p. 8 (1843).
Garrulus brandtii (Hiversm.), Hartlaub, Rev. Zool. p. 52 (1845).

Borovaya sorochka, Rousha, Russian; Urman soeskan, Bashkir; Kenia, Ziranin.

Figura unica.
Whitely, Ibis, 1867, pl. iii.

Ad. ala caudaque ut in G. glandario picturatis: pileo cristato et collo postico leté cinnamomeo-rufis, hdc
leetiore, pilei plumis cristatis medialiter nigro striatis: supercilii plumis albido notatis: facie laterali
antica, regione opththalmica genisque nigris: regione paroticé postica, facie laterali reliqua et collo
laterali leté cinnamomeo-rufis nuchz concoloribus: dorso toto cineraceo, uropygio vix vinascente :
supracaudalibus albis: subtiis ut in G. glandario coloratus, sed paulld sordidior : rostro brunnescenti-
nigro: pedibus cinerascenti-brunneis : iride pallidé violascenti-brunnea. ;

Adult Male. Uead and nape rich rufous-red, the feathers on the crown elongated, forming a crest, and
having broad black centres on the terminal half; back and scapulars ashy grey, lighter and washed
with buff towards the rump; upper tail-coverts white; tail black, the outer feather on each side
slightly washed with brown; wings as in Garrulus glandarius; lores and a broad patch from the base
of the bill, passing downwards by the eye and bordering the upper part of the throat, jet-black ;
chin and upper part of the throat buffy white ; lower part of the throat rufous-buff, shading off into
pale greyish rufous; this latter colour pervades the underparts to the vent, which, with the under
tail-coverts, is pure white; under wing-coverts dull rufous-buff; beak blackish brown; iris light
bluish red or violet-brown; legs dull greyish brown. Total length 14 imches, culmen 1:1, wing 69,
tail 6°2, tarsus 1°55.

Nestling (Meves in epist.). Differs from G. glandarius far more in this plumage than in the adult dress ;
the head and nape are light rusty yellow, and the crest is much shorter than in the latter; the
feathers on the forehead and crown have faint blackish points, whereas in G. glandarius the markings
are very broad black stripes along these feethers, and are especially conspicuous on the whitish fore-
head, giving a very different appearance to the two species.

Amonast the Asiatic forms of our common European species there are a few which are met with
just within the limits of the Western Palearctic Region; and one of these is the present bird,
which meets its western representative in that portion of Russia which adjoins the Ural range.
Mr. W. Meves, who has just returned from a visit to the Ural, where he found this Jay,
writes as follows:—‘The first of these birds that I met with was a young male in nestling
plumage, which I procured on the 2nd of July in a wood near Ekaterinburg; it was seated on
a telegraph-post, from which I shot it. On the 4th of August, when near Soijmensk, on the
2A

488

2

Mija river, I saw a family of five or six individuals which appeared to be in full moult; and on
the 16th of August I shot a nearly moulted female near the village of Tjabuk. The last that I
saw were in a swampy wood near Kungur, on the Western Ural, which I visited on the 29th of
August, but I did not then succeed in shooting any.” We have not yet been able to examine
the specimens procured by Mr. W. Meves; but we are indebted to Mr. Leonida Sabandeff for
several very well-preserved specimens of this Jay, obtained by him in the Ural, where, he states,
it Is common, and more widely distributed than the Siberian Jay, numerous in the oak-woods in
the Government of Ufa, and in the pine-woods of the Keshtemsky and Kaslinsky Ural. These
specimens we have carefully compared with skins from Japan, and find that they agree precisely,
except that the rufous colour on the nape is not quite so bright in the Ural specimens; but the
difference is so very slight that it is scarcely possible, after the closest examination, to distinguish
them apart. Mr. Sabandeff, however, considers that the Ural bird is really distinct from Garrulus
brandti, as will be seen from the notes he has sent us on the present species; but we cannot, for
the reasons above stated, agree with his views. In a letter to Dresser he gives the following
notes respecting the present species:—“I do not consider the specimens I sent to you to be
true Garrulus brandtii, Eversmann, as the colour of the head in examples of this latter species
from the Altai is chestnut-brown, much brighter than in those I sent, and separated more
abruptly from the grey colour of the back; but I look on the Ural bird as an intermediate
form between Garrulus glandarius and Garrulus brandtii, approaching somewhat nearer to the
former than to the latter. This variety has been named by Professor Bogdanoff Garrulus
glandarius, var. severtzoffii. It is met with not only in all the wooded portions of the Govern-
ment of Pernt, but even in the Governments of Simbirsk and Kazan, where Garrulus glan-
darius also occurs, but is much rarer than the present species; and I may here remark that I
never met with Garrulus glandarius in the Ural. In the Government of Perm the present species
of Jay inhabits the conifer-woods only, except in the south-eastern portion of that Government
and in the Government of Ufa, where it is more generally to be met with in the oak and other
non-evergreen woods. In the summer I did not meet with it in the birch-woods of the districts
of Shadrinsk and Cheliabiansk, Government of Orenburg; but it is common as far as the Nijnito-
chilsky zavod (works), though rarer in the Bogoslaffsky Ural, and much less numerous than the
Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes).”

To the southward this Jay extends into the Altai range, from which it was first described
by Eversmann, and to the eastward through Siberia into Japan. According to the best known
and most reliable of the Siberian travellers, it appears to be the common species found in that
country. Von Middendorff observed large numbers in the forests between Malmysch and Kungur
in the middle of December, and again between Atschinsk and Krasnojarsk, but not further to
the eastward; Radde obtained it at Lake Baikal, from near Irkutsk, and in the Bureja moun-
tains; Von Schrenck observed it all through the Amoor country to the coast, and also on the
island of Saghalien, everywhere numerous and resident, in spite of the severe cold. In December
1854, when the thermometer fell to 26° and 314° Réaum., Von Schrenck found them on several
occasions dead—as it appeared, killed by the severe cold; but, again, in scarcely less severe
weather he noticed many in Liman, on the island of Saghalien, and all along the Tymy river.
He observed that near the Nikolajeffsk Post they frequented the mixed conifer and non-evergreen

9
9)

woods which fringe the Amoor, but higher up that river they inhabit the oak woods and hazel
thickets. Radde writes that in the winter they betake themselves to the well-sheltered wooded
valleys, and were found there in November. Where such localities were wanting, as on the
islands of the Onon, they took refuge in the densest thickets of Crategus, Pyrus, Spirwa, &c.
Both in the Bureja mountains and on the lower Amoor some were found in January 1858 frozen
to death. He found two dead under his roof not far from the chimney. In the Bureja moun-
tains most were paired on the 21st of March in the spring of 1858. Von Schrenck states that
he never observed either G. glandarius or G. japonicus in Siberia, and does not believe that they
are ever found there. In Japan it appears to be by no means an uncommon bird. Captain
Blakiston obtained a young bird, probably a female, in October, in Northern Japan; and
Mr. Whitely also procured several near Hakodadi in October 1869, and states that they were
there common, and that he found them to vary considerably in size. Beyond this but little is
known respecting the range of this Jay; and specimens are any thing but common in collections.

In its habits, writes Mr. Sabanideff, “it differs in no way from the Common Jay (Garrulus
glandarius), which occurs in the neighbourhood of Moscow; so I need give you no further details
on this head. Very few are met with during the winter season, but almost all migrate to the
southward, the season of migration commencing about the end of August, and extending from
then to about the middle of November; and during that season they may continually be heard,
calling loudly, as is their wont, in the birch-woods on the eastern slope of the Ural range.
About the end of February or the beginning of March, they again by degrees reappear; and
about the 20th of the latter month the main body arrive in pairs: and I may here remark that
I have never observed either this Jay or Garrulus glandarius migrating in large flocks. ‘The
eges of Brandt’s Jay are in no way distinguishable from those of the Common Jay; from four
to seven are deposited; and I have found them late in April and early in May. Early in the
month of June the young are able to fly, and have the tail fully grown.”

Mr. Meves also writes that he observed nothing in its habits or note that in any way
differed from Garrulus glandarius; he generally met with it in woods in the immediate vicinity
of a river, and observed that it was often pursued with loud cries by small birds—a proof that
the latter looked upon it with more than suspicion.

Dr. Dybowski, who states that it is a resident in Dauria, but rare, frequenting thickets and
woods near the valleys, says that its nest is placed on a pine-tree, is constructed of dry birch
twigs, and lined with fine grass-roots. Mr. Taczanowski, who published the above notes from
Dr. Dybowski, writes that “two eggs of this Jay, ‘sent home by that gentleman,’ one from
Kultuk and the other from Ussola, closely resemble those of the Common Jay; but the markings
are finer, and the shell is glossier; one of these eggs has the ground-colour more yellowish,
whereas in the other it approaches to olive-green, the spots being of a corresponding colour; in
the former there is a distinct ring of confluent spots round the larger end, and in the latter the
ring is scarcely perceptible; one is rather pointed towards the smaller end, and the other is oval
in shape. They measure 52 by 22°8 and 31 by 22 millimetres respectively.”

The specimen figured and described is a fine male obtained in the Southern Ural in May
1869, by Mr. L. Sabandeff, by whom it was sent to Dresser, in whose collection it now is.

242

489

490

4

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6. Southern Ural, May 1869 (L. Sabandeff). b, 2. Southern Ural, May 22nd, 1869 (L. Sabanéeff’).
c, 6. Ekaterinburg, June 9th, 1868 (Dr. Renard).

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a, 2. Hakedadi, October 15th, 1865 (H. Whitely).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, 6. Hakodadi, Japan, October 27th, 1865 (H. Whitely).

256

SYRIAN JAY
GARRULUS KRYNICKI 168 GARRULUS ATRICAPILLUS.

GARRULUS ATRICAPILLUS.

(SYRIAN JAY.)

Garrulus atricapillus, Isid. Geoffr. St.-Hilaire, Etud. Zool. fasc. 1 (1832).
Corvus stridens, Hemp. & Ehrenb. Symb. Physic. Ay. dec. 1 (1833).
Garrulus melanocephalus, Géné, Mem. Accad. Torin. xxxvii. p. 298 (1834).
Garrulus ilicett, Licht. Nomencl. Av. Mus. Berol. p. 9 (1854).

é ad. fronte, facie laterali et guld albis immaculatis: pileo cristato nigro immaculato: fascia nigra a rostre

angustiore et paullo longiore quam in G. glandario: dorso cum tectricibus alarum rufescenti-isabellinis,
illo versus uropygium pallidiore: uropygio albo, vix rufescente lavato: supracaudalibus albis: subtus
albus, pectore imo, abdomine et hypochondriis rufescente isabellino lavatis: crisso et subcaudalibus
albis: alis ut in Garrulo krynicki picturatis, sed remigibus in pogonio externo magis albo notatis :
cauda, rostro, iride et pedibus ut in Garrulo krynicki,

mari similis.

Adult Male (Hebron, 8th February, 1864). Forehead, sides of head and face, and throat pure white, not

Obs.

washed with vinous, as in G. krynicki; moustachial patch very narrow; crest very black, rather narrow
and elongated; back and wing-coverts very pale fawn-brown or rufous buff; rump white, washed with

pale fawn-brown ; upper tail-coverts white, underparts white, on the breast, flanks, and upper part of

the abdomen washed with pale rufous buff; under tail-coverts white; wings and tail as in G. krynicki,
except that in the former the white patch is much more developed ; tail and soft parts as in G. krynicki.
Total length 13 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 7:1, tail 6:0, tarsus 1°10.

For long no little confusion has existed as regards the Black-headed Jays; and whereas some authors
have lumped all together, others have subdivided them in various ways. I have therefore deemed
it necessary to collect together as large a series of Jays as possible, im order to decide as to which
species should stand; and thanks to Lord Walden, Canon Tristram, Mr. Blanford, and others, I have
at last succeeded in examining a considerable number of specimens from various localities; and taking
the species admitted by Mr. G. R. Gray in his well-known ‘ Hand-list,’ I may make the following
remarks :—

a)

6070. G. glandarius, 1.., is the type of the present genus, and has been fully treated of in a former part.
6070 a. G. hyrcanus, Blanford (Ibis, 1873, p. 225), is a clearly distinct and good species, differing from the

So

G. glandarius in being smaller in size, about equal to G. japonicus; but, unlike this latter, it has the
crest dark vinous grey, washed with rufous, much darker and differently coloured than in G. glandarius,
the colour being about the same as that on the back of the latter species: the black on the face is
distributed as in G. glandarius. In one or two examples the tail is at the base conspicuously barred
with blue; in others this character is very slightly defined. A specimen obtained m the Elburz moun-
tains in February measures—culmen 1:3 inch, wing 6:5, tail 5:3, tarsus 1-6.

far as is at present ascertained, this species is only known from Persia.

6071. G. japonicus differs from Garrulus glandarius in being considerably smaller in size, darker on the

back, and having more black on the face, this colour extending all round the eye; the crest is white to
the nape, each feather having a broad black central line. I have several specimens before me, all from

3¢

49!

2

Japan; an adult male from Yokohama measures as follows :—culmen 1:25 inch, wing 6°3, tail 5-9,
tarsus 1°5.

6072. G. brandti, Eversm., is a very distinct and clearly recognizable species, having the head and nape rich

' rufous, the sides of the head and face being of the same colour; the back is much greyer, and the
moustachial patch is much larger than in G. glandarius ; and the black on the face extends almost round
the eye. The feathers on the crown have a central black line. This bird is found from Japan through
Siberia to the Ural, as stated in our history of this species.

6073. G. melanocephalus, Géné, will sink into a synonym of G. atricapillus, as shown below, this latter name
having the precedence by two years. This species is recognizable by its pure white forehead and face,
and by the different coloration of the back. It is perhaps nearest allied to G. krynicki, which it replaces
in Syria, that species inhabiting Asia Minor and Southern Russia, whereas this bird in found in Syria,
Palestine, and eastward into Persia, whence Mr. Blanford brought back several specimens, which closely
resemble others obtained by Canon Tristram in Palestine.

6074. G. cervicalis, Bonap., is one of the Black-headed group, and is most closely allied to G. atricapillus,
though clearly distinguishable by its rufous nape. ‘This species is, so far as I can ascertain, confined to
North-western Africa.

6075. G. bispecularis, Vigors, P. Z.S. 1830, p. 7 (ornatus, Gr.), differs considerably from all European Jays
in having the crown similarly coloured to the back, only rather paler, and quite unstriped. In colour -
this Jay is light fawn-brown, paler towards the rump and vent, which latter and the upper tail-coverts
are white; a black stripe passes from the gape below the eye and ear-coverts; wings having the blue-
barred patch extending over the secondaries, forming a double speculum, and the white markings
absent. According to Dr. Jerdon this Jay is found “throughout the Himalayas, common towards the
north-west, rare in the south-east.” I am almost inclined to refer G. sinensis and G. taivanus to the
present species, in which case the range will be extended over into China.

6076. G. krynicki, Kalen., is a Black-headed Jay allied to G. atricapillus, but differimg in having the fore-
head spotted, not pure white, the face washed with vinous, and the back grey. It inhabits Turkey,
Asia Minor, and Southern Russia. Full particulars have been given as to its history in a former part.

6077. G. taivanus, Gould, P. Z. 8. 1862, p. 282 (B. of Asia, pt. xvi.), is said to differ from G. dispecularis
and G. sinensis in its smaller size, and in the black colouring of the feathers covering the nostrils, and
is only known from the island of Formosa. I have not been able to examine a specimen. The mea-
surements given by Mr. Gould are :—total length 10°5 inches, bill 1:12, wing 6:12, tail 5°5, tarsus 1°37.

6078. G. sinensis, Gould, is the Chinese representative of Garrulus bispecularis ; and, so far as I can judge
from one specimen in Canon Tristram’s collection, obtained at Fokien, I am inclined to refer it to that
species; for I can detect no difference, except that the colours generally are a trifle darker than in any
Indian example. Lord Walden also informs me that he considers it the same as G. bispecularis.
Mr. Swinhoe gives its habitat as South China, westwards to Szechuen. Canon Tristram’s specimen
measures—culmen 1°25, wing 6°65, tail 5:6, tarsus 1°55.

6079. G. ldthi, Bonap. (P. Z.S. 1850, p. 80, Aves, pl. xvii.) is one of the most beautiful and peculiarly
coloured of the Jays. It was described from a specimen in the collection of Professor van Lidth de
Jeude, of Utrecht, the habitat of which was not given; but it formed part of a collection made by

’ Baron van der Capellen, Dutch Governor of Malasia. I have never had an opportunity of examining
a specimen of this rare Jay, and can only repeat the description given by Prince Bonaparte, to the
effect that it is rufescent-vinous, the head, neck, tail, and wings dull blue; forehead and lores blackish ;
feathers on the throat lanceolate, having white shafts; wing-coverts banded with black; quills and
tail-feathers blackish towards the tip, and finally tipped with white. Later investigations point to
Japan as the true habitat of this Jay.

6080. G. lanceolatus, Vig., is a very distinct species, and has been separated from the true Jays and placed

@
2)

in another subgenus, that of Celalyca, by Professor Kaup. It has the entire head and crest jet-black,
the throat covered with peculiar lanceolate blackish feathers having a pure white line down the centre ;
the blue bars on the wings are extended over the basal half of the secondaries, and on the tail nearly to
the end of the terminal portion, the latter being black and then pure white. Dr. Jerdon gives the
habitat as “only the North-west Himalayas, extending to Nepal; not known in Sikhim.” I have only
had for examination one specimen, from Lord Walden’s collection, obtained at Simla.

THE present species closely resembles the Black-headed Jay from the Caucasus and Asia Minor,
but is distinguishable by its pure white forehead and cheeks, and different coloration on ‘the
back. First described by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, in 1832, from a specimen obtained by
M. Botta on Mount Lebanon; it has subsequently been redescribed by Géné, from the same
locality, and by Hemprich and Ehrenberg from Syria. I had considerable difficulty in referring
to Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire’s original description, as I was unable to get the work, in which he
described it, here in England; but finally, on writing to invoke the assistance of my friend
M. Jules Verreaux, that gentleman kindly transcribed and sent to me the article in question.
The differences on which the species was based are the black head and the form of the beak; but
I do not find that this latter character holds good.

I observe that Prince Bonaparte (Conspectus, p. 375) and Canon Tristram refer to the present
species as Garrulus melanocephalus, Bonelli; but I am unable to discover where Bonelli described
it, though I have carefully searched all the available writings of that naturalist. But little has
been written respecting the habits of this bird, which, indeed, appears to differ in no respect,
either as regards habits, note, or nidification, from the Common Jay or its close relation,
Garrulus krynicki. It has only been met with, so far as is at present known, in Palestine,
Syria, and Persia. Canon Tristram, writing on the ornithology of Palestine, states that he “ met
with it on the Lebanon, where it was very scarce and cautious. On the coast it never occurred
till we reached the wooded district of Mount Carmel; and in the scattered oak-groves on the
road to Nazareth we obtained our first specimen.”

Mr. Blanford informs me that Major St. John met with it in the oak forests near Shiraz, in
Persia (at an altitude of from 4000 to 7000 feet), in the month of June; but this gentleman is
unable to give me any notes respecting its habits. Two eggs of this species, obtained by
Mr. Cochrane in Palestine, closely resemble those of Garrulus krynicki in size and colour, but
are slightly paler.

The specimen figured and described is the one from the collection of Lord Walden; and on
the same Plate I have figured, for comparison, the nearest approach to it that I could select out
of a series of specimens of Garrulus krynicki.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

493

494

4

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a, 6. Hebron, February 8th, 1864 (H. B. Tristram).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 3. Wady el Beerka, Palestine, April 1864. 6, d. Kirjath Jearim, March 25th, 1858. c, ¢. Samaria,
December 19th, 1863. d, ¢. Hebron, February 8th, 1864. e, 2. Near Nazareth, December 16th,
1863. f, 9. Bethoren, January 23rd, 1872. g 2. Bashan, March 14th 1864 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. Ind. Calc.
a, 6, 6. Oak forest, near Shiraz, June 1870 (Major St. John).

257

BLACKHEADED JAY
GARRULUS KRYNICK!

150

495

GARRULUS KRYNICKI.

(BLACK-HEADED JAY.)

Garrulus glandarius, var. (pileo nigro), Hohenacker, Bull. Soc. Mose. tom. x. p. 141 (1837).
Garrulus krynicki, Kaleniczenko, Bull. Soc. Mosc. tom. xii. p. 319, pl. 9 (1839).

Figura unica.

Kaleniczenko, tom. cit. pl. 9.

¢ ad. fronte griseo-albA nigro maculata: pileo toto ad nucham nigro, immaculato: facie alba rufescente
lavaté: fascid a rostro nigra longiore et angustiore quam in Garrulo glandario: dorso cinereo, versts
uropygium rufescente lavato: crisso et uropygio albis: parauchenio rufescenti-vinaceo: cauda, alis et
corpore subtus ut in Garrulo glandario.

mari similis,
Juv. adolescenti similis, sed paullo sordidior.

Adult Male (Ortakeuy, Turkey, 5th February). Forehead greyish white, each feather with a black spot
extending almost entirely over the terminal portion of the feather; entire crown to the nape covered
with a crest of jet-black elongated feathers; nape and back greyish, much more grey in tinge than in
Garr. glandarius, but washed with rufous towards the rump; rump and upper tail-coverts white ;
wings, tail, and underparts generally as in Garrulus glandarius ; but the face is somewhat whiter, and
the black moustachial stripe rather narrower than in that bird; beak, legs, and iris as in the Common
Jay. Total length 14°5 inches, culmen 1°35, wing 7°4, tail 6-4, tarsus 1°8.

Female. Similar to the male.

Young. Like the adult, but duller in colour.

CONSIDERABLE confusion appears to have existed with regard to the various species or climatic
races, as some ornithologists prefer to consider them, of the Black-headed Jays; and some
naturalists, as, for instance, Professor von Nordmann, have even gone so far as to look on the
Black-headed Jay as a mere variety of the Common Jay, and not even a permanent race.
There are, however, we contend, three distinguishable and good species of this division—the
present species, the Syrian Jay, and the Algerian Black-headed Jay—the first two of which are
nearest allied, the last being very distinct.

The first of these, the present species, inhabits Southern Russia, Turkey, and Asia Minor,
being replaced in Syria by the second species, Garrulus stridens, Hemp. et Ehr., which differs
from the present in being much paler in colour, in having the forehead and sides of the face
pure white, and the back rufous, washed with vinous, instead of grey. This species approaches
closest to its northern ally, and is one of those birds of which it is difficult to say whether it should

496

2

be described as a distinct species, or considered only a climatic race; for as yet ornithologists
have been unable to define with any degree of certainty the boundary where a race ends and a
species begins. In the large series we have before us we can find some specimens which some-
what approach the allied species; but placed side by side they can always be distinguished. One
specimen of G. krynicki in fully adult plumage from Smyrna agrees exactly with examples from
near Constantinople, and can certainly not be looked on as an intermediate form. The Syrian
Jay is found in Syria and Palestine, ranging eastward into Persia. We propose shortly giving a
full history of this species, and reserve further particulars as to its range until then.

The third species, the Algerian Black-headed Jay (Garrulus cervicalis), is confined to North-
west Africa, and is easily distinguishable by its rufous nape and by the distinct grey bars on the
base of the tail-feathers.

The present is the commonest species near Constantinople, whence also, we may add, we
have had specimens of Garrulus glandarius. Dresser when in Bulgaria saw several Jays which
he believes were this species, but he did not succeed in procuring any. Messrs. Elwes and
Buckley write that it is found near Constantinople, and that, Mr. Robson states, it breeds in
the Forest of Belgrade. From the latter we understand that in its habits, voice, and mode of
nidification it does not in any respect differ from its ally Garrulus glandarius, its eggs being also
similar to those of that species. It was first described by Dr. Kaleniczenko from a specimen
sent to him from Georgievsk, in the Caucasus; and this gentleman, in a paper on a collection
made by Professor John Krynicki in the Caucasus and Taurus, gives its range as Taurus,
especially near Sudak and Theodosia, and in the Caucasus near the springs of Piatigorsk and
the town of Georgievsk, where it is far from rare; but it does not extend as far north as the
Ukraine. There is no doubt as to the bird described by Dr. Kaleniczenko being the present
species, and not Garrulus stridens, as he especially refers to the pure grey-coloured back, spotted
forehead, and rufous-tinged cheeks so characteristic of this present species. Respecting its habits
Dr. Kaleniczenko says but little, merely stating that it frequents the mixed forests, chiefly the
beech-woods, and during the winter season approaches the villages and small towns; and we may
infer that in its habits and mode of nidification generally it differs but little, if at all, from the
Common Jay. Professor von Nordmann writes that in the Crimea and the Caucasus it replaces
the Common Jay, and is the only species found in the forests of Abasia and the Mountains of
Ghouriel. Ménétries certainly speaks of Garrulus glandarius as being found in the forests of the
Caucasus and Lenkoran, as well as in the mountains, to an altitude of about 3000 feet; but we
think that future research will prove that he referred to the present species, and not to the
Common Jay.

With regard to its occurrence in Asia Minor we have no further details than those published
by Dr. Kriiper, who records it as “tolerably widely distributed near Smyrna, but not very
numerous. During the summer it frequents the thick groves and the old, well-wooded Turkish
graveyards on the plains, as well as the woods on the hills. In its habits it differs but little
from the Common Jay of Europe.” He further states that he found several old nests near
Burnabaschir, and on the 19th of May observed a Jay fly out of an apricot-tree, in which he
soon discovered the nest, which was placed tolerably far from the main trunk, on a branch, and
was built similarly to that of G. glandarius, but, in comparison with the bird, was small; it was

3

carefully lined with fine roots, and contained four fresh eggs. We may, however, here remark
that Dr. Kriiper, in a letter to Dresser, states that seven is the usual complement of eggs deposited
by this Jay. In Dresser’s collection are four eggs obtained by Dr. Kriiper near Smyrna on the
Ist of June 1871; these eggs, compared with those of Garrulus glandarius, can scarcely be
distinguished, the only difference being that they are, if any thing, a shade darker in colour than
the eggs of the Common Jay; but in size there is no perceptible difference.

The specimens figured and described are in Dresser’s collection; the adult birds were
obtained by Mr. Robson, near Constantinople, and the young bird by Dr. Kriiper, near Smyrna.

In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6. Ortakeuy, Turkey, February 5th, 1871 (7. Robson). 6, 3. Petnahore, Turkey, December 22nd, 1870.
c, 6. Petnahore, May 23rd, 1871 (7. Robson). d, juv. Smyrna, June 24th, 1871 (Dr. Kriiper).

E Mus. Lord Walden.
a,d. Broussa, Asia Minor, February 7th, 1866 (7. Robson). 6,2. Belgrade, Servia, December 13th (7. Robson).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a, 9. Asia Minor (Rodson).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
ag. Smyrna, November 11th, 1863 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a,Q. Ismidt, Asia Minor, December 16th, 1866 (Robson).

497

290

ALGERIAN BLACK-HEADED JAY.

GARRULUS’ CERVICALIS
158

*

GARRULUS CERVICALIS.

(ALGERIAN BLACK-HEADED JAY.)

Garrulus cervicalis, Bonap. Comp. Rend. de |’Acad. des Sc. vol. xxxvii. p. 828 (1853).
Garrulus melanocephalus, Malh. Bull. Soc. Nat. Hist. de la Moselle, p. 19 (nec Géné, 1855).
Garrulus atricapillus, Levaill. jun., Expl. Scient. de PAlg. pl. 6 (nec Is. Geoff., 1855).
Garrulus cervicalis (Bp.), Loche, Expl. Scient. de lAlg. p. 120 (1867).

Figure notabiles.

Levaillant, jun., loc. cit.; Bree, B. of Eur. vol. i. p. 144.

Ad. Garrulo atricapillo persimilis, sed nucha conspicué ferruginea et fronte nigro punctata facilé distinguendus
Juv. adulto similis, sed paullo sordidior : nucha sordidé ferrugined.

Adult Female (Northern Africa). Forehead white, spotted with black; crown covered with a thick black
crest, the feathers of which towards the nape are washed with rufous; nape and fore part of the back
rich rusty red; back pale greyish, slightly washed with faint rufous buff; upper tail-coverts white ;
tail dark grey, at the base barred with black, otherwise plain black; wings as in the Common Jay;
face, auriculars, and throat pure white; moustachial patch thick and jet-black in colour; underparts
pale buffy white; flanks and under wing-coverts rufous buff; soft parts as in the Common Jay. Total
length 14 inches, culmen 1:3, wing 7, tail 6, tarsus 1°6.

Adult Male. Similar to the female.

Young. Similar to the adult, but duller in colour, and having the rufous nape less defined, and the crest
smaller.

Tus clearly distinct Jay, easily recognizable by its rich rufous nape, inhabits a comparatively
limited area, being met with merely in North-western Africa, where the various travellers who
have explored Algeria have found it by no means uncommon. Canon Tristram met with it in
Eastern Algeria, and captured an example near Bou Hadjar. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., observed
it near Tibremt and Medea, and often saw them in cages; and Mr. Osbert Salvin “saw it on
several occasions near Souk Harras, but lost sight of it on passing to the less wooded country.”
Mr. ‘laczanowski found it tolerably numerous in the mountain-groves in the province of Con-
stantine, and states that it is shy, and not so noisy as the Common Kuropean Jay. “I have,”
he says, ‘‘met with it always in small parties, consisting of several individuals. Their habits
are the same as those of the European Jay; they keep a certain distance one from the other, and
advance in a similar manner, singly, moving in the same direction; they are timid and cautious,
but are not noisy, and are therefore considered scarcer than they really are.” According to
Loche, “it especially affects the mountainous districts well wooded with oak. To Europeans it is
known as the Geai & calotte. It feeds principally on acorns and fruit, of which it is fond, and

499

500

2

berries; but it also eats caterpillars and insects. It replaces the Common Jay (Garrulus
glandarius) in Algeria, this latter never occurring there. Like the Common Jay this species
is quick and brusque in its movements, and has a harsh and disagreeable cry, which it often
repeats to call other individuals of its own species when danger threatens; and all the other
Jays immediately respond and try to drive off the common enemy, uttering loud cries. Its
antipathy to the Wood-Owl is extreme, and can be made use of to trap it; but it is not bold,
except by necessity. Though as inquisitive as the Magpie, it is neither as cautious nor as clever
as the latter, but impatient and passionate; it thrives well in captivity, and soon learns to talk
and sing, besides accommodating itself to almost any sort of food.

“Tt nests on high trees—the nest being composed of small twigs interlaced with roots, and
lined with some soft material. The eggs, four to five in number, are grey, with a greenish
tinge, covered with numerous small spots of a reddish brown colour, collected chiefly at the
larger end, and measuring from 32 to 33 millimetres by 22 to 23 millimetres.” With regard
to what Loche writes as to the non-occurrence of Garrulus glandarius in Algeria, I may refer to
our article on that species, in which we state that Garrulus minor, Verr., from Algeria is nothing
but our Common Jay, and may add that in a letter lately received from M. Jules Verreaux, he
himself states that his Garrulus minor is but a small race of Garrulus glandarius, differing merely
in size.

It is scarcely probable that this Jay has ever been met with on the northern side of the
Mediterranean. Baron de Selys Longchamps (Ibis, 1870, p. 451) refers to a specimen in the
well-known collection of Count Ercole Turati, at Milan, which was given to that gentlemen as
coming from Spain; but further particulars respecting the authenticity of this bird as a European-
killed specimen appear to be wanting.

The adult bird figured and described is in the collection of Captain H. J. Elwes, and the
young bird in my own collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

=)

, 6 juv. El Djerid, Algeria (Fairmaire).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
, 3,5, 2. Boghar Forest, May 30th, 1856 (H. B. T.).

i}

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
, o- Kef Laks, Algeria, April 24th, 1857 (O. Salvin).

is}

E Mus. H. J. Elwes.

a, 2 ad. Northern Africa (Verreauz).

Genus CYANOPICA.

Pica apud Wagler, Syst. Av. (1827).

Cyanopica, Bonaparte, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 86.

Cyanopolius apud Bonaparte, ut supra.

Dolometis apud Cabanis, Mus. Hein. i. p. 222 (1850-51).

ALTHOUGH in general form and habits the Azure-winged Magpies closely resemble the true
Magpies, yet in their rich coloration they approach the Jays, and may justly be placed between
Garrulus and Pica. Only two species belong to this genus, one of which inhabits the western
portion of the Western Palearctic Region, and the other the eastern portion of the Eastern
Palearctic Region.

In habits they resemble the Magpie more closely than the Jay, though some authors affirm
that this is not the case. In their flight they resemble the Magpie; but, unlike that bird, I
generally found them to be very silent. Like the Magpie they feed on insects and on any refuse
that may be cast out; but I am not aware if they suck eggs like that species. ‘They construct
cup-shaped nests of dry sticks interwoven with plants and grass, and lined with fine grass, which
they place on a tree, and deposit greenish white or buff-coloured eggs marked with purplish grey
and dark brown.

Cyanopica cooki, the type of the genus, has the bill as in Pica, but rather more slender ;
nostrils basal, covered by stiff feathers directed forwards; wings short, broad, the first quill
shorter than the inner secondaries, the second shorter than the ninth, the fourth, fifth, and sixth
nearly equal, the fifth longest; tail long, much graduated; tarsus long, rather slender, covered
in front with five large and three inferior scutelle ; toes moderate, claws rather short, stout,
curved, acute.

78

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Lat ri We ini

“

;

AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE.
CYANOPIGA COOKI.

224

D085

CYANOPICA COOKLI

(AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE.)

Pica cyanea, Wagler, Syst. Av. Genus Pica, no. 6 (1827, partim).

Pica cyanea, Cook, P. Z. 8. 1831, p. 96 (nec Pall.).

Pica cyana (Pall.), Keyserl. & Blas. Wirbelth. Eur. p. 45 (1840, partim, nec Pall.).
Pica cooki, Bp. Brit. Assoc. Birming. 1849, p. 75.

Cyanopica cooki, Bp. P. Z. 8. 1850, p. 86.

Cyanopolius cooki, Bp. tom. cit. p. 86.

Dolometis cooki (Bp.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 222 (1850).

Cyanopica europea, Schlegel, fide Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. p. 382 (1850).

Rabilongo, Portuguese ; Mohino, Kabilargo, Spanish.

Figure notabiles.
Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 217; Susemihl, Vog. Kur. ii. tab. 5; Bree, B. of Kur. i. pl. to p. 140.

3 ad. capite supra et lateraliter nuchaque intensé velutino-nigris: dorso, uropygio cum scapularibus brunnes-
centi-cinereis: tectricibus alarum, remigibus dorso proximis, ceteris in pogonio externo, et cauda tota
ceruleis: remigibus primariis in pogonio externo a medio ad apicem albis, duobus externis fere omnino
nigris: corpore subtis albo: pectore, abdomine et crisso brunnescente cinereo lavatis: caudd cuneata :
rostro et pedibus nigris: iride saturaté fusca.

9 ad. haud a mare distinguenda.

Adult Male (Madrid, May). Crown, nape, and sides of the head velvety jet-black; back, scapulars, and
rump brownish grey, or dove-coloured; upper tail-coverts washed with bluish grey; first and second
primaries black, slightly marked with blue at the base of the outer web, remainder black on the inner
web, and on the outer web rich blue on the basal half or two thirds, and white on the terminal third or
half; secondaries rich blue, the outer ones, however, being black on the inner web; tail rich blue,
some of the outer feathers very slightly tipped with dirty white, much graduated, the central feathers
being 4 to 44 inches longer than the outermost; underparts white, on the breast, flanks, and under
tail-coverts washed with ashy brown; beaks and legs black; iris blackish brown. Total length 13-25
inches, culmen 1:0, wing 5:3, tail 8:2, tarsus 1:4.

Adult Female (Madrid 15th May). Closely resembles the male, but is, if any thing, a trifle duller in colour.

Young. I have no specimen of the young; but, so far as I recollect, they have the black on the head duller
than in the adult, and the feathers there edged with greyish brown. Susemihl also figures the young
bird thus.

Tun range of this, one of the most beautiful of our European birds, is very restricted ; for it
occurs solely on the Iberian peninsula, and is there only locally distributed. Singularly enough,
T

504

2

a species very closely allied to our Azure-winged Magpie, differing only very slightly in coloration,
and in having the central rectrices broadly terminated with white, inhabits Eastern Siberia,
China, and Japan; and throughout the vast tract of country intervening between there and
South-western Europe neither this species nor any other at all closely allied to it is to be
met with; nor can I at all account for the fact that two so very closely allied forms should
inhabit countries so far apart. JI have compared two specimens from China, in the British
Museum, and two from Japan, one in the British Museum and the other in the collection of
Mr. Howard Saunders, with the series of Cyanopica cooki, and find that the eastern species has
invariably a broad terminal patch of white on the central rectrices, whereas in C. cooki it is
almost always totally absent, one specimen alone having it very slightly developed. The Spanish
bird is, moreover, much browner on the back, the eastern birds having that portion of the body
greyish, but very faintly tinged with brown in some specimens. In size they vary very slightly
indeed, and on taking the average of the entire series of each species the difference is scarcely
perceptible. First discovered in Spain in 1831 by Captain S. E. Cook, it has since been found
to be common in many parts of that country, but is exceedingly local. ‘The only part where
I met with it was in the Royal Gardens, close to Madrid, where I took several nests within
sound of the bells of the capital, and, indeed, within twenty minutes’ walk of the centre of
the city. I never saw it near Aranjuez; and Lord Lilford also writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 378), “it
is a remarkable fact that Cyanopica cooki should be quite unknown in that neighbourhood.
I could not discover that any of the keepers or woodmen were acquainted with it, although
it is so plentiful about Madrid, at a distance of about twenty miles—the only reason I can
imagine to account for its absence being the want of the evergreen oak, to which it certainly
exhibits a very remarkable partiality.” Iam further indebted to his Lordship for the following
notes respecting this species :—‘ The local distribution of this bird is certainly one of the most
curious points in its natural economy. In the pine-forests and open cork-dotted monte of the
Coto de Dofiana I did not meet with it, whilst in the Coto del Rey it is in certain spots very
abundant, the character of these two districts being very similar, though the pine-woods of the
latter are not so extensive or so dense as those of the former. About Cordova, and indeed in all
the wooded parts of the Sierra Morena, it positively swarms, whilst in the vicinity of Algeciras
and Gibraltar it seems to be quite unknown, and I know many officers who have spent their
term of service on the Rock, and been on shooting-expeditions thence near and far to north-east
and west, without even seeing a bird of this species. I speak under correction ; but my impression
is that it is not met with to the south of the great southernmost chain of mountains from
Tarifa, or perhaps I may say from Cadiz to Cartagena. North of the Sierra Morena it abounds
in most parts of Estremadura, La Mancha, and New Castile, though absent at Aranjuez, in the
latter province; it is not found in the neighbourhood of the city of Valencia, and is, I think,
uncommon in most parts of that province. We found it at the foot of the northern side of the
Guadarama, at San Ildefonso, in Old Castile; I have heard of its occurrence near Salamanca
and in the neighbourhood of Leon, the most northerly locality for the species with which I am
acquainted. JI never met with or heard of its occurrence in Galicia, Asturias, the Basque pro-
vinces, Aragon, or Catalonia.” Major Irby informs me that it does not occur nearer Gibraltar
than the vicinity of Seville; and Mr. Howard Saunders writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 222) that “though

3

local it is extremely abundant in the wooded districts, becoming rare in such cultivated portions
to the east as Valencia and Murcia.” It occurs also in Portugal, where, as in Spain, its distribu-
tion is very local. The Rev. A. C. Smith writes (Ibis, 1868, p. 447) as follows :—“ This beautiful
bird was the chief prize I proposed to myself to procure before I started for Portugal, as I fondly
hoped, from Mr. Mathews’s account, I should have no difficulty in finding it. But though I
wandered for days in search of it in the most likely spots, I never saw it alive; indeed Professor
du Bocage assured me that, though by no means rare, it is very local, and of so exceedingly shy
a nature that it is seldom seen, and that, though he has employed collectors to hunt expressly
for it, he cannot obtain additions to the three specimens which the Lisbon Museum possesses.
Thus, to my chagrin, I left Portugal without a single example, though, when on my return
through Madrid, I fell in with three skins and three eggs of this bird at the shop of Sefior
Sanchez, in the Calle de Alcala, with whom I had dealings years ago.” On the other hand
Dr. E. Rey, who met with it in Portugal, writes (J. f. O. 1872, p. 144) that it is “common in
Estremadura, near Lisbon, on the Tagus, where they are usually seen in flocks of twenty to
thirty individuals, which appear always to frequent the same localities, and revisit these places
very regularly, so that when once their haunts are discovered they are easily shot, though other-
wise they are extremely difficult to obtain.”

Tn its habits, though resembling the common Magpie, the present species is also not unlike
the Shrikes and Jays, though I cannot agree with Dr. Rey, who says that it bears far closer
affinity to these latter than to the true Magpies. I found it breeding near Madrid, not exactly
in colonies, but wherever one pair was breeding one or two others were sure to be in the imme-
diate vicinity. Most of the nests were placed in poplars which skirted the walks in the Royal
Gardens, and were placed in the branches close to the main trunk, at from ten to twenty feet
from the ground. When I approached the nest the female would usually sit until I touched the
tree, and then slipped silently off, uttermg no sound, and either settled in some tree not far
distant, or flew round in evident dismay at being disturbed. The nests were tolerably well con-
structed of dry sticks interwoven with dried plants and lined with grass, in general form and
mode of construction bearing great resemblance to the nest of our common Jay (Garrulus
glandarius). One nest, taken close to the house of the Royal keeper, was neatly ornamented
and partly lined with kid-clippings, the remnants of work done by the keeper’s daughters, who
were employed in the manufacture of gloves. The usual number of eggs deposited is five or six ;
but in two nests I found seven. The keeper, Manuel de la Torré, told me that the Great
Spotted Cuckoo occasionally deposits its eggs in the nest of this species; but Mr. Howard
Saunders writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 222) that, so far as his experience goes, this is never the case.
In Portugal, however, this sometimes occurs; and Dr. E. Rey showed me several sittings of
Azure-winged Magpies’ eggs, with each of which was a single egg of the Great Spotted Cuckoo ;
and he writes (J. f. O. 1872, p. 144) that all the nests he obtained were placed in cork-trees, at
an altitude of from ten to twenty-five feet, and were constructed of a few dry sticks worked
together with clay in the foundation and interwoven with plants and moss, the inner lining
consisting chiefly of brown sheep’s or goat’s wool. He obtained more than eighty nests, none of
which contained more than seven eggs, the usual number being five or six, most frequently the
latter number. Three nests contained each an egg of the Great Spotted Cuckoo.

T2

505

506

4

I have thirty-five eggs of the present species, all obtained near Madrid, which vary somewhat
both in coloration and markings, some having the ground-colour dull white, with a faint sea-
green tinge, and others dark buff or dull stone-colour. ‘The markings, which consist of pale
purplish brown underlying shell-markings and dark brown surface-spots, are sometimes small
and generally distributed over the surface of the shell, and at others larger and confined more to
the larger end. One dark egg is very richly blotched all over the surface; and another has
scarcely any marks except a few very large blotches at the larger end. Two have the markings,
which are small, collected chiefly at the smaller end. In size they vary from 175 by 2} to 134%
by 22; and one unusually small egg measures only #3 by $$ inch. I have a considerable series
of eggs of Cyanopica cyanea, the species found in Kastern Asia; and on comparing them with my
series of the present species, I find them undistinguishable either in size or colour.

The specimen figured is an adult male, obtained near Madrid, now in my collection, and is
the specimen described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a,b, 3. Madrid, May 1866. c¢,?. Madrid, May 15th, 1866, shot from the nest (H. EL. D.).

E. Mus. Brit. Req.
a, 6. Spain.

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a,d. Seville, Spain, April 16th, 1869 (H. S.). 6,6. Seville, Spain, December 27th, 1869. c. Granada,
Spain, October 1870. d, 2. Granada, Spain, August 1869. e,3,f,3,9,6,h,¢,%,2. Granada, Spain,
November 1872.

Genus PICA.

Pica, Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 35 (1760).

Corvus apud Linneeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 157 (1766).

Garrulus apud Temminck, Man. d’Orn. iii. p. 63 (1835).

Cleptes apud Gambel, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 2nd ser. 1847, p. 47.

Tur Magpies resemble the Crows in many respects, differing chiefly in having a much more
elongated tail and shorter wings. Of the three species usually included in this genus, one,
Pica mauritanica, inhabits North-west Africa; the second, Pica nuttalli, is only found in the
western portion of the Nearctic Region, whereas the third, Pica rustica, ranges throughout the
Palearctic and is also found in the Nearctic Region; but it is doubtful if it ranges into the
Ethiopian Region.

The Magpies are shy and wary birds; but they frequent cultivated places close to human
habitations, as well as groves and woods. In some countries, however, where they are seldom
molested, they are almost as tame and impudent as Sparrows. Their flight is rather heavy, but
tolerably swift; and on the ground they walk, like Crows, with ease. ‘They are noisy, and,
especially when disturbed, utter a loud, harsh chattering cry. They feed on grain, fruit,
carrion, and any animal food they come across, as well as eggs and young birds, and are said
to feed also on fish on the coasts. They build a rather large nest of sticks, lined with roots and
grass, and domed with sticks, and deposit pale greenish or bluish-white eggs spotted with brown
or greenish brown.

Pica rustica, the type of the genus, has the bill moderately long, straight, curved towards
the tip, rather stout at the base, the upper mandible slightly notched, gape-line nearly straight ;
nostrils basal, covered by stiff bristly feathers directed forwards; wings moderately short, broad,
the first quill shorter than the inner secondaries, the second shorter than the eighth, the fourth
and fifth nearly equal, the latter longest; tail long, much graduated; tarsus stout, long, covered
in front with five or six large and three inferior scutelle ; toes moderate; claws rather short,
stout, curved, acute.

79

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hee ea Be <AEQUOH oa SS ri: me Sie fee
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260

MOGRISH MAGPIE
PICA MAURITANICA
COMMON MAGPIE
PICA RUSTICA

jeg

209

PICA RUSTICA.

(MAGPIE.)

Corvus pica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 157 (1766).

Corvus rusticus, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 38 (1769).

Pica melanoleuca, Vieill. N. Dict. xxvi. p. 121 (1818).

Pica europea, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 551.

Corvus hudsonius, J. Sabine, App. Narr. Frankl. Journ. p. 671, “ Hudson’s Bay” (1823).

Pica albiventris, Vieill. Faun. Fr. p. 119 (1828).

Pica germanica, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 177 (1831).

Pica septentrionalis, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 178 (1831).

Pica hiematis, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1831).

Garrulus pica, Temm. Man. d’Orn. iii. p. 63 (1835).

Pica caudata, Keys. & Blas. Wirbelth. Eur. p. 45 (1840).

Pica bottanensis, A. Delessert, Rev. Zool. ii. p. 100, “ Bhootan” (1840).

Pica megaloptera, Blyth, J. As. Soc. Beng. xi. p. 193, “ Bhootan” (1842).

Pica media, Blyth, J. As. Soc. Beng. xiii. p. 393, ‘* Andes” (1844).

Pica varia, Schleg. Rev. Crit. Ois. p. 54 (1844).

Pica sericea, Gould, P. Z. S. 1845, p. 2, “‘ Amoy.”

Cleptes hudsonicus, Gambel, J. A. N. Sc. 2nd ser., 1st Dec. 1847, p. 47, “‘ New Mexico to
California.”

Pica tibetana, Hodgs. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 2nd ser. iii. p. 203, “'Thibet” (1849).

Pica varia japonica, 'Temm. & Schleg. Fauna Japonica, p. 18, “‘ Japan” (1850).

Pica hudsonica, Bonap. Conspectus Gen. Av. p. 383, ““N. America” (1850).

Pica japonica, Bonap. tom. cit. p. 383, “ Japan” (1850).

Pica chinensis, Schleg., id. ut supra, “ China” (1850).

Pica bactriana, Bonap. ut supra, ‘“‘ Afghanistan” (1850).

Pica butanensis, Delessert, id. ut supra (1850).

Cleptes pica, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 229 (1851).

Pica vulgaris auctt., Brehm, Cab. Journ. 1858, p. 173, “ Europe.”

Pie ordinaire, French; Elster, Heister, Schalaster, German; Marica, Urraca, Spanish ;
Pega, Portuguese; Carcarazza, Sicilian; Ciaula baida, Maltese; Gazza, Cecca, Italian ;
Ekster, Dutch; Almindelig Skade, Danish; Skjwre, Norwegian; Skata, Swedish;
Harakka, Finnish; Sroka, Polish; Soroka, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. pl. 488; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 7; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. xii. ;
Fritsch, Vog. Eur. pl. 27. fig. 6; Sundevall, Sv. Fogl. pl. xix. fig. 3; Naumann, Vog.

2

Deutschl. taf. 56. fig. 2; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 216, B. of Asia, parts xiv. & xv.; Schlegel,
Vog. Nederl. pl. 141; Bettoni, Ucc. Lomb. tav. 101; Audubon, B. of Am, pl. 227.

Ad. capite, collo, dorso et pectore superiore velutino-nigris viridi et purpureo nitentibus: scapularibus niveis :
uropygio grisescenti-albo: supracaudalibus nigris: remigibus m pogonio externo nigris et in pogonio
interno albis, versus apicem nigro marginatis et eodem colore conspicué apicatis, secundariis nigris
cerulescenti-purpureo nitentibus: rectricibus centralibus pulchré nigricanti-purpureis viridi refulgen-
tibus, ad apicem purpurascenti-violaceis, reliquis in pogonio interno nigricanti-violaceis et in pogonio
externo pulchré viridi refulgentibus: abdomine albo: tibiis et crisso nigris: rostro et pedibus nigris:

iride brunnea.

Adult. Head, neck, back, and breast velvety black, glossed with bottle-green and violet-green; scapulars
pure white; lower part of the back and rump dull white; upper tail-coverts black: primaries black on
the outer web, white on the inner web, except at the tip, along the inner edge, and on the basal third,
where they are black ; secondaries black, glossed with violet; central tail-feathers bottle-green, except
at the tip, where they are deep violet-black ; the remaining rectrices bottle-green on the outer web,
and deep violet-black on the inner web and at the tip; abdomen pure white; thighs, anal region, and
under tail-coverts jet-black ; bill and legs black; iris brown. Total length about 183 inches, culmen 1:4,

wing 7°4, tail 10:2, tarsus 1°85.

Obs. The late Mr. G. R. Gray, in his well-known ‘ Hand-list,’ enumerates nine species of Magpie as being
distinct ; but, having carefully examined a large series from various parts of the world, I propose to
reduce these to three (or, should P. leucoptera be a good species, then four), viz. :—

Pica rustica, the present species, the range of which I give below ;

Pica mauritanica, Malh., distinguishable by its short wing, by having the bare patch behind the eye bright
blue, and by never having white on the rump. This species is only found in North-Western Africa; and

Pica nuttalli, Aud., which is at all ages distinguishable by its bright yellow bill, the bare skin round the eye
being also of that colour. This species appears to be exclusively a Californian bird.

Our Common Magpie varies exceedingly, both as regards size and also in the distribution of
white on the rump and of black on the primaries; and these variations have been the cause of its
having been so often described from various localities as a distinct species. I have examined
specimens of all the supposed species enumerated by Mr. G. R. Gray, excepting P. bottanensis,
Deless., which is said to differ in having the rump quite black. This I should at first have
regarded as being sufficient to constitute it a distinct species; but after having examined a series
of skins I find that they vary exceedingly in the amount of white on the rump, one in particular,
from Erzeroom, having on the rump a pure milk-white patch, whereas in others from Central
Europe this patch is dull greyish white. The black-rumped variety appears again in Southern
Spain, from which locality I have examined nine specimens, some of which, from Granada and
Seville, have the rump pure black, whereas others, amongst which I may name two from
Granada, have a patch of dirty white across the rump, thus being intermediate between the
black-rumped and the common varieties. In measurements these specimens from Southern Spain
agree with others from Central Europe. Two specimens from Oporto do not differ from the
ordinary run of Kuropean specimens. It may be well here to remark that I have before me
British specimens which have the white on the rump quite as little developed as in the two

3

specimens from Granada to which I refer above, and one from Greatham has it much less con-
spicuous than in either of these birds. ‘This last specimen has also the feathers on the throat
white towards the base, as in the American Magpie. In Eastern Siberia there is a local race or
subspecies described by Gould under the name of P. leucoptera (B. of Asia, part xiv. 1862), which
my friend Dr. Otto Finsch assures me is a perfectly good species, having on the feathers of the
throat a concealed white mark as in P. hudsonica, the primaries on the inner web, excepting a
small edge, pure white, the first to the eighth to the extreme base, and the ninth and tenth only
being to within a third of the basal portion darker, whereas in P. rustica the base of the primaries
is always greyish black. In P. leucoptera the first secondary has on the inner web an apical
white spot, and on the rump is a pure white spot at least an inch wide. I have only seen two
specimens of this bird, and am therefore unable to give an opinion as to whether it is really a
good species; but seeing that the common European Magpie differs so greatly in the amount of
white on the primaries, I should not be surprised to find that in a series P. leucoptera runs
into it.

The American Magpie has usually a longer tail than the European bird, and its bill is some-
what stouter; but these differences are not constant.

In order to show how variable the measurements are, I give the roller Table :—

Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.
inch. inches. inches. inches.
Picarustica. . . . . . Great Britain. 6specimens. 14-18 7:0 -7:7 9:45-10:3 1:95-2:05
5 Holland. 1 3 16 — 78 — 104 — 22. —
Fr Udy ae Moher y soars Belgium. 1 165 — 75 — 105 — 19 —
a Sitrorciear ie Silesia. 1 <5 155 — 75 — 109 — 19 —
55 Ue ere ay Ee Italy. 3 my 1:45-1:75 70-738 92-112 1:3 -21
RS Portugal. 2 . 15 — 71-74 (75-105 2:0 -2:05
ie Spain. 9 sp 14-16 7:15-7:38 9:5 -10°7 = 1°85-2:1
w Cyprus. 1 " 165 — 72 — 102 — 18 —
5 Asia Minor. 1 Fy, 16 — 75 — 94 — 19 —
55 Pintle ares Erzeroom. 1 Fe 15 — 76 — 102 — 1:75 —
x (P. acaaa 2 Ladak. 1 5 1:65 — 82 — 123 — 19 —
By (P. sericea). . China. 1 Ke 16 — 85 — 106 — 2:05 —
% (P. japonica) . Japan. 1 35 15 — 74 — 90 — 18 —
He (P. hudsonica) . N.-W. America, 4 55 14-17 73-80 105 -12:0 1:7 -1:75
en CUCODUCTIONmIrin eile le Siberia. 1 3 16 — 83 — 103 — 19 —
Pica mauritanca . .. . Algeria. 5 iw 145-15 59-64 95 -11:15 1:8 -2:0

The range of the common Magpie may be given as extending over the entire Palearctic
region, and a local race which I consider identical, being found in Western North America.

In Great Britain it is exceedingly common in most localities where the game-preservers have
not kept it down; for it is very destructive to game. In Scotland, according to Mr. Robert Gray,
it “‘ appears to adhere strictly to the mainland, being seldom found on any of the islands. It is
wholly unknown in the Outer Hebrides, but is occasionally seen in Islay and Mull, where, how-
ever, it does not breed. ‘Twenty years ago the Magpie was abundant in the neighbourhood of
Glasgow. In my early morning walks, about three miles from the city, I have seen as many as

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twelve or fourteen hopping on the public road. So recently, indeed, as three years ago, I counted
twenty-eight perched on one tree at Scotstown, between Glasgow and Yoker. This was late in
the afternoon, in winter time ; and the Magpies had apparently assembled there with the intention
of remaining over the night, the noise of their chattering being very extraordinary. Two years
ago a pair of these birds had their nest near Sandyford, and within the city bounds; they were
quite familiar in their manners, and made themselves at home, as if in the full knowledge that
they were safer there than in the country. It is a pity that the Magpie is so mischievous and
destructive to eggs and young game, as he is really a pleasing object when seen flying alongside a
green belt of plantation, or perched on the summit of some tall poplar, trying to balance himself
by a graceful movement of his ample tail. Its ordinary cry is harsh and grating, not unlike the
noise of a policeman’s rattle, or an old woman's pattens clattering on the pavement. Although
subjected to the usual amount of persecution among game-preservers, the Magpie still maintains
its hold in all the wooded districts of Scotland, from Wigtown to Sutherlandshire. It is yet very
common in some parts of Ayrshire. I lately saw a dozen on a small property near Girvan, the
owner of which did not preserve the game, and consequently had no keeper on the ground.
Magpies, indeed, soon.find out places unfrequented by keepers, although they seldom lose their
naturally jealous and distrustful character, unless when living in the immediate vicinity of large
towns.’ In England it is generally distributed throughout the country. In the northern and
central counties I have repeatedly seen it; and as regards its distribution in the south, Mr. Cecil
Smith informs me that it is “‘resident and common all through the west, being quite crafty
enough to keep out of the way of the gamekeeper. In the Channel Islands it does not appear to
be very plentiful, being probably too mischievous to be allowed to live long. I have, however,
seen a few both in Guernsey and Sark. Some time ago I noticed a decided dislike to certain
animal food, which dislike is probably common to all carrion-eating birds. My note on the
subject was as follows:—Dec. 19th, 1869, trapped several Rats all through November, and with
them one Stoat and one Weasel, or ‘fair or fairy,’ as it is here called; the Magpies eat all the
Rats, leaving only the tails, but the Stoat and Weasel were left entirely untouched. I often
watched the Magpies eating the Rats from some adjacent cover.”

In Ireland, though now common, it is said not to have been met with in early times; and
Smith, in his ‘ History of Cork,’ states that about the year 1670 it was not known in Iveland.
Yarrell, who refers to this, says that “even so late as the year 1711 it seems to have been
confined to the neighbourhood of Wexford.”

It does not occur in Iceland, but is very common in Scandinavia, from the extreme south to
the North Cape. Mr. R. Collett writes that it “ occurs throughout West Finmark, as far north
as Gjaesvaer, North Cape (71° 15’), in almost all of the fishing-localities, or in spots inhabited
the year round. In Kast Finmark it would seem to occur less abundantly. On the sea-shore,
in places destitute of tree-growth, it builds sometimes under the eaves of dwelling-houses, some-
times in piled-up brushwood. In West Finmark, where they are protected by the inhabitants,
being regarded as harmless birds, they live chiefly on the refuse of fish. So late as the 30th
of June (1872) I observed a pair at Gjaesvaer, each day busily engaged in building their nest,
underneath a jetty. In this spot the same pair had brought up an earlier brood in the spring of
the year.” In Sweden it is common in every part of the country; and when travelling through

5

the country in the winter I was often astonished to see the numbers of Magpies collected round
the post-houses and on the roads in or near the villages.

Pastor Sommerfelt records it at the Varanger fiord as occurring now and then in the spring;
it breeds at Hopseidet, and used formerly to breed in Tana. The Laps kill it whenever they can,
as they believe that its chattering brings bad luck.

In Finland I met with it almost equally common in all parts of the country, and more
especially along the main post-roads. Meves found it numerous in Northern Russia, in the
Archangel Government; and Mr. Sabandeff writes that it is “very common in Russia, and
especially in the southern.portion of the Government of Perm.”

Mr. Taczanowski informs me that it is common and sedentary in Poland, though it utterly
shuns some localities, and, for instance, has never been seen near the town of Suwatki. Borggreve
records it as a wanderer throughout North Germany, but rare in the mountains in the eastern part,
even wanting altogether in some localities. Along the Elbe, and especially in Holstein, I found
the Magpie very common; and Mr. Fischer says the same regarding its occurrence in Denmark.
In Holland and Belgium it is resident and common; and also in Luxemburg, where, according to
De la Fontaine, it was very rare upwards of thirty years ago. Throughout France it is found
very generally distributed in the northern departments; but as regards the southern portion of
that country Jaubert and Barthélemy-Lapommeraye state that, ‘‘though common in Provence,
it is a somewhat local species, and is never found in the Marseilles basin, though abundant ten
or twelve metres distant.” It is likewise common in Spain, where in the south it has a tendency
to lose the white on the rump, many specimens having the rump pure black. In a letter just
received from Lord Lilford, he writes that it is ‘“‘ exceedingly common in certain districts of
Spain, notably about Aranjuez and in the Cotos del Rey and de Dofiana, nesting promiscuously
in high trees and low bramble-bushes. This bird and the Spanish Magpie (Cyanopica cookii) do
not (so far as my observation goes) consort together, or frequent the same localities, though they
are to be met with within a short distance of each other.” It is evidently common near Granada,
as Mr. Howard Saunders writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 222) that it is “‘ abundant in the wooded districts,
especially in the Cotos, and near Aranjuez, but very local.” ‘This gentleman has lent me several
specimens obtained in Southern Spain, most of which have the rump pure black. It is found in
Portugal, but, Dr. Rey informs me, it appears to be rare in Algarve. I have examined two
specimens from Oporto which have the white on the rump well developed. It is found in all
the countries on the north side of the Mediterranean, and is abundant in Italy and Sicily,
especially in the eastern districts of the latter. Mr. C. A. Wright, writing from Malta (Ibis,
1864, p. 56), says, ‘‘Schembri informs us that one of these birds was shot on the 7th October,
1839, probably a straggler blown off the southern coast of Sicily, where it exists in great
’ and Captain Rowland M. Sperling writes that he ‘observed it in Albania during
the summer, and in abundance both at Missolonghi and Patras during the winter, where two or
three of them were generally to be seen anxiously watching the ‘rooting snouts’ of the half-
wild Pigs, availing themselves of any grubs or worms tumed up by them. I have never noticed
any thing to lead to the idea that these birds migrate.” Mr. H. Seebohm informs me that “it
is found in Greece all the year round. It begins to breed there early in April. It can scarcely
be called a common bird, as it is rarely, if ever, seen on the mountains. In the Parnassus I met

4a

numbers;

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14

6

with it only in the valleys, in the regions of the olive and vine. I obtained many eggs in the
second week of May in the valley north of the Parnassus. Most of them were more or less
incubated. The usual number in each nest was seven.” Throughout Southern Germany it is
everywhere numerous; and the Ritter von Tschusi Schmidhofen informs me that varieties are
not uncommon in collections formed in that part of Europe. I observed it along the Danube ;
and Dr. Radde writes that “in Southern Russian its range is peculiar, as it is common in the
steppes, as also on the other side of the Tschatirdach Mountains, but is never found on any part
of the south coast. It is a resident, and pairs already in February.” Mr. G. Cavendish Taylor
met with it in the Crimea; and it is also found in Asia Minor, where Dr. Kriiper met with it,
especially in the interior, and found its nest near the sea, not far from Burnova. In Palestine
it is, Canon Tristram writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 60), “‘conspicuous by its absence. Nowhere could
we meet with or hear of Pica caudata. He may exist in Northern Syria; for Russell, in his
‘Natural History of Aleppo,’ compiled more than one hundred years ago, mentions it in his
scanty catalogue, though without further remark, as inhabiting the environs of that town. It is
abundant in Asia Minor, and especially in the island of Cyprus, within sight of the coast of
Syria; and we shot several specimens close to the town of Larnaka, on our way to Beyrout.
But we did not meet with a trace of it in the Lebanon, or in any other apparently promising
district. Its absence cannot be accounted for by the want of suitable localities; for the Lebanon
valleys, the northern portions of Galilee, and, above all, the vast glades of Gilead would seem
admirably adapted for its resort. Yet the Arabs knew nothing of such a bird, nor had they any
name for it; and our muleteer, Khadour, a very intelligent and observant man, who had spent
years in travelling over all parts of Syria, assured me, when I showed him a Cyprus skin, that he
had never seen such a bird in the country. Nor did I obtain any further recognition from Arab
fowlers, who likewise saw the skin. Thus the southern limit of the range of the Magpie seems
very sharply defined.” It is said to have occurred in North-east Africa; but Captain Shelley, in
his useful work on the birds of Egypt, writes that, “‘ according to Bonaparte, the Magpie is to be
met with in Egypt and Nubia; and Riippell states that it is tolerably plentiful in Lower Egypt
during the winter. Von Heuglin, on the other hand (Orn. N.O. Afr. p. 497), affirms that it
was never seen by Hemprich and Ehrenberg, Brehm, or himself in the course of all their travels
in North-eastern Africa. There is a Magpie in the Frankfort Museum labelled ‘from Egypt;’
but as this may have been a tame bird, and as the statements of Bonaparte and Riippell are not
always to be relied upon, I feel that I should not be justified in including the Magpie among
the true Egyptian birds.” In North-western Africa it is replaced by P. mauritanica.

To the eastward the common Magpie occurs in Persia, where, according to De Filippi, it is
rare to the south of Elburg, but more common about Ghilan; and thence it is found through the
Himalayas to China and Japan, and northward in Siberia and Kamtschatka.

Mr. G. Henderson, in his notes on the ornithology of Lahore and Yarkand, writes that
“the Afghan or White-rumped Himalayan Magpie was first met with at Dras, soon after crossing
the Zoji-la Pass into Ladék. All through this latter province it was common about every village
until the Pangong Lake was neared. A similar Magpie, believed to be the same, but of which
unfortunately no specimens were procured, was observed at Sanju, where the road emerges from
the hills into the plains of Yarkand, both in going and returning, viz. on the 16th August and

7

the 12th September. No Magpie was seen elsewhere in Yarkand. Early in July, when the
expedition passed through Ladak, the young birds were just able to fly, and several were caught.
In Ladak this species appears to bear the title of Hashambri.” The bird referred to by Mr.
Henderson does not in the least differ from our common European form; but in Bhootan there
is a race similar to that found in Southern Spain, having the rump black, of which I have not
been able to examine a specimen. Pallas writes that in Siberia it becomes rarer towards the
east; and later travellers confirm this statement. Von Middendorff writes that he found it
very numerous in the steppes of Baraba, Omsk, and those situated between Bernaul and Tomsk ;
but it does not appear to occur north of Syrjanskoje, as he saw the last rather below 614° N. lat.
He did not observe it in the Stanowoj Mountains, nor at Udskoj Ostrog, or on the south coast
of the Sea of Ochotsk. Dr. Radde did not observe it on the mountain-range from which
the Oka, the Irkut, and other rivers rise, and on the eastern side first met with it near the
Changinskischen post, whence towards the Lake Baikal it gradually appeared to increase in
numbers, and was common on the Tunka and Toros plains, as also on the Central Irkut.
Dr. von Schrenck found it common on the Southern Amoor, but states that its range in Eastern
Asia appears to be near the mouth of the Amoor. It occurs again in Kamtschatka, and,
according to Pallas, extends thither from China and Japan, along the Kurile chain of islands.
In China it is, Mr. Swinhoe writes, common everywhere, and he observed numbers on the large
level tracts near Taiwanfoo. Writing on the ornithology of Hainan (Ibis, 1870, p. 350), he
says “the Magpie was everywhere abundant in Hainan, following the Chinese colonist, and
gladdening his heart with its lively movements and auspicious notes. It was breeding in
February ; and we frequently saw its nest, often placed in the basket-shaped cross-trees of the
poles that stand in front of mandarin offices, and once in the heart of the leaf-crown that tops
the cocoa-nut tree. According to the Chinese ‘ Gazetteer’ of Hainan, the Magpie was intro-
duced into Hainan a. D. 1450-56, from the Chinese main. It says, ‘ “ Tcheo,” commonly called
the “ Bird of rejoicing.” Hainan was originally without this bird. In the King-tai reign of the
Ming dynasty, Admiral Le-yih brought from Haipih [north of the sea, applied to Leen-chow-foo,
at the head of the Gulf of Tonquin] ten or so males and females and let them loose.’ These
having bred freely, the bird has become extremely numerous.’ ”

In America its range is given by Professor Spencer F. Baird in his work on North-American
birds, now in the press, as “from Arizona on the south to Alaska on the north-west. It has
been met with as far to the east as the Missouri river, and is found from there to the Pacific. It
is abundant at Sitka; it was observed at Ounga, one of the Shumagin Islands, and was obtained
by Bischoff at Kodiak.” After a careful examination of five specimens of the American Magpie
with my series of the European and Asiatic birds, I have come to the conclusion that they cannot
be separated. Prince Maximilian von Wied, in a most elaborate article on the Magpie (Cab.
Journ. 1855, p. 1971), in which he argues that they are distinct, states that the American bird is
larger, has a stouter bill, has the feathers on the lower neck spotted with white, rears but two
young ones, and has a distinct note. Against this I may urge:—the measurements given above,
which show that the variation in size is great, and that on an average the American bird is not
larger than the European species (but, at the same time, I must acknowledge that the former,
as a rule, has a somewhat stouter bill than the latter, though they both vary greatly inter se) ;

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that I have found the white on the throat quite as much developed in several British specimens
as in any of the American birds I have examined; that Mr. John Keast Lord, an excellent field-
naturalist, states in his ‘ Naturalist in British Columbia’ (vol. il. p. 71) that the American Magpie
“builds much the same kind of nest as our British species, and lays seven or eight eggs.” As to
the difference in note, Mr. Lord evidently did not find this the case, as he further states that
“seeing them in freedom they appear to be identical.” As a rule the American bird has a longer
tail—but not always, as I find that, in the specimens I have examined, the length of the tail varies
from 103 to 12 inches. Mr. Blyth (/.c.), in describing Pica media, incorrectly gives South
America as the habitat of the Magpie; for it never even occurs so far south as Mexico.

In its habits the Magpie varies according to circumstances. Here in England, where it is
followed and shot by gamekeepers whenever they get within range, it is exceedingly shy and
wary; and hence the popular saying that it can smell the powder. On the other hand, in
Scandinavia, where it is a universal favourite and a protected bird, it is as tame and impertinent
as a London Sparrow. I have often approached within a few yards of several which were busily
searching on the road for any thing eatable they could pick up, and have even seen nests in
gooseberry-bushes close to a cottage.

The Magpie builds a large, bulky nest, constructed of sticks, generally. such as have the
thorns still on them; and it is made with a strong dome, covering and protecting the nest itself.
This latter is formed of fine roots and dried grass, placed on a foundation of earth plastered on
the sticks which form the bottom of the outside structure. The eggs, from six to eight in
number, vary considerably as to colour and markings, and are pale bluish white, covered closely
with brownish or greenish brown spots. In size those in my collection vary from 143 by #3 inch
to 143 by Linch. The nest is placed at some altitude in a tree, but often quite low in a bush
or hedge; and in Norway, as I am informed by Mr. Collett, they sometimes build under the
eaves of houses or even in treeless localities on the ground.

The note of the Magpie is a chatter, often harsh, but during the breeding-season modulated
and softer than at other seasons of the year. In the winter they often collect in considerable
flocks, and when going to roost make a great noise. I-have often in Scandinavia seen many in
company together, especially in midwinter. It feeds on carrion, small birds, and mammals, eggs,
and indeed any animal food that comes handy, and is very destructive to game and poultry,
picking up the young birds, and destroying eggs, whenever it gets the chance of so doing.
Mr. Collett informs me that on the Norwegian coast it feeds chiefly on dead fish and the refuse
cast out by the fishermen; and he further states that he has known it to make raids on the ripe
cherries.

Sir John Sebright states that Magpie-hawking is most excellent sport. Yarrell, quoting
from him, writes that ‘‘nothing can be more animating than this sport; it is, in my opinion, far
superior to every other kind of hawking. The object of the chase is fully a match for its
pursuers—a requisite absolutely necessary to give an interest to any sport of this kind; and it
has the advantage of giving full employment to the company, which is not the case in Partridge-
hawking. A down or common, where low trees or thorn-bushes are dispersed at distances of
from thirty to fifty yards apart, is the place best calculated for this diversion. When a Magpie
is seen at a distance, a Hawk is immediately to be cast off. The Magpie will take refuge in a

9

bush the moment he sees the Falcon, and will remain there until the falconer arrives, with the
Hawk waiting on in the air. The Magpie is to be driven from his retreat; and the Hawk, if at
a good pitch, will stoop at him as he passes to another bush, from whence he is to be driven in
the same way, another Hawk having been previously cast off, so that one or the other may
always be so situated as to attack him with advantage. The second Hawk is necessary; for the
Magpie shifts with great cunning and dexterity to avoid the stoop; and when hard pressed,
owing to the bushes being rather far apart, will pass under the bellies of the horses, flutter along
a cart-rut, and avail himself of every little inequality of the ground in order to escape. Four or
five assistants, besides the falconer, who should attend solely to his Hawks, are required for this
sport. They should be well mounted, and provided with whips; for the Magpie cannot be
driven from a bush by a stick; but the crack of a whip will force him to leave it, even when he
is so tired as hardly to be able to fly. The Magpie will always endeavour to make his way to
some strong cover; care therefore must be taken to counteract him, and to drive him to that
part of the ground where the bushes are farthest from each other. It is not easy to take a
Magpie in a hedge. Some of the horsemen must be on each side of it; some must ride behind
and some before him; for unless compelled to rise, by being surrounded on all sides, he will
flutter along the hedge, so as to shelter himself from the stoop of the Falcon. Many requisites
are necessary to afford this sport in perfection—a favourable country, good Hawks, and able
assistants.”

Before closing this article I feel bound to add that Dr. Otto Finsch writes that he does not
agree with me in uniting P. hudsonica with P. rustica, and looks on the former as being a good
geographical race, having always the white patch on the feathers of the throat, the tail longer
than in P. rustica, and the two central feathers extending further beyond the others. He
likewise says that he can confirm from personal observation what Prince Max von Wied states
as to the note of the American Magpie being different from that of our bird. He found the
American Magpie occurring sporadically throughout the Rocky Mountains, first observing it on
the road to Georgetown, at an altitude of from 7000 to 8000 feet above the sea-level, and again
on the Humboldt river. On the plains he never saw it.

The specimen figured and described is in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, b, 9. Hampstead (Davy). c, 3, d, 2. Piedmont (Count Salvadori).

E Mus. Brit. Req.

a. Belgium. b,c. Oporto. d. Seville, Spain (Irby). e. Erzeroom. jf. Asia Minor. g. Hainan, March 1860
(Swinhoe). h. Japan. i, k. British Columbia (J. K. Lord). 1, m. W. of Rocky Mountains.

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a, 9. Silesia. 6, 3. Girgenti. c, ¢,d, 3. Granada, October. e, f, 3,9, 2. Granada, November. h, 2.
Granada, January. i, 9. Granada, May. k, 2. Sierra Nevada, June.

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E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 2. Greatham, October. 6, g. Cyprus, November (H. B.7.). c. Leiden, Holland, November. d. China
(Swinhoe). e. Ladak, June 25th, 1870 (Dr. Henderson). jf. Kodiak, N. Pacific (F. Bischoff).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a, dé. Walsingham, April. 6, 6. Devonshire, April. c, ¢. Durham, September.

PICA MAURITANICA.

(MOORISH MAGPIE.)

Pica mauritanica, Malh. Mém. de la Soc. d’Hist. Nat. de Metz (1843).
Pica mauritanica, Malh., Levaill. jun. Expl. Scientif. de ’Alg., Atl. Ois. pl. 8; Loche, Expl.
Scientif. de l’Alg. Ois. i. p. 118 (1867). :

Figura unica.
Levaillant, jun., tom. cit. pl. 8.

Ad. Pice rustice persimilis, sed alis brevioribus, uropygio nigro, et poné oculum macula conspicué cerulea
facile distinguendus.

Adult Male (El Djerid). Generally resembles Pica rustica; but the head and back are more glossed with
green than in that species; and behind the eye there is a large and very conspicuous bare spot bright
cobalt-blue in colour; the rump is black, not dull white as in P. rustica; and the black on the breast
extends much further down than in that species. Total length 18 inches, culmen 1:45, wing 6:2,
tail 10°7, tarsus 1°75.

Obs. Dr. O. Finsch informs me that there is a specimen in the Bremen Museum which measures—
culmen 1°15, wing 8°6, tail 11°38, and tarsus 2 inches.

Tuts species, differing from our common European Magpie in having the bare spot behind the
eye blue, and in having a shorter wing, is found only in North-western Africa, where it appears
to be scarcely so common as our bird is in most parts of Europe. Mr. Taczanowski writes to me
that he ‘‘met with it in the province of Constantine, where it appears to be less numerous than
the common Magpie is in Poland.” During his sojourn in Algeria he “ saw large numbers in the

mountains of Bouarif and in the neighbourhood of Batna. It is found in the neighbourhood of

dwellings, though not so frequently as is the common Magpie in Europe, and is much more shy
than that bird.” Mr. Osbert Salvin found it common in the Eastern Atlas; and Canon Tristram
states (Ibis, 1859, p. 292) that “a few pairs may occasionally be found in the northern portions
of the Sahara.” Mr. John H. Gurney, jun., observed numbers at the Dayat of Tibrem; and
Mr. C. Tyrwhitt Drake records it as abundant in Morocco. Loche writes that it occurs chiefly
in the wooded portions of the three provinces of Algeria, and is to be met with near Boghar,
Teniet-el-Had, la Calle, Philippeville, Tlemcen, and Oran; it feeds on fruit, seeds, caterpillars,
insects, and remains of flesh, is very voracious, and plunders the nests of small birds, devouring
the eggs or young, and committing great havoc amongst them. Like the common European
Magpie it is fond of shining objects, and has the habit of stowing away such objects, as well as a
supply of food, in some convenient place in a hollow tree. In its habits it in general closely
resembles Pica rustica, and utters a call-note like that of this species, which may be described as
resembling the words agaz, agaz, from which, Major Loche states, it bears in Algeria the name

O19

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2

of El-Agaaz, a name closely resembling that of the common Magpie amongst the French
peasantry, who call it Agasse. The Moorish Magpie, Major Loche writes, “ constructs its nest
of twigs, roots, and grass, and lines it with fine grass-straws, moss, fine rootlets, and down, the
number of eggs deposited being from three to five. Both male and female assist in the work of
incubation ; and when the female has charge of the young she takes the greatest care of them,
and will defend them from birds much larger than herself; but when in danger of being over-
powered she utters loud cries, so as to alarm the other Magpies that may be near, and they all
join in driving off the common enemy.

“At all seasons this Magpie is seen in pairs, and is very long-lived, as I kept one in captivity
for upwards of ten years, when it was killed by accident. In captivity it becomes very tame and
familiar, but is as fond of using its wings as when in a wild state, which proves often incon-
venient. It is easily taught to pronounce a few words, and to imitate the calls of various
animals.”

I do not possess the eggs of this species in my collection, but have examined one in the
collection of Mr. Godman, which closely resembles that of our common Magpie, but is somewhat
darker. :

The specimen figured (on the same Plate with P. rustica) and described is in my own
collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a. Hl Djerid, Algeria (Fairmaire).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a, 6. Algeria (H. B. T.). 6, juv. albino. Mediah, 1856 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. Brit. Reg.
a, 6. N. Africa.

E Mus. W. W. Saunders.
a, 3. Algeria.

Genus CORVUS.

Corvus, Linnzeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766).

Monedula apud C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1274.

Coleus apud Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 114 (1829).

Corone apud Kaup, op. cit. p. 99 (1829).

Frugilegus apud Lesson, fide Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 384 (1850).
Trypanocorax apud Kaup, Journ. f. Orn. 1854, Suppl. p. lv.

Corax apud Kaup, ut supra.

Rhinocorax apud Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ili. p. 45 (1877).

In the present genus I have included several species which have been referred to separate genera
by several authors, but which it seems to me are better united together in one and the same
genus. Mr. Sharpe, in the Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, subdivides the
' European Crows into five genera—viz. Trypanocoraz, Kaup (type Corvus frugilegus), Corvus,
Linnus (type Corvus corax), Coleus, Kaup (type Corvus monedula), Corone, Kaup (type Corvus
corone), and Rhinocoraz, Sharpe (type Corvus affinis), only the second of which should, it appears
to me, be recognized.

The Crows have a very wide range, being universally distributed, except in New Zealand
and South America, eight species being found in the Western Palearctic Region.

In habits the Crows are wary, though at the same time, when frequenting towns and
villages, they are impudent and thievish. ‘They frequent groves, woods, inhabited places, the
shores of the sea and rivers, and, indeed, almost any place where they can find food; and they
are omnivorous, feeding on grain, fruits, insects, flesh, fish, and on offal of almost any kind.
They walk sedately, but with ease, fly with tolerable rapidity ; and their note varies from a harsh
croak or caw to a series of modulated notes which may almost be termed a song; and when
domesticated they can be taught to mimic various sounds and even utter words.

They construct nests of sticks, roots, wool, &c., which they either place on a tree or in the
hole of a tree, or else in the holes and crannies of ruined buildings and rocks, and deposit several
pale greenish-blue eggs spotted and blotched with blackish brown and olivaceous.

Corvus corax, the type of the genus, has the beak strong, hard, stout, compressed, sharp at
the edges, straight at the base, curved towards the tip; gape-line curved; nostrils basal, covered
by stiff bristles directed forwards; wings long, rather pointed, the first quill shorter than the
sixth, the second shorter than the fifth, the fourth longest; tail moderate, rounded; legs and
feet strong, the tarsus covered in front with four large and three inferior scutelle; claws stout,
curved, acute.

I have been unable to find where Boie uses the generic term Lycos for the Jackdaw. Giebel
gives the reference as Isis, 1828, p. 1273; and Sharpe gives it as Lycos, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 59;
but I cannot find it referred to in either of the above places.

80

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261

‘VINGANOW SMAYOO
"MVGNOVE

CORVUS MONEDULA

(JACKDAW.)

Monedula nigra spermologos, Frisch, Vorst. Vog. Teutschl. taf. 68.
Corvus monedula, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 24 (1760).

Corvus monedula torquata, Briss. tom. cit. p. 27 (1760).

Corvus monedula candida, Briss. tom. cit. p. 27 (1760).

Corvus monedula nigra, Briss. tom. cit. p. 28 (1760).

Corvus monedula, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 156 (1766).

Le choucas, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iii. p. 73 (1775).

Le chouc, Montb. ut supra (1775).

Corvus spermologus, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. viii. p. 40 (1817, ex Frisch).
Lycos monedula (L.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 551.

Coleus monedula (L.), Kaup, Natiirl. System, p. 114 (1829).
Monedula turrium, C. L. Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 172 (1831).
Monedula arborea, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 173 (1831).

Monedula septentrionalis, C. L. Brehm, op. cit. p. 173 (1831).

Corvus collaris, Drummond, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. xviii. p. 11 (1846).
Monedula nigra, Brehm [ubit], Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 384 (1850).
Lycos collaris (Drumm.), Bp. tom. cit. p. 384 (1850).

Monedula spermologos, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 60 (1855).

Cathag Corrachan, Gaelic; Choucas gris, French; Taccola, Italian; Dohle, Thurmkréahe,
Schneedohle, German; Kerkkaauw, Dutch; Kaa, Allike, Danish; Kaje, Norwegian ; Kaja,
Swedish; Naaka, Finnish; Galka, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 522, 523; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 6; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. xl. ;
Frisch, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 68; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 28. fig. 2; Naumann, Vog.
Deutschl. taf. 56. fig. 1; Sundevall, Svensk. Fog]. pl. 20. fig. 4; Gould, B. of Kur.
pl. 223; id. B. of G. B. iii. pl. 61; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 140; Roux, Orn. Prov.
pl. 133.

3 ad. pileo, regione ad basin rostri, loris et mento intensé nigris: nucha, capitis et colli lateribus et collo
postico griseis, in nuchz et colli imi lateribus fere albis: corpore supra, alis et cauda nigris, his
purpureo nitentibus, dorso et uropygio vix griseo-nigro tinctis: corpore subtus sordidé nigro vix
schistaceo tincto: pedibus et rostro nigris: iride griseo-alba.

9 ad. mari similis, sed vix sordidior, nucha, collo postico et colli lateribus grisescentioribus.

Adult Male (Stehag, Sweden, 17th March). Crown, space at the base of the bill, including the lores, and
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2

chin glossy black; entire nape, sides of the head and neck, and hind neck light grey, nearly pure
white on the sides of the nape and of the lower neck; upper parts, including the wings and tail, raven-
black; the wings and tail glossed with purple; the back and rump slightly tinged with greyish black ;
throat and underparts dull black with a slate-grey tinge; legs and bill black; iris nearly white.
Total length about 13 inches, culmen 1°3, wing 9:0, tail 5-2, tarsus 1:9.

Adult Female (Sweden). Resembles the male, but the grey on the neck is a trifle less pure, and rather
darker.

Nestling (Sweden). Duller than the adult, the underparts much greyer, and the grey on the neck much
darker and duller.

Obs. After a most careful examination and comparison of specimens from various parts of Europe with
those in the collection of Canon Tristram, I entirely fail to find any character by which the form
described under the name of Corvus collaris can always be distinguished from typical C. monedula.
Taking the Scandinavian bird to be the typical C. monedula of Linneeus, I find that examples from
there agree precisely with Colonel Drummond-Hay’s description of his C. collaris ; and compared with
a specimen sent to me by Canon Tristram, I find that the specimen I have described has the hind neck
far lighter grey, and the upper parts are similarly shaded with grey, but the undersurface of the body
is not quite so grey. It may not be out of place to transcribe here Colonel Drummond-Hay’s descrip-
tion of C. collaris, viz.:—“About the same size as the common Jackdaw, but differs in having the
hinder part of the neck of a light silvery gray, and a large white crescented patch on each side of the
neck; the whole of the back and upper tail-coverts dusky, and shaded with ash; throat black, the
whole of the lower parts lead-colour, each feather darker in the centre; the ring on the female is not
quite so conspicuous as in the male.”

I may name that I have seen British specimens with very white napes; and from North Russia I have both
dark-naped and white-naped specimens, one with the ring on the lower neck well developed, and others
with it scarcely visible. Mr. Seebohm also informs me that he has seen every intermediate form in
the same flock in North Russia.

Tue Jackdaw is found throughout Europe, but is rather local in its distribution. It also occurs
in North Africa and Western Asia; but it is rather difficult to define the eastern limits of its
range. As a rule it is a resident, remaining throughout the winter, even in Northern Russia;
but in most parts of the high north it migrates southwards for the winter, and is, moreover, a
partial migrant in many other parts of Europe.

Throughout Great Britain it is a tolerably common species, and is found both inland and
on the coast, especially on the latter, where there are rugged cliffs, in the clefts of which it
finds suitable nesting-places ; but it appears to decrease somewhat in numbers towards the north
of Scotland. Mr. Cecil Smith informs me that it is by no means numerous in Guernsey, where
the Chough takes its place, but it is commoner on the small islands of Jettoo and Herm.

I have found it common on the Isle of Wight and on the south coast of England; and it is
met with in all the counties of England. It is resident and common in Scotland, but is not often
seen in Shetland. A few are said to breed annually in South Ronaldshay, in Orkney.

Thompson says that it is met with throughout Ireland, especially in such parts as are well
cultivated and where there are old buildings.

It is said to straggle as far as Iceland, where, however, it is of rare occurrence, as also on

3

the Feroes, where it has been obtained on three occasions by Mr. H. C. Miiller. In Scandinavia
it iscommon. Mr. R. Collett sends me the following note respecting its range and habits in
Norway :—“ The Jackdaw breeds in portions of Eastern Norway up to the borders of Nordland
(in 64° N. lat.); in the southern districts it is only seen during passage; and along the west
coast, north of Stavanger it is at all times very rare, and only stragglers are met with. It is
chiefly to be found in the lower parts of Romerige, Hadeland, Hedemarken, as well as, north
of the Dovre, in the districts bordering the Trondhjemsfiord, as for instance in the Verdale, &c.
Further north it is never seen, as it finds no suitable breeding-places. It arrives in February or
early in March together with the Starling, and leaves in October or November; but during mild
winters many flocks remain not only in the southern districts, as for instance Smaalenene:
Stavanger, &c., but even in the outer portions of its range. Thus in 1864 large flocks were
seen at Trondhjem in January and February; and in 1870-71 many wintered on the northern
shores of the Trondhjemsfiord, and frequented the fields near the sea-coast. It breeds in
colonies in the old wooden churches, and in hollow trees. Close to the town of Lillehammer, on
the north shore of the Mjésen Lake, I never found its nest except in trees, especially in aspens,
where it made use of deserted Woodpeckers’ holes. It lays with us four, five, or even six eggs
early in May; and so far as I know it never breeds in towns in Norway. Specimens which I
have dissected in the early spring had their stomachs filled with barley and wheat.” Mr. Meves
informs me that it breeds in most of the provinces of Sweden, especially where old towers,
churches, and ruins are found, but it also breeds in hollow oaks and aspens. He never observed
it further north than Helsingland; but, according to Westerlund, it ranges on the coast as high
as 63°—64° N. lat. Numbers breed in the Upsala Cathedral, and in the ruins of Calmar and
Bergholm Castles, where I have also seen it. In Finland, Von Wright writes (Finl. Fogl. p. 75),
it is “found in the southern portion of the country; but during winter and in the spring indi-
viduals wander some distance, and it is then seen far in the interior, as, for instance, at Kuopio.”
‘I used to see it often at Wiborg, in Southern Finland, during the summer I remained there. . In
Russia it is extremely common, at least as far north as Archangel, where it breeds in all the
church-towers. Mr. Sabandeff informs me, however, that in the Ural it does not range far north,
and is somewhat rare in the Pavdinskaya Dacha, but in the southern portion, especially in the
Bashkir birch-woods, it is very common. I found it common in all parts of Russia I have visited,
“especially in the towns; and Mr. Meves informs me that he found it everywhere breeding in
the houses and frequenting the farmyards, and adds that in harvest-time it does great damage
to the crops. In the Government of Olouetz he observed flocks of thousands in the fields where
the wheat was in stooks; and all the exposed ears were cleared of grain. In the South-east Ural
it was equally numerous. I should certainly say that it is a resident in Russia and the Baltic
provinces; for I have seen it in the summer, and found it exceedingly numerous in St. Petersburg
and Moscow during the coldest portion of the winter; but Borggreve states that in the eastern
portion of North Germany it is merely a summer visitant, though in the west it is resident. In
Denmark it is, as a rule, a resident, though during severe winters it migrates, doubtless owing
to the scarcity of food. Baron von Droste Hiilshoff states that on the island of Borkum it only
occurs during passage in October and March; but in Holland it is, Mr. Labouchere informs me, a
common resident, frequenting, as in England, the church-towers and ruined buildings. In Belgium

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it is resident and very abundant; and in France it a resident in some parts, and a migrant in
others, but is somewhat local and rare in the south, except towards Savoy, where it arrives in
flocks in the autumn, but very few breed there.

Professor Barboza du Bocage includes it in his list of the birds of Portugal; but Dr. E. Rey
states (J. f. O. 1872, p. 145) that he only observed it in one place in that country, viz. in a
valley which runs from the Villa do Bispo towards the Atlantic, where it was numerous. In
Spain, Mr. Howard Saunders says (Ibis, 1871, p. 221), “I found this a very local species.
Though abundant in the Cotos, where it breeds in hollow trees, I never saw it again till 1869,
when I noticed a pair near Aranjuez.” Colonel Irby also states (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 128) that he
never saw it anywhere except in the Coto del Rey, near Seville, where, late in April, he found it
breeding. It is found in Italy, where in some parts it is abundant, though local, whereas in
others, as, for instance, in Modena, Piedmont, and Venetia, it is somewhat rare. In Sicily and
Sardinia it is common; and Mr. C. A. Wright states it is a resident in Malta, being most
numerous in the southern and south-western parts where the cliffs are rugged.

In Southern Germany it is common, and resident in every part. Dr. Fritsch remarks, it
is singular that in the Polica country albinoes occur regularly, and that Hromadko has obtained
these white varieties several years in succession. I observed it in Styria, in some parts nume-
rous; and it is stated to occur generally in the countries bordering the Danube. In Greece it
is common, though somewhat local. Lord Lilford found it common in the summer in Epirus,
and only occasionally saw one during the winter months; but Dr. Kriiper writes that it winters
in Greece and Asia Minor in large flocks, and when those which arrive from the north leave
Greece, in February or March, the birds which breed there take possession of their nesting-
haunts. In Macedonia, in Thessalonica and the adjacent villages, it frequently nests under the
eaves. Lindermayer also says that it is resident, and very numerous in some parts, inhabiting
the southernmost islands in the Greek archipelago. He met with it on the island of Eubcea, in
Northern Samia, and in the Peloponnesus. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley write (Ibis, 1870, p. 190)
as follows :—‘* The Jackdaw is about the commonest bird in Macedonia, every house and village
being tenanted by a large number. ‘They are never molested by the natives, and are conse-
quently very tame; but if the least notice is taken of them, or a shot fired, they alter their
habits at once, and become as wary as an old Magpie. Every evening the Jackdaws from the
whole plain of Salonica used to assemble in large bands and fly to a great roosting-place in the
impenetrable marshes of the Karasmak river. The numbers there must be something extra-
ordinary ; for we found that the Jackdaws from every place where we stayed at in the country
left at night for the same roosting-place, in some instances thirty miles away. ‘The collared race
is found in Bulgaria, the Crimea, and up the Danube into Servia; but in Greece we saw none
at all.”

In Southern Russia it is common, and is, Dr. Radde states, especially numerous in the
Crimea. Dr. Kriiper says that it is a resident, and is numerous in Asia Minor; and Canon
Tristram met with it in Palestine. ‘It resorts,” he writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 65), “in great numbers
to the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem ; but these are the only two very large colonies we observed.
It occurred elsewhere, but not in great numbers. I shot one near Nazareth, and saw a few at a
ruined temple, Thelthathah, near Hermon. It may thus be looked upon as rather local. In the

5

Jordan valley and in Eastern Palestine its place appears to be taken by the closely affined or
climatic variety C. collaris of Drummond, with which we frequently met.” Lord Lilford informs
me that he found a colony of Jackdaws breeding in the walls of Famagousta, Cyprus, April 22nd,
1875; but it was not observed elsewhere in the island.

In North-east Africa it appears to be a rare species. Rtippell certainly states that it is
common in Lower Egypt and Arabia Petreea; but Von Heuglin remarks that he believes that it
is only an accidental straggler, if found there at all; and Captain Shelley informs me that he
never met with it in Egypt. It is, however, found in North-west Africa: Loche records it from
Algeria; and Canon Tristram states (Ibis, 1859, p. 292) that it is “extremely abundant wherever
there are rocky gorges near an oasis.” Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt-Drake observed large flocks of the
present species, though only at Tetuan; but Colonel Irby states (J. ¢.) that neither he nor Favier
ever met with it in Tangier. According to Dr. C. Bolle it occasionally visits the Canaries; and
he says (J. f. O. 1854, p. 451) that, in February 1830, after a heavy south-east wind, several were
killed at Laguna.

To the eastward the European Jackdaw is found at least as far as the Punjab, in India; but,
so far as I can judge from the materials I have at hand, I should consider the species of Black
Jackdaw inhabiting HKastern Asia specifically distinct from our European bird. This bird, Corvus
neglectus, Schl. (Notice sur le genre Corvus, p. 16), appears never to have, in any plumage,
the grey nape so characteristic of our bird; and Mr. Swinhoe informs me that he certainly
considers it to be distinct. It agrees tolerably well with the description of Corvus spermologus,
Vieill. (7. ¢.); but the latter, being from the south of France, cannot be the same species, but
must be a dark-necked form of our common European Jackdaw. Corvus neglectus differs in
lacking the grey neck altogether, the entire upper parts being glossy black, and the underparts
dull greyish black; and it is smaller than our bird, measuring—culmen 1:05, wing 8°65, tail 5-2,
tarsus 1:65. Mr. Swinhoe informs me that Corvus neglectus interbreeds not unfrequently with
the other species of East-Asiatic Jackdaw (Corvus dauricus); and I have had an opportunity of
examining several hybrids in Mr. Swinhoe’s collection.

To return, however, to our common European species, I find that neither Mr. Blanford nor
Major St. John met with it Persia. The latter says that, if found there at all, it must be in
the extreme north-west; in the highlands of Armenia (across the frontier) and in the Caucasus
itis common. De Filippi speaks of it as common in the Caucasus and Armenia, and “rarer in
Persia.” Dr. Henderson writes (Lahore to Yarkand, p. 239) that he found it “very common
almost everywhere in Cashmere, where it lives in the villages, and makes its nest under the eaves
of the houses and in old buildings.” Dr. Jerdon speaks of it (B. of Ind. ii. p. 303) as being
“tolerably abundant in Cashmere and in the Punjab, in the latter country in the cold weather
only.” Dr. Severtzoff states that it is resident and common throughout Turkestan ; but I find it
impossible to trace its range further east, or to ascertain where the range of Corvus neglectus
begins.

Exceedingly active, noisy, and cheerful, the Jackdaw differs from the Raven and the Crow
markedly, and is much pleasanter and less staid and solemn-looking than either of those
species, Essentially gregarious, it either seeks the company of others of its own species or will
associate with Rooks for the sake of society; and one not unfrequently finds Jackdaws living

528

6

altogether in company with Rooks. Although -pert and familiar, the Jackdaw is wary, and
knows well when danger threatens, permitting an unarmed man to approach quite close, but
keeping well away from any one carrying a gun. I have often observed how very tame they are
in the large towns of Russia, where they frequent the courtyards, and will stalk about within a
few paces of the servants; on the other hand, outside the town the same birds are as wary
and cautious as an old Raven. I used frequently to put food outside my window on the broad
sill, and have sat at the window when a dozen Jackdaws were seated outside within a foot or so
of me; but they always waited until I had closed the window, when they did not seem to object
to being watched through the glass. Wherever there are old ruins, there the Jackdaw appears
to be most at home; but it is almost as fond of an old steeple or church-tower, or any large
building where it can find crannies and suitable places for nidification.

It walks with ease and much more grace than any other of the Crows, and searches much
on the ground after food. It frequents pastures and ploughed fields in search of larve and
insects of various kinds, and in the towns will wait about in the yards to pick up any refuse that
may be thrown out. It will feed also on shell-fish, crustaceans, and even carrion, being as
omnivorous as others of the Crows, but appears to prefer insects when they are to be had.

Its flight is rapid and extremely wavering; and one seldom sees it flying soberly in a direct
line like a Crow: it performs evolutions in the air, uttering its clear short caw, which when
uttered by a large flock becomes modulated and is not disagreeable.

It breeds in May, selecting for the purpose of nidification ruined towers or large buildings,
church-steeples or towers, hollow trees, clefts and crannies in the cliffs, or even in some instances
rabbit-burrows. Its nest is a bulky and careless structure, consisting of a groundwork of sticks,
on which are heaped straw, feathers, wool, and any soft material, upon which the eggs, from four
to seven in number, are placed. ‘These latter are subject to considerable variation: in ground-
colour they vary from pale sea-green, almost white, to rich though pale bluish green, and are
more or less spotted and marked with dots and small blotches of dark umber-brown on the
surface, the shell-markings, which are small, being pale dull purplish or light purplish brown.
Some eggs in my collection are tolerably closely spotted all over the surface, whereas others only
have a few scattered spots. One egg is marked with liver-brown spots or dots, and much
resembles some eggs of the Nutcracker. In size they vary from 14} by 36 to 146 by 145 inch.

Mr. C. Bygrave Wharton has called my attention to a curious instance of the Jackdaw
daubing its eggs over with a thick coating of clay. This gentleman writes to me as follows :—
“On the 30th April, 1872, I took from a hole in an old elm tree in Cassiobury Park, Herts, four
eggs of this bird which were so evenly daubed all over with clay that the shell was almost com-
pletely invisible, and the shape and weight alone told them to be eggs. The one I washed
turned out to be rather a highly coloured egg, but of the ordinary type. I may mention that
in the nest I also found a piece of hard clay (about the size of the smallest of the four eggs)
with distinct marks of a bird’s beak upon it. The only reason I can think of to account for this
strange conduct on the part of the Jackdaw is that it may have been done to make the eggs less
conspicuous to any wandering Jay, the nest being placed not far from the mouth of the hole,
and the eggs consequently more or less in sight of a passing bird. I showed the eggs and clay
to Professor Newton and others after one of the ‘ Zoo.’ meetings; and if I remember rightly, you

7

also saw them yourself; if not then, you have seen them in my cabinet, and will remember them.
On the 26th of April, 1874, I took four eggs out of the very nest above mentioned; but they
had nothing extraordinary about them.”

I have seen the eggs above described by Mr. Wharton, and can confirm what he says
respecting their being evenly and carefully daubed; and I should say that there is no doubt that

it was done by the bird itself; but for what reason, it is impossible to say with certainty. It

appears probable that it was done for the purpose of concealment.
The specimen figured is the one described, and is in my own collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H, EH. Dresser.

a,d. Pelham, March 30th, 1863 (H. E. D.). 6,92. Skane, Sweden, November 11th (Meves). c,d.
Trostenas, Sweden, June 22nd, 1875 (Meves). d,?. Skane, Sweden, March 17th, 1875 (Meves).
e,juv. Belgium. f,?. Granada, June 20th, 1871 (H. Saunders). g, 6d, h. Zaostrovji, Archangel, Sep-
tember 13th, 1873 (J. Piottuch). i, 9. Uima, N. Russia, November 18th, 1873 (J. Piottuch).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a, 6,2. Castle Eden, Durham, May 7th and 9th, 1866 (J. H. Gurney, jun.). c,d, 3. Monte de Granada,
April. e, pullus. Granada, June 1871. f, d. Tamak, Crimea, May 1862 (Th. Schmidt). g. Germany,
May 1867.

E Mus. C. A. Wright.

a. Malta, October 11th, 1862 (C. A. W.).

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Sh CAR PLR ddhiroh. Grey irs Sead & talhpas ap
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CORVUS CORAX.

3.

5,7, CORVUS AFFINIS.

CORVUS CORONE

Be

CORVUS UMBRINUS.

I

4,6, CORVUS TINGITANUS

. CARRION CROW,
CORVUS CORONE

218

2. HOODED CROW.
CORVUS CORNIX

CORVUS CORONE

(CARRION-CROW.)

Corvus cornix, Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 12 (1760).

Corvus corone, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766).

La Corbine ou Corneille notre, Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iii. p. 45 (1775).
Corvus subcorone, C. L. Brehm, Vg. Deutsch]. p. 167 (1831).

Corvus hiemalis, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 167 (1831).

Corvus assimilis, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 57 (1855). :

Corvus corone major, A. K. Brehm, Verz. Samm]. C. L. Brehm, p. 3 (1866).
Corvus corone minor, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corvus corone longirostris, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corvus corone brevirostris, A. K. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corvus corone subcorone, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corvus corone intercedens, A. K. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corvus corone assimilis, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corvus corone hiemalis, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corvus corone montanus, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Corvus pseudo-corone, A. O. Hume, Nests and Eggs of Ind. Birds, p. 410 (1874).

Crow, Carrion-Crow, English; Corneille noire, French; Gralha, Portuguese; Corbatilla,
Corneja negra, Spanish; Cornacchia nera, Italian; Kraai, Dutch; Kréhe, Krdhrabe,
schwarze Krihe, German; Sort Krage, Holstensk Krage, Ravne Krage, Danish; Chernaya
Vorona, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 483; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 2; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. pl. xi.;
Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 28. fig. 3; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 53. fig. 2; Gould, B. of
Eur. pl. 221; id. B. of G. Brit. iii. pl. 58; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 137; Roux, Orn.
Prov. pl. 130.

Ad. ater, corpore supra purpureo nitente: alis et caudd supra virescente purpureo nitentibus: corpore subtus
vix violaceo tincto: naribus densé setis tectis: caudaé rotundata.

Juv. adulto similis sed sordidior.

Adult Male (Aboyne, Scotland). Entire plumage jet-black, glossed, especially on the upper parts, with
purple, the wings and tail having a tinge of greenish purple in the gloss; tail slightly rounded ; nostrils
covered with thick bristly feathers, directed forwards; beak and legs shining black; iris brown. Total
length about 18 inches, culmen 2:3, height of bill at base 0°75, wing 12°8, tail 7:10, tarsus 2°30.

Female. Similar to the male.

o3 |

On

Se)

ew

2

Young. Resembles the adult, but duller in colour, lacking the purplish gloss which pervades the plumage
of the adult.

Obs. The present species being the last of the Crows of which I shall have to treat, I take the opportunity
of making a few remarks respecting its allies; and in so doing I omit the Jackdaws, as I shall treat of
them in the article on the common Jackdaw; nor do I include the various species which have not the
plumage black, or nearly black, as they are easily distinguishable by the different coloration of plumage.
The numbers given are those in Mr. G. R. Gray’s well-known ‘ Hand-list.’

6181. Corvus corar, lu. This species, the true Raven, having the neck-feathers lanceolate, is tolerably
widely distributed in Europe, Asia, and America, but does not occur in Africa.

6182. C. thibetanus, Hodgson, is C. corax, L.

6183. C. nobilis, Gould, and

6184. C. carnivorus, Bartr., are also C. corax, L.

6185. C. japonensis, Bp. (Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 886, 1850). Resembles our European Raven, but is smaller,
has a shorter wing, and the chin and upper throat are only covered with lanceolate feathers, which are
short ; the feathers on the neck are very soft in texture, like those in the American Crow. It inhabits
Eastern Siberia and Japan. Culmen 2°7-3:0 inches, height of bill at base 1:0-1:15, wing 13-0-14-1, tail
8:8-9°5, tarsus 2°3-2'4. :

6186. C. sinensis, Gould, MS. (Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. E. I. Co.’s Mus. p. 556, 1856). Of this species I
have examined one specimen from Foochow, in the collection of Mr. R. Swinhoe, which agrees closely
with his C. colonorum, and with examples of C. japonensis, except that it is smaller than the latter.
Judging from the specimens in the collection of Mr. Swinhoe, lent to me for examination, the three
forms (C. japonensis, C. sinensis, and C. colonorum) run into each other, the first being the largest and
the last the smallest: thus the specimen of C. sinensis, from Foochow, measures—culmen 2-7 inches,
height of bill at base 0-9, wing 12:5, tail 9:2, tarsus 2°3; whereas a specimen labelled by Mr. Swinhoe
C. colonorum, measures—culmen 2°5 inches, height of bill at base 0°9, wing 12°2, tail 8-6, tarsus 2-2.
Excepting in size these three forms do not differ from each other.

6187. C. culminatus, Sykes (PR. Z.S. 1832, p. 96). Resembles C. corone, L., but is somewhat larger, and
has a larger bill, and not so slender as that of C. corone, and the feathers on the sides of the neck are
softer. A specimen from Java, in Mr. Swinhoe’s collection, one from Lombock, in that of Canon
Tristram, and two from the Andamans, in Canon Tristram’s, and one in Mr. Swinhoe’s collection
agree closely with a specimen in my collection from Sikkim ; and I cannot, after a careful examination,
find any specific distinction. There is a trifling difference in the bill, as all these have the edge of the
upper mandible the merest trifle more arched than in the Sikkim specimen. I do not find in the Java
specimen that the down is white instead of grey, as noted by Schlegel (Corv. p. 9). Mr. Swinhoe’s
Lombock specimen measures—culmen 2°5, height of bill at base 0°85, wing 12:3, tail 7-5, tarsus 2°3;
and those from the Andamans measure—culmen 2’4, height of bill at base 0°88, wing 11°7-13°6, tail
7°5-8:0, tarsus 2°1-2°15.

6188. C. macrorhynchos, Temm. (apud Wagler, Syst. Av., Corvi, no. 8). Between this and C. culminatus 1
am unable to distinguish any specific difference.

6189. C. major, Vieill. This species is founded on Levaillant’s plate (Ois. d’Afr. pl. 51), which certainly
represents C. coraxv, but I greatly doubt if it was taken from an African-killed specimen.

6190. C. sinuatus, Wagl. (Isis, 1829, p. 748). This Raven is probably the common American Raven, which,
as above stated, is identical with our European bird. It may, however, be well to transcribe Wagler’s
original description, as follows :—“ Rostro maximo, maxille tomiis sinuatis, patulis, extrorsum flexis:
narium parte postica solum pilis obtecta: cauda conica ac tota reliqua ptilosi atris purpurino reniten-

3

tibus, colli antici plumis exceptis brunnescentibus, lanceolatis, integris: regione infra oculos nudi-
uscula, plumulis singulis piliformibus obsita: plumis colli postici diffractis rigidiusculis. Longitudo 25",
alz 16” 2'", tarsi 24", rectricis intermedi 94", extime fere 7", rostri a fronte 32”. Habitat in Mewico.”

6191. C. andamanensis, Tytler (Ibis, 1866, p. 420), is, judging from specimens I have examined, identical
with C. culminatus, Sykes.

6192. C. corone, L., is the common Crow of Europe. Full particulars as to its range are given below. ”

6193. C. cornix, L., is clearly recognizable by the entire back and underparts, except the throat, being
ashy or french grey. Full details as to its range are given in the present work.

6194. C. intermedius, Adams (P. Z.S. 1859, p.171). Judging from three specimens of this bird I have now
before me, I cannot see that it is separable from C. culminatus ; but a larger series would be necessary
to determine this satisfactorily. These three birds vary in measurements as follows—culmen 2°4-2°55;
height of bill at base 0°82-0°85, wing 12°5-13:0, tail 7°5-9-0, tarsus 2°1-2:25.

6195. C. australis, Gm. (Syst. Nat. 1. p. 365) (L. coronoides, Vig. & Horsf.), closely resembles our Euro-
pean C. corone, but is said to be on the average a trifle larger, and differs in always having the iris pure
white instead of brown. It inhabits Tasmania and Australia. A specimen in Canon Tristram’s col-
lection has the feathers on the throat much elongated and slightly lanceolate. A specimen in the
British Museum measures—culmen 2-4, wing 13°3, tail 7:0, tarsus 2°65.

6196. C. orru, S. Miller (apud Bp. Consp. i. p. 385), resembles C. corone, but has a somewhat larger bill,
and the feathering of the neck and throat resembles more that of C. culminatus and C. japonensis. 1
have before me one specimen, lent to me by Canon Tristram, which measures—culmen 2°5, height of
bill at base 0°82, wing 12:7, tail 7:4, tarsus 2°22.

6197. C. affinis, Riipp., is a very distinct small Raven, easily recognizable by its extremely long secondaries
and peculiarly erect bristles covering the nostrils. Full details respecting this species have already
been given. It inhabits North-east Africa and Palestine.

6198. C. americanus, Aud. This, the American representative of our common Crow, differs from it in having
the plumage of the head and neck soft and blended, the tips of the feathers not being pointed and
slightly lanceolate as in C. corone. It inhabits North America generally. Professor Baird considers
the Florida Crow a distinct form, and calls it C. americanus, var. floridanus. He says that it differs
in having the bill and feet larger, the tail less rounded; third, fourth, and fifth quills nearly equal ;
third rather longer than the fifth ; colours less violet above; wing 12:0, tail 7:7, tarsus 2°6.

6199. C. umbrinus, Hedenb., is recognizable by the brown tinge of the head and neck, in which it differs
from other species of Raven. Details respecting this species will be found in the present work. It
inhabits North-east Africa and Western Asia.

6200. C. ruficollis (Less. Traité d’Orn. i. p. 829, 1831; C. leptonyx, Peale). I confess I am at a loss to make
out what this bird can be. Were it not for the fact that it is said to have the head and entire under-
parts snuff-coloured, I should be inclined to believe that it is identical with Corvus tingitanus, especially
as this latter species has been brought from Teneriffe by Mr. Godman ; but, irrespective of that difference,
the shafts of the quills in C. ruficollis are stated to be barred and spotted with white on their inferior
surfaces. In the plate of this species (United States (Wilkes) Expl. Exp. Atl. Orn. pl. v.) the brown
coloration of the head and underparts is clearly shown. This plate was drawn from a female in the
Museum at Washington, obtained at Madeira, which Professor Cassin describes (op. cit. Orn. p. 117) as
follows :—“ Head and entire underparts glossy brown or snuff-coloured; upper parts, except the head,
shining purplish black, most lustrous on the back and coverts of the wing; feathers of the tail, on their
upper surface, with a bluish lustre on their outer, and greenish lustre on their inner webs; inferior
surfaces of the wings and tail brownish black, particularly observable on that of the latter; shafts of
the quills, on their inferior surfaces, brownish black, barred and spotted with white; tips of the feathers
on the flanks and under tail-coverts brownish black; bill and tarsi black. Total length 20 inches,

L

O34

4

extent 44, wing 15°6, tail 8:1, tarsus 2:45, middle toe with claw 1:9, claw 0°55, hind toe 1-6, hind claw

0°75, bill 2:4.” Lesson’s description was taken, Professor Cassin states, from a specimen obtained at

the Cape of Good Hope; and it is therefore possible that his C. ruficollis may be identical with

C. capensis, which has the head and neck tinged with brown, in which case C. leptonyx, Peale (Zool-

Expl. Exp. Vincennes, Birds, p. 105, 1848) will be the name for the present species, if distinct, as

Peale’s specimen was shot near Funchal, Madeira, where, he says, it was not uncommon. Lesson (I. c.)

does not state whence the specimen he describes was obtained ; and it may be as well to transcribe his

original description, which is as follows :—“ Bec assez élevé, téte et cou roussitre, tarses allongés et
queue longue.”

6201. Corvus frugilegus, 1. Our common Rook is, when in the adult plumage, distinguishable by the base
of the bill being devoid of feathers. It is more glossed with purple and steel-blue than the Crow, and
is also a smaller bird. Details as to its range have already been given. This species and C. pastinator
are the only ones which have the base of the bill denuded of feathers in the adult plumage.

6202. C. capensis, Licht. (Verz. Doubl. p. 20), is the South-African representative of our Rook, from
which it is said to differ in being larger, having a larger beak, the feathers on the throat bifurcate. It
inhabits South Africa. Its eggs differ greatly from those of our Rook, being light pink, blotched with
brownish pink.

6208. C. validissimus, Schl. (Note sur le genre Corvus, p. 12, pl. i. fig. 21, Bijd. tot de Dierk. 1858). This
species is stated by Schlegel to be larger than the Rook, with a much larger bill. It inhabits the
island of Halmahera.

6204. C. validus, Bp. (Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 385). Schlegel says that this species is smaller than the Rook ;
and he figures the beak as smaller. I have not had a specimen for examination. It inhabits Sumatra,
Borneo, and Timor.

6205. C. enca, Horsf. (Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 164). This species, for the loan of a specimen of which I
am indebted to Canon Tristram, somewhat resembles a young Rook, but is smaller and rather duller in
colour. Culmen 2:3 inches, height of culmen at base 0:7, wing 10-4, tail 6-0, tarsus 2:0. It inhabits Java.

6206. C. tenuirostris, Moore. Of this species, which is said to occur at Bombay, I have not had an oppor-
tunity of examining a specimen. It is said to approach very close to, if it is not identical with,
C. validus.

6207. C. philippinus, Bp. (Comp. Rend. 1853, p. 830; C. drevipennis, Schl.). Schlegel says that this species
is distinguishable by its very short wings from any of its allies. It is also dull in colour. It inhabits
the Philippines. Schlegel gives the measurements as follows—Total length 17 inches, wing 104, tail 6:0,
culmen 275, height of bill ?, tarsus 144.

6208. C. pastinator, Gould (P. Z. 8. 1845, p. 1), is a true Rook, but does not have the base of the bill so
much denuded of feathers as our Rook, from which it also differs in having the head and neck glossed
with purple and not with green. In measurements it varies imperceptibly from C. frugilegus. It
inhabits China and Japan.

6209. C. minor, Heugl. (Syst. Uebers, p. 35), is a small form of C. capensis. Schlegel gives the measure-
ments as follows—Wing 103 inches, tail 53, beak 14}, height of bill 75, tarsus 2}. It is found in
Arabia Petrzea and Nubia.

6210. C. agricola, Tristr., is C. frugilegus, L.

6211. C. colonorum, Swinhoe (Ibis, 1864, p. 427). Of this bird I have examined the specimens collected by
Mr. Swinhoe. It resembles C. sinensis, but is smaller, measuring—culmen 2°5 inches, height of bill at
base 0°9-0:95, wing 12:2-12°45, tail 8-5-8°6, tarsus 2°2-2°3. It imhabits China.

6212. Mr. G. R. Gray puts down the Crow from the Marianne Islands with a query as being an undescribed
species. Not having examined a specimen, I am unable to give an opinion as to whether this view is
correct or not.

5

6213. C. ossifragus, Wils. (Am. Orn. v. p. 27, 1812), is smaller in size than C. americanus, to which it
appoaches nearest ; the bill is broader at the base and tapers more; and the gloss on the belly is green
instead of violet, and the back is also glossed with green. Wing 10°5 inches, tail 6:5, culmen 1°55,
tarsus 1°65, being shorter than the middle toe and claw (fide Baird). It inhabits the Atlantic coast
from New Jersey to Florida.

6214. C. caurinus, Baird (B. of N. Am. p. 569, 1858), is smaller than C. americanus, but has the plumage
glossed as in that species, though deeper. Culmen 1:95, wing 10°5, tail 6:4, tarsus 1:7. It inhabits
the north-western coast of North America.

6215. C. jamaicensis, Gm. (Syst. Nat. i. p. 367). I do not possess a specimen of this bird, which Professor
Baird describes as follows :—‘“ Nostrils just covered by the short but dense tuft of nasal bristles ;
entirely dark sooty plumbeous inclining to black; on the head, wings, and tail there is a very faint
violaceous gloss. Wing 9°5 inches, tail 6°5, culmen 2:0, depth of bill 1°7, tarsus 2°05.” It inhabits
Jamaica.

6216. C. solitarius, P.v. Wirt. (Naum. il. 2. p. 55). I do not possess this species, which Schlegel describes
as resembling C. americanus but much less. He gives the measurements as—wing 92 inches, tail 52,
culmen 13, height of beak 3, tarsus 13. It inhabits Haiti.

6217. C. nasicus, Temm. (Pl. Col. 413). Professor Baird describes this species as “‘ entirely violaceous black ;
the feathers smoke-grey beneath the surface; nostrils scarcely concealed by the short nasal bristles.
Wing 11:0 inches, tail 7-75, culmen 2°45, depth of bill 0:8, tarsus 1°95.” It inhabits Cuba.

6218. C. minutus, Gundl. (J. f. O. 1856, p. 97). I have never seen a specimen of this bird; but Professor
Baird says that it appears to be nearly related to C. ossifragus. It inhabits Cuba.

6219. C. mexicanus, Gm. (Syst. Nat. i. p. 375). This Crow is very distinct from all others of this group,
being not only very small, but the plumage is as richly glossed with purple, violet, and bronze, and as
highly lustrous as that of a Grackle. According to Colonel Grayson (B. of W. and N.W. Mexico,
Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. il. p. 283) it appears to be confined to the north-western parts of Mexico,
bordering the sea-coast. He did not see it in Tehuantepec; but it was quite common at San Blas
and Santiago river. A specimen obtained at Mazatlan by J. Xantus, and now in Mr. O. Salvin’s
collection, measures—culmen 1°8 inch, height of bill at base 0:58, wing 9°9, tail 6:5, tarsus 1°65. I am
not quite sure if the present species is really the C. mexicanus of Gmelin; but it certainly is the species
referred to by Schlegel (Note sur le genre Corvus, p. 11, pl. i. fig. 25) under that name.

6220. C. leucognaphalus, Daud. (Tr. d’Orn. ii. p. 231). I do not possess a specimen of this bird, which is
stated by Professor Baird to be “ violaceous black, the feathers round the neck, on the breast, and sides
pure white below the surface. Wing 12°5 inches, tail 9:0, culmen 2°45, depth of bill 0°95, tarsus 2.15.”
It inhabits Porto Rico.

6221. C. erythrophthalmus, P. v. Wiirt. (Naum. 1852, ii. p. 54). This species is described as being unlike
C. americanus, larger than C. corone, and having a fiery red eye. It is a fruit-eating species, and is
gregarious, large flocks being seen. It inhabits Haiti.

6222. C. cryptoleucus, Couch (Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. vii. p. 66, April 1854). This species differs from the common
Raven merely in having the base of the feathers round the neck, on the back, and breast pure white.
Whether this should be considered sufficient to give it specific rank is, I think, somewhat doubtful, as I
observe that it is not very uncommon to find that the bases of the feathers on the neck, at least, are
white. I have examined a specimen of C. affinis in which this white is very much developed all round
the neck.

6223. “C. violaceus, Forsten, MS.” Bp. (Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 384). It is stated by Schlegel to resemble
C. enca, but is much smaller. It inhabits Ceram.

The above comprises all the Black Crows and Ravens that I know of, except one lately described by Colonel

Irby, which is undoubtedly a distinct species, viz. :—

L2

036

6

61814. C. tingitanus, Irby (Ibis, 1864, p. 264). A small form of Raven which inhabits North-west Africa
and has been also obtained at Teneriffe. Full particulars respecting this species will be found in the
present Work.

The following Table will show the variation in measurements of the various species of Ravens and Crows
found in the Western Palearctic Region :—

Height of bill. Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.
inch, inches. inches. inches. inches.
C, CORIBG so 5 5 6 Skane, Sweden. 1°15 3:2 16:0 9:5 2:5
35 Feeroes. 11 3:2 15°5 9:0 2°5
a Denmark. 11 3:7 16°2 10:1 2°65
oe Sr on Pn Fe Greenland. 1:15 374: 17:2 10°2 2°6
ne A pete Archangel, juv. 3:0 13°6 8:5 2°6
a hectare Sion Spain, d, 2. 1:00-1'1 3°00-3'1 16°2-16°7 9:7-— 9°8 2:50-2:65
35 ilies ik ne Sardinia, 3, ?. 1:05-1°15 3°25-3'3 16:7 9:5-10°0 2:60-2°7
7. Ne vere Jerusalem, 3. 1:15 3: 17:0 9:7 27
5 APE te Cashmere. 0:95 371 16:9 9:6 27
y Ae ne Ladak, 3, @. 0:90-1:15 3°10-3°4 17:0 10°4-10°6 2°30-2°6
ES Me eee Nepal. 11 37 18°5 115 29
ys Seadise (oy iets Texas. 1:05 3:0 16°6 10:0 2°75
a5 pales ES Mexico. 11 33 17-5 10°8 2:9
C. tingitanus . Tangier, 3, Q. 0:95-1-0 2°50-2°7 13°8-14:9 7°75-8°6 2°50-2°6
a ane Santa Cruz, ¢. 1:0 2:8 14°5 9°3 2:5
C.umbrinus. . . Palestine. 0:9 2°70-2'9 14°3-15°5 8:00-8°6 2°60-2°9
as HER Ce Egypt. 0-9 2°85 15:3 8:7 2:8
Ch GTB. co «1 « Palestine. 0°85 25 14:5 6°4 2:45
C. corone. . . . Aboyne, Scotland. 0°75 2°3 12°8 74 2:3
a5 ui Cees Bushey, Herts. 0°72 2°25 12°9 7:0 2:28
Hy oc o o o (Gren, Shamim go Ory 2:0 12:0 74 2:28
>» - - + . Nowchow,China,?. 0:75 2°2 12°35 7:0 2:28
55 ab amastey ieee Hakodadi, Japan. 0°72 2°2 12°5 8:4 es}
OC, COP 0. 5 -0 Europe. 0:72-0°75 2°2-2°3 12°5-13°0 7:°50-8:2 2:28-2:35
a5 uate Kgypt. 0:70-0:72 2:0-2:2 12:1-12°2 7°50-7°7 2:2-2°3

THE common Crow is found over the entire Palearctic Region, from the extreme west to Japan
and China; but its range is peculiar, as in some parts it is entirely replaced by C. cornix, which
in others it again in turn replaces.

In Great Britain it is tolerably common in the southern counties of England, being rarer as
one approaches Scotland, where it is, to a large extent, replaced by the Hooded.Crow, though
both species are found in that country, and, as below stated, not unfrequently interbreed.
Mr. Robert Gray says (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 172), “throughout the mainland of Scotland
generally the Carrion-Crow and Hooded Crow are found in about the same numbers. In
autumn I have seen very large flocks of both in the north of Banffshire assembled together
in the open fields, and examining the heaps of manure that had been laid down previous to the
land being ploughed. In September 1866 I observed upwards of 100 of each in a field near the

7

sea at Findlater Castle, overlooking the Moray Firth; they were comparatively tame, and allowed
me to approach within 20 yards. Having in former years seen similar flocks alighting on the
coast of Dunbar, in Haddingtonshire, I conjectured that they were migratory flocks and had
just arrived from Norway and Sweden. Judging, however, from the comparatively limited
numbers that are found breeding in the eastern counties, I suspect that on the breaking up of
these flocks numbers return to the counties from which they had migrated.” Mr. Dewar
informed Mr. More that he had seen it in the Outer Hebrides during the breeding-season ;
but Dunn states that it neither occurs in the Orkneys nor in Shetland. In Ireland it is found
comparatively rarely, being much less common than in England.

It does not occur in Greenland; and it appears very doubtful if it has ever been met with in
Iceland; but on the Feeroes it is said to occur, though rarely. It has not been recorded from any
part of Norway; and though said to have been met with some years ago in Sweden, I am
informed by Mr. Meves that all the older records of its occurrence in that country are open to
grave doubts; but Rector Bruzelius wrote to him that on the 8th August, 1873, one was shot
on the coast close to Ystad, and is now in the Gymnasium Museum there. Mr. Meves doubts
if it has ever been found breeding in Sweden, and thinks that the egg referred to by Nathusius
(J. f. O. 1874, pp. 12 & 25, no. 4) did not come from that country. I never saw it in Finland
during the time I lived there; and Alexander von Nordmann states (J. f. O. 1864, p. 365) that
he only once saw an individual of this species consorting with Hooded Crows, on the 4th June,
1856, near Kexholm.

In Russia it appears to be far rarer than the Hooded Crow, but is met with as far north as
Archangel. Sabandeff says that it is rare in the interior of Russia; he observed it twice in the
province of Jaroslaf. He also met with it once in the Pavdinska Dacha, in the Ural; but it has
been observed in the Perm Government in various parts. Teplouhoff shot two in the Perm
district. According to Eversmann it occurs rarely in the Government of Kazan, and it has been
met with in that of Orenburg. As before stated, it occurs in Jaroslaf; and Falk met with it in
the province of Isetsk.

In North Germany it is much rarer in the eastern than in the western parts, the Elbe being
about the dividing line between it and Corvus corniz, this latter being common to the eastward,
whereas C. corone is the species found breeding to the westward. Mr. Benzon informs me that
“it occurs sporadically in all the Danish provinces, but is on the whole a rare bird, though
common enough in the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, in which former district it is found
together with our common Hooded Crow, with which it occasionally breeds, and produces hybrids;
but in Denmark,” he adds, “ these latter are exceedingly rare, and I possess but one specimen, a
male shot in February this year (1875) in South Seeland.” This bird Mr. Benzon describes as
haying the head, neck, and throat jet-black; the wings, back, and tail black, with metallic gloss,
and on the back of the neck and shoulders intermixed with grey; abdomen grey; under tail-
coyerts black, with dark grey margins; tail rounded, the outer feathers shorter than the closed
wings; bill equal in length to the middle toe (56 millims.); total length 50 centimetres; bill
and legs black; iris dark brown. Mr. Carl Sachse informed me that it is common and resident
near Altenkirchen, in Rhenish Prussia, but is more numerous in the spring and autumn than at
other seasons, as large numbers pass and repass to and from their breeding-haunts. It breeds

O37

o

9
e)

8

near Altenkirchen in March. In Belgium, Luxemburg, and Holland it is common and resident,
being found both on the shores and inland. Mr. Labouchere assures me that these shore-
frequenting Crows never place their nests on trees, but build on the ground, which would
appear to be a curious circumstance should it prove to be the rule and not exceptional. It
arises, he says, from the fact that trees are scarce in these localities.

Throughout France it is a common resident, and appears to_be, to a large extent, a winter
resident in the southern provinces, though it is stated by Baron J. W. von Miiller to breed in
some parts of Provence. In Portugal it is stated by Professor Barboza du Bocage to be
uncommon; but in Spain, Mr. Saunders says (Ibis, 1871, p. 221), it is resident throughout the
year, being tolerably abundant. Dr. Brehm, however, did not personally observe it when
collecting in Spain. Passing eastward, again, I find it recorded by Bailly as being common in
Savoy during the greater portion of the year, though some leave during the winter It does not,
however, breed in Lombardy; and Savi speaks of it as being very rare in Tuscany. Doderlein
considers it to be rare in the Modenese, and records a solitary example as having recently been
obtained near Naples. It appears to be very doubtful as to whether it occurs in Sicily, as none
of the Sicilian naturalists have obtained it, and its occurrence rests solely on the authority of
Malherbe. Both Von der Miihle and Lindermayer speak of it as a permanent resident in
Greece; on the coast vast flocks retire to roost on the rocky islands, and so soon as the day
breaks they return to the mainland for the day.

It occurs in Southern Germany, being, according to Dr. A. Fritsch (J. f. O. 1871, p. 203),
common in the mountains of Bohemia, but is not found in the lowlands, nor could he obtain a
specimen from near Prague. Mr. Stejneger speaks of it (J. f. O. 1871, p. 123) as being very
abundant in the southern parts of Tyrol. Mr. Seidensacher informed me that it winters in
Styria, but that he never found it breeding there; and the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen says
that it occurs in Southern Austria. Dr. Otto Finsch speaks of it as being very common in the
lowlands of Bulgaria; and I have seen it in Wallachia and Servia; but Messrs. Elwes and
Buckley say that they never observed it in Turkey.

In Southern Russia it is stated by Von Nordmann to be not uncommon, and in the provinces
skirting the eastern side of the Black Sea more numerous than C. corniz. It also occurs in the
Caucasus; but Canon Tristram never observed it in Palestine; nor does it appear to occur in
North-east Africa, being there replaced by C. cornix.

In North-west Africa, however, it is said by Loche to be common in the wooded portions of
Algeria, though later ornithologists do not confirm this statement, and it is possible that his
remarks refer to C. tingitanus, which is common there. Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt-Drake states that
he met with it in Tangier and Eastern Morocco, where, he says (Ibis, 1867, p. 428), it is “ very
common.” Dr. H. Dohrn includes it in his list of birds occurring in the Cape-Verd Islands
(J. f.0. 1871, p. 5); but it does not seem to have been met with in Madeira or the Canaries.

To the eastward the range of the common Crow extends as far as Japan; but it does not
occur in the southern portion of Asia. Mr. Blanford did not meet with it in Persia, and says
that it appears to be unknown there. It is, however, recorded from India by Dr. Jerdon, who
inserts it in his ‘ Birds of India’ (ii. p. 295) on the authority of Dr. Adams, who says that it is
common in Cashmere. Mr. W. E. Brooks found it breeding in Cashmere ; but it appears to be

8

rare, as Mr. A. O. Hume states (/. ¢.) that, besides the one specimen brought back from
Cashmere by Mr. Brooks, he has only obtained two examples. Severtzoff records it from
Turkestan, where it breeds but is on the whole a rare bird.

Its range in Siberia appears rather peculiar; for Middendorff remarks that whereas the
Hooded Crow is common west of the Lena, it is replaced by the present species east of that
river; and on the west side Corvus corone does not seem to have been met with by him. Pallas
(Zoogy. R.-A. i. p. 831) says that it is rare in Southern and Temperate Russia, but occurs in
Eastern Siberia to Kamtchatka. In Eastern Siberia both the Japanese Crow (C. japonensis) and
the present species are found. Of this latter species Dr. Radde observed large flocks passing the
Tarei-nor on migration on the 15th April, and in the Bureja Mountains the time of migration
is about the 18th April. In the Transbaikal region he found it not uncommon on the main
roads in company with Corvus gaponensis. Mr. Swinhoe has obtained C. corone in China; and I
have examined a specimen from Hakodadi, in Japan, which agreed closely with our British bird.
Here, as in China, there are, however, allied forms differing sufficiently to entitle them to
specific rank. In America C. corone is replaced by C. americanus and other allied species.

Of all birds that are held by the farmer and the game-preserver in bad repute, none,
perhaps, deserves its bad name more than the Carrion-Crow. A bold and “unsparing robber,
and cunning and wary as he is impudent and voracious, he is everywhere looked on with
disfavour. In the more cultivated portions of our islands the Carrion-Crow has been so success-
fully persecuted that it is but, comparatively speaking, rarely to be met with, though in those
portions of the United Kingdom where it has some chance of escaping destruction it is still
common enough. In the more unfrequented parts of Scotland, where the moors are extensive,
and where the shepherds have their flocks scattered over a tolerably large tract, the Crow plays
sad havoc amongst the game, and not unfrequently destroys the young lambs. It is an arrant
ege-stealer, and will carefully examine the nests of almost all the smaller birds, as well as the
Grouse, Partridges, &c., and devour the eggs; nor are wild Ducks and water-birds free from
its marauding proclivities in case it discovers their nests, and Mr. Weir records an instance of a
Carrion-Crow, being suddenly frightened when flying over his head, dropping a wild Duck’s egg
which it had been carrying whole in its bill, When in the neighbourhood of a farmyard it will
steal the eggs which the hens may lay in the hedges on the outskirts of the homestead; and any
duckling or chicken that may wander away from the mother has but little chance should a
Carrion-Crow happen to be near. Young hares and rabbits are frequently taken by the Crows ;
and it is said that several will collect and attack a ewe when, in the pains of labour, she has
retired to some out-of-the-way place; and, watching the time when the poor beast is least
able to repel the attack, they will kill her as well as the lamb; or even when the lamb has
been produced, and the ewe has tenderly cleaned it, they will watch their opportunity and
attack the lamb, frequently killing it. If any large fish be cast up on the shore, or where there
is a piece of carrion, the Crow is almost sure to be met with; but not only will it feed on flesh,
&c., but (for scarcely any thing comes amiss to its ravenous maw) it does not disdain to pick
amongst refuse heaps, and follows the herds of swine when driven to pasture to search for refuse
grains of corn, and is said to be especially fond of hunting about for undigested portions of
potatoes in localities where that vegetable forms a staple article of food. It frequents the

O39

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slaughter-houses, and is exceedingly daring and impudent in stealing any pieces of meat that
are thrown out. Entrails are its especial delight; and I have often watched several tugging and
tearing at a lot of half-rotten entrails that have been cast out as useless. It will sometimes
dispute with the smaller species of Hawks for their prey, and even take their quarry from them.
Pastor Snell states that several together have been known to drive a Goshawk off from its prey.
During the winter-season, when deep snow covers the ground, the Crows often undergo great
privations, and are then compelled to feed on berries. Pastor Snell states that they then eat
the berries of the dog-rose (Rosa canina), of the thorn (Crategus oxyacantha), and of the rowan
(Sorbus aucuparia), and when driven by hunger will come to the poultry-yards and dispute with
the poultry and pigeons for the food thrown out to them. :

Unlike the Rook, the Crow is rather a solitary bird, except where there is a good supply of
food, when several may be seen in company. Its flight is direct and usually not very swift,
being performed by regular flaps of the very fully outstretched wings; but when urging forward,
it can fly at a considerable speed. It walks with ease, like the Raven; and its cry or croak is
something like the note of that bird, but clearer, and neither so loud nor so harsh. It breeds early
in the year, about the same time as the Raven, and places its nest in a tree or sometimes in the
rocks, usually in a place somewhat difficult of access. The nest is bulky, constructed externally
of sticks and twigs generally in a half-rotten state; and the internal portion is first composed of
slender twigs carefully interlaced, the larger interstices being filled up with fresh mould; and
then the inner lining is constructed of wool and hair, or sometimes a little moss is added; at
least I have found this latter in one or two nests I have examined. ‘The eggs, from four to six
in number, are oval, somewhat elongated in shape, in ground-colour pale bluish green or dull
blue-green with an olive tinge, and are more or less spotted and blotched with purplish grey
underlying shell-markings and light or dark brown surface-blotches, some being very closely
marked, whereas others are but slightly spotted. In size they are similar to those of the
common Hooded Crow.

In the article on the Hooded Crow I referred to the fact that in localities where both
species occur they not unfrequently interbreed; and I then stated that all the young hybrid
birds which I had seen bore a resemblance to both parents, having the characteristics of a true
hybrid. This, however, is not always the case, as is clearly demonstrated by Mr. J. Lumsden,
jun., to whom I am indebted for the following notes :— On the 18th of April this year (1874),
our gamekeeper told me that he had on the previous day found a Crow’s nest in a high Scotch
fir on the edge of a moor, and had seen both old birds flying about, one being, he was quite sure,
a grey Crow, and the other a black one. Having got this information I started off with him at
once to see the nest. As we got within two gunshots of the tree the old female (Hooded Crow)
flew off and rose croaking above our heads. She was at once joined by the male (Carrion-Crow) ;
and as the two birds flew round us I could distinctly see that the keeper was right—that the
one bird was grey, and the other black. After this I visited the nest every few days, and had
frequent opportunities of identifying the birds. At first the female was very wild and left the
nest long before we were within shot of her, but always soared above us in circles, getting higher
and higher each time, her cries bringing the male—who invariably came in the same direction,
over the shoulder of the hill at the foot of which the tree with the nest stood. After she had

11

been sitting for some time, however, the hen became much tamer and would not leave the nest
till the tree was struck with a stick. At this time also we noticed that the male bird was shyer,
and could only see him in the distance. When the young came out she laid down eggs and
rabbit’s entrails near the nest; and when watching at some distance we observed that both the
-old birds fed the young.” Mr. Lumsden sent both parent birds with the four young ones to me
for examination, having succeeded in securing the whole family; and when I have done with
them they will, in accordance with his desire, be deposited in the British Museum. The male
bird is an ordinary Carrion-Crow; and the female, which at the first glance appeared to be a
Hooded Crow, is, I find on closer examination, a hybrid, though approaching nearer to the
Hooded than to the Carrion-Crow in coloration of plumage. Two of the young birds closely
resemble the mother, whereas the other two are to all appearance ordinary Carrion-Crows,
exhibiting none of the characters of both species which I find in other hybrids.

Some most interesting notes respecting the interbreeding of C. corone and C. cornix are
published by the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen in the ‘Journ. fiir Orn.’ 1869, p. 240. In this
instance the male bird was a Hooded Crow, and the female was a Carrion-Crow. All four young
birds were taken; and he remarks that one was quite black, whereas the other three resembled
C. cornix, but had the grey portions of the plumage intermixed with black. He adds that in
the Arnsdorfer district, in Southern Austria, where these young birds were bred, it is almost
impossible to obtain a pure-plumaged Corvus cornix, as all are intermediate between that species
and C. corone, some being quite black, excepting that there are a few grey patches or spots in
the plumage. This would, I think, tend to show that Corvus cornix is being gradually out-
numbered by C. corone, and is by degrees becoming extinct in that particular district.

The nest and eggs of the Carrion-Crow closely resemble those of the Hooded Crow; and in
a series of eggs of both species I cannot trace any difference, except that the eggs of each vary
somewhat inter se, as do the eggs of all their allies.

The specimen figured, on the same Plate with Corvus cornizx, is an adult bird in my col-
lection, from Aboyne, in Scotland. On an extra, uncoloured Plate, are also figured the heads
of Corvus corax, C. umbrinus, C. tingitanus, C. affinis, and C. corone, and small figures of
C. tingitanus (which has the wings as in C. corax) and C. affinis, so as to show the deep secon-
daries and long wing of the latter compared with the other Ravens.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, b, , 2. Aboyne, Scotland (J. Walters). c, pull. Belgium (Dubois).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, d,b, 2. Zegri, Granada, March. c. Sparham, Norfolk, May 1873.

E Mus. J. Inmsden, jun.
a, 6. Dumbartonshire, June 4th, 1874 (J. L.).

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.

a, 2. Nowchow, February 1868 (R. S.). 6, 2. Hakodadi, Japan, October 22nd, 1866 (Whitely).
M

O41

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CORVUS CORNIX.

(HOODED CROW.)

Corvus cornix, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 156 (1766).

Corone cornix (L.), Kaup, Nat. Syst. p. 99 (1829).

Corvus cornia cegyptiaca, A. K. Brehm, Journ. fiir Orn. 1853, Extraheft, p. 97.
Corvus subcornix, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 57 (1855).
Corvus tenuirostris, id. ut supra (1855).

Corvus cinereus, id. ut supra (1855).

Royston Crow, Hooded Crow, Hoodie, English; Frannag, Gaelic; Corbeau mantelé, Corneille
mantelée, French; Nebelkréhe, German; Corronca, Cornacchia, Mulacchia, Ytalian; Graa
Krage, Danish; Kraake, Norwegian; Kraka, Gra Kraka, Swedish.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 76; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 3; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. xi. ;
Frisch, Vog. Deutschl. pl. 65; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. pl. 28. fig. 1; Sundevall, Sv. Fog]. pl. xx.
fig. 2; Gould, B. of Kur. pl. 22; id. Birds of G. B. iii. pl. lix.; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl.
taf. 54. fig. 1; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl.

$ ad. coracino-niger ceruleo et violaceo refulgens: collo postico et lateraliter, dorso et abdomine griseis:
supracaudalibus nonnullis medialiter nigris vel nigris griseo marginatis: rostro et pedibus nigris:
iride fusca.

2 ad. mari similis sed paullo minor.

Adult Male (Seeland, Denmark, 17th May). Head, throat (excepting the sides), down to and including the
upper part of the breast, wings, and tail glossy black, with blue and violet reflections; back and sides
of the neck, back and underparts, except as before stated, ashy grey; some of the upper tail-coverts
with the centre of the feather violet-black, others almost entirely black, the upper ones, however, being
ashy grey; feathers at the end of the tibia black; legs and beak black ; iris dark brown. Total length
19 inches, culmen 2:2, wing 12°6, tail 7:8, tarsus 2°4.

Female (Copenhagen, 12th February). Similar in plumage to the male, but with rather less black on the
fore part of the neck, and smaller in size, measuring—culmen 2°71, wing 12°2, tail 7-6, tarsus 2°3.

Tue Hooded Crow is found throughout Europe, much commoner in the eastern than in the

western portions of the continent, Northern Africa, and Northern and Central Asia, eastward

to Kultuk, in Eastern Siberia. In Great Britain it is commoner in the north than in the

southern counties. Mr. A. G. More (Ibis, 1865, p. 133) writes respecting its distribution

during the breeding-season as follows:—“ Mr. Laver, of Colchester, has informed Dr. C. R. Bree
H

043

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2

that the ‘Dun Crow’ occurs in great numbers near the Blackwater river in Essex, and some
remain and breed there every year. Mr. Laver has frequently seen and taken the nest on Osey
Island, in the parish of Steeple, on Romsay Island, and at Paglesham. His cousin, Mr. Robert
Laver, has shot the old bird from the nest, which is generally that of the Carrion-Crow.”
Dr. Bree has since written to say that the trees in which the Hooded Crow used to breed have
been cut down in one of the localities whence he kindly endeavoured to obtain specimens.
Messrs. Gurney and Fisher mention a pair having once nested near King’s Lynn in 1806.
There is reason to believe that the Hooded Crow breeds occasionally in North Wales, where the
birds have been seen so late as May. ‘The Hooded Crow has been known to breed at Scarborough

_ on two or three occasions. A bird which bred at Hackness is still preserved in the Scarborough

Museum.

Mr. Selby marks the Hooded -Crow as breeding occasionally in Northumberland; and
Mr. J. P. Crellin reports it as breeding annually in the Isle of Man. ‘The bird breeds through-
out Scotland, becoming more abundant northwards.

In the neighbourhood of Glasgow Mr. R. Gray describes the Hooded Crow as constantly
pairing with the Carrion-Crow, and says this is the rule, rather than the exception; and in
Rennie’s ‘ Field Naturalist’ (1833, p. 279) Mr. Blyth records that ‘the same observation has been
made near Inverness. ‘This circumstance is greatly in favour of the opinion that the two birds
are races of the same species.” In Scotland, according to Macgillivray, “it is very abundant in
most parts of the northern and middle divisions of Scotland and its islands, but becomes rarer as
we advance southward ;” and Mr. Robert Gray (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 173) writes that it is found
in the inner group of islands, and also in the Outer Hebrides, including the remoter rocks and
St. Kilda, and is there permanently resident, existing in many places in such numbers as to prove
a great nuisance both to the farmer and game-preserver. Dunn says that it is a constant resident
in Shetland and Orkney, where it builds in rocky cliffs, and frequently on the rocky tops of hills,
which are by no means difficult of access. In Ireland, according to Thompson (B. of I. i. p. 310),
“it is common and resident in all quarters of the island. In the north and east it has come
under my observation at every period of the year, and is fully as numerous in summer as at any
other time. At this season, too, 1 have remarked the bird as common in the west and south ;
and my correspondents there agree in noticing it as a resident species.”

It does not appear to have ever occurred in Greenland; but, according to Professor Newton,
it occasionally pays a visit to Iceland, though it does not inhabit that country. Faber saw some
in the north in July and August 1819. It is common and resident in the Feeroes, and is also
exceedingly numerous in Scandinavia, being found there from the southern provinces up into the
high north. Mr. Collett records it as common throughout Norway, up beyond the Russian
frontier, on the fells, ranging into the birch region, and being in the northern provinces more
numerous on the islands than inland.

Sundeyall (Sv. Fogl. p. 119) says that there is scarcely a part of Sweden where it is not
common. It is found at the North Cape, on Mageré, at Hammerfest, and in Lapland, as far
as the conifer growth extends. Except in the high north it is a resident, but in Lapland isa
migrant. In most localities in Norrland and in some parts of Southern Sweden, as for instance
in Smaland, it leaves the interior and frequents the coast in the winter. It winters even in

3

Skellefte, and possibly further up the coast. In Finland I found it common in every part of the
country; and it is equally numerous throughout Northern Russia, and, so far as I can ascertain,
also in the Baltic Provinces and Poland. It is found in Northern Germany; and, according to
Borggreve, the ranges of the present species and Corvus corone are to some extent divided by the
Elbe; on the east side the former is found breeding, and on the west side the latter. In the
localities where C. corone is met with breeding (as for instance in the Rhine territory and
Westphalia), C. cornix is a regular winter visitant. In Oberlausitz (fide Tobias), Anhalt
(Baldamus), the left side of the Elbe, north of Magdeburg (Borggreve), and the right side,
south of Schwerin (v. Preen), both species are found breeding. According to Gloger, specimens
intermediate between the two are rare on the boundary of their ranges; but Von Preen and
Tobias state that hybrids and all intermediate stages are common. Count C. Wodzicki found
it common in the woods near villages in Polish Galicia; but it does not go up the mountains to
any great altitude. Mr. Carl Vangerow (J. f. O. 1855, p. 185) speaks of it as being common in
Brandenburg, frequenting the woods in summer, and the towns and villages in the winter. It is
said by Mr. R. Blasius not, as a rule, to breed in Brunswick, but only to pass the winter there ;
and Dr. E. Rey informs me that “it breeds but rarely near Halle, in Saxony, but is common
in the Dessau territory, where, again, it is rarer during the winter than in the former locality.”
Pastor Jackel (J. f. O. 1854, p. 488) records it as numerous throughout the winter in Bavaria,
arriving there early in October, and he saw one there as late as the 4th of May. It is common
in Denmark, and in the parts of Germany bordering on the North Sea, as also in Holland. In
Belgium it is found from October to March; but Baron de Selys-Longchamps remarks that it
is very partial to certain districts, whereas others, apparently similar, are scarcely visited by
it. In Luxemburg and, according to Degland and Gerbe, throughout Northern France it is
abundant during the winter; but in Languedoc, Provence, and Dauphiné it is of somewhat
rare occurrence. It is questionable whether it has occurred in Portugal; and Mr. Howard
Saunders informs me that “in Southern Spain it seems to be rare, as I have only seen two
specimens, and in Catalonia and the Eastern Pyrenees only a few individiduals occasionally
make their appearance amongst the flocks of the black species. ‘The Catalan peasants regard
it as a very old Crow, and call it Gord calvo.” Mr. A. von Homeyer records it, however (J. f. O.
1862, p. 252) as found in Majorca in scattered pairs, and he obtained its nest there at the end
of April.

Passing eastward, again, I find it, according to Bailly, rare in Savoy, even during the time of
migration ; and none remain to nest in that part of the Alps. It is also rare in Switzerland; but
M. Olph-Galliard (J. f. O. 1860, p. 234) records one as having been killed in the Canton
Freiburg. According to Savi and Salvadori this species is abundant and resident throughout
Italy ; and Bettoni figures it amongst the birds which breed in Lombardy. Doderlein mentions
its abundance in Modena, and adds that it is common and resident in Sicily, more especially in
the interior of the island. It does not appear to have been met with in Malta, as it is not
included in Mr. C. A. Wright’s list of the birds of that island. It is, however, found in Greece;
and Lord Lilford (Ibis, 1860, p. 135) records it as “an occasional winter visitor in Epirus,” where
he “observed it near Prevesa in March 1857. Common on the coast of Albania proper in

December; abundant in Montenegro in August. Apparently quite unknown in Corfu;” and
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Count von der Miihle states (Orn. Griechenl. p. 53) that it is a resident in Greece, and has been
observed at Lamia, Patras, and near Athens; but Lindermayer denies this, and says (Vog.
Griechenl. p. 70) that he only found it in Attica during the winter, and that it arrives in
November and leaves in March; but further on he says that he believes that it breeds in
Northern Greece. Erhardt says that it is resident on the Cyclades; and Dr. Kriiper states
(J. f. O. 1863, p. 404) that it breeds on the rocky shores of Naxos, where he obtained its eggs,
and found three young birds in a nest placed in a cleft about five feet from the grouud. It also
breeds, he states, in Santorin, Myconos, and Paros.

In Southern Germany it is common in Bohemia; and according to Fritsch (J. f. O. 1869,
p. 203) it is the predominating species in Central Bohemia, as Corvus corone is either very rare
or is not found at all. It is found in Austria; and I saw it often when in Hungary, and took its
nest in Wallachia, not far from the Hungarian frontier. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley record it
(Ibis, 1870, p. 189) as common in Turkey; and Professor von Nordmann states that it is common
in South Russia everywhere, especially in Imeritia and Ghouriel, where the immense flocks do
great damage to the maize-fields. Mr. Goebel (J. f. O. 1870, p. 190) records it as common in
the Uman district, Southern Russia, throughout the year, its numbers being, however, increased
during the winter by arrivals from the north. Mr. Jacovleff records it as extremely numerous
at the mouth of the Volga; and in the streets of Astrachan they are so tame that they will take
food out of the hand, and are extremely useful as scavengers. It is not unfrequently to be seen
fishing, and in the winter attends the fishermen and picks up the small fish which they throw
away. Most of them leave Astrachan during the breeding-season. Sabaniaeff records it as rare
in the Ural; and Dr. G. Radde (J. f. O. 1854, p. 62) found it extremely abundant in Southern
Bessarabia, and rarer in the Crimea than in Germany; but it is found in small flocks in the
Tartar villages.

Canon Tristram met with it in Palestine, and writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 64) as follows:—* We
met with the Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix) at Jenin (Engannim), a day’s journey south of
Nazareth; and neither in winter nor summer did we find it further north...... It is curious
that this bird, merely a winter visitant to all except the more northerly portions of the British
Isles, should be sedentary not only in Southern Syria, but also in Egypt, and that in the north
of Palestine it should be, if present at all, at any rate very scarce. It is given by Russell as
inhabiting the neighbourhood of Aleppo. There were a few pairs at Jenin, which roosted among
the palm trees, where we obtained them as they were returning home in the evening. In the
district about Nablous they were scarce, but more numerous at Jerusalem, living there in society
with Ravens and Rooks, but not nearly so abundant as the other Corvide. We never saw them
in the southern wilderness, or in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea; but on crossing to the other
side of Jordan, the C. cornix was widely distributed over the highlands and open plains of Moab,
and in the southern and eastern portions of Gilead, not loving the thick forests, but resorting
chiefly to open plains, where a few terebinth trees occasionally varied the landscape.” Hemprich
and Ehrenberg obtained it in Syria ; and it is common and resident in North-east Africa. Captain
Shelley (B. of Eg. p. 159) says that it “is the Common Crow of Egypt, but in Nubia it is less
plentiful. It begins breeding towards the end of February, when its nest may be procured in
almost every clump of sont.” Mr. E. C. Taylor also records it (Ibis, 1869, p. 66) as “very

5

abundant wherever there are trees, consequently not at Suez, where there are none. Breeds in
February and March. When I was trying to stalk a Buteo ferox, or any other large raptorial
bird, these Crows seemed to take a pleasure in attacking and driving it away just before I got
within shot. Indeed they persecute and bully all the large birds in. the country, except Corvus
umbrinus, of which they are afraid.” Von Heuglin (Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 504) says that it is common
at all seasons of the year, but it does not range far to the south, only to about 23° N. lat.
Dr. Leith Adams records it as rare in Nubia; and Von Hartmann (J. f. O. 1863, p. 238) did not
observe it beyond Assuan. ‘The specimens from Egypt differ somewhat from others, obtained in
Northern Europe, in being rather smaller in size, and in having the grey portions of the plumage
slightly shaded with brown; but this latter difference is scarcely perceptible. The average size
of my northern specimens is—culmen 2°05, wing 12:7, tail 8:15, tarsus 2:35; whereas the two
examples from Egypt in Captain Shelley’s collection measure—culmen 2:2 and 2-0, wing 12:1
and 12:2, tail 7°7, tarsus 2:4 and 2:2 respectively.

In Western Africa it is rare, and is recorded by Loche as only of accidental occurrence in
Algeria amongst flocks of C. corone; and he states that it does not breed there.

It does not appear to have occurred on Madeira, where, however, the Common Crow was
met with by Vernon Harcourt.

In Asia it extends as far eastward as the Lena, eastward of which Von Middendorff only
met with C. corone. Messrs. Dickson and Ross (P. Z. S. 1839, p. 33) obtained it in January at
Erzeroom, and state that it arrives there in that month and leaves in March; Mr. Blanford
obtained it in Persia; Messrs. Horsfield and Moore (Cat. B. E. I. Co. Mus. ii. p. 553) record it
from Mesopotamia and Afghanistan; and Dr. Gustav Radde (Reise im Siid. von O. Sib. p. 210)
writes that he never met with Corvus cornix in Southern Siberia, but on the eastern slope of the
Ural large flocks, both of that species and C. corone, were observed ; Von Middendorft (Sib. Reise,
p- 160) observed one at Jenisejsk amongst a lot of common Crows, and was assured that in
Turuchansk both species are equally common, and that at Goroschinskoje, in the arctic circle,
both, but especially C. corone, arrived late in March to breed. On the Lena and eastward of
that river he only met with Corvus corone. Dr. Dybowski records it (J. f. O. 1872, p. 454) from
Kultuk, in Eastern Siberia, where he saw a single one in a flock of Carrion-Crows.

In its habits the Hooded Crow does not differ from its close relative the Carrion-Crow, and
is quite as impudent and thievish as that bird. It has an exceedingly bad reputation, and not
without reason ; for I can say but little, if any thing, in its favour, except that, being exceedingly
omnivorous, it acts as an excellent scavenger, and soon disposes of any garbage that can be eaten,
especially the entrails or offal thrown out from slaughter-houses. Amongst game- and sea-birds
it makes great havoc, and destroys great numbers of their eggs, besides picking up the young
birds whenever it gets a chance; nor is the poultry-yard free from intrusion, as it displays the
utmost wariness in its raids, and generally manages to pick up a few chickens with tolerable
impunity, in spite of all the precautions taken by the farmer. No bird is quite safe against the
attacks of this unscrupulous and daring marauder; and even the Golden and Sea Eagles fre-
quently lose their eggs. Dr. Dewar informed Mr. Robert Gray (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 173) that
in 1870 “three eggs at least were carried off by Hooded Crows, which were seen waiting an
opportunity for making a descent on the nest. In one case the Eagle had no sooner quitted her

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eyrie than the Crows pounced on the exposed eggs, and would doubtless have succeeded in
breaking them had not the male Eagle made his appearance and beaten them off. Captain
Cameron, of Glenbrittle, has also informed me that he has seen a pair of Grey Crows rifle a
Sea-Eagle’s nest and break and devour the eggs as determinedly as if they were those of some
innocent Grouse.” Enormous numbers of sea-fowl’s eggs are destroyed by Hooded Crows, who
watch and pounce down on them directly the old bird leaves them. When egg-collecting on the
shores of the Baltic I was frequently attended by Crows, who took advantage of our intrusion to
secure a share of the spoil, but were quite cunning enough to keep well out of gunshot range.
They devour larger eggs, such as those of Ducks, Guillemots, or Gulls, at the nest or close
to where they have been deposited, but will carry off smaller eggs to their own nests; and
Mr. Meves remarks (J. f. O. 1869, p. 391) on the large number of shells of the eggs of the
Redshank, Reeve, Dunlin, Lapwing, and Ring-Plover which he found on the ground under the
nests of this species. Mr. R. Collett, writing respecting its habits in Norway, says, “perhaps the
most pernicious bird occurring on the coast. It does far greater damage, by its depredations
among the eggs and young of sea-fowl, than all the birds of prey together. It is chiefly the
coast districts south of Lofoten which suffer from its ravenous instincts. In West Finmark it is
not so numerous, though I found it everywhere, even on the outermost holms and islets at the
North Cape. But further south, along the whole coast there is scarcely a rock inhabited by sea-
birds which it does not ravage during the summer months. It is particularly partial to the eggs
of all species of Anates, Somateria, and Hematopus, which breed some distance apart; the
gregarious Lari and Sterne are generally sufficiently numerous to repel its attacks. So soon as
the young of these species are hatched they are safe to be snapped up whenever an opportunity
presents itself of doing so with impunity. In the adjacent valleys it evinces the same predatory
proclivities, preying upon small birds and the eggs and young of black game and Ptarmigan.”
Mr. Collett, in order to show the omnivorous nature of the present species, gives the contents of
the stomachs of the young of various ages. A brood, about five days old, had their stomachs
filled almost exclusively with coleoptera, amongst which were countless numbers of Bembidia
and Elateres (chiefly Cryptyphnus rivularis), and the larve of Noctue. A half-fledged brood,
about fifteen days old, had been fed on quantities of seed-corn (barley), a number of coleoptera
of the species above named, a few Araneide ; and the pelvis of an Arvicola was also in the stomach
of one bird. In the stomachs of a nearly fledged brood were fish and fragments of the shells of
Patella; and an adult bird, shot in August, had in its stomach fragments of Carcinus menas
and entire cherries. In Finland and Russia, where I had the most ample opportunities of
observing this species, it is exceedingly numerous and tame, especially during the winter-season,
when, owing to the ground being covered with deep snow, and food being scarce in the open
country, it is forced to seek a precarious subsistence on the high roads and in the towns and
villages. In all the large towns numbers are seen in company with Pigeons and Jackdaws; and
when in Moscow I used to put food outside my window, and usually had quite an assemblage
waiting round the window when feeding-time drew nigh, the Crows being always the most daring
and also the most self-asserting amongst the assembled crowd; and one would often sit on the
window-sill and remain, although I might be close to the window, until I opened it to put out
the food. Very frequently Crows will assemble together in large flocks, apparently without

fee
d

cause, and the Scandinavian peasantry believe that they hold a sort of council, or “ Ting,” and
sit in judgment on offending members of their community. I have seen several such assemblages
in Finland; but the Crows certainly had no such serious business on hand. Mr. H. C. Miller,
in his notes on the avifauna of the Fieroes, refers to these meetings, and gives as a reason the
appearance of a strange bird of prey, which appears probable, as it is well known that if a Hawk,
Owl, or even a cat is seen by a Crow, it will raise an alarm, and soon collect numbers of its
friends in order to mob and repel the invader.

Macgillivray writes (Brit. B. i. p. 532) that “perhaps the most samaietle habit of the
Hooded Crow is one which most persons who have observed it consider indicative of the
approach of rain, but which I have not found to have any connexion with that phenomenon. In
quiet, and more especially in dull close weather, one of them, perched on a stone or crag, con-
tinues to croak for a long time, being responded to at intervals by another that has taken a
station at some distance. Its voice is not so loud or clear as that of the Carrion-Crow, but
resolves itself into a rather harsh sound, resembling the syllable Craa pronounced by a genuine
Aberdonian.”

The Hooded Crow breeds much later than the Raven, and does not usually lay before about
the middle of April or from then to the middle of May, according to the season. Its nest is
constructed of sticks lined with grass and wool, and is a tolerably bulky structure. It is placed
sometimes amongst the rocks, and at others in a tree, generally at a considerable altitude, but
sometimes only a few yards from the ground. I usually found them in tolerably large trees,
about fifteen or twenty feet above the ground; but Mr. Wiese writes (J. f. O. 1859, p. 40) that
in the neighbourhood of Greifswald, where high trees are scarce, the Crow often builds so low
down that one can easily look into its nest. Mr. H. Goebel (J. f. O. 1870, p. 190) says that in
Uman, Southern Russia, a couple of Herons were driven away from their nests by Crows, and
that he subsequently found one of the deserted nests tenanted by a Hooded Crow and the other
by a Black Kite (Ailvus nugrans). In Scotland, as also in the Feroes, the Hooded Crow is said
to- breed in the rocks, never in a tree; and Mr. H. C. Miller says that he has known the nest to
be placed on a dwelling-house.

The eggs, usually five in number, are, judging from a series in my collection, practically
undistinguishable from those of Corvus corone, and equally variable, some being almost spotless,
whereas others are so closely spotted with brownish olive as to look almost uniform brownish in
colour. Specimens from the north et Europe are larger in le than others from the south, those
from Finland measuring from 12% by 1,8; inch to 12 Py 143, whereas eggs which I took at
Tlovetz, in Wallachia, only measure 133 by 1345 to 12 by and 146 by 1,% inch respectively.

The present species is by many authors considered to be eel a variety of the Carrion-
Crow; and there is no doubt that in localities where the two species are found they not unfre-
quently interbreed; but the young birds resulting from these alliances are never, so far as I can
ascertain, precisely similar to either parent, but, like all hybrids, are intermediate in appearance,
thus, in my opinion, demonstrating that, although closely allied, and not, indeed, differing in
habits, note, or mode of nidification, the present species and Corvus corone are fairly distinct ; and
this is borne out by the difference in their respective geographical ranges. In my article on
Corvus corone I go fully into this question, so will say nothing further on the subject here.

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Professor Newton tells me that this is one of the few birds of which a complete monograph
has been separately published. Its title is “ Verhandeling over de Bonte Kraai (Corvus corniz)
uit het oogpunt van Natuurlijke Historie en Ontleedkunde, door N. Meursinge ;” and it appeared
in 1851 at Groningen, having obtained the gold medal offered as a prize by the scientific society
of that town.

The specimen figured (on the same Plate with Corvus corone) is an adult male in spring
plumage, from Denmark, and is the one described.

In the preparation of the above article I] have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6 ad. Seeland, May 17th (A. Benzon). 6, 2. Copenhagen, February 12th, 1871 (A. B.). c,d. Pagham,
Sussex. e (hybrid between C. corni# and C. corone). Pagham (R. B. Sharpe).

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.
a. Egypt, April (G. £. S.). 6, 2. Egypt, March 8th (G. E. S.).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.

a, 2. Hampstead, January 26th, 1866. 6. Northrepps, Norfolk, January 15th, 1866. c, 2. Trimmingham,
Norfolk, May 21st, 1872 (Hewitt). d. Nice.

E Mus. Captain Clark Kennedy.

a, 6. Gebel Sheik-Hereedi, Egypt, February 28th, 1870. 4, 2. Tooch, near Cairo, Egypt, March 10th,
1870 (4. C. K.).

264

Ss. imp

Mintern Bro

i

ROOK
CORVUS FRUGILEGUS

CORVUS FRUGILEGUS.

(ROOK.)

Corvus cornia frugilega, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 16 (1760).

Corvus frugilegus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 156 (1766).

¢Corvus clericus, Sparrm. Mus. Carls. i. no. 2. pl. 2 (1786).
Coleus frugilegus (L.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 114 (1829).

Corvus agrorum, C. L. Brehm, Vég. Deutschl. p. 170 (1831).
Corvus granorum, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 171 (1831).

Corvus advena, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 171 (1831).
Trypanocorax, Kaup, fide Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 384 (1850).
Corvus agricola, Trist. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 444.

Frugilegus frugilequs (L.), G. R. Gray, Hand-list, ii. p. 12 (1870).

Creumhach-Rocus, Gaelic; Corbeau-Freux, French; Gralha, Portuguese; Corneja calva,
Chaya, Spanish; Corvo, Corvo nero, Italian; Corvu, Ciaulun, Maltese; Saatkrihe,
German; Roek, Dutch; Kornkrage, Blaa-raage, Danish; Hjaltlands kraaka, Feeroese ;
Blaakraake, Norwegian; Raka, Swedish; Pieni-Korppi, Finnish; Grach, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 483, 484; Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl.5; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. xi. ;
Frisch, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 64; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 28. figs. 7, 8; Naumann, Vog.
Deutschl. taf. 55. figs. 1,2; Sundevall, Sv. Fogl. pl. xx. fig. 3; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 224;
id. B. of G. B. ii. pl. 60; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 139; Roux, Orn. Prov. pl. 132.

Ad. nitidé chalybeo-niger, purpurascente resplendens: capite et collo chalybeis, et dorso purpurascente
violaceo resplendens: corpore subtus sordidiore: a basi rostri usque ad oculum et in gula cute calva
rugosa instructus: rostro et pedibus nigris: iride fusca.

Juv. adulto similis sed sordidior, rostro ad basin plumis induto nec nudo.

Adult Male (Pagham, Sussex, Ist May). Entire plumage glossy black, richly glossed with steel-blue or
violet-blue and purple; base of the beak, all round the eye and chin denuded of feathers, and covered
with greyish warty skin; head and neck glossed with steely bluish purple, which on the back and
upper parts generally becomes almost violet-purple; primaries slightly glossed with bottle-green, like
the reflections on a Cock’s tail, and also, to some extent, with purple; tail and underparts not so
brightly coloured as the rest of the plumage; bill and feet black ; iris blackish brown. Total length
about 183-19 inches, culmen 2°35, wing 12°75, tail 6°6, tarsus 2°15.

Adult Female. Similar to the male.

Young. Resembles the adult bird, but is rather duller in colour, and has the base of the bill feathered as
in C. corone; but these feathers appear somewhat scant and loose.

Do L

Nn

nw

2

Tue Rook inhabits Europe generally, and ranges in Asia as far east as India, being replaced in
China and Japan by a closely allied species, Corvus pastinator, Gould.

In Great Britain it is an extremely numerous species, and there is scarcely a village near
which a rookery is not to be found, it being only in the most uncultivated and barren portions
of our island a scarce bird; and as regards its range I may add that there does not appear to
be any tract in England and Ireland where it is not met with, if it can find there a congenial
home; and in Scotland it ranges as far north as Shetland, though, owing probably to the wilder
portions of that country being but little under cultivation, it is not so numerous there as in
England. Mr. Robert Gray writes (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 179) as follows:—“ Within a date
comparatively recent, this familiar bird has penetrated to, and become permanently established
in, places where previously it was only known as an uncertain summer visitant. Mr. Harvie
Brown has sent me word that it is not more than three or four years since the first rookery was
set up in West Sutherlandshire; and I have been informed by Mr. Binning, of Dingwall, that
in the west of Ross-shire similar colonies were formed at Ullapool and other places in 1864. In
the Island of Skye there is a large rookery at Dunvegan wood, which is the most westerly
breeding-station in Scotland for the species. Dr. Dewar, who visited Dunvegan in April 1870,
informs me that Rooks have only gone there of late years, and that the trees on which the nests
are placed are very small. There can be no doubt that as the woods increase the distribution of
the Rook in Western Scotland will also become extended, though it is certain that this bird is
very destructive to the growth of trees, from its habit of breaking off twigs at the nesting-season.
From this circumstance, proprietors in the western highlands do not look upon the Rooks with
much favour, and would rather see them banished from outlying districts in which they have
already appeared. Rookeries are now numerous even in the wilder parts of Argyleshire.” It
does not appear ever to have reached Greenland; but, according to Professor Newton (Baring
Gould’s Iceland, p. 410), some Black Crows have been observed in the south-west of Iceland,
which, as Jonas Hallgrimson says particularly that they were bald at the base of the bill,
must have been Rooks. It is found in the Feroes, where, Captain Feilden says, it ‘“‘ appears
generally as a straggler, though sometimes in flocks. Miller writes that in March 1855 he saw
a large flock of them. One was killed near Thorshayn on the 6th February 1868; and I was
shown the skin of one in Suderoe which had been killed there the previous winter; and its owner
considered it a rare and valuable bird.” It occurs in Scandinavia; and, according to Mr. Robert
Collett, it breeds annually, usually in small numbers, but periodically in large colonies in
Southern Norway, and flocks remain over winter in the coast-districts, as also in the interior.
In 1842 and 1843 large flocks were found in all parts of Norway below the fells; and, according
to Professor Rasch, it bred as far up as Namdalen. It is, however, as a rule, a migrant to
Norway, arriving in February, March, or April, and leaving in October and November. Nilsson
says that it is a migrant in Sweden, arriving late in February or early in March, and leaving in
October or November. In Central and Northern Sweden it is rare, but is commoner in the
south, and breeds on Oland and Gottland. It occurs as far north as in Angermanland.
Lowenhjelm says that one remained two winters at Quickjock, in Lapland; and Wolley once
(at least) saw it at Muonioniska in company with Hooded Crows.

Writing on its occurrence in Finland, Professor Malmgren informs me that Mr. Casimir

3

Brander shot a Rook in June 1867 as high as Pudasjarvi parish, in 652° N. lat. In the winter
of 1870-71 this species was numerous in Central and Southern Finland, and as far north even
as Kajana and Uleaborg; but under usual circumstances it only occurs in the south of Finland,
where it is tolerably rare. Von Wright says that large and small flocks are seen in Southern
Finland during the spring migration, but less frequently in the autumn. He does not know if
they breed in Finland. Mr. Sabanieff writes that it is a common species in Central Russia, and
is found as far north as Archangel, where, my collector informs me, it breeds, though not in
large numbers. In Central Russia, as elsewhere, it nests in large colonies. In the Ural,
Sabanaeff says, it is not met with further north than 59° N. lat. on the western slope; and on
the eastern slope it does not pass the 57th’ N. lat. It frequently winters in the Ural, and is
most numerous in the birch-woods of the Ekaterinburg and Shadrinsk districts. Mr. Jacovleff
speaks of it as being very numerous at Astrachan, and says that some migrate further south
during the winter; but as they are absent a very short time, they cannot go far.

It is met with in the Baltic Provinces and Poland, but is stated by Meyer to be rare in
Livonia, and by Borggreve is said to be a partial migrant throughout North Germany in all
districts, excepting in the mountains, but is most numerous in the west. I saw large numbers
in Rhenish Prussia; and when at Altenkirchen last spring, I visited a very large rookery in the
Nassau territory. In Denmark it is a summer resident, arriving in February or March, and
migrating southward again in large flocks in October or November.

In Belgium it nests in large numbers; but in Luxemburg it is said to be principally a
winter visitant. Mr. H. M. Labouchere informs me, “it is a much less common species in
Holland than it is in England, and, in comparison with that country, only few rookeries are found
here; this is chiefly due, however, to the fact of their nests being disturbed and pulled down in
most districts whenever they attempt to form a colony. The only part of Holland where I have
seen many Rooks is in the province of Guelderland, where they are suffered to build unmolested
in the parks and woods of the Dutch nobility.” Baron von Droste Hiilshoff records it from the
Island of Borkum, and says that in some seasons large flocks pass, whereas in others it is very
rare; and in 1866 he only saw two flocks, which passed on the 4th October. In France it is
common, and breeds in the northern provinces, but is only a winter visitant to the southern
districts. Professor Barboza du Bocage includes it in his list of the birds of Portugal as a
common species; and it is found in Spain during the autumn and winter. Dr. C. Bolle says
(J. f. O. 1855, p. 299) that it “arrives in Spain in November in numerous flocks, and remains till
March. In Galicia it is common and resident.” ;

Throughout Southern Europe generally it is a winter visitant. According to Bailly it
generally appears in Savoy in October on its way to the plains, and but few remain there during

the winter. In Italy it is very numerous during the winter season; and Salvadori thinks that.

some may remain to breed in the northern provinces. It also appears in Sicily in the winter,
but retires in the spring, none ever remaining to breed in any part of the island: nor, according
to Cara, does it ever breed in Sardinia, where, Mr. A. B. Brooks writes (Ibis, 1873, p. 248), it is
*“common in winter. None remain during the summer.”
Mr. C. A. Wright, who records it as being found at Malta, writes (Ibis, 1864, p. 55) that it
4A

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is “a bird of passage in October and November, when it generally appears in small flocks. In
the winters of 1861-62 and 1862-63,” he says, “it was very common, and remained on the
island several months, associating with Jackdaws and Starlings. This year I observed it till the
beginning of April, when it disappeared, probably having taken its departure northward to
breed.” Lord Lilford says that immense numbers arrive in Corfu and Epirus about the end of
October, and disappear early in February; and the late Captain R. M. Sperling, who shot several
in Greece, remarks that all were young of the year, from which he infers that only the young
birds migrate southward. Both Lindermayer and Von der Miihle agree that it is only a winter
visitant to Greece, arriving about the middle of November and leaving in April, none ever
remaining to breed even in the northern provinces.

In Southern Germany it is tolerably common, and, according to Dr. A. Fritsch, extremely
numerous in some parts of Bohemia, where it breeds; but in Styria, according to Mr. Seiden-
sacher, it only remains during winter, arriving in November and leaving in March. Messrs.
Elwes and Buckley found it common in Bulgaria; and it is numerous in Southern Russia, being,
Dr. Radde states, more so in Bessarabia than the Hooded Crow; and Professor yon Nordmann
writes that it is found in thousands along the large rivers, being also abundant in the Crimea,
only leaving for a short time during very rigorous winters, returning to its old nesting-places in
February. Ménétries speaks of it as being numerous in the Caucasus; but I do not find it
recorded from Asia Minor. Canon Tristram, however, met with it in Palestine, and writes
(Ibis, 1866, p. 66) as follows :—“ We were riding across the plain from Nablous on the road to
Jerusalem, when, for the first time, we noticed the Rooks fearlessly following the Arab plough-
men at their work. ‘They seemed to smell powder as promptly as their fellows in England; but
we obtained two, which, although December was far advanced, had no denudation of the basal
portion of the mandibles. We occasionally met with small flocks in the cultivated districts of
Central Palestine, but did not come across any rookeries, unless the gathering at the Mosque of
Omar in Jerusalem may be so termed. Jerusalem and Nablous seem the headquarters of the
race; indeed in a country so bare of wood the Rook must be as hard put to for a home as in
Central France after the Revolution had stripped the chdéteauax of their ancestral timber. At
Jerusalem we found the species very abundant in winter, congregating in the sacred enclosure of
the mosque every evening, along with Jackdaws, a few Hooded Crows, and the two species of
Ravens, as familiarly as it does with the first of these in England. The different species appeared
to go out to feed together, and returned in consort to roost every evening. I am not certain
that I observed them on the occasion of my latest visit to Jerusalem in April. Certainly if they
remained it was in much diminished numbers; and probably they had at that period sought more
congenial places for nidification. But it is possible that some remained; for all the species
were so intermingled that without close inspection the Rook might easily be overlooked.”
Canon Tristram further states that it does not occur in Egypt; but this is an oversight, as it
appears to be by no means a rare winter visitant to North-east Africa. Captain Shelley writes
(B. of Egypt, p. 159), “large flocks of the common Rook may be met with in the Delta up to
the end of March; but it does not remain to breed in the country. It is rarely seen south of
Cairo, although upon one occasion I observed a few at Memphis; this may be owing to the fact
that snails and slugs, delicacies on which this bird delights to feed, are entirely absent from

5

Upper Egypt.” In North-west Africa it is rare; and Loche states that it only accidentally occurs
in Algeria.

To the eastward the Rook is met with as far as India. Mr. Blanford writes that he “ saw
no Rooks in Persia, nor has any one observed them in Southern Persia. De Filippi shot some
at Kasvin, to which Major St. John adds the following note:—‘I have never noticed the Rook
south of Isfahan, and there, as at Tehran, only in winter. A considerable colony breed in some
lofty trees in a garden in the town of Kasvin.’” Dr. Jerdon, who records it as occurring in
India, writes (B. of India, ii. p. 302) that “it is found in the Punjab in the cold weather, and
also in Cashmere. Dr. Saunders, of the Bengal Army, first informed me of this; and it has been
subsequently confirmed by several observers. It is also a winter visitant to Afghanistan. As in
England, it feeds chiefly on ploughed lands.” Severtzoff says (Turk. Jevotnie, p. 63) that it
breeds throughout Turkestan, at an altitude of from 3000 to 4000 feet, frequenting the steppes
and wooded districts. Excepting in South-eastern Turkestan, where some remain throughout the
year in the Zarevshan valley, near the Syr Darja, and at Kisil-cum, it migrates southward during
the winter. Ido not find it recorded from Siberia; and in Japan and China it is replaced by a
very closely allied form, C. pastinator, Gould, which differs in having the head and neck glossed
with purple, and not with green; and Mr. Swinhoe informs me it never has the chin denuded of
feathers, but merely the upper part of the bill.

In its habits the Rook is essentially gregarious, both during the breeding-season and also
during the winter, and, unlike the Carrion-Crow and the Hooded Crow, it invariably breeds in
larger or smaller societies, forming in some parts very extensive rookeries. It feeds principally
in cultivated ground, frequently following the ploughman and picking up the worms and grubs
which are exposed to view as he turns up the furrow; and it is consequently a much commoner
species wherever cultivation is extended, being, on the other hand, rare in wild, rocky, and
uncultivated districts—though, following the footsteps of the farmer, it is gradually extending its
range as these districts by degrees get brought under the plough. Feeding chiefly on insects of
various kinds, it is on the whole a useful bird, though it must be allowed that it sometimes
devours the eggs and young of other birds; and Macgillivray relates that he has caught Rooks
in traps baited with eggs, set for Carrion-Crows and Magpies. Much depends on the nature of
the country whether the present species can be looked on as useful or otherwise; for in districts
entirely under cultivation there can be little doubt that, owing to the large number of destructive
insects of various sorts devoured by the Rook, it is of the greatest utility, whereas in those
localities where but comparatively little soil is under cultivation, and the game is strictly pre-
served, a rookery may well be looked on as a doubtful kind of blessing; for when grubs and
other insects are not at hand the Rook is quite ready to supplement its meal with any thing in
reason that may be within reach. Mr. Cecil Smith writes to me, from what he has seen of the
Rook, “its appetite and digestion are perfectly astonishing; nothing seems to come amiss to
it: besides its lawful and useful food of grubs, worms, &c., I have seen it kill and eat a young
rabbit ; and young ducks or duck’s eggs have no chance; flesh, either fresh or stale, raw or cooked,
walnuts in any quantity. Near the sea I have seen Rooks picking up and eating sand-eels and
other small fish after the seine has been drawn, and squabbling with the Gulls for mussels on

the mussel-beds; these it breaks in the same way as the Gulls, taking them up to a height and
442

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dropping them on a hard stony place. I have seen it treat an obstinate walnut in the same way.
Rooks seem occasionally to cast up pellets of the indigestible portion of what they have eaten,
after the manner of Hawks; so I suppose their digestion is not quite equal to every thing;
one of these pellets which I saw a Rook cast up, and which I examined, consisted of stones,
hard parts of beetles, and husks of corn. So necessary are stones to help digestion, that old
Rooks give them to their young before they leave the nest, and I have frequently found them in
the stomachs of young Rooks shot in the rook-shooting time, and before they had left their
native tree.” On the whole, I think that what injury is done by this species is far outweighed
by its extreme utility in destroying such vast numbers of insect pests, which, were they not kept
in check, would soon devastate the finest crops.

The Rook breeds somewhat early, at times even commencing to repair its nest as early as
February or March; and Macgillivray writes that he observed a pair refitting an old nest as early
as the 16th February. It invariably, so far as I know, nests in company with others of its
species, and prefers the neighbourhood of some human habitation; thus in some places where the
Rooks have been protected, they have formed vast rookeries, their nests being frequently built
close together, several being on the same tree. In England there are rookeries to be found
almost everywhere; but on the Continent they are not so numerous. I have, however, seen
several large colonies in various parts of the Continent, and may in particular name one, a very
large one, in the Nassau territory, not far from Altenkirchen, which I visited this spring. The
nest of the Rook is constructed of sticks, lined with fibrous roots, wool, straws, and such like
substances, according to circumstances, and is usually a somewhat bulky structure.

The eggs, from four to five in number, are subject to considerable variation, some being
pale greenish, spotted or marked with peculiar hieroglyphic-like dashes of a dark brown colour,
or else dotted all over with dull dark brown and purplish brown, whereas others have the ground-
colour dull pale olive-green, and are closely blotched and marked with dull brown. A series in
my collection measure from 147 by 135 inch to 14% by 1,% inch respectively.

When the young are nearly ready to leave the rookery they are very good for the table; and
shooting young Rooks is a sport that is very generally followed by those in whose grounds are
large rookeries; and at that season of the year large numbers of young Rooks are exposed for
sale in our game-dealers’ and poulterers’ shops.

Varieties of the Rook are not very uncommon. I have seen one white and others either
cream-coloured or partly white. Mr. James Lumsden, jun., also informs me that a curious
specimen was shot at Blyth, in Perthshire, on the 7th July, 1873. It is, he says, of a light
brown colour, darker over the wings than on the back, and the bill and feet are similarly
coloured to the plumage on the body. It is evidently a young bird, as the base of the bill is
feathered.

It is not often that the Rook is kept in confinement; but when tamed it can, Macgillivray
says, “be taught to mimic different kinds of animals. There was an old woman in Bathgate
who kept one for some years, which I have again and again heard imitating so remarkably well
the barking of several dogs in the village that had it been placed out of view it would have been -
impossible to discover the deception.”

The note of the Rook is a harsh caw, which is modulated according to circumstances; and

a 7

though rather unpleasing than otherwise when one bird alone is heard, yet the varied and some-
what confused cries uttered by a large flock are not disagreeable, and I have found when living
in a house close to a rookery that one becomes not only used to the clamour, but gets rather to
like the sound when not too loud.

The young Rook has the base of the bill feathered, like the Carrion-Crow ; but the feathers
soon become worn away: I have observed, however, that in specimens where the bill is malformed,
so_as to prevent the bird from digging in the ground, the feathers remain intact. I am indebted
to Mr. Alexander Brooke for the loan of a specimen with a peculiar misshapen bill, which has
the base of the beak nearly as densely feathered as in Corvus corone; and, from the plumage, it
seems to be an old bird.

The specimen figured is an adult British-killed bird, in my own collection, and is the bird
above described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a,3. Pagham, Sussex, May Ist, 1872 (R. B. Sharpe). 6, juv. Copenhagen, October 18th, 1870 (A. Benzon).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a. Durham. 6. Durham, March 6th, 1866. c¢. Durham, May 26th, 1865. d,d. Nablous, Palestine,
December 21st, 1863. e, f, dé. Jerusalem, February 1864 (H. B. T.).

KE Mus. Howard Saunders.
a, 6. Sparham, Norfolk, January 29th. 6,4. South Germany, April. c, 9. Halle, a.S.

E Mus. Alexander Brooke.
a, 6. Brackley, Northampton, March 1873 (George Bannerman).

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CORVUS AFFINIS.

(FANTAIL RAVEN.)

Corvus affinis, Riipp. Neue Wirbelth. p. 20, taf. 10. fig. 2 (1835-40).

Corvus brachyurus, A. K. Brehm, Journ. fiir Orn. 1854, p. 75.

Corvus brachyrhynchos, C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 414 (1855).

Corvus brevicaudatus, J. W. von Miiller, Journ. fiir Orn. 1855, p. 456.

Corax affinis (Riipp.), A. E. Brehm, Erg. einer Reise nach Habesch, p. 216 (1863).
Corone affinis (Riipp.), G. R. Gray, Hand-list, ii. p. 12 (1870).

Figure notabiles.
Riipp. J. c.; Schlegel, Bijd. tot de Dierk. 1858, pl. 1B. fig. 26.

Ad. chalybeo-niger, cxrulescenti-violaceo nitente, capite et collo sordidioribus, gula brunnescente lavato:
setis nasalibus sursim et antrorsim spectantibus, plumis jugularibus apice bifidis: caudé rotundata:
pedibus et rostro nigris, iride fusca.

Adult Male (Safieh). Entire plumage glossy black, slightly duller on the head and neck, and shaded with
brown on the throat; the rest of the plumage, especially on the upper parts, glossed with steely violet,
or steel-blue; feathers on the throat lanceolate, but with the tips bifurcate, the hairy bristles covering
the nostrils very stiff and fully developed, directed upwards and forwards in a fan-shape on the sides of
the bill; wings very long, extending beyond the tail, the secondaries also very long; beak and legs
black, iris brown. Total length about 18 to 20 inches, culmen 2°5, width of lower mandible at the base
“nearly 2 inches, wing 14:5, tail 6:4, tarsus 2°45.

Obs. The above specimen is rather peculiar, inasmuch as the feathers on the lower neck are pure white at
the base, this colour showing slightly through here and there on the sides of the neck. I have not
observed this peculiarity in any other specimen.

THE range of this well-marked Raven is somewhat restricted, as it occurs only in Palestine and
North-east Africa. Canon Tristram, who met with it in the former locality, writes (Ibis, 1866,
p. 71) as follows:—‘‘One evening in January we were encamped at the foot of the ancient
fortress of Masada, the modern Sebbeh, with a waterless, lifeless wilderness of salt-hills stretching
in labyrinthic confusion for two miles to the sea. It was a scene of stern grandeur and magni-
ficent desolation, perhaps unequalled in the world. Yet even here were birds. We had made
a Lanner surrender the remains of a Pochard he was conveying to the mountains from the lake,
when we observed three Ravens making towards us from the sea; they were the only signs of
life under that canopy of wondrous brilliancy and depth. They too seemed startled and sur-
prised when they descried our camp on that untrodden shore, and, curiosity mastering caution,
wheeled and wheeled again over and over our heads. But long before they came near we
detected an unknown species. Two of them were unmistakably C. wnbrinus; the third was
strangely different. Its flight was very different; it rather sailed than flew, and the motion of
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its wings was scarcely perceptible. But more marked than all was the contrast of its outline.
Its depth of wing, not only long but very broad, till its secondaries appeared to reach almost to
the end of its tail, and its short broad tail extending to twice the width of the other, made it
appear to cover double the surface its companions did, and we at once named it the Fantail
Raven. But its note was the richest, most powerful, and most musical that ever Raven uttered.
No croak, but a long-sustained cheery cry which decidedly belied its relationship. Mr. Shepherd
was ready to forego the ascent of Sebbeh for the chance of the prize; and though certainly we
would not for all the Ravens of the East have missed the wondrous ruins of Masada and the
superb panorama from its summit, it was with a feeling of envy that on our return we found the
coveted treasure had at length rewarded his patience; and we handled the miniature Raven,
hoping we had made an ornithological discovery. Every thing about him bespeaks the Raven,
and not the Crow—the short conical massive bill, the long wings, and the uniform rich violet
reflexion of his plumage surpassing those of every other species.

“It was long before we met with him again. During our sojourn near Jebel Usdum we
constantly saw both the Common and the Brown-necked Ravens, which perched continually on
the salt-cliffs, though what, save a love of desolation, could have brought them there it was hard
to guess; but no other species could we discover. More than one fell a victim to the rifle-practice
of my companions; for they afforded a tempting mark as they sat on the glittering salt-peaks.
At length we crossed to the east side, not, however, to meet, as we had hoped, a kindly welcome
from the Ghawarineh inhabitants of the rich oasis of Safieh, below Kerak, but to find the
smoking embers of a plundered village, strewn with the corpses of the combatants in a recent
battle. ‘Thus prematurely our hopes of the richest ornithological harvest in the country were
foiled. A few varieties we secured during the afternoon; but, encumbered with human prisoners,
for our men had captured more than a dozen, and knowing that the enemy was lurking in the
woods, of which the whole district is full, the keenest ornithologist might be excused if he
reserved his second barrel for a bullet, and declined to wander far from camp. We had nothing
for it but to pitch our tents for the night with what heart we might, and to beat a retreat in the
morning. But we could spare two or three hours, and with the dawn we began to look after
the birds, which abound in the Safieh to an extent unequalled even in the oases of Jericho.
‘Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the Eagles be gathered together,’ and the Ravens also;
for the sun was not above the horizon when a steady stream of carrion-eaters, who had scented
the battle from afar, began to set in from the south. All the Vultures, Kites, and Ravens of
North Arabia seemed to be rushing to the banquet. Against them we perpetrated a regular
battue on their way to their uncleanly feast. We brought down more specimens than we could
carry away of the three species of Raven—the Common, the Brown-necked, and four good
specimens of our long-sought Fantail, C. affinis. The Vultures and Kites sailed too high, out of
reach of our shot. Had we not been compelled to leave, we might doubtless have stood among
the trees, and, with the human bait before us, have continued our warfare throughout the day.
After this we never saw our new friend again; for the south end of the Dead Sea appears his
northern limit; nor did we ever meet with C. umbrinus north of Jerusalem, not even in the
upper part of the Jordan valley. Neither does it ever descend to the coast, where C. corax
alone is found.”

o
3

Mr. C. W. Wyatt states (Ibis, 1870, p. 16) that he believes he saw it on the plains of El
Gaa, in the peninsula of Sinai, and recognized it by Canon Tristram’s figure in ‘The Ibis.’
Captain Shelley speaks of it as being resident in Egypt and Nubia, but somewhat uncommon ;
and Captain Clark-Kennedy obtained it there. He also adds (Ibis, 1871, p. 142) that the
Rey. A. C. Smith, in his ‘ Attractions of the Nile,’ ii. p. 276, mentions seeing a pair of small
jet-black Crows at El Kab, which doubtless belonged to this species; and Dr. Th. von Heuglin
writes (Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 505) as follows:—‘‘I once saw it at Thebes, afterwards in Southern
Nubia, in the oasis of El Kab, at Kordofan, throughout the whole of Abyssinia up to an
altitude of 10,000 to 12,000 feet; on the Danakil and Somali coasts in large flocks in October.
In general it is much more gregarious in its habits than C. wmbrinus or C. scapularis; in the
plains, in the mountains, and on the coast it is not unfrequently seen, as also near human
habitations. In the highlands it appears to breed in colonies in the cliffs, and I saw large
flocks circling round like Jackdaws. In the flat country it is rarer, usually occurring in pairs;
and it sometimes inhabits the most sterile deserts, frequenting the caravan halting-places and
the wells.” Messrs. Finsch and Hartlaub say (Vog. Ost-Afr. p. 373) that it is more especially a
mountain bird, and in Abyssinia, where it is common, it is met with at an altitude of 11,000 feet
and above that height in the mountains. Mr. Blanford, who met with it in Abyssinia, writes
(Geol. & Zool. of Abyss. p. 393), ‘‘in the air it may be immediately recognized by its short tail
and long secondary quills; and its croak is much deeper than that of most Crows. It abounds
everywhere on the highlands and in the subtropical zone, and it descends almost to the sea-level
at times. When I first visited Komayli, at the base of the hills, in January, the only Crow to
be seen was C. scapulatus; but in February, after some rain had fallen, C. affinis abounded. In
the former instance I first met with this species at about 3000 feet, near Mayen. In May it had
retreated once more to its former range, and the White-breasted Crow alone was to be seen in
the tropical region. In ascending to the Bogos country it first appeared on the Lebka at about
12,000 feet above the sea, at Ain.” Mr. W. Jesse, when on the Abyssinian Expedition, observed
it from Koomaylee to Addigerat from March to May, and adds that it was common there.
Riippell found it numerous at Massana and Schendi, in Nubia; and Speke records it from the
Somali country.

Beyond what is given above, but little is known respecting the habits of this Raven, except
the observations recorded by Dr. A. E. Brehm, who writes (Erg. Reis. Habesch, pp. 323-325) as
follows:—“ In the mountains this Raven is never absent; and so peculiar a bird is always
observed; or even if one does not see it, one is sure ere long to hear its clear note; and then
one sees a pair or a whole flock sailing round, floating with outstretched, motionless wings, like
a Buzzard, for a considerable distance, and very distinguishable from any of its allies. Even
when sitting it is unmistakeable; for its wings extend 3 or 34 inches beyond the short tail. Its
usual note is a Raven-like kuck, or a somewhat chattering kua, kua. At the camping-places it
appears as regularly as it does in the mountain-villages, and arrives even whilst the camels are
being unloaded—probably allured by the plaintive cry of those animals; and the pair (for it
never goes singly) settle down on some lofty tree or point of a rock and watch the proceedings
below. So soon as all becomes quiet in the camp it comes down and walks boldly about
amongst the baggage and groups of people. At the mountain-villages it appears in the morning

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and evening, usually in large companies. At sunrise these Ravens literally cover the large rocks
around Mensa, each pair being seated together, thus showing their attachment to their mates.
After remaining about half an hour croaking and calling loudly, they would adjourn to the
village dung-hills; and ere long all would disappear, except a pair or two, who doubtless lived
close to the village. In the evening they collected again, first on the rocks, and then on the
tops of the larger trees, where, like the common Crow, they would chatter and make a noise for
half an hour, and after sunset would fly away, doubtless to their roosting-places, which have for
long been used by them for that purpose. I have seldom seen such affection shown by any
Raven as is the case with these towards their mates. Even any one unaccustomed to observe
birds can see at a glance in a large flock which pairs belong together; for each pair sits some-
what apart, and appear only to care for each other. First one and then the other will spread
its wings over its mate, uttering a soft guck, guck, guck, which the other, probably the female,
answers by a single guck.”

I can find no details as to the nidification of this species; and Dr. Brehm was not in the
localities where it breeds during the breeding-season, and can therefore give no notes on its
nidification. It is said to breed in the rocks; and doubtless its nest and eggs assimilate to those
of the common Raven. Mr. H.M. Upcher, to whom I am indebted for the loan of the specimen
described, informs me that he knows nothing respecting its breeding-habits, and, indeed, only
met with it on two occasions, once at Safieh after a sleepless night spent close to a smoking
village. ‘At daylight,” he writes, “‘as we were clearing away from such an unpleasant neigh-
bourhood as quickly as possible, numbers of them came streaming in in company with other
Ravens and Vultures to feed on the slaughtered victims of the previous day. They were easily
distinguishable from the other Ravens by the circular appearance they presented when flying,
the wings and tail seeming to form a complete segment of a circle. Our departure was so
hurried that our time for observation was very short; and I only saw one again for a few minutes
on the west side of the Dead Sea.”

I do not propose to issue a coloured plate of this Raven; but in treating of Corvus corone a
large plate will be given showing the distinguishing characters of the various species of Crows
and Ravens, and the head of the specimen described will be figured, showing the peculiar nasal
bristles so characteristic of C. affinis.

Not possessing a specimen of this Raven in my collection, I have taken my description from
the bird lent to me by Mr. H. M. Upcher, of Sherringham Hall, Norfolk.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. M. Upcher.
a. Safieh, Palestine (H. M. U.).

E Mus. Brit. Req.
a,b, 3. Ghor el Safieh, Palestine (H. B. Tristram).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. Palestine (7. B. T.).

CORVUS TINGITANUS.

(IRBY’S RAVEN.)

Corvus corax, Webb & Berthelot, Orn. Canar. p. 9 (1841, nec Linn.).
Corvus, sp.?t, Taczanowski, Journ. fiir Orn. 1870, p. 48.

Corvus tingitanus, Irby, Ibis, 1874, p. 264.

Corvus corax, auctt. orn. Afr. Sept. (nec Linn.).

Ad. Corvo coraci similis, sed multo minor, rostro breviore, robusto, alis brevioribus, juguli plumis elongatis
latioribus, alis supra brunneo tinctis.

Adult Female (Tangier, 26th April). Resembles C. coraz, but is much smaller, has the lanceolate feathers,
which extend only over the upper part of the neck, broader, and to a slight extent bifurcate; the bill
is short and stout, and the wing short; entire plumage glossy black, with steely reflections; upper
surface of the wings tinged with brown. Total length about 16-5 inches, culmen 2°5, height of culmen
at base 1:0, wing 13°8, tail 7°75, tarsus 2°5.

AFTER a careful comparison of the specimens of this small North-west African Raven, brought
home by Colonel Irby, with a large series of Corvus corax from various parts of the world, I
cannot do otherwise than recognize it as a distinct species, though closely allied to the common
Raven of Europe. Colonel Irby compares it to Corvus affinis; but I do not find it so nearly
allied to that as to C. corax, of which in fact it isa small form. C. affinis has extremely long
wings and a short tail, the elongated feathers on the throat are very distinctly bifurcate, and the
bristles are directed vertically upwards, which characters are wanting in the present species. As

yet it is rather difficult to define the range of this Raven; but it seems to be confined to North--

west Africa, Madeira, and the Canaries, and to be common in Algeria and Morocco, where it
is resident, and probably never crosses the Mediterranean. Colonel Irby (¢. c. p. 265) writes as
follows :—‘‘ This Raven is excessively abundant around Tangier, and in the low flat country which
I have visited in Morocco, but does not appear so much to frequent high mountainous districts.
Outside Tangier flocks of them may be seen feeding on the refuse which is carried from the
town and thrown down on the sea-shore. Exceedingly tame to the natives, being viewed with
superstitious awe by the Moors, they are wide awake to the Kuropean, especially if he carries
a gun; and I found great difficulty in shooting them, except at the nest, which, constructed of
sticks neatly lined with grass and small roots, is built in clefts of rocks, on trees, and low
bushes. One nest which I saw was fixed in the crook or angle formed by a dead flowering
stalk of the aloe, which had fallen across another stalk in full flower. The eggs, usually laid
about the 20th April, vary in number from five to seven, and, like those of others of the Crow
tribe, differ much in the markings.”

This Raven likewise inhabits Algeria, as Mr. ‘Taczanowski met with a Raven in that country
which, as is clearly shown by his description and measurements, cannot have been any other than

O65

O64

2

the present species. He writes (J. f O. 1870, p. 48) as follows :—“ In Loche’s catalogue both
C. corax and C. corone are included; but I saw neither of these two birds, though in the heights
between Ghelma and Constantine, round Batna and Elkantara, at Biskra, and almost everewhere
in the hill-country, I found a species which in size is intermediate between these, has a Raven's
bill, but rather shorter, and has a very rounded tail; the feathers on the neck are bifurcate, and
the bristly feathers covering the nostrils are as in C. corax, thus distinguishing it from C affinis,
Riipp. Though resembling our Raven somewhat in habits, yet it differs in many material points,
being much more gregarious, and may be seen in large flocks in the fields near the towns and on

‘the roads. Every pair, however, like Ravens, keep together in the flock, and fly off in company.

Though they had not commenced breeding yet, I was shown several nests near Batna, on a
hillock close to the valley, placed in small fir trees not higher than about 10 metres, and I
counted twenty nests within a short distance. I did not observe them at their nests late in
March, and was assured that they do not have eggs before May. ‘They are not so wary and
cautious as our Raven, and at Batna there are always numbers at the slaughter-houses. Once
when hidden, watching for a Gypaetos, my attention was attracted by an unusual movement
amongst the Ravens on a neighbouring height, where they were flying to and fro, every now and
again stooping towards one place on the ground. Expecting to find carrion and a Vulture, or
perhaps a Bearded Vulture, I went with my guide thither, and found on arrival that the Ravens
were catching grasshoppers, which they seized on the wing or picked up from the ground
in their claws and devoured them whilst flying. Amongst them were a few Choughs, which
were taking part in the chase of the grasshoppers.” Canon Tristram met with it in Algeria;
he says (Ibis, 1559, p. 291) it is “plentiful in the Dayats, where it resides in communities,
returning home to roost at sunset in a long file after the manner of Rooks. It seems strange
that the Raven, so solitary here, and which chases away its own progeny from its neighbourhood
(unless it be grievously belied), should be so gregarious both in the mountains and deserts of
Africa. Though not breeding in communities, the nests are frequently within a few yards of
each other. It wages an incessant and noisy warfare with the Hagles and Kites, who share the
Terebinths of the Dayats with it, and are seldom the aggressors in these skirmishes. The Raven
begins in the Desert to repair his nest in December.” Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., also says (Ibis.
1871, p. 294) that he found it breeding in society at Tilremt.

It inhabits the Canaries, where, Mr. Godman says, it is common; and it is occasionally met
with in Madeira. Dr. C. Bolle writes (J. f. O. 1857, p. 275) that it is commoner in Canaria
than at Teneriffe, but single pairs inhabit the elevated cafiadas on the Peak of Teneriffe, and
the Pinal near Chasna. This species, I may add, is the bird referred to by the various authors
on the ornithology of Madeira and the Canaries under the name of Corvus coraz.

Respecting the habits of this Raven I do not possess any details beyond what are given by
Canon Tristram, Colonel Irby, and Mr. Taczanowski. Colonel Irby says that its note or croak
is quite different from that of C. coraz, and that this difference, though difficult to describe, is
easily noticed when heard, the note not being so hoarse. He further remarks on its gregarious
habits, and states that as many as a hundred are sometimes seen on the wing at once. As
regards this latter, however, I may remark that flocks of the common Raven are also sometimes
seen. I well recollect once observing a large flock of Corvus coraz in Finland, numbering, I

(as)

should say, very nearly a hundred individuals. ‘They were seated on the fences adjoining the
post-road and on the road itself; and though I got out of my carriage and carefully examined
the locality, I could find no carrion or any thing to account for the unusual assemblage.

The eggs of this Raven are very distinct from those of C. corax, being very much smaller
than any common Raven's eggs I have ever seen—in fact, scarcely as large as the general average
of those of C. corone and C. corniz. Iam indebted to Colonel Irby for a clutch of five taken by
him at Tangier, which resemble those of the Carrion-Crow, but are much more blue and brighter
in colour, and measure from 123 by 1,9 to 148 by 149 inch in size.

I do not purpose giving a coloured Plate of this species, as it is so difficult to show the
difference between it and closely allied species in that manner; but when giving a short review
of the Corvidw a Plate with the heads of this and other species, showing the comparative
differences in size, will be issued.

The specimen described is one presented to me by Colonel H. L. Irby, who shot it at

Tangier.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 2. Tangier, April 26th, 1874 (H. L. Irby).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a,b, 3, ¢, 9. Tangier, April 1874 (H. L. Irby).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a,3. Santa Cruz, Teneriffe, April 18th, 1871 (F. D. Godman).

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1. RAVEN.
CORVUS CORAX.

2.BROWN-NECKED RAVEN.

CORVUS UMBRINUS
278

CORVUS CORAX.

(COMMON RAVEN.)

Corvus corax, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766).

Corvus maximus, Scop. Ann. i. Hist. Nat. p. 34. no. 35 (1769).

Corvus carnivorus, Bartram, Travels in E. Florida, p. 290 (1793).

Le grand Corbeau, Levaill. Ois. d’Afr. ii. p. 8, pl. 51 (1799).

Corvus leucopheus, Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. viii. p. 27 (1817).

Corvus major, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. viii. p. 27 (1817, ex Levaill.).

Corvus leucomelas, Wag). Syst. Av. no. 4 (1827).

Corvus cacolotl, Wagler, Isis, 1831, p. 527.

Corvus sylvestris, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutsch]. p. 163 (1831).

Corvus littoralis, C. LL. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 164 (1831).

Corvus peregrinus, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 164 (1831).

Corvus montanus, C. L. Brehm, tom. cit. p. 165 (1831).

Corvus nobilis, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p. 79.

Corvus vociferus, Cabot, Boston Journ. Nat. Sciences, 1844, iv. p. 464.

Corvus lugubris, Agassiz, Proc. Bost. Nat.-Hist. Soe. ii. p. 188 (1846).

Corvus tibetanus, Hodgs. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 2nd ser. iii. p. 203 (1849).
Corax maximus (Scop.), A. E. Brehm, Allg. deutsch. naturh. Zeit. 1857, p. 445.
“Corvus ferroensis, Briinn.,” Schlegel, Notice sur le genre Corvus, Bijd. t. de Dierk. 1858, p. 6.
Corvus lawrencet, A. O. Hume, Lahore to Yarkand, p. 235 (1873).

Corvus corax, var. carnivorus, Baird.

Fitheach, Biadhtach, Gaelic; Corbeau, French; Rabe, Kolkrabe, German; Cuervo, Spanish ;
Corvo, Portuguese; Corvo imperiale, Italian; Raaf, Dutch; Ravn, Danish; Hrafn,
Krummi, Icelandic; Ravnur, Froese; Ravn, Korp, Norwegian; Korp, Swedish ; Korppi,
Finnish; Voron, Kernesh, Russian; Mestch, Bashkir; Kuzgun, Ziranin.

Figure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Omnivores, pl. 1; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. xi.; Frisch, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 63;
Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 28. fig. 6; Naumann, Vég. Deutschl. taf. 53. fig. 1; Sundevall,
Sy. Fog]. taf. xx. fig.1; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 220; id. B. of G. Brit. iii. pl.57; Schlegel,
Vog. Nederl. pl. 136; Roux, Orn. Prov. pl. 129; Audubon, Birds of N. Am. pl. 224.

Ad. niger: capite, collo et corpore supra chalybeo et purpureo nitentibus: gulz et gutturis plumis elongatis,
lanceolatis et purpureo nitentibus ; naribus pennis setaceis rigidissimis densissime tectis : cauda cuneato-

rotundata; pedibus et rostro nigris: iride griseo-fusca.

Juv. adulto similis sed sordidior, nec colli plumis lanceolatis.

567

268

2

Adult Male (Falster, Denmark, 22nd January). Entire plumage black, richly glossed with steel-blue and
purple, these colours being most apparent on the upper parts of the body, the head, neck, and the upper
surface of the wings ; feathers on the throat lanceolate, much elongated, and richly glossed with purple ;
tail rounded, and almost wedge-shaped, the central rectrices being much longer than the lateral ones ;
bill and legs shining black ; iris brown. Total length about 26 inches, culmen 3:7, height of the bill at
base 1:1, wing 16:2, tail 10-1, tarsus 2°65 ; fourth primary longest, the third being only a trifle shorter,
the second | inch less than the third, and the first 3 inches less than the second.

Female. A trifle less in size than the male, and not quite so bright in plumage.

Young (Archangel, 25th May). Duller in colour than the adult bird; and the feathers on the throat are
loose in texture, and not lanceolate.

Tue Raven is a widely distributed species, being found throughout both the Palearctic and
Nearctic Regions, rather more numerously, however, in the northern than in the southern
portions of Europe, Asia, and America.

In Great Britain it is more numerous in the northern portions of the islands, being but
rare in the south; and its numbers are gradually diminishing. Mr. More gives but some few
details respecting its breeding-haunts in England, and says that it is nearly extirpated in
many of the midland and eastern counties. ‘That it is not extinct in the southern counties is
evident from the following extract from a letter received from Mr. J. Gatcombe, of Plymouth :—
‘Ravens breed annually on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, and would rapidly increase were
it not for the good price offered by the dealers in live birds for every young one that can be
obtained during the nesting-season. One dealer living at Plymouth received no less than
twenty-five young birds during the past spring (most of them from Cornwall), and nearly as
many last year. All these birds I myself saw, also three or four others belonging to a friend of
mine in Plymouth. Several pairs breed annually on the coast near Plymouth, also in the vicinity
of Dartmoor; and on the 23rd of July last I observed no less than ten Ravens in a flock at
‘“Wembury, on the coast a few miles from Plymouth. The price asked by a dealer for a fine
healthy young bird is from fifteen to twenty shillings; and most of them are sent to London.
Iam sorry to say that the gamekeepers, too, kill many Ravens in this neighbourhood; and the
bird-stuffers get their share.”

In the midland as well as the eastern counties it has become very rare; and Mr. Stevenson
states (B. of Norf. i. p. 257) that he has been unable to ascertain the existence of more than a
pair or two of Ravens in any part of Norfolk as actual residents in a wild state; and Mr. Cordeaux
says that it has long ceased to exist in North Lincolnshire and Holderness. In Scotland, according
to Mr. Robert Gray, it is, in spite of all persecution, still common on some parts of the mainland
and on both groups of islands, extending to the Haskeir rocks and St. Kilda. Up to 1870, he
says, ‘it continues breeding at the Mull of Galloway, Ailsa Craig, the Island of Arran, Jura,
Mull, Islay, Skye, and, it may be added, all the other islands of the Inner Hebrides, where there
are suitable cliffs for its protection.” Dr. Saxby says that it is common and resident in Shetland.
In Ireland it is stated by Thompson to be generally distributed. In Greenland it is found
throughout the country up to very far north, and breeds there. On the last German Arctic
expedition it was met with at all places which were visited, always being seen in pairs.

3

Dr. Pansch says that the first were seen in August 1869, on Shannon, and late in September it
was seen on Walrus Island and at Cape Wynn. Late in January 1870 it was again seen on the
island; and in April he saw several passing northward. In Iceland it is very numerous, and
resident. The pied variety which has been met with in the Feroes occurs in Iceland also.

In the Feroes it is, Captain Feilden says, abundant, but not so numerous as he expected, as
the general possession of guns by the inhabitants, and the ‘ Nebbetold,” or tax payable in the
bills of birds of prey, seems to have reduced their numbers. Throughout Scandinavia it is a
common bird, and is found up in the extreme north. Mr. Collett informs me that in Norway it
is most frequently met with in the coast-districts, where it breeds, from the Hvalder up to the
Russian frontier, and is very numerous above the arctic circle, where it is everywhere sedentary.
In the interior it is, as a rule, rare, and is only seen in the lowlands during the seasons of
passage and in winter. It is rapidly decreasing in numbers. Mr. Meves informs me that “it
is found throughout Sweden and Lapland, and appears to be more numerous on the coasts
than inland. It builds either on lofty trees or in inaccessible cliffs, and lays from four to six
eggs very early in the season; in Southern Sweden it lays as early as the end of February or the
beginning of March, in Blekinge early in March, and at Muonioniska, in Lapland, from the 15th
to the 24th April.” I found it common both in Sweden and in Finland; for in the former
country I have at different times observed it everywhere from Skane up to Tornea, and on the
‘Finnish side from Tornea down to St. Petersburg; but as I chiefly travelled along the line of
coast, I cannot say much respecting its being common or otherwise in the interior. I saw it,
however, when travelling from Kuopio to Uleaborg in the interior of Finland. In Russia it
occurs in the high north, being numerous at Archangel, where it not unfrequently nests in the
houses; and it was found by Hoffmann at the mouth of the Petchora. Mr. Meves writes to
me, “I met with it from St. Petersburg to Archangel, and also in the Perm Government down
to the South-east Ural, everywhere common. Here in Sweden it is a very shy bird, whereas in
Russia, like all corvine birds, it is extremely bold and fearless. In the Stockholm Museum we
possess a Raven which was shot near the town in October 1839; and on its lower mandible was
found a small copper plate, on which the date 1770 was engraved; this plate was firmly fixed on
by means of two holes bored through it.” Mr. Sabandeff informs me that it is very common
throughout Central Russia, and is frequently found nesting in the church-towers. In the Ural
he likewise found it common; but in the Bashkir birch-woods, on the eastern slope, it is rare.

On the coasts of the Baltic it isnot uncommon. Mr. Goebel speaks of it as being by no means _

rare in Curland, and says that he once saw thirteen together. I have frequently seen it in the
Baltic Provinces and on the Pomeranian coast; and Borggreve writes that it is nowhere common
in North Germany, except in some parts of the Baltic coast in Pomerania, but where found it is
resident. Kjzerbélling says that, although it can by no means be called rare in Denmark, it is
far from being common, and in some localities it is only occasionally met with. It appears to
shun the flat country and to frequent the rugged mountainous districts, especially places where
the woods are tolerably thick, and is therefore not very common in Holland, where it is a winter
visitant. It used, however, Baron von Droste Hiilshoff says, to breed on the island of Borkum ;
but the nest having been several times destroyed, they forsook the island and are now only

observed there during winter. In Belgium it is resident in the forest-covered hills by the Meuse
B2

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4

and the Ourthe, as also in the Ardennes; and a few pairs inhabit the woods of the low countries ;
but in the flat plains of Flanders, and near Antwerp, it is rare. Degland and Gerbe (Orn. Eur.
i, p. 197) speak of it as being resident in most parts of France, especially in the mountainous
portions and in the large forests. It is common in Portugal; and Dr. E. Rey speaks of it (J. f. O.
1872, p. 145) as being numerous at Algarve, where it is often seen in large flocks. In Spain it
is, Mr. Saunders writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 221), “abundant, and resident throughout the country,
breeding in rocks or on trees indiscriminately. In Majorca this species, elsewhere so wary, is as
tame as our Rooks are with ploughmen, and may be seen stalking about in pairs after the
peasants who are working in the olive-plantations.” Mr. A. von Homeyer met with it in the
Balearic islands, says that it remains there to breed, and frequents rocky localities. In Italy it
is resident, and tolerably common in the Alps, the Apennines, and the hilly districts, but rare in
the plains, especially in the Modenese district; nor does it appear to breed in Lombardy. In
Sicily Doderlein says that it is very abundant, and a pair which have their nest in Monte
Pellegrino may frequently be seen wheeling over Palermo. Writing on the ornithology of
Sardinia, Mr. A. B. Brooke says (Ibis, 1873, p. 248) it is “very common. On the 2nd of May
I was witness to what must have been an unusual migration of these birds. When on the road
halfway between Iglesias and St. Antioco, I saw and counted more than one hundred Ravens
in one large straggling flock, tossing and tumbling about in the air, performing all kinds of
curious antics, uttering incessantly their harsh croak. ‘They were proceeding, as long as I could
see them, rapidly and steadily in a north-easterly direction, not flying very high. One nest I
found contained six young birds—an unusually large number.”

In Southern Germany it is, comparatively speaking, rare, and is rapidly decreasing in
numbers. Dr. A. Fritsch states that though a few years ago it used to frequent the Krummau
and Winterberg districts in Bohemia, it is said now only to occur on the side of the Bohmerwald
nearest to Upper Austria, on the Mihl river, and Leichten. In Styria, near Cilli, Mr. Seiden-
sacher informed me, it is rare, but breeds there in small numbers; and its nest has been found
at Greis, Suetina, &c. Dr. Otto Finsch speaks (J. f. O. 1859, p. 384) of it as being extremely
common in the Balkan range. I frequently observed it in Wallachia, Servia, and Bulgaria; and
Messrs. Elwes and Buckley state that it is more or less common in Turkey. In Greece it is
common, and resident, and is stated by both Von der Miihle and Lindermayer to be much
commoner there than it is in Germany. Erhardt refers to it as a resident in the Cyclades; and
Dr. Kriiper found it breeding in the steep precipices in the mountains on Naxos. Lord Lilford
also states of it (Ibis, 1860, p. 135):—‘“ Very common in Corfu and Epirus. A pair breed every
year in the citadel-rock of Corfu, and are annually robbed of their young by the soldiers. I
observed small flocks of Ravens in September, haunting the Bay of Corfu, and particularly
the island of Vido. I saw a Raven near Scutari, the capital of Albania proper, with white
wings.” =

In Asia Minor it occurs, but not so commonly as in Greece; but Dr. Kriiper says that a few
pairs breed near Smyrna. It is, however, rare in Southern Russia, where, according to Professor
yon Nordmann, a few are found in the hills of the Crimea and on the wooded edges of the

- steppes. He himself only observed it three or four times during a sojourn of five years in that

country. Canon Tristram found it common in Palestine, and remarks that, except during the

5)

breeding-season, it is by no means solitary, but is as sociable and gregarious as the Rook or
Jackdaw. Mr. C. W. Wyatt believes that he saw it on the peninsula of Sinai; but it does not
occur in Africa, being replaced in North-east Africa by Corvus umbrinus and Corvus affinis, and
in North-west Africa by Corvus tingitanus, which latter species also inhabits the Canaries and
Madeira.

To the eastward it is met with as far as Eastern Siberia. De Filippi records it from
Teheran, and Messrs. Blanford and St. John found it common in the highlands of Persia; but
the former did not observe it in Baluchistan. Mr. A. O. Hume states (Stray Feathers, i. p. 205)
that it is a cold-weather visitant to Sindh, more especially to Upper Sindh, and abounds at
Jacobabad. In Lower Sindh it is less common; but he saw it not only at Hyderabad but also
here and there along the Mekran coast to Gwader.

According to Jerdon (B. of India, ii. p. 294) it is said to occur in the Punjab about
Ferozepore, and also in Upper Sindh during the cold weather only, migrating to Afghanistan
and the neighbouring hills to breed, which it is said to do in the North-west Himalayas, and in
the neighbourhood of Kashmir. Under the name of C. tibetanus he further records it from
Ladakh, Kumaon, and other sites in the more eastern part of the Himalayas; but he never saw
it in Sikkim. Dr. Henderson met with it throughout Yarkand ; and Severtzoff records it from
Turkestan, where, he says, it is common and resident, and breeds in the mountains at an altitude
of from about 3000 to 8000 feet, and occasionally is found as high as from 12,000 to 18,000 feet
above the sea-level.

In Siberia it was met with by Von Middendorff everywhere in the Taimyr country, but he
never observed it in the steppes of Southern Siberia, though he met with it again at the
Ishatskaya station, not far from Atshinsk; and it occurs from Irkutsk up to the south-east coast
of the Sea of Ochotsk, and even in Mantchuria, but is not common. Radde says that they do
not all winter in South-east Siberia, but most arrive in large flocks at the Tarei-nor early in
March. Near Kulussutajefsk and in the Bureja Mountains he found a few pairs during the
winter. It is, he says, found almost everywhere; and he speaks of it as occurring in the Upper
Irkut valley, on the Oka, and at Lake Baikal. Dr. von Schrenck states that it is met with
throughout the Amoor country, being most numerous on the coast and on the island of Saghalien.
It does not appear to occur in China or Japan, being there replaced by Corvus japonensis, Bp.
(C. macrorhynchus, Schlegel), which differs in having only the upper part of the throat covered
with lanceolate feathers, the rest of the feathers on the throat and neck being soft and full-
webbed, and it has moreover a shorter wing.

As regards the American Raven, I cannot, after a most careful examination of a series of
specimens, discover any distinctive character whereby it can be distinguished, even as a subspecies.
Professor Spencer F. Baird, in his recently published work on North-American birds, writes as
follows :—“ Though easily distinguishable from the European bird, the American Raven is so
nearly related to it as to be beyond doubt referable to it as a variety. The differences presented
in a very large series of both forms are, however, very constant and tangible. In the American
bird the bill is always longer and less deep, and the plumage is more highly burnished, while
the wings, especially the secondaries, are of a perceptibly more reddish violet than the other
portions.” But I cannot find that these differences hold good; for in the series I have examined

ott

sy |

6

I find some European and Asiatic specimens with the plumage fully as highly burnished, and
not differing in the least in shade of colour from American examples; and as regards the alleged
difference in the size of the bill, my table of measurements will show how little this character
can be relied on. Writing on its range, Professor Baird says:—‘* We find this bird more or less
common throughout nearly the whole continent. It is much more abundant in some regions
than in others, and, as a general rule, is much more common and also more generally distributed
in the western portion, where also its habits are remarkably different from the manners of its
eastern representative.

“Tt seems to be more or less common throughout the Arctic regions. Mr. Kennicott met
with Ravens at Lake Winnipeg. Mr. MacFarlane found them abundant at Lockhart River, at
Fort Anderson, and on the Lower Anderson River. Mr. Ross obtained them at Fort Simpson,
Mr. Reid at Big Island, Mr. Clarke at Fort Rae, Mr. Lockhart at Fort Resolution, and Mr. Dall
at Nulato, in Alaska.

“In the Eastern States the Raven is a comparatively rare bird, except in a few special
localities. These are usually mountain-ranges, high precipitous banks of rivers and lakes and
of the ocean, and among wild and lonely islands. It occurs on the Labrador coast, at Grand
Menan, in the Bay of Fundy, the Adirondacks, Lake George, the Hudson River, &c. Mr.
Lawrence speaks of it as quite common on the coast of New Jersey. It is found among the
mountains of Buncombe and other counties in North Carolina; and Mr. Audubon mentions its
occurrence at Table Mountain, in the district of Pendleton, South Carolina. Dr. Coues found
Ravens not rare at Labrador, where the almost inaccessible cliffs afford them safe and convenient
retreats. They were so excessively wary that it was impossible to shoot them. They were seen
to descend in pairs to the sea-shore to feed on dead fish, crabs, and other animal substances
thrown up by the sea.

“Mr. Ridgway informs me of the presence of this bird in the heavy forests of the bottom-
lands in Southern Illinois. It is there quite rare, however, as he has met with but a few pairs,
which were resident, and nesting in the tall timber of the Big-Creek bottoms, in Richland
County.

‘“‘In New England these birds are very rare, and their occurrence is only accidental. One
has been shot on the Connecticut, and another on the Merrimack, in Massachusetts.

“On the Pacific coast the Raven is common from Sitka to San Diego. Throughout
Washington territory it is said to be plentiful, more scattered in the summer, and in the
winter congregating about settlements and the sea-shore. At Vancouver, during the winter,
it was observed amicably associating with the Crows, and on the coast with the Fish-Crows;
but during the spring, when the latter had nests, they boldly attacked the Ravens, and drove
them away.

“In California and in all the adjacent regions, Dr. Cooper states, the Raven is found every-
where in pairs, more numerous than in the Atlantic States, and abundant even in the most
barren desert districts. It follows trains and herds of cattle, and keeps on the look-out for any
thing befalling them. It is omnivorous, eating snakes, lizards, eggs, carrion, and even grain,
though the last very rarely. It is accused of destroying young chickens and lambs.

“In Arizona Dr. Coues speaks of it as resident, and very abundant about the cattle-

7 .

enclosures, where it congregates in immense numbers during the autumn and winter. During
the severe winter of 1864-65 great numbers perished of cold and hunger at Fort Whipple.

“Mr. Dresser observed the Raven common at San Antonio, frequenting the slaughter-houses.
In November, in the Baudera Hills, several came to his camp to feast on the offal of deer.
Dr. Woodhouse also found them very abundant in Texas, the Indian territory, and New Mexico,
and especially so on the buffalo-plains. In the Mexican-Boundary Survey Dr. Kennerly observed
these birds everywhere in Northern Mexico, flocks of them following the train from point to
point. ‘They were not at all shy, but often came into camp in search of food.

“Dr. Heermann states that while in California he always found the nests of the Raven
placed high on bold precipitous cliffs, secure against danger; in the vast desert plains of New
Mexico he saw these birds building on low trees, and even on cactus plants less than three feet
from the ground, showing how much circumstances and localities affect the habits of birds
regarding incubation.

“A Raven, probably this species, is abundant on the plateau of Mexico. The Cerro
Colorado, near Tehuacan, is the rendezvous of a large number of these birds, where, according
to Sumichrast, at the time of the flowering of the maguey, they gather in great abundance, to
feed on the blossoms of this plant, which are their favourite food.”

As a rule the Raven is a shy, cautious bird, as crafty and clever amongst birds as the fox is
amongst quadrupeds; but much depends on the localities where it occurs as to whether it is shy
or otherwise. In the high north, where amongst the fishermen it is welcomed as a guest and
permitted to feast at leisure on the garbage, being an excellent scavenger, and consequently but
seldom molested, it is comparatively tame, and will permit itself to be approached; but in
Central and Southern Europe where its predatory habits render it any thing but welcome to the
farmer, shepherd, and sportsman, and where it can be of little or no use as a scavenger, it soon
learns to know that its presence is not considered desirable, and keeps well away out of gunshot,
being most difficult of approach. Amongst the early Scandinavians the Raven was looked on as
possessing wisdom to a peculiar extent; and in the Sagas it is related that Odin possessed two
Ravens, which traversed great distances, and returning to their master whispered into his ears
the information they had gained during their journey. Bold as well as wary, it does not hesitate
to attack the Eagle when it approaches the locality where its nest is placed, and though it will
give way to that bird when they meet over a carcass, yet it will drive away other birds from it.
An arrant thief and a lover of carrion, it seems to know by instinct when a flock of sheep is
tainted with disease, and will watch for days until one dies, when it immediately drops on to the
carcass, first attacks the eyes and then turns its attention to the subcaudal region, soon dragging
out the intestines. So far as my experience goes, I believe that the Raven trusts to its great
power of sight alone in searching after carrion, and does not hunt by scent, as some naturalists
have believed to be the case. When searching for food on the ground, it walks with steady
measured pace, solemnly striding along as if engaged in serious business. ‘Though its chief and
most favourite food is carrion, it is omnivorous, and feeds on almost any thing that comes in its
way. Young and sickly birds are frequently attacked by it; and hares and rabbits are often
killed by it during severe snow-storms, or when in a weakly state. Usually two hunt in
company; and there are numerous anecdotes on record of the craftiness with which they

o7v4

8

cooperate in hunting down their quarry. The shepherds accuse it, and not without reason,
of destroying young lambs—and the housewives of killing young poultry, and of breaking and
sucking eggs which may have been laid amongst the grass at some little distance from the
homestead. It is said to commit no little devastation amongst the barley, oats, and wheat
when other more suitable food is not at hand, and feeds on grubs, worms, and insects of various
kinds. In the villages in Northern Scandinavia I frequently saw Ravens gravely examining the
component parts of large rubbish-heaps that are thrown out near the cottages.

The note of the Raven is a hoarse croak, resembling the word krruck; but, during the
breeding-season especially, it often utters a gulping and not disagreeable note, which may be
almost called a song. Professor Sundevall, indeed, says (Sv. Fogl. p. 118) that people who have.
kept tame Ravens have informed him that when in an especially good humour during fine
weather they utter a series of low song-like notes, like the so-called song of the Crow and Magpie,
intermixed with a clear and pleasant note every now and again. Whilst these notes are uttered
the neck is stretched forward and moved with a wave-like motion. Probably this was the
“song” referred to by Von Kittlitz (cf: Finsch, Abh. naturw. Ver. Bremen, ili. p. 41) in his
notes on the Raven he met with in Sitka. Mr. B. R. Ross also states that the Raven has a very
liquid and musical call-note; and Professor Baird says that one of its notes is like that of the
Canada Goose. From the notes furnished to the latter gentleman by Dr. Elliott Coues, I tran-
scribe the following :—“ The Raven is not, on the whole, so noisy a bird as the Crow, though he
croaks vigorously on occasion, and his caw may claim to be impressive if not agreeable. But the
queer sounds that the bird can utter, if he be so minded, are indescribable; even his ordinary
cawing is susceptible of considerable modulation. A favourite amusement of his, when, his hunger
appeased for the time, he feels particularly comfortable, is to settle snugly on the top of a pine
tree, and talk to himself. ‘The performance generally begins with a loud caw, self-asserting,
followed by a complacent chuckle; and then comes a series of comical syllables so low as to be
scarcely audible from the ground below, as if he were musing aloud and tickled with his own
fancies. Then he will raise his voice again, and file away at some old saw for a while, finishing
with the inimitable ‘cork-drawing’ for which his tribe is famous.”

An early breeder, the Raven commences nidification in February, and either repairs its old
nest or constructs a fresh one. Usually it breeds in some almost inaccessible fissure in the rocks ;
but it frequently builds also on trees. In any favourite locality where they find themselves
beyond molestation, a pair of Ravens will occupy the same nest year after year. I well recollect
one place on the shores of the Saima Lake in Southern Finland, where, in the cleft of a steep
rock overhanging the water, a pair of Ravens had for years built their nest. I tried every mode
I could think of to get at the nest, but without success. The nest is rather bulky, is constructed
of sticks, lined with roots and rabbit’s down, or any suitable soft material. When, undisturbed,
they use the nest for several years in succession, they carefully refurnish it before commencing
nidification each spring.

The eggs, from four to six and sometimes even as many as eight in number, resemble those
of the Carrion-Crow, but are larger in size. In my collection I have a considerable series from
various parts of Scandinavia and Northern Europe, which vary not a little, some being rich
pale blue with a greenish tinge, having faint blackish underlying sheil-markings, and dark

9

blackish surface-spots scattered over the shell; whereas others are dull olive-greenish, closely
marked with dull blackish brown surface-blotches, which in one or two form a peculiar hiero-
glyphic kind of markings. Im size they vary from 143 by 142 to 13% by 143 inch. As a rule
those from Spain are rather brighter-coloured than others from Northern Europe; but I possess
one from Greenland which is quite as bright as any I have seen from Southern Europe.

In some parts of Northern Europe, especially in Iceland and the Feroes, partial albinoes
are met with; and this variety has been described as a distinct species under the names of
C. leucopheus and C. ferdensis. I possess one specimen from the Feroes which is about half
white and half black, and another from Greenland which has the major portion of the primaries
and of the tail white.

The Raven is easily tamed and becomes very familiar. It can be taught to utter words, and
will mimic the barking of a dog or other sounds. In old coaching-days it used to be customary
to keep a tame Raven at the post-houses ; and when any one drove up, the Raven would generally
call for the hostler, having doubtless learnt to do so from hearing travellers call “ hostler”
directly they drove into the yard, should that individual not be there to receive them. One
frequently sees tame Ravens in brewery-yards; and ever since I can recollect, a pair have been in
the yard of a brewery in Oxford Street, close to Tottenham-Court Road, where they may usually
be seen perched on a barrel or stalking gravely about the yard.

The specimen figured, on the same Plate with Corvus umbrinus, is from Denmark, and is the
bird described. I propose also, when treating of the genus Corvus in my article on Corvus
corone, to give a sketch of the head of the common Raven, and shall also give a detailed table
of measurements of specimens from various localities.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, partial albino. Greenland (Méschler). 6, partial albino. Feroes (A. Benzon). c, 3. Falster, Denmark,
January 22nd, 1871 (A. Benzon). d, juv. Archangel, May 28rd, 1873 (Piotiuch). e. Bandera, Texas,
November 1863 (H. E. D.).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a. Fort Benton, U.S. (J. A. Mullan). 6,2. Duetias, Guatemala, August 10th, 1859 (O. Salvin).

EL Mus. Brit. Reg.

a, 3, 6,2. Skane, Sweden. c. Jerusalem (Tristram). d, e. Nepal (Hodgson). jf. Ladak (Dr. Henderson).
gy. Fort Simpson, U. S., April 21st, 1860 (B. Ross). h. Fort Simpson, April 24th, 1862 (J. K. Lord).
i, k. West side of Rocky Mountains (J. K. Lord). 7. Mexico (type of C. nobilis).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a, 3, 6,2. Isola di Vacca, Sardinia, May 1874 (L.).

sy /5)

O76

10
E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a,3. Jerusalem, February 16th, 1864 (H. B. T.). 6. Cashmere, August 1870 (A. O. Hume). c,¢.

Liadak (Dr. Henderson).

E Mus, Col. Biddulph.
a, 9. Le, Ladak (B.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.
a. Thuringia (Méschler). 6, 2. Granada, January 1871. c,d. Zegri, Granada, May 1873.

E Mus. Jas. Lumsden, jun,
a, b, pull. Scotland.

Le,

CORVUS UMBRINUS.

(BROWN-NECKED RAVEN.)

“Corvus umbrinus, Hedenborg, in MS.,” Sundevall, K. Vet. Ak. Handl. 1838, p. 199.
Corvus infumatus, Wagn. Miinch. gel. Anz. (1838), fide Finsch & Hartlaub, Vog. Ost-Afr.
p- 373 (1870).
- Corvus corax, E. C. Taylor, Ibis, 1859, p. 49 (nec Linn.).
Corax umbrinus (Hedenb.), A. E. Brehm, Erg. Reis. Habesch, pp. 216 et 319 (1863).
Corvus corax, Leith Adams, Ibis, 1864, p. 22 (nec Linn.).
Corone wmbrinus (Hedenb.), G. R. Gray, Hand-list, ii. p. 12. no. 6199 (1870).

Ghurab el nohi, Arabic.

Figura nulla.

Chalybeo-niger: capite, collo abdomineque ex parte nitidé umbrinis: rostro nigro, pedibus nigro-fuscis :

iride fusca.

Adult Male (Egypt). Head and neck glossy dark umber-brown; feathers on the neck white at the base ;
upper and underparts generally jet-black, with a steely violet gloss, the underparts intermixed here and
there with a few dark umber-brown feathers; wings and tail glossy black, with a violet-blue gloss ;
bill black ; legs black, with a brownish tinge; iris dark brown. Total length about 23 inches, culmen
2:9, wing 15:5, tail 8°6, tarsus 2:9, middle toe 2°2.

Female. Similar to the male.

Tuts well-marked species of Raven inhabits Palestine and North-east Africa, ranging eastward as
far as Baluchistan.

Canon Tristram states (P. Z.S. 1864, p. 445) that it is the common Raven of Jerusalem and
the Jordan valley, but not on the coast, and breeds solitarily in the cliffs; and he further writes
(Ibis, 1866, p. 70) as follows :—“ On revisiting Jerusalem in March and April we found that the
greater part of the large Ravens had left, though many of C. wmbrinus remained, but by no
means so sociable as in winter. Numbers of them paid a visit every morning to the Jewish
slaughter-houses, or rather slaughter-places, outside the Damascus gate. They were building,
not in communities, but in various scattered localities in the neighbourhood. We never obtained
a nest of C. corax; though, close to the city-walls in the valley of Hinnom, in a ledge easily
accessible, Mr. Egerton-Warburton took a nest with five eggs of C. umbrinus. In the neigh-
bourhood of the Dead Sea the common Raven was never absent; but C. wmbrinus was also
abundant, scattered in pairs or in small companies on every part of the shores. In the Wady
Kelt, near Jericho, we found several nests, containing generally five or six eggs, situated on the
We never found it, like the Hooded Crow, breeding in trees, while

most inaccessible ledges.
3X

O17

WES)

D)
in Africa C. coraa selects indiscriminately trees and ledges, even where trees are few. ‘The egg
is decidedly larger than that of the Carrion-Crow, but smaller than the Raven’s. All our spe-
cimens are rather lighter in colour than the ordinary run of Rayen’s eggs. Near the mouth of
the Jordan I secured a specimen of the Brown-necked Raven just as it reached the shore, which
had evidently traversed the lake from the south; and during our slow progress down the west
shore of the Dead Sea it was of daily occurrence.” Mr. C. W. Wyatt met with it on the Sinaitic
peninsula, where, he says, it is common, and universally distributed. In Egypt it is the Raven
of the country, and is common and generally distributed. Captain Shelley writes (B. of Egypt,
p- 158) as follows:—‘ This Raven is very plentiful throughout Egypt and Nubia. It prefers
desert and rocky districts to the more cultivated parts, and may frequently be seen near the
Pyramids, on which it yearly builds. Like the common Raven it nests both on rocks and trees,
in the latter instance usually selecting the crown of some lofty date-palm. It is essentially a
desert-bird, and therefore not to be met with in the Delta.” Both Mr. E. C. Taylor and Mr. L.
Stafford Allen also record it from Egypt; and the former says that it is one of the few birds he
saw at Suez, and he met with a flock of at least a dozen of these Ravens near the Pyramids of
Dashoor. Messrs. Finsch and Hartlaub (Vog. Ost-Afr. p. 574) write respecting its range as
follows: —‘‘ South of 13° N. lat. it is by no means a rare species. It occurs in Egypt, Nubia,
Sennaar, Kordofan, and the coast-regions of the Red Sea, where, according te Von Heuglin, it is
met with in the Somali country.” Von Heuglin writes also (Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 506) that he has
seen specimens from the coast of Abyssinia, and in a collection from Tigreh; but Mr. Blanford
did not meet with it in Abyssinia. It does not occur at all in North-west Africa.

To the eastward it occurs as far as Baluchistan, where Mr. Blanford met with it, and writes
as follows:—This is the only Crow of Baluchistan, and is rather a Crow than a Raven in its
habits (according to the manners of Eastern rather than of Kuropean members of the genus),
being a common scavenger about habitations. Most of the specimens were shot about my camp.
It is perfectly familiar and fearless. I thought I once saw the same Crow on the Persian
plateau, a little east of Shiréz; but I was not certain, and it was certainly very rare.”

This Raven appears to be essentially a desert-bird, and is wanting in the mountainous
districts of the countries which it inhabits, being, however, tolerably numerous in the true
desert. Von Heuglin remarks (J. ¢.) that it is also seen in the villages, date-gardens, and durra-
fields, and is usually met with at the caravan halting-places, where it may frequently be seen
perched on a camel or buffalo searching after insects. He describes its note as somewhat
resembling that of the Raven, and compares it to a deep short note which may be produced
by clucking or croaking with the tongue. When the dates are ripe in Nubia flocks of this Raven
collect, he says, in the date-groves and feed greedily on this fruit; and it not unfrequently feeds
on maize.

The Brown-necked Raven breeds either in the rocks or else in trees. As above stated,
Canon Tristram never found its nest in a tree; but Dr. A. E. Brehm found it breeding in
January and February, the nests being placed in large mimosas; and Mr. E. C. Taylor, who
found it near Assouan, writes (Ibis, 1867, p. 66) as follows:—‘‘ This bird makes its nest some-
times in rocks, sometimes in the centre of the crown of a date-palm (Phenix dactylifera), in
which position I found a nest early in March, near Assouan, containing four eggs. I took

3
another nest of this species, with five eggs, from one of the pyramids of Ghizeh in April. The
eggs are larger than those of C. cornix, and more brightly coloured.”
I possess eggs of this Raven, collected in Palestine by Canon Tristram, and in the valley of
Hinnom, Palestine, by Mr. Cochrane in April, which are undistinguishable from some very

brightly coloured common Ravyen’s eggs in my collection, and measure 133 by 135 inch, and 135
by 142 inch.

The specimen figured, on the same Plate with our large Northern Raven, is one collected
by Captain Shelley in Egypt, and is in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 3. Kgypt (G. E. Shelley). 6, 3. Gwader, Baluchistan, January 4th, 1872 (W. T. Blanford).

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.
a,2. Egypt, March 9th, 1868 (G. #. S.).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a, 3. Ghor el Safieh, Palestine, January 29th, 1864. 6. Jerusalem, February 15th, 1864. c, g. Jerusalem,
December 26th, 1863 (H. B. T.).

E Mus. H. M. Upeher.
a,6,3,c¢c,2. Jerusalem (H. M. U.).

E Mus. E. C. Taylor.
a,2. Jerusalem. 6,3. Egypt (EL. C. T.).

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Order Il. MACROCHIRES.

Family CYPSELIDZ.

Genus CYPSELUS.

Hirundo apud Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 512 (1760).

Micropus apud Wolf, Taschenb. deutsch. Vogelk. i. p. 280 (1810).
Cypselus, Iliger, Prodomus Syst. Mamm. et Av. p. 230 (1811).
Brachypus apud Meyer, Vég. Liv- u. Esthl. p. 143 (1815).

Q”9

Apus apud Cuvier, Régne Anim. i. p. 373 (1817).

By most of the earlier authors the Swifts and Swallows have either been united in the same
family or placed close together ; but recent investigation has proved that they are widely different,
and certainly belong to different divisions or orders. Keyserling and Blasius place Cypselus
between the Owls and Goatsuckers, Degland and Gerbe between the Swallows and Goatsuckers,
Macgillivray between the Owls and Swallows, G. R. Gray between the Caprimulgide and the
Hirundinide ; and Sundevall places the Caprimulginee and Cypseline between the Coccyges and
the Volucres Syndactylee, in which latter he includes the Bee-eaters and Kingfishers; but after
careful consideration I have deemed it advisable to arrange the Swifts and Goatsuckers between
the Crows and Woodpeckers.

The Swifts inhabit the Palearctic, Ethiopian, Oriental, and Australian Regions, five species
being found in the Western Palearctic Region. Having the feet adapted for clinging, they are
unable to walk; but their wings are very powerful, so that their flight is extremely swift and
protracted. They cling to the sides of walls and rocks, having strong claws, and support them-
selves, to some extent, with their strong tails. They feed entirely on insects, which they capture
on the wing, and are migrants, leaving their northern haunts when the cold weather sets in and
insects become scarce. ‘Their cry is a harsh, loud screech; and they have no song. They make
a rude platform of a nest of straws, roots, feathers, wool, &c, agglutinated together, and deposit
two or three pure-white elongated eggs.

In Cypselus apus (the type of the genus) the bill is extremely short, depressed, broad at the
base, narrowed towards the tip, which is obtuse; gape-line from behind the angle of the eye,
arched ; nostrils oblong, with an elevated margin; wings very long, narrow, pointed, the first
quill short, pointed, the second and third nearly equal, the latter longest; tail long, deeply
forked, the rectrices often much exceeded in length by the wings; feet short, strong; the tarsus
feathered in front, bare behind, inner toe smallest and directed forwards, the third longest; claws

large, strong, curved, acute.

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266

Mintern Bros .1mp

COMMON SWIFT.

CYPSELUS APUS

CYPSELUS APUS.

(COMMON SWIFT.)

Hirundo apos, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 512 (1760).

Hirundo apus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 344 (1766).

Le Martinet noir, Montbeill. Hist. Nat. Ois. vii. p. 302 (1783).

Micropus murarius, Wolf, 'Taschenb. Deutsch. Vogelk. i. p. 281 (1810).
Cypselus apus, Illig. Prodr. Syst. Mamm. et Av. p. 230 (1811).

Brachypus murarius (Wolf), Meyer, Vég. Livl. & Esthl. p. 143 (1815).
Cypselus niger, Leach, Syst. Cat. M. & B. Brit. Mus. p. 19 (1816).

Cypselus vulgaris, Steph. in Shaw’s Gen. Zool. x. p. 72 (1817).

Apus, Cuv. (Hirundo apus, L.), Régne Anim. i. p. 373 (1817).

Cypselus murarius (Wolf), Meyer, Taschenb. Deutsch. Vogelk. iii. p. 255 (1822).
Apus murarius (Wolf), Lesson, Traité Orn. p. 267 (1831).

Micropus apus, Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 165.

Cypselus turrium, Brehm, Naumannia, 1859, v. p. 270.

Cypselus aterrimus, Heugl. J. f. Orn. 1861, p. 422.

Cypselus dubius, O. Antinori, Cat. Ucc. Afr. Centr. p. 25 (1864).

Cypselus barbatus, Temm., Sclater, P. Z. 8. 1865, p. 599 (sub C. apus).
Cypselus apus vulgaris, A. EK. Brehm, Verz. Samml. C. L. Brehm, p. 3 (1866).
Cypselus apus murarius, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Cypselus apus turrium, A. K. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Cypselus apus niger, A. K. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Swift, Screech, Develing, English; Gobdhlan dubh, Gaelic; Martinet de muraille, French ;
Andorinhao, Portuguese ; Avion, Falsia, Spanish; Rundun, Maltese; Rondone maggiore
volgare, Italian; Thurmsegler, Mauerhékler, German; de Gierzwaluw, Dutch; Muurseiler,
Muursvale, Danish; Taarnsvale, Norwegian; Tornsvala, Swedish; Luniapdédésky, Terva-
padsky, Finnish ; Stresh baschennoi, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 542. fig. 1; Werner, Atlas, Chélidons, pl. 6; Kjerb. Orn. Dan.
taf. xili.; Frisch, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 17; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 13. fig. 3; Naumann,
Vog. Deutschl. taf. 147. fig. 2; Sundevall, Sv. Fogl. pl. xxi. fig. 1; Gould, B. of Eur.
pl. 53. fig. 1; id. B. of G. B. ii. pl. iii; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pl. 60; Roux, Orn. Prov.
pl. 145; Bettoni, Ucc. Lomb. tay. 44.

3g ad. nigricanti-fuliginosus, alis supr’ et fronte vix pallidioribus: mento et gula albicantibus: rostro et
pedibus nigricantibus: iride fusca.

983

2 haud a mare distinguenda.
Juv. adulto similis sed plumis ubique albido marginatis et mento albicantiore.

Adult Male (Cookham, 8th June). Entire body, excepting the chin and upper part of the throat, almost
uniform sooty blackish brown, the upper surface of the wings and the forehead a trifle paler; on the
upper and under surface of the body there is a clearly distinguishable metallic gloss; tail tolerably
deeply forked, the outermost rectrix being 1:15 inch longer than the central ones; chin and upper part
of the throat dirty whitish; bill and feet blackish; iris dark brown. Total length about 72 inches,
bill from gape 0°65, wing 6°5, tail 3°15, tarsus 0°55.

Female, Similar to the male.

Young Female (Stockholm, 27th August). Resembles the adult; but the feathers on almost all parts of the
body, and especially on the forehead, underparts, and upper and under surfaces of the wings, are edged
with whitish ; throat much purer white than in the adult bird.

Obs. I have carefully examined specimens of so-called Cypselus barbatus from South Africa with European
examples, and fail to find any specific difference. It is true that South-African specimens have black
central stripes to the white feathers on the throat; but I find this to be the case, to a slight extent, in
several British-killed birds; and one from Copenhagen has these black stripes as fully developed as
many of the South-African examples I have examined.

‘HE present species of Swift inhabits Kurope generally during the summer season, Africa, and
Asia, as far east as Dauria. On the islands off the west of Europe it is replaced by Cypselus
unicolor and the Pallid Swift.

In Great Britain it is a common summer resident, but only remains with us for a compara-
tively short time, as it arrives somewhat late and leaves early. It frequents the old church-
towers and ruined buildings, and in suitable localities is extremely common. Mr. Stevenson, in
his work on the birds of Norfolk, says (i. p. 345) that it ‘“‘appears in that county about the first
week in May, and leaves us again, for the most part, by the end of August, though stragglers are
occasionally seen up to the 20th and 25th September. The Rev. E. W. Dowell has, however,
recorded in his MS. notes a single Swift as seen by himself at Blakeney, with several Hirundines,
in October 1858, a very unusually late appearance of this species. ‘Throughout their brief
sojourn with us they are very generally distributed, frequenting alike the steeples of our city
and country churches, the eaves of houses, or the ruined edifices of bygone days. They also
breed regularly in the dark crevices of the chalk cliffs at Hunstanton, facing the sea, where
their nests are free from all chance of molestation; but the old birds are, I am sorry to say,
frequently shot at from the beach as they take their evening flight over the sands, or chase one
another along the face of the cliffs, whose hollows reverberate with their harsh screams.” It is
found throughout the mainland of England and Scotland, and is, generally speaking, common
throughout Ireland, but is rare on the islands off the Scotch coast. Mr. Robert Gray (B. of W.
of Scotl. p. 210) says that “during its three months’ residence in Scotland the Swift is very
commonly distributed in the western mainland, but is rare on the inner islands, and totally
wanting in the Outer Hebrides. Mr. Graham informs me that a pair of these birds have bred

3

for some years in a hole in the ruined tower of Iona Cathedral; but I am unable to give any
other instance of their nesting on the inner islands. This species seems partial to old towers
and ruined castles, which are numerously scattered over the western counties; and I have
observed that in many instances where these remains of ancient strongholds are far removed
from towns or villages, the Swifts are quite as numerous as they appear to be when located in
populous districts. In the months of July and August 1868 I observed this bird to be unusually
abundant in Wigtownshire. During the prevalent heat of that season many hundreds, if not
thousands, might have been seen hawking for prey above the village of Glenluce, attracting the
notice of even unobservant people by their extraordinary numbers. I have seen Swifts adroitly
catching feathers and straws when on wing, and carrying them to their holes under the eaves of
a slated house. In some towns they build chiefly in such situations, and often have to contend
with Sparrows for possession of the holes. I have witnessed many tough and noisy fights of this
kind, and have caught all the combatants by spreading a net over the entrance. It sometimes
happens that Swifts, obeying their unconquerable instincts, will, at the close of a stormy season,
desert their unfledged young and leave them to perish of hunger. Late broods, especially, are
subject to this unnatural desertion. Oftener than once I have seen the little round sooty faces
of the young ones peering out of their holes and plaintively crying for food, after which they
crept back to die. In these very nests, on the return of another season, the same old birds have
been known to rearrange their building-materials—a few straws merely being laid over the bones
of the abandoned to receive a new family. ‘The Swift has been seen occasionally in Orkney ; it
was observed in 1830, and again in 1847.” Dr. Saxby (B. of Shetl. p. 147) records it from
Shetland, and observed it in Unst as early as the 27th of April.

With regard to its distribution in Ireland, Thompson says (B. of I.i. p. 408) that, “ although
common in favourite localities, the species must be noticed with reference to Ireland generally
as but partially distributed. Along much of the wild western range of the island it is rather
scarce, in some extensive districts is never to be met with. It is stated by Mr. J. V. Stewart to
be rare in Donegal. During a week of the fine summer weather spent in the north-west of that
country in June 1832, not a bird of this species came under my notice. The Swift, unknown in
Connemara (J/‘Calla), is very rare about Tralee, where it never breeds (Neligan); and in the
county of Kerry one pair only was ever seen by Mr. R. Chute. They remained but for a few
days, frequenting an old windmill in the village of Blennerville.”

It is rare on the Feroes; and Captain Feilden says that Wolley saw one in June 1849; one
was captured at Westmainshavn on the 21st June, 1864; and Mr. H. C. Miller received another
on the 24th May, 1871, found dead in the school-house of Thorshavn. In Scandinavia, how-
ever, it is common throughout the country. In Sweden, Sundevall (Sv. Fogl. p. 156) says that
it is found high up within the Polar Circle—at Enare, in 69° N. lat., as also in the more elevated
country about Karesuando and Juckasjirvi, in 68° N. lat.; and my friend Mr. Robert Collett
says that in Eastern Norway it breeds commonly in all districts south of the Trondhjemsfiord,
and on the west coast it occurs everywhere in small numbers, and only during migration. It
breeds, though rarely, at Bergen. In the fells it breeds up into the subalpine region, and here
and there in the farm-houses in the birch-region, as, for instance, in the Vaagefjeldene. It
arrives at Christiania about the middle of May, seldom later than the 24th, and leaves late in

08

4

August. In 1868 one was seen as late as the 8th September. In Finland it is common in the
summer, and is, Mr. Sabandeff informs me, common in Central Russia, and is found on the
eastern slope of the Ural chain, as far north as Bogosloffsk, but does not occur on the Shadrinsk
plains.

Throughout Germany, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and Europe generally it may be said
to be common during about four months in the year, or rather less, as it arrives in May and
leaves in August. Gloger says that it is also found in the mountains of North Germany as well
as on the plains. I found it common in most parts of Germany I have visited, and observed
many at Altenkirchen, near the Rhine, where, Mr. Carl Sachse informs me, it arrives early in
May and leaves in August. In 1874 the first were seen on the 2nd May. Occasionally it nests
in trees; and before the female commences incubation both male and female roost together in a
hole used by them for night quarters. It is found in Holland, as elsewhere, breeding in the
church-towers ; and Baron von Droste Hiilshoff says that it breeds in the lighthouse on the
Island of Borkum. As before stated it is common throughout France ; and Dr. E. Rey found it
equally numerous in Portugal, where the first arrive about the middle of April. The various
authors on Spanish ornithology speak of it as being a common summer visitant to Spain; and
Colonel Irby informs me that he saw the first at Gibraltar about the 26th March, and the latest
date in the autumn when he observed any was the 6th October. Herr von Homeyer found them
passing through the Balearic Islands, on their migration northward, from the 15th April to the
7th May, and says that large flocks passed, remaining to rest for a few days only. Some few
remain to breed, nesting in the high buildings and in the cliffs. Mr. C. A. Wright says (Ibis,
1864, p. 58) that in Malta it ‘‘commences arriving from the south in March and April, and
remains with us till August, breeding in the precipitous rocks and caverns on the coast and in
the walls of the fortifications. Repasses in September. In spring and summer it is plentifully
distributed all over the island, but disappears as autumn advances.” In Italy and Sicily it is
common during the summer, and some few remain all the winter near Catania—a fact which has
not been observed elsewhere. In Greece, according to Lindermayer, it arrives late in March,
and at first frequents damp low localities, but soon takes up its quarters in the interior, where it
breeds in the mountains and also in the cliffs on the sea-coast. On the islands it is, he says, a
resident. Lord Lilford met with it in Corfu in summer, and says (Ibis, 1860, p. 254) that it is
rarer than Cypselus melba. In Southern Germany it is found during the summer, according to
Dr. A. Fritsch (J. f. O. 1871, p. 187), arriving in Bohemia about the middle of May, and leaving
in August; and the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen informs me that it is nowhere rare in
Bohemia, and he saw them sailing above the highest summits of the Riesengebirge, and observed
it also in the middle of the Bohmerwald, where it breeds in the hollow beech-trees. It likewise
occurs in all the other provinces of South Germany, and breeds either in the towns or in hollow
trees; but in some localities it does not occur during the breeding-season. In Turkey it is
common; and Von Nordmann speaks of it as being numerous in Southern Russia. Near Odessa,
he says, a large colony nest in company with Bee-eaters. Dr. G. Radde (J. f. O. 1854, p. 59)
says it is especially abundant on the steppes, and he saw thousands near the fortress at Perekop;
and Eversmann (J. f. O. 1853, p. 290) found it common in rocky localities in the Southern Ural.
Ménétries found it at Lenkoran; and it is said to be common in Asia Minor. Canon Tristram

5

met with it in Palestine, and says (Ibis, 1866, p. 79) that “it is the last to return” to that
country “in the spring. The first we shot was on the plain of Gennesaret on April 2nd, out of
a large flock chiefly composed of the other two species. Yet we had observed a few lingering
near Beyrout in November. During the breeding-season it is far more generally distributed than
its congeners, but affects less the rocky and desolate ravines. About most of the towns it is found
in prodigious swarms. In Jerusalem especially, countless numbers congregate, and sweep and
dash close to the ground in the more open spaces within the city like a swarm of flies, building
in all parts of the walls and public edifices. It was equally abundant in the north, but it breeds
late. We obtained a considerable number of eggs fresh in the beginning of June in the towns
at the northern base of Hermon, and while on the summit of that mountain saw many Common
Swifts playing overhead almost out of sight, unaccompanied by the larger species.” There
appears to be much uncertainty as to its occurrence in North-east Africa, as it has been confused
with a closely allied form, the Pallid Swift. Captain Shelley (B. of Egypt, p. 172) says that he
is unaware of any authentic instance of its having been captured in Egypt; but as it ranges
through Africa and Europe, and visits Palestine, it must undoubtedly pass through Egypt.
Dr. Otto Finsch decided that the specimens collected in Abyssinia by Mr. Jesse are identical
with our common European Swift, and says that he has examined examples from Sennar, Bogos-
land, and Benguela; but I think it not improbable that he confused the Pallid Swift with the
present species. In North-western Africa it is exceedingly common, and occurs as far south as
the Cape of Good Hope. Loche speaks of it as being abundant in Algeria from April to
August; and Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., Canon Tristram, and Mr. O. Salvin all speak of it as being
numerous. Mr. Taczanowski observed it in the province of Constantine; Mr. Salvin (Ibis, 1859,
p- 302) saw it flying over the city of Tunis; and Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, in his paper on the
birds of Tangier and Eastern Morocco (Ibis, 1867, p. 425), speaks of it as being plentiful in
summer. Messrs. Shelley and Buckley (Ibis, 1872, p. 286) found it “very abundant” on the
Gold Coast; and Mr. Andersson (B. of Damara Land, p. 47) says that “it is common during the
rainy season in Damara and Great Namaqua Land.” Mr. Layard (B. of S. Afr. p. 50) says that
it is “extremely abundant about Cape Town during our summer, disappearing about the middle
of April. I have remarked that here they are not in the habit, as in Europe, of chasing each
other round lofty buildings, uttering piercing cries and throwing up their wings. This evolution
is performed by C. caffer; and I am inclined to attribute it to some love-gambol, as caffer breeds
here, and apus does not; apus, however, constantly utters shrill screams when at a great altitude
in the air, and my attention has thus often been called to flocks that would otherwise have
escaped my notice.” Mr. Gurney (Ibis, 1863, p. 321) also records it as found at Natal through-
out the year.

To the eastward the present species occurs as far east as Dauria. Severtzoff (Turk. Jevotn.
p. 67) says that it is common during the summer throughout Turkestan, breeding in the moun-
tains at an altitude of from 1500 to 6000 feet. Dr. Jerdon (B. of India, i. p. 177) says that,
according to Adams, it is common in Kashmir, and visits the Punjab in the rains. It is, he says,
also common in Afghanistan; and in his supplementary notes he says, “going up the valley
of the Sutlej from Simla, I first met with this bird at Serahan, and thence occasionally all the
way to Pangi; but it was in the Lipi and Asrang valleys that I found it most abundant. One

27

O37

6

I killed near Lipi was sent home to Mr. Blyth, who recorded it, and gave the specimen to
Mr. Gould.” Mr. Blyth (Ibis, 1866, p. 339) states that the India Museum has it from Afghan-
istan. Herr von Pelzeln, in his article on the ornithology of Thibet and the Himalayas (Ibis,
1868, p. 306), states that it is found “south-west from Leh;” and Pére David writes that it
occurs in Mongolia, where it arrives in April. Dr. G. Radde met with both the present species
and Cypselus pacificus in South-eastern Siberia. In the Chingan Mountains, he says (Reis. im
Stid. von Ost-Sib. p. 132), the present species was far the commonest. In the Bureja Mountains
he seldom observed it; but in the Oka valley, at about 3000 feet above the sea, it was common ;
here, however, in the Ulan Chada Mountains, the other species (C. pacificus) was the commoner
of the two. Dr. Dybowski also speaks of it as being common in Dauria. Mr. Swinhoe describes
a Swift (P. Z. 8S. 1870, p. 435) from China under the name of Cypselus pekinensis, of which I
have not been able to examine a specimen, but which is probably referable to the present
species.

The entire structure of this bird shows that it is formed to inhabit the air; and indeed it
appears to be only really at home when on the wing, whereas when on the ground it is utterly
out of its element, and as totally helpless as a fish out of water, being unable to rise into the air
again. It frequents old towers, steeples, ruins, and rugged rocks, breeding in these places, and
appears to be quite as much at home in the crowded cities as when far away from human
habitations. Their food consists entirely of insects, chiefly of hymenoptera and diptera, which
fly at a considerable height above the ground; and it invariably catches them on the wing.
According as the weather is, and consequently according to the altitude in which the insects are
most numerous, it flies high or low, and during rainy weather, or early in the morning and late
in the evening, the Swifts fly tolerably low, but duving fine clear weather they may be seen
during the daytime at a great altitude. When flying round in pursuit of their prey, more
especially in dry sunny weather, they utter a prolonged, loud, harsh scream, which, as field-
naturalists who have seen them in the winter say they do not then utter it, must most probably
be to them what the song is to other more vocally gifted birds, an expression of pleasure used
chiefly, if not solely, during the breeding-season. They feed generally on small insects; and
when collecting food for their young, they accumulate a number together in their gape until a
sort of ball or mass is formed, when they hurry with it to their nest.

We have no bird in Europe swifter on the wing than the present species and its Alpine ally.
Macgillivray, who is always so happy in his descriptions of the habits of birds, thus describes the
flight of the common Swift :—“Its flight is performed by quick flaps of its long narrow wings,
alternating with long glidings or sailings, during which these organs seem motionless, but
extended nearly at a right angle. If you watch an individual, you observe it speeding away
with quick motions of the wings, which being raised or depressed over a great range, seem to
alternate with each other; but this is not in reality the case, at least I have failed in satisfying
myself that it is so. There it shoots along on motionless wings, turns to the right and left,
flutters for a moment, ascends, comes down abruptly, curves, and winds in various directions,
darts in among its fellows, and is lost to your view. The ease with which it rises, falls, bends to
either side, glides in short or long curves, or stops in the midst of its full career, is less
astonishing than it ought to be, familiarity in this, as in other instances, producing a disposition

7

to regard as simple what is the result of elaborate mechanism. .... They fly so rapidly that you
can scarcely suppose them to be searching for prey; yet now and then a sudden turn indicates
the capture of a fly. When they separate, they cease from their noise, and for a while speed
along in curves, rapidly moving their wings; but now three or four sweep past in succession as
if one had in view to overtake or outstrip another, and their shrill cries form a continuous
scream. Another band dashes into the line, and they mingle together for a moment, then
separate, and fly off solitarily. ‘Their cries, shrill and somewhat harsh as they are, seem cries of
joy; for they are loudest and most frequent when they fly close together; and certainly they are
not indicative of animosity, for Swifts on such occasions never fight or attempt to injure each
other.”

The Swift has eggs usually in the month of June, their nests being placed in a convenient
cranny in a cliff, or in an old ruined building, or a church-tower. The nest is formed of straws,
feathers, cotton, or any thing it can pick up in the air driven about by the wind; and these
materials are glued together with a viscid secretion which forms abundantly in the gape of the
bird. Macgillivray describes a nest as “‘ very rudely constructed, flattened, about six inches in
diameter, and half an inch thick; composed of panicles of Avia cespitosa, straws of oats, wheat,
and grasses, intermixed with fibrous roots, moss, wool, cotton, hair, and feathers of the domestic
Fowl, Partridge, and Rook. These materials are confusedly felted and agglutinated; the gluing
matter being of a gelatinous, not of a resinous nature, and in extremely thin shreds, which
crackle, but do not readily burn when flame is applied to them. ‘There is, however, a small
quantity of the membranous scales of the Scotch fir, together with some resinous matter, in one
of the nests.” The eggs of the present species, two or three, and sometimes four in number, are
pure white, glossless, rather elongated in shape; and specimens in my collection vary in size from
35 by 26 inch to 1 by 36 inch.

The specimens figured and described are an adult male from Cookham, on the Thames, and
a young bird from Stockholm, both being in my collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, Hampstead, June Ist, 1870 (R. B. Sharpe). 6, 2. Cookham, June 8th, 1866 (W. Briggs), c, 3,d, 3.
Cookham, May 1869 (R. B. Sharpe). e, 2,f, 2. Cookham, June 12, 1869 (R. B. Sharpe). g, 3.
Cookham, June 12th, 1869 (Burrows). h, 2. Piedmont, May 1870. 7, 5, %, 2. Piedmont, April 20th,
1870 (Salvadori). J, m. France (Verreaux). n, 2. Stockholm, August 27th, 1864. 0, ¢. Copenhagen,
September 15th, 1870 (Benzon). p, 5. Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 38rd, 1874 (H. C. Irby). gq. South
Africa (Surtees).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a. Hampstead, 1854 (O. Salvin). 6. Derbyshire, July 1854 (0. Salvin). c, d, d. Sarpsborg, Norway, July
1866 (Ff. Godman).
E Mus. LE. Hargitt.

a, b. England (Harding). c, 9. Havre, May 20th, 1873 (Pluche). 4d, 3. Havre, May 29th, 1873 (Pluche).
e, 2. Havre, June Ist, 1873 (Pluche). jf, 5. Valencia, March 20th, 1873 (Howard Saunders).
272

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CYPSELUS AFFINIS.

(WHITE-RUMPED SWIFT.)

Cypselus affinis, J. E. Gray, Ul. Ind. Zool. i. pl. 35. fig. 2 (1832).
Cypselus nipalensis, Hodgs. J. As. Soc. Beng. v. p. 780 (1836).
Cypselus montanus, Jerd. Madr. Journ. Ist ser. xiii. i. p. 144 (1844).
Micropus caffer, Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 165, partim.

Micropus affinis (Gray), Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 165.

Cypselus abessynicus, Streub. Isis, 1848, p. 354.

Cypselus subfurcatus, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xviii. p. 807 (1849).
Cypselus leucopygialis, Cassin, J. Ac. Sc. Phil. 2nd ser. v. p. 58, pl. 13 (1852).
Cypselus abyssinicus, Streub., Hartl. J. f. Orn. 1853, p. 397.

Cypselus galilejensis, Antinori, Naumannia, 1855, v. p. 307.

Cypselus galileensis, Ant., Sclater, Ibis, 1859, p. 391.

Cypselus caffer, Cab. Mus. Hein. iii. p. 85 (1860, nec Licht.).

Cypselus leucorrhous, Mill. (nec Steph.), fide Blyth, Ibis, 1870, p. 161.
Cypselus streubeli, Hartl., fide Giebel, Thes. Orn. i. p. 863 (1872).

Figure notabiles.
Gray, J. c.; Antinori, /.c.; Cassin, JU. ¢.

¢ ad, capite supra, nucha et collo postico murinis, fronte pallidiore, fere grise4, et collo postico versus dorsum
nigricante, dorso nigro nitore non nullo metallico: remigibus nigro-fuscis, primario extimo in pogonio
externo vix albido marginato: cauda vix furcata nigro-fusca viridi vix metallico nitente: uropygio albo:
supracaudalibus sordidé fuscis vix albo marginatis: mento et gula albis: corpore subtis fuliginoso-
nigro vix metallico nitente, subcaudalibus sordidé fuscis vix albido marginatis: rostro pedibusque
nigris: iride fusca.

2 ad. haud a mare distinguenda.

Adult Male (Gennesareth, 1st April). Head, nape, and hind neck mouse-brown, lightest, almost grey, on
the forehead, and darkest near the back, where it gradually merges into the black of the back; back
black, with a purple gloss: wings dark brown, the first primary with a very narrow white edge to the
outer web; the upper parts of the wing slightly glossed with greenish purple; tail slightly forked, dark
brown, with a faint bottle-green gloss; rump pure white; upper tail-coverts dull brown, slightly edged
with white; chin and throat pure white; rest of the underparts blackish brown, with a purplish gloss ;
under tail-coverts dull brown, slightly edged with dirty white; bill and feet black; iris dark brown.
Total length about 5 inches, culmen 0°28, gape 0°6, wing 5:05, tail 1°64, tarsus 0:32.

Adult Female. Similar to the male.

Obs. Asarule specimens from Palestine appear to be much paler on the head and wings than examples
from other localities ; and all those from West Africa in Captain Shelley’s collection are much blacker

2

than the Palestine birds, the brown on the head merely extending back to the middle of the crown,
the nape and hind neck being black, and the wings and tail much blacker. One specimen from Amoy,
labelled by Mr. Swinhoe C. subfurcatus, is undistinguishable from some of these West-African speci-
mens, both in colour and measurements; but another, also from China, collected by Mr. Swinhoe, and
now in Canon Tristram’s collection, is as light-coloured on the head and wings as most of the Palestine
birds. The tail is but very slightly forked in all the specimens; but this varies considerably, some
having it very slightly forked indeed, whereas others have the central tail-feathers as much as 0°25 less
than the outer ones. After a most careful examination and comparison of the series before me, I am
unable to find any specific distinction between the Chinese bird, separated by Blyth under the name of
C. subfurcatus, and typical C. affinis ; for I find some of the latter with the tail quite as much forked as
the former, and agreeing closely in measurements and coloration.

Ir is not without hesitation that I admit this species in the present work, as it has, compa-
ratively speaking, not much claim to be included within the limits of the Western Palearctic
Region; but, after some consideration, I have deemed it advisable to do so. It inhabits
Palestine, Africa, and Southern Asia, ranging eastward to China and Penang.

Canon Tristram met with it in Palestine, in the Jordan valley, and as far north as the
marshes of Huleh, and states that it is there resident. Mr. C. W. Wyatt says (Ibis, 1870, p. 12)
that he saw it in Wady ‘Ain, in the Sinaitic peninsula, on the 6th April, but did not obtain a
specimen. In North-east Africa it appears to shun the low sand deserts, and is chiefly found
in or near the hill-ranges. Dr. Th. von Heuglin writes (J. f.O. 1861, p. 422) that it was observed
in the beginning of the rainy season near Kerén, and also seen in the summer season on the coast
of Massowah, and near Mocha, in Arabia, as also in the plains of Taka. Mr. Blanford met with
it when on the Abyssinian expedition at the base of the hills and for a short distance within the
pass, and in May he found many breeding under rocks in the Suru pass. Antinori records it
from Sennaar, on the Blue Nile.

It appears to avoid the extreme northern portion of North-west Africa, and is not recorded
from Algeria or the Atlas range; but it occurs in Western Africa, and I have examined several
specimens in Captain Shelley’s collection, from Fantee; and Messrs. Shelley and Buckley state
(Ibis, 1872, p. 286) that it is abundant on the Gold Coast; Dr. Hartlaub records it from
St. Thomas; and Dr. Dohrn writes (P. Z. S. 1866, p. 325) that it is common on Princes Island, in
the neighbourhood of the town; and according to Dr. Sclater and Dr. Finsch it has occurred as
far south as the Cape of Good Hope, where, however, it is generally replaced by Cypselus caffer,
Licht., an allied species, easily distinguished by its deeply forked tail.

To the eastward it is found as far as China. Mr. Blanford met with it in Persia, where, he
informs me, it is very rare and locally distributed; and in India it appears to be a very common
species; for Dr. Jerdon writes (B. of India, i. p. 178), “it is the most abundant and universally
spread Swift in India; but at the same time it is often very locally distributed, so as to have
caused Colonel Sykes to remark, ‘so rare in the Deccan that I have obtained only two specimens.’
It is found from the Himalayas to the extreme south, and from Calcutta to Scinde and the
Punjab ; but you may pass over large tracts of country without seeing one. As mentioned in my
catalogue, I on one occasion traversed the whole tableland of Southern India, from the Tapoor
Pass, near Salem, to Jalnah, near the northern termination of this great plateau, and only saw

i)
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it twice, and then in small numbers. As a general rule, however, wherever there are large
towns, large pagodas, tombs, or other old buildings, you are pretty sure to find a colony, larger
or smaller, of this Swift. In wooded and hilly countries it is occasionally seen about rocks,
where it breeds. I saw a few on a cliff on the Neilgherries, which, comparing by mistake with
an allied species, I thought to be a new and smaller kind. It does not usually take a long range
from its breeding-places, always returning at night to roost in them. It is a noisy bird, especially
just before or about their breeding-time, rushing into and out of their nests, circling round for a
short distance, and screaming incessantly with a rather sharp cry.” Mr. A. O. Hume (Stray
Feathers, i. p. 166) met with it ‘once or twice in parties between Jhelum and Kussmore; but
from Kussmore throughout Upper Sindh to Sehwan, I never saw it. At Sehwan, Kotree, and
Hyderabad, it was abundant, and from Kurrachee again I met with it, wherever we landed, to
Gwader.” Dr. Leith Adams (P. Z. 8. 1859, p. 173) found it “common on the banks of the Dras
river, in Ladakh, and on the lakes and streams of that country,” and he frequently saw it in
Kashmir. Captain Beavan found it common at Barrackpore, but rare in Maunbhoom, and
especially abundant at Calcutta in May; and Mr. W. E. Brooks (Ibis, 1869, p. 47) speaks of it
as being very common both at Nynee Tal and at Almorah.

Mr. Holdsworth, referring to its occurrence in Ceylon, differs in opinion from Mr. Layard,
who considered it a migrant, and writes (P. Z. S. 1872, p. 419), “I found it nesting in August
under the rocks overhanging the entrance to the famous temple at Damboul; and as it breeds
in Ceylon during the summer months I have no doubt it is a resident species. It has been
met with in other parts of the island, but is local. I have not observed it on the upper hills.”
It occurs in China, and, according to Mr. Swinhoe, is a permanent resident at Amoy, and found
from Hainan to Amoy, and in Formosa. Mr. Blyth (Ibis, 1866, p. 339) records it under the
name of C. subfurcatus from Penang, and says that it doubtless occurs in Siam, Cambogia,
Cochin China, and Assam.

This Swift differs more especially from the others of this family found within the limits of
the Palearctic Region in being a non-migratory and very local species, but it is a true Swift in
its habits. Canon Tristram gives (Ibis, 1865, pp. 76-79) some interesting details respecting its
habits and nidification as observed by him in Palestine, as follows :—‘‘ Unlike its congeners this
Swift is a permanent resident in the district it inhabits. In many genera of birds, it may be
observed that those species which have the most extended northerly have also the most extended
southerly range, and that those which resort to the highest latitudes for nidification also pass
further than others to the southward in winter. Thus the migratory Fieldfare and Redwing,
visiting regions north of the limits of the Thrush and Blackbird, on their southward migration
likewise leave their more sedentary relatives behind. The Brambling, which passes the Chaffinch
in Norway, leaves it also in Europe, and crosses the Mediterranean every winter to the Barbary
States. The Egyptian and Collared Turtle Doves remain throughout the year in North Africa
and Syria; but the common Turtle (Z. auritus, 'Temm.), so abundant in those countries in
summer, never leaves a straggler behind in November, and yet in spring advances a thousand
miles nearer to the Pole than they do. And thus, while Cypselus melba does not return to
Palestine until about the 12th February, and the yet more northerly Cypselus apus was not

obseryed until the last week in March, Cypselus galilwensis is building before the return of the
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one, and has hatched its young when the other arrives. It may often be seen, during the month
of January, high in the air on the plains of the Jordan, and never descending within gunshot
until towards evening. The broad white rump gives it at first sight the appearance of the
House-Martin, for which indeed it might be mistaken, were it not for its note, which is peculiar
and melodious, consisting of two semitones often and rapidly repeated with a tremulous twitter,
and most unlike the harsh scream of the common Swift. Its flight is quite as rapid and darting
as that of the other Cypselide ; and in spring we often noticed large flocks of all three species
intermingled far aloft, and feeding together on the wing. While, however, the white-bellied
bird would frequently sweep nearer the ground, and the common Swift occasionally follow it,
their little congener never during the day descended from its elevation, and often for hours have
we waited in vain for the chance of a shot.

“ Our first specimens were obtained by Messrs. Shepherd and Upcher on the top of the cliff
of the Wady Hamam, by the Plain of Gennesaret, on the 8th of March, when the birds were
building in society. Their capture was no easy task, as they never approached the cliffs till
toward evening; and then, unless they could be brought down on a little projecting promontory
near the edge of the wady, it was in vain to hope to secure the spoils. After two or three shots,
they became far too wary to afford another chance.

“Unlike the Sun-birds, they mount to the highest portions of the enclosing mountains of
the Ghor; and Mr. Bartlett obtained a single specimen, consorting with Cypselus melba, near
the highest part of Mount Ajalon, east of the Jordan. But it was not until the Ist of April
that, in company with Mr. Cochrane, I secured the nest and eggs. Under an overhanging ledge
in the fine ravine to the south-west of the Plain of Gennesaret, at the height of 800 feet from
the bottom of the wady, we discovered a cluster of nests, about twelve in number, huddled
together in one mass on the roof of an open cavern, upwards of twenty feet from its floor. The
nests were large, circular, each about half a sphere, and of the capacity of about a quart—a
very great size for so small a bird—and composed of straws, large and small feathers, and fine
grass, very strongly agglutinated together, and as firmly attached also to the rock. So stout was
the consistency of this felting, that it was with some difficulty the nests could be either separated
or torn asunder. ‘The saliva of the bird must be the gluten employed; and the construction
exhibits a marked approach to the architecture of the genus Collocalia, the Edible Swift. The
outsides of the nests were decorated with a liberal supply of the loose downy feathers of the
Egyptian Vulture, slightly attached by gluten—a covering which I have observed to be omitted
in the nests built inside caverns; and there is no warm lining whatever. After laying ineffectual
siege for half a day, we were reduced to the very vulgar and unsatisfactory expedient of collecting
all the sticks we could obtain, splicing them together, and with a fork at the top, tearing down
the nests as best we might, while one of the party attempted to catch the eggs as they fell in an
open butterfly-net. Sad was the havoc, and loud and indignant the complaints of the birds as
they dashed backwards and forwards overhead. But, besides many fragments, we did actually
succeed in saving two sound eggs, both nearly ready to hatch. Several of the broken eggs were
quite fresh.

“On my return to Jericho, I found, on April 14th, that all the Swifts which bred in the
caves of the Jebel Quarantania had already hatched, and that some of the young were fledged

5)

and had left the nest. Yet, on proceeding north the second time, and revisiting the scene of our
first bird-nesting exploit by Gennesaret, the birds we had so plundered had repaired their nests
and were again sitting. This was on May 7th. Having no desire to exterminate these little
confederates, we did not again disturb them, but proceeded to visit a cave in which, on my
former visit, I had discovered a pair of Hirundo rufula building. As we entered, a pair of the
pretty Swallows dashed out; and we soon saw the nest at which I had seen them at work,
evidently finished. It was at the further end of a low cavern; and Mr. Cochrane, going towards
it, was surprised to see a Galilean Swift fly out. Putting up his hand, he caught the other
Swift, a female, in the nest, and afterwards drew out two Swifts’ eggs, quite fresh. It seems
probable that, after we had destroyed their first nest, this pair of Swifts had taken possession of
that of the Swallow, close at hand, to save time and labour, and had adapted it to their own
purposes by simply adding an agglutinated straw-and-feather doorway to the original construction
of clay. The nest of Mirundo rufula is very like that of our House-Martin, but larger, and
attached to the roof of caves. It has also a long wide passage or neck for entrance, which in
this instance the Swifts had contracted. The displaced owners had not, however, quitted the
cavern; for they had patiently built another nest for themselves near the entrance, which they
were then occupying.”

Mr. Phillips, who states (P. Z. 8S. 1857, p. 88) that it is very common in the neighbourhood
of Muttra, in India, says that he has “ caught many specimens by simply standing at the bottom
of a staircase in which were numbers of their nests, and waving the hat as they flew out, when
they were instantly entangled. They appear half blind or stupid after daylight. They quite fill
up with feathers &c. any hole in the wall for their nest; but when they build in the corner of a
building, they make a very thin cup-shaped nest. ‘These nests they fasten one to another. The
materials in the latter case appear glued together. Their claws are excessively sharp, and hold
on to the flesh with desperate tenacity.” Mr. Blyth says (Ibis, 1866, p. 340), “I have known
it to construct its continuous mass of nests in a low porch, so near the ground as to be reached
by the hand; and I have also seen a huge cluster of the nests attached to the roofing of one of
the lofty minarets of the Mosque of Aurungzebe, at Benares, and I have noticed the species
resorting to other elevated sites; but it very commonly breeds in the porticos of houses, and
sometimes within reach of the hand in a crowded bazaar.” Mr. Swinhoe describes (Ibis, 1863,
p. 254) its nest as similar to those found by Canon Tristram in Palestine, and says that they roost
in their nests, and use them again the next year, after having patched them up. These birds are,
he says, very gentle and greatly attached to one another.

I possess two eggs of this species collected by Mr. Cochrane at Magdala on the 1st April
and 9th May, 1864, which in form and colour resemble those of Cypselus apus, being pure
white and elongated, but are much smaller in size, measuring only 33 by ¢@ inch.

The specimen figured is an adult male in my own collection, and is the bird described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—
E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a,3. Gennesaret, Palestine, April Ist, 1864 (4. B. Tristram).
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6

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.

a, b. Fort Victoria, Fantee, 1870 (Ussher). c. Cape-Coast Castle, March 5th, 1872. d. Cape-Coast Castle,
March 9th, 1872 (G. H. S.). e. Elmina Castle, Cape Coast, April 1872 (Blissett).

EH Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a,3, 6,9. Gennesaret, Palestine, April 1864. ¢,2,d,9,e,¢. Gennesaret, May 1861 (4. B.7.). f. China
(Swinhoe).

E Mus. R. Swinhoe.
a, 2. Amoy, China, April 29th, 1857. 6. Amoy, November 1866 (R. S.).

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Mintern Bros imp

el

eulemans

PALLID SWIFT.

CYPSELUS PALLIDUS.
2 MADEIRAN SWIFT.

CYPSELUS UNICOLOR

CYPSELUS PALLIDUS.

(PALLID SWIFT.)

Cypselus apus, L., Webb & Berthelot, Orn. Can. p. 23 (1841, nec Linn.).

t<Cypselus murinus, A. & EK. Brehm,” C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 46 (1855).

Cypselus murarius, Vern. Hare. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 2, xv. p. 437 (1855, nec Temm.).
Cypselus apus, L., Heugl. Syst. Uebers. Vog. Nordost-Afr. p. 16 (1856, nec Linn.).

Cypselus pallidus, Shelley, Ibis, 1870, p. 445.

Figura nulla.

Ad. grisescenti-murinus, fronte et pileo vix pallidioribus, alis et cauda saturatioribus: mento et gula albidis:
ante oculum macula nigra: plumis in corpore subtis vix albido marginatis: rostro nigro: pedibus

rufescenti-fuscis: iride brunneda.

Adult Male (Egypt, 14th March). Resembles Cypselus apus, except that instead of being sooty black it is
dull soft mouse-grey ; forehead and crown rather paler than the back, the wings and tail being rather
darker ; chin and upper throat whitish grey; rest of the underparts mouse-grey, darkest on the breast
and abdomen, and most of the feathers on these parts are narrowly margined with lighter grey; in
front of the eye is a black spot, which is extended to a very slight extent round the edge of the eye;
bill black; feet dark purplish brown; iris brown. Total length about 6 inches, culmen 0:3, gape 0°65,
wing 6:4, tail 2°7, tarsus 0°45.

Female. Similar to the male.

Obs. Although I think it prodbadle that the bird referred to by Brehm (J. c.) under the name of Cypselus
murinus is the present species, still his description is so very imperfect that it cannot possibly be taken
as sufficient to identify his bird with the Pallid Swift; and I have therefore been compelled to adopt
Captain Shelley’s name for it. All that Brehm says is as follows :—“< Mausegrau mit weissem Kinne,
verfliegt sich sehr selten aus Nordafrika nach Stideuropa, 62" lang.”

Specimens from Egypt and Spain agree closely, except that those from the latter country appear to have
the margins to the feathers on the undersurface of the body rather broader; it is possible that they

may not be so fully adult as the Egyptian examples.

THE present species having been by so many naturalists confused with the common Swift, it is by
no means an easy task to correctly define its geographical range, and doubtless it is to be met
with in many parts of Europe from which I have no record of it. It is certainly found, and
is not rare, in Spain; but how far north in that country it ranges I am unable to say. As will be
seen from the notes below given, it is very local in its distribution and not so generally scattered
over the face of the country. Colonel Irby informs me that he has occasionally seen it at
Gibraltar in April, and he has shot it there, where, he adds, it is not common. “At Algeciras,”
he writes, ‘‘ where the common Swift swarms in almost incredible numbers, both Mr. Stark and

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myself failed to distinguish among them a single C. pallidus, whilst near Casa Vieja, towards
Vejer, where I conjecture they nest, the Murine Swift, as I should term it, was in May the most
common species, flying in company with C. apuws, and at times all three European Swifts were to
be seen hawking about together. The Pallid or Murine Swift is easily distinguished on the
wing by its light colour; and when flying about in company with the common Swift this
difference in colour is strikingly apparent.” Besides Spain I know of no European country
from which it has been recorded, except Malta, where it has only quite recently been met with ;

_and both Mr. C. A. Wright and Captain Feilden have sent me specimens obtained in that island.

Mr. C. A. Wright says (Ibis, 1874, p. 226), ‘“‘undoubted examples of this Swift have been
taken in Malta in May of the present year. Captain Feilden procured one in the market on the
18th; and I obtained another at Salini on the 27th. Both specimens were females, and in good
condition. In mine the ovary was beginning to enlarge. He observed a bird on the 13th, which
must have belonged to this species, in company with common Swifts; and, on the wing, it
reminded him of a large Land-Martin. Iam nearly certain that I have shot this light-coloured
Swift before; and one occasion especially recurs to my memory; this was in August, when I
killed several out of a large flock on Fort-Manuel Island. Unfortunately I did not preserve any,
mistaking them for the young of C. apus. Little doubt now remains on my mind that Cypselus
pallidus visits us, both in spring and autumn, and is probably a regular migrant to and from
Southern Europe. Considering it is common in Egypt, and has been obtained in Tangier by
Major Irby (Ibis, 1870, p. 445, and Shelley’s ‘ Birds of Egypt,’ 1872, p. 172), it would be rather
curious if we did not find it here; and a further search may possibly demonstrate the fact of its
breeding in this island.”

In North-east Africa it appears to be very common; and I have little doubt that many
records of so-called Cypselus apus in North-east Africa really refer to the present species.
Captain Shelley writes (B. of Egypt, p. 172):—‘'This species is very abundant throughout
Egypt and Nubia. It has long been included in the Egyptian lists as C. apus, from which,
however, it differs in its rather smaller size, whiter throat, and general paler coloration, which
latter character suggested to me the name C. pallidus as appropriate when I first described it.”
It was not breeding up to the beginning of May, when Captain Shelley last shot it. Von
Heuglin states that he observed it in Nubia, and considers it identical with C. apus—a view
in which I cannot participate. I have an undoubted specimen of this bird from the Bogos
country, collected by Von Heuglin; and I think it probable that the species referred to by
Mr. Blanford (Geol. & Zool. of Abyss. p. 335) as C. apus is the present species. He states
that “in the Anseba valley many appeared at the end of July.”

I have no data respecting its occurrence in North-west Africa, excepting from Colonel Irby,
who informs me that, “ according to Favier, it arrives near Tangier during April and May, and
is the most scarce of the Hirundinide. Olcese, the Tangier naturalist, says they arrive earlier
than C. apus; but this is contrary to my observations, as I never noticed any on the Andalucian
side sooner than the first week in April.”

Mr. Godman met with it in Madeira and the Gatorice! and says (Ibis, 1872, p. 170) that
“it is rather remarkable that in Madeira both this species and Cypselus unicolor are said to be
stationary throughout the year, while in the Canaries they leave in autumn and return in

3

March. C. paliidus appears usually a few days before C. wnicolor. It breeds, both in the
Canaries and Madeira, in cliffs.” Dr. Carl Bolle (J. f. O. 1857, p. 322) is “quite sure, however,
that it breeds on the towers of the cathedral of Ciudad de las Palmas. On the 10th July” he
“got some young birds, not quite fledged, which were caught there by some boys in St. José.”

In its habits the present species does not appear to differ from C. apus. So little, however,
is known or has been recorded respecting it, that I am fortunate in having obtained, besides the
information given by Colonel Irby, the following excellent field-notes from Mr. A. C. Stark :—
‘““In May 1874 I found these Swifts abundant at Casa Vieja, Andalucia, about equalling the
Black Swifts (Cypselus apus) in numbers, and always flying in company with those birds. There
appears to be nothing in the habits or flight of the Pallid Swift to distinguish it from its black
relative. It can nevertheless be recognized, even at a considerable distance, by its lighter
colour, and I never committed the mistake of killing one bird for the other. In the early
morning numbers of both the Black and Pallid and a few Alpine Swifts are to be found flying
in company over the marsh and river near Casa Vieja. As soon as the sun becomes hot they
retire to the Sierra. Here on the 6th of May I noticed numbers of these three species hawking
in front of some sandstone cliffs. They did not appear to be nesting in the rocks; at all events
I could detect none leaving the holes or crevices. Although so common at Casa Vieja, the
Pallid Swift appears to be quite unknown at Algeciras, only twenty-five miles off. I could never
distinguish one among the myriads of Black Swifts that frequent that town and the old aqueducts
near. On the 17th of last May I stood under the aqueduct for over an hour; during this time
thousands of Cypselus apus passed within a few yards of me, but not a single Cypselus pallidus
could I distinguish. A Spaniard, who was shooting Swifts for the market, did not know the
Pallid Swift; and his heap of victims was composed entirely of the common black species.”

Colonel Irby further informs me that he never heard any of these Swifts utter any cry or
scream like their congeners, though probably they do so. “As to its breeding-habits,” he writes,
“T regret to be unable to give any personal information, not having had time to go to Vieja to
see if they nested there; but Favier, in his MS., states that at Tangier in July 1861 he found
a pair breeding in an old nest of the House-Martin which the Swifts had appropriated, and
whence he took two eggs of the usual elongated Cypselus type. The colour he does not mention,
probably because they were white.”

The specimen figured is an adult male from Egypt, in my own collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. EF. Dresser.

a, 3, 6,2. Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 1874 (L. H. Irby). c,¢. Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 5th, 1874
(A. C. Stark). d,d. Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 6th, 1874 (4. C. Stark). e. Egypt, March 14th
(G. E. Shelley). f, 2. Keren, Bogos, August 1861 (Von Heuglin). g. Tangier (G. E. Shelley).

E Mus. L. Howard Irby.

a,d, 6,2. Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 7th, 1874 (ZL. H. I.).
4c

599

600
4

E Mus. Feilden and Harvie-Brown.
a,Q. Malta, May 17th, i874 (H. W. Feilden).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a,d, 6. Teneriffe, March 28th, 1871. c, ¢. Madeira, June 18th, 1871 (7. D. Godman).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a. Tangier, March 1871 (G. Olcese). 6, §. Granada, May 26th, 1871 (Sauchez). c¢,9. Malaga, July 3rd,
1872 (A. 8S.). d,2,¢,2,f,2. Malaga, May 18th, 1873 (H. S.).

E Mus. C. A. Wright.
a, 2. Salini, Malta, May 27th, 1874 (C. 4. W.).

CYPSELUS UNICOLOR

(MADEIRAN SWIFT.)

Cypselus murarius, Heineken, in Brewst. Journ. p. 232 (1829, nec Wolf).
Cypselus unicolor, Jard. Edinb. Journ. of Nat. & Geogr. Sc. i. p. 242, pl. vi. (1830).

Andorhina da serra, Portuguese.

Figure notabiles.
Jardine, U.c.; Jardine & Selby, Ill. of Orn. ii. pl. 83.

$ Cypselo apodi similis, sed minor, corpore nigricanti-fuliginoso, in corpore supra vix viridi nitente: gula
pallidiore, abdomine leviter fuscescente albido fasciato: cauda valdé furcata.

Adult Male (Madeira, 27th June). In coloration resembling Cypselus apus, but considerably smaller in
size, having a more deeply forked tail, and on the underparts of the body slightly barred with dull
brownish white; throat but little lighter than the rest of the underparts; bill, feet, and iris as in
Cypselus apus. Total length about 5:5 inches, gape 0°6, wing 5:8, tail 3:1, outermost rectrices 1:05
longer than the central ones, tarsus 0°4.

Adult Female (Teneriffe). Undistinguishable from the male.

Tuts is certainly one of the rarest of the Swifts, being met with only in the islands off the west
coast of Africa, and thus only just comes within the limits of the Western Palearctic Region. It
occurs commonly at Madeira and on the Canaries; and Messrs. Webb and Berthelot (Orn. Can.
p- 24) say that they found it common on Teneriffe, and when they had ascended the Peak of
Teneriffe they observed that numbers were flying over the crater, apparently undisturbed by the
clouds of warm sulphurous vapour which were rising continually into the air. They feed on
Arachnid, of the genus Phalangium, which are found in that locality. Mr. F. DuCane Godman
(Ibis, 1872, p. 170) says that it appears to be equally common with the Pallid Swift both in
Madeira and the Canaries, where it frequents chiefly the high land, while its congener is most
abundant near the sea, whence the latter has received the name of “Andorhina do mar,” while
the former is called “ Andorhina da serra.” Dr. C. Bolle says (J. f. O. 1857, p. 323) that he saw
them sailing above the town of Santa Cruz on the 16th February and throughout the spring,
but not in large numbers. On the 10th March, whilst walking on the coast near the castle of
Paso, in the dusk of the evening, he saw and heard a pair which were flying round the rugged
cliffs like Bats, every now and then dropping like a stone nearly to the surface of the sea, and
suddenly rising again. He remarks that in bad weather he has seen them flying quite low like
Swallows, and that their note is wild and harsh, but not so shrill as that of C. apus. “It is
nowhere wanting,” he says, “in Teneriffe and Canaria, and may be seen sailing over the fir-groves

of Chasna and Higueste, and especially numerous on the Cumbra of Canaria, where it frequents
2u2

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2

the honeycombed rocks, from which it emerges in flocks like a swarm of bees. In September
they had all disappeared from Teneriffe, and probably it wanders to the Cape-Verd Islands in
winter.”

I have never seen the eggs of this species; nor do I know of any collection in which they
are. It breeds in the most inaccessible rocks; and hence its nest is difficult to obtain. It is said
to breed in May or late in April, as Messrs. Webb and Berthelot heard the young birds calling
in a fissure of the rock in the Barranco de Martianez early in May, but could not succeed in
getting at the nest.

The specimens described are the only two I have examined, the male being the specimen
figured on the same Plate with the Pallid Swift.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a, 3 ad. Madeira, June 27th, 1871. 6, 2. Teneriffe, April 23rd, 1871 (F. D. Godman).

269

i Minter, Bros. imp

WHITE-BELLIED SWIFT.
CYPSELUS MELBA

CYPSELUS MELBA.

(WHITE-BELLIED SWIFT.)

Greatest Martin, or Swift, Edw. Nat. Hist. Birds, pl. 27 (1747).

Hirundo melba, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 345 (1766, ex Edwards).

Hirundo alpina, Scop. Ann. i. Hist. Nat. p. 166.

Le grand martinet a ventre blanc, Mont. Hist. Nat. Ois. vii. p. 316 (1783).
Le Martinet & gorge blanche, Levaill. Ois. d’Afr. v. p. 143, pl. 243 (1806).
Micropus alpinus, Wolf, Taschenb. Deutsch. Vogelk. i. p. 282 (1810).
Cypselus melba, lig. Prodr. Syst. Mamm. et Av. p. 230 (1811).

Hirundo gularis, Steph. in Shaw’s Gen. Zool. x. p. 99 (1817).

Cypselus gutturalis, Vieill. Tabl. Encycl. p. 554 (1822).

Cypselus alpinus (L.), Meyer, Taschenb. Deutsch. Vogelk. iii. p. 255 (1822).
Cypselus melbus (L.), Vieill. Galerie des Ois. i. p. 192, pl. 121 (1825).
Cypselus alpinus (Scop.), C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 134 (1831).
Cypselus melba (L.), id. tom. cit. p. 154 (1831).

Micropus melba (L.), Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 165.

Micropus gutturalis (Vieill.), id. tom. cit.

Cypselus fuscicollis, L. Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p. 270.

Cypselus melba alpinus, A. E. Brehm, Verz. Samml. C. L. Brehm, p. 3 (1866).
Cypselus melba fascicollis, id. ut supra (1866).

Cypselus melba microrhynchos, id. ut supra (1866).

Alpine Swift, White-bellied Swift, English; Martinet a ventre blanc, French; Alpensegler,
German; Avion, Spanish; Andorinhio gaivao, ferreiro, Portuguese; Rundun ta Zaccu
baida, Maltese; Rondone di mare, Rondone maggiore, Italian; Stresh Kamennoy, Belo-
bruhey Stresh, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

Edwards, loc. cit.; Levaillant, loc. cit.; Werner, Atlas, Chélidons, pl. 5; Kjerb. Orn. Dan.
taf. xiv.; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 13. fig. 4; Naumann, Vog. Deutschl. taf. 147. fig. 1;
Bechstein, Orn. Taschenb. taf. 18; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 53. fig. 2; id. B. of G. Brit. ii.
pl. iv.; Roux, Orn. Prov. pl. 146; Bettoni, Ucc. Lomb. tav. 64.

Ad. corpore supra fuscescenti-murino, plumis nonnullis vix pallidiore marginatis: remigibus et rectricibus
sordidé fuscis : capitis lateribus dorso concoloribus sed saturatioribus: ante oculum macula nigra: gula
et gutture abdomineque albis, torque pectorali fusco, plumis vix albido marginatis: hypochondriis, sub-
alaribus et subcaudalibus sordidé fuscis vix albido apicatis: rostro nigricante: iride brunned: pedibus

pallidé brunneis.

Juv. adulto similis, sed grisescentior et paullo saturatior: plumis in corpore supra albido marginatis.

605

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Adult Male (Malta, 22nd April). Upper parts mouse-brown, with a faint metallic gloss in some lights,
some of the feathers on the back having-a scarcely perceptible lighter margin; quills and tail dull dark
brown; chin and throat white, in front of the eye a black spot; sides of the head and neck, and a broad
band across the breast, similar in colour to the upper parts, but rather darker, and some of the feathers
having narrow whitish margins ; abdomen pure white ; flanks, under wing-coverts, and under tail-coverts
dull mouse-brown, most of the feathers having whitish margins on the terminal portion ; tarsus covered
on the front with brownish feathers ; bill blackish; iris dark brown; feet dull yellowish brown. Total
length to the tip of the tail about 8°5 inches, bill from gape 1-0, wing 8:7, tail 3°8, tarsus 0°6.

Female. Similar to the male.

Young fresh-fledged (Bern). Much greyer and rather darker than the adult bird, almost all the feathers
where the plumage is not white edged with white. In this specimen the wings scarcely extend beyond
the tip of the tail, and on the lower part of the abdomen there are remains of down.

Nestling. M. Fatio describes the nestling as being covered entirely with grey down, like a young Raptor.

Obs. Ihave carefully compared two specimens from South Africa in Canon Tristram’s collection with my
series of European examples, and can find no specific difference. It appears, however, that these two
birds have the dark band on the breast a trifle broader than the average of my specimens.

Tuis, the largest of our European Swifts, is found in Central and Southern Europe (occasionally
straggling as far north as Great Britain), Asia as far east as India, and Africa as far south as the
Cape of Good Hope. Throughout Europe it is a summer visitant, migrating southward at the
approach of winter to return again to its breeding-haunts in the spring.

As a rare straggler it has been met with in Great Britain; Yarrell (Brit. Birds, il. pp. 276,
277) records the following occurrences, viz.:—one, shot early in June 1820, at Kingsgate, in the
Isle of Thanet; one near Buckenham church, Norfolk, in September 1831; one Rathfarnham,
Ireland, early in March 1833; one Saffron Walden, in Essex, in July 1838; one off Cape Clear,
on the south-west point of the coast of Ireland; one Oakingham, 8th October 1841; one Dover,
20th August, 1830; and one St. Leonards, in October 1851. Besides these Mr. Harting enu-
merates many other instances of its having been seen or obtained, but chiefly the former.
Mr. Stevenson, in referring to the above-mentioned record of its occurrence in Norfolk, says that
the specimen was obtained in September 1831, and not, as Yarrell states, in October. It does
not appear ever to have occurred in Scotland; but Thompson (B. of Ireland, i. p. 418) says that,
besides the specimen shot at Rathfarnham, one was obtained at Castle Warren, near Doneraile,
in June 1844 or 1846.

It has not been recorded from Norway or Sweden, but has been met with in Denmark on
one occasion; for Kjzrbdlling states that Mr. Schade picked one up dead on the 17th June, 1804,
at Lodderup church, on the island of Mors. In Germany its range is restricted to the mountains,
and only as a straggler is it met with elsewhere. Borggreve says that it has once been killed
in Mecklenburg, but doubts the correctness of statements to the effect that it has occurred in
Thuringia. He further says that Ratzeburg observed it on several occasions at Heligoland,
where several specimens have been obtained. Dr. Girtanner (Ber. St.-Gall. naturw. Gesells.
1867, p. 106) says that stragglers have been found near Offenbach, Coburg, and Berlin, but that

3

it has not been known further north than Ehrenfels, in Witirtemberg. In France it occurs in
the alpine regions, and is found every season in the mountains of Dauphiné, Savoy, the Alps, and
the Pyrenees, and on its migrations is obtained in the intervening districts. In Portugal it is
by Professor Barboza du Bocage said to be common; and Dr. EK. Rey (J. f. O. 1872, p. 142)
observed it near Villa do Bispo in April. In Spain, according to Mr. Howard Saunders (Ibis,
1871, p. 68), it arrives in March, and breeds in colonies in the mountains, notably near Alora.
Dr. Brehm met with it at Montserrat; and Mr. A. von Homeyer observed it in the Balearic
Islands in the month of April, when they were migrating. The Alps appear to be the true home
of the present species in Kurope; Dr. Girtanner says (/. c.) that there are colonies in all the more
lofty mountains of Switzerland, but it appears to be most numerous in Canton Wallis. He says
that in Freiburg, Bern, and Burgdorf, which are more distant from the mountains, it breeds in
the towers and other old buildings; but this is not the case in towns near the mountains. There
are many colonies in the Swiss Alps. Tschudi refers to such colonies at Oberhasli, Gemmi,
Pletschberg, and in the rocks of the Entlibuch. Fatio says there are breeding colonies in the
Urbachthal, in Canton Bern, and in the Héremancethal, in Canton Wallis; and Dr. Girtanner
himself says that there are similar ones in Graubitindten, in the Appenzeller mountains, and in
the Sentisgebirg. In Italy it occurs in most localities where there are heavy rocks; and in the
island of Sicily numbers breed every year, which are recruited by new arrivals during the seasons
of migration. Salvadori (J. f. O. 1865, p. 130) says that many inhabit the mountains of Sardinia
during the summer, migrating southward in September.

At Malta, according to Mr. C. A. Wright (Ibis, 1864, p. 58), it is “‘much less common than
its congener. A few are annually seen in spring and autumn; but it makes no lengthened stay,
and does not breed here. Mr. Tristram and Mr. Medlycott found it breeding in the island of
Sardinia in May, in company with the Lesser Kestrel (Falco cenchris).” Lord Lilford says (Ibis,
1860, p. 234) that it “arrives in May in great numbers in Corfu, and remains till the end of
September. Several pairs breed annually in the citadel-rock.” According to Lindermayer and
Von der Miihle it arrives in Greece in May, and is a common summer resident ; being considered
good for the table, great numbers are, Von der Miihle says, sold in the markets in Greece.
Dr. Kriiper found it breeding on the island of Naxos; and it appears to be generally a tolerably
common species on the rock-bound coasts of the Mediterranean during the breeding-season.
In Southern Germany it is rare; and my friend the Ritter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen informs me
that it breeds in the mountains of Upper Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol, Karnthen, Dalmatia, and in
the coast-regions, but is rare in Siebenbiirgen. When they arrive, and when they collect to
leave, they are met with for several days in the plains, and are also seen there during rainy
weather. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley say (Ibis, 1870, p. 200) that they observed several flying
round the tower of Galata, in Constantinople, in April; and Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1872, p. 230)

states that it was “abundant in the Crimea, breeding in the cliffs. They were constantly to be —
seen flying in flocks over and about the camp; near St. George’s Monastery was a great resort —

for them. Plentiful as they were, it so happened that I was never able to secure a specimen.
I also saw them at Koslou. In Constantinople they are common, and may be seen any summer's
day wheeling about the Galata tower.” Von Nordmann says that it is numerous in the moun-
tainous portions of the Crimea as well as in similar localities on the eastern side of the Black

60

606

4

Sea. Mr. Sabandeff informs me that it is occasionally met with in the Keshtem, Ufaley, and
Uraim (Niejepetrovsk) Ural, sometimes ranging as far as the Kaslinsky Ural, and probably
occurs in the Zlatoustovskaya Dacha. Ménétries met with it about sixty versts from the Caspian ;
and Canon Tristram records it from Palestine as very abundant in localities, but rather a local
species, and further states (Ibis, 1865, p. 79) that ‘there are large colonies in all parts of the
country up to the highest ranges of the Lebanon.”

In Africa it is found as far south as the Cape of Good Hope. In North-east Africa Captain
Shelley speaks of it (B. of Egypt, p. 171) as being “a rare bird of passage in Egypt and Nubia,
only met with in the more mountainous parts during the autumn and spring. Mr. Blanford met
with it in Abyssinia, where he did not see it in the highlands; but many appeared in the Anseba
valley at the end of July, none being seen before the 25th. In North-western Africa it is,
according to Loche, common during migration in the province of Constantine, but it only occa-
sionally visits Algiers and Oran. Mr. Taczanowski saw it in the month of March, two days’
journey south of Constantine. Mr. O. Salvin says (Ibis, 1859, p. 302) that it ‘is more commonly
seen about the plains of the Salt Lake district than in the more mountainous parts of the
country, though in the latter it is by no means of infrequent occurrence. At Kef Laks I was
vain enough to attempt to shoot some specimens on a windy day; though they frequently came
within shot, their pace was so great, that I totally failed in my object, and only succeeded in
firing my gun two or three times. The Alpine Swift breeds in most of the rocks of the country ;
but I did not procure any of its eggs.” Canon Tristram states that it breeds in the cliffs and
mosque-towers, and retires southward in the winter; and Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, in his paper
on the ornithology of Tangier and Eastern Morocco (Ibis, 1867, p. 425), records it as only seen
on passage. In Southern Africa it is recorded by Mr. Andersson, who writes (B. of Damara Land,
p. 46) that he “ observed at Objimbinque a large flight of these Swifts, which, to the best of my
recollection, were the first I ever saw in Damara Land. Subsequently I observed immense
numbers in various places, and particularly noted them as very numerous on the Omaruru river
on the 2nd November;” and Mr. Layard (B. of S. Afr. p. 49) says that it “is very abundant
about Cape Town. I have seen it at the Knysna, and have received it from a valued corre-
spondent at Swellendam, William Cairncross, Esq., who has sent it with several other Swifts and
Swallows killed in that neighbourhood. C. melba appears to reside principally in the mountains,
only occasionally descending into the plains when some particular food is to be found. On the
top of Table Mountain I have seen it in great abundance. Once, after lighting a fire there, I
found myself surrounded by hundreds of them, hawking after the flies which the fire drove up.
They dashed through the dense smoke and skimmed along the burning ground at the risk of
singeing their wings. I never heard this species utter a note, even in company with C. caffer,
screaming and chasing each other in a thousand airy evolutions.”

To the eastward the present species is found to Western India. Severtzoff writes that it
breeds throughout the whole western part of Turkestan, near the rivers Aris, Kalles, Chir-chik,
the Syr Darja, and Kisil-cum. It is found breeding in the mountains, at an altitude of from
1000 to 8000 feet, being only found in the latter altitudes during the summer, whilst it winters
up to about 4000 feet.

Dr. Jerdon says (B. of Ind. i. p. 175) that it is “not rare in the south of India all along the

5

range of Western Ghats from Honore to Cape Comorin, extending its daily flights often to the
western sea-coast, and occasionally eastwards to Salem, Madura, and Madras even. At times
they are very abundant on the Neilgherries, and during the cold weather may generally be seen
on the Malabar coast. I saw, on several occasions, large flocks of them flying eastward towards
the sea from the rocky hills near Madura about sunset. On another occasion I saw, at midday,
an enormous flock of them flying eastwards from the same range, a little south of Madura: these,
however, were probably merely taking their ordinary rounds of a few hundred miles; but the
others flying seaward at sunset, where were they bound for? I discovered one roosting-place of
this Swift on the magnificent precipices at the falls of Gairsoppa. Here, especially on the cliffs
on each side of the great fall, above 900 feet perpendicular height, these Swifts were congre-
gated in vast numbers; and from the way in which some of them remained about the cliffs at all
times of the day, I have little doubt but that they breed here. It is possible that all the Alpine
Swifts that traverse the south of India, with such amazing speed, meet here nightly for roosting,
and for breeding in their appointed season; or are there other similar places of resort for them
along the chain of Western Ghats? However this may be, my own impression, from long
observation on the west coast of India, is that such of these Swifts as have been questing at
great distances from their roosting-haunts, fly first towards the coast, and then make their
way along the seaside, picking up stragglers from other regions on their way to the cliffs of
Gairsoppa or other similar precipices. At Tellicherry I frequently saw them early in the morning
along the sea-coast, always flying southwards.” In his supplementary notes (Ibis, 1871, p. 354)
he further says that he has occasionally seen it at Darjeeling. Herr von Pelzeln (J. f. O. 1868,
p. 25) found it at Kotegurh during the winter; and Captain Elwes (Ibis, 1870, p. 527) says that
he met with it in the Cardamum Hills of Travancore, where it was numerous at the highest
elevations. It occurs in Ceylon, where Mr. Holdsworth (P. Z.S. 1872, p. 419) states that it is
‘‘ probably a winter visitor. It is found in some abundance on the hills at that season, but is
rather local in its distribution. I have seen it at Nuwara Eliya in the cold season; and it
remains there several months, particularly frequenting some precipitous cliffs overlooking the
plain on which the little town is built. In the afternoon fifty or sixty of these birds might any
day be seen on the wing dashing past the hill-sides in pursuit of insects, or sweeping in wider
circles at a considerable elevation.” Mr. Swinhoe does not include it in his list of the birds of
China; but Pére David observed a large Swift in the highest mountains of Mongolia, which he
believes to be this species, though he did not secure specimens.

The breeding-haunts of this Swift are in the mountains and rocky districts of the lower part -

of Central and in Southern Europe. They usually arrive from the south in April, and soon
commence repairing their old nests or constructing fresh ones. The nest, which is placed in an
old building, most frequently in a church-tower, or in a suitable cavity in the rocks, is con-
structed of small bents, leaves, and any thing that they can pick up without having to alight on
the ground, and is worked together with the spittle of the bird itself, which secretes a sort of
viscous semifluid spittle in considerable quantities, and like the rest of its allies uses it to glue or
fasten together the various substances used in the construction of its nest. ‘This latter is extremely
small compared with the size of the bird. Dr. Girtanner (Ber. St. Gall. naturw. Gesells. 1867,
p. 111) gives the size of the nest as 10-12 centimetres diameter, 4-6 centimetres height outside,

(3)
as

607

aA

(oa)

6

and 3 centimetres depth in the cup, and says that when a suitable place, on a beam in the niche
of a wall or a cranny in a rock, is chosen the bird lays the foundation of straws, dry grass-bents,
or leaves, which are heaped loosely or placed in a circle, then covered with spittle and worked
together so firmly that often when the nest is taken a piece of wood must be taken with it; on
this the lower walls of the structure are worked well to the foundation with spittle, and consist
of coarser straws, and the sides are continued, and in case of need fastened to the place where
the nest is built; the upper part of the nest consists of a close mass of grass, the husks of buds,
feathers, with a few bits of paper and fine roots intermixed, and the form is made either round, or
half round, or else as near round as possible, the materials being carefully glued together where
necessary ; and when stouter Swift-feathers are used, they are bent or broken into form. There
is no further lining to the nest. M. Fatio remarks that this Swift not unfrequently makes use of
Sparrows’ eggs in working together the materials used in the construction of its nest, which give
a yellowish tinge to the structure, and portions of the shells are worked in the nest. ‘The eggs,
which are usually from three to four in number, are deposited early in June, are pure white in
colour, without any gloss, elongated in shape, tapering somewhat towards one end; and specimens
in my collection from Bern Oberland measure from 1,8 by #3 to 14% by 23 inch.

They always, or almost always, build in colonies, generally a tolerably large number of birds
living in the same colony. Like the common Swift the present species is noisy ; and where it is
found its harsh scream may continually be heard as it rushes pass at lightning speed in pursuit
of its insect prey. It feeds exclusively on insects, which it catches on the wing, never picking any
thing off the ground. Small winged insects, especially gnats, are said to form its staple food;
and when feeding its young it collects them until they form a lump in its sticky gape, which it
then takes to its young. Too swift on the wing to be molested by any bird of prey, it appears
to be subjected to but little persecution, except in those parts of Southern Europe where every
bird that flies is considered good for the table; and there it is frequently captured, killed, and
sent to market. ‘They are frequently caught by boys, who attach a feather to a hook and a very
fine line and let it float through the air from the edge of a precipice to be snapped up by the
bird when collecting materials for its nest. Dr. Girtanner says that the Alpine Swift is greatly
troubled with parasites, and that its nest harbours all sorts of vermin. He gives a careful
description (communicated to him by M. Fatio) of one of these parasites which dwells in the
feathers covering the rump of the Swift, and which he calls Anapera maxima. Besides being
infested with these, it is frequently much troubled with bird-lice. Like the common Swift the
present bird is unable to raise itself from the level ground into the air, but once fallen it
must remain there, unless indeed, as is said to occur, its comrades fly swiftly down and striking
it assist it again into the air. It usually takes flight by pushing itself to the edge of any
elevated place where it may be, and thus launches itself into the air. Some interesting notes
on its habits were published by Canon Tristram, who writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 77), as follows:—
“Cypselus melba, though very abundant in localities, is rather a local bird in the Holy Land.
Unlike its congener, it is only a summer migrant, but returns earlier than the:common Swift,
C. apus. The first time we noticed it was at daybreak on February 12th, when, camped
outside the walls of Jerusalem, we saw large flocks passing with amazing rapidity, at a great
height, towards the north. A few days afterwards we noticed several of these birds among the

7

hills of Benjamin, disporting themselves and often descending near the ground. They were
probably preparing to breed in some of the deep ravines which run down towards the Jordan,
From that time, throughout the summer, we rarely lost sight for many days together of this
noble bird. The Wady Hamam, opening into the plain of Gennesaret, was a favourite resort
of large flocks, which bred in fissures of the stupendous cliffs, hopelessly beyond the reach of
the most ardent rock-climber and nester. From their habit of selecting chinks under the
overhanging ledges, it was impossible, even by the aid of ropes, to reach their holes; and could
they have been attained, the pick and chisel must have been applied indefatigably to reach many
of the nests. About daybreak they might be seen dashing in long lines with lightning speed
down the ravine, and exercising themselves over the plain. At this time in the morning we
were able occasionally to secure a specimen; but very soon they began to rise higher and
higher, mingled with numbers of the two other species, till in the depth of that dark, blue,
cloudless sky they were at last lost even to the keenest sight. ‘Towards evening they began
again to descend, and would fly lower than either of their associates, sometimes sweeping close
to the ground—a habit which we never observed in C. abyssinicus. ‘They would dash past us
with bewildering swiftness. The sharp, grating sound of the whirr of their wings struck the
ear for a moment; but the eye could scarcely follow them. However, as their flight was always
remarkably straight, we were able to secure several specimens as they passed us. The motion
of their long sharp wings was scarcely perceptible. Dr. Jerdon says that the flight of this Swift,
though elegant and rapid, is not nearly so powerful as that of the two Spine-tailed species. If
so, the speed of these latter must be a considerable improvement on the ‘ greased lightning’ of
American imagination. Near Safed we found a colony breeding in a much more accessible
position, evidently having young in the middle of May. We obtained several specimens, but
had neither time nor appliances to attempt their nests.

“Once only did we find this Swift breeding near the ground and in an accessible posi-
tion; and then we had the vexation of actually touching the eggs without being able to take
them. On the 2nd of May we had climbed to the summit of Jebel Jilad (Mount Gilead),
overlooking the deep Jordan valley from the east side, one of the grandest panoramic views in
Palestine. After standing for some time on a projecting platform of rock which forms the
western brow of the mountain, we descended to examine the face of the cliff, and discovered
three large and partly artificial caves immediately below us. They were a mass of fossilized
ammonites; and while hammering away at these in one of the caves, out flew two Alpine Swifts,
whose nest we soon discovered in a crevice about six feet above the floor of the cavern. The
chink, which was about three inches in perpendicular diameter, was contracted by a plastering
of very hard mud, which cost us some labour to work out. Inside, the cavity enlarged as it
descended ; and after scooping away the clay and portions of the rock with a small hammer, I
was at length able to touch the two eggs with the tips of my fingers. Any thing for a scoop!
A kingdom for a spoon! But in vain; and when we went up again to search for an available
stick, we found our companions gone and out of sight in the forest. Grievous as was the
disappointment, it would have been yet worse to be benighted in that wild and lawless region ;
and there was nothing for it but, while daylight served, to mount and follow the track of the

horses as rapidly as we might. We never again met with an accessible nest. Indeed this was
939,
= =

609

610

§

* the only instance in which we observed C. melba breeding not in large colonies. Their roosting-

places are few; but what matters this to a bird which can traverse the whole extent of the Holy
Land in an hour? The bird does not appear to resort much to Hermon or the Lebanon,
preferring the far more precipitous though lower cliffs which line the ravines running down to
the Ghor. One other nesting-place we noticed, in a spot certainly selected with a view to the
picturesque. Just above Afka (Aphek), where the ground is strewn with the marble shafts of
the famed temple of Venus at Adonis, the classic stream of the Adonis bursts, full-grown at
birth, in a prodigious volume, from the foot of a shallow cave under a lofty precipice. Here on
the 18th June a colony of Alpine Swifts were busily engaged in feeding their young.”

The note or scream of the present species resembles that of the common Swift, and is
quite as harsh, but is much louder.

Dr. Girtanner obtained a pair of Alpine Swifts alive, together with their nest and four young,
and gives (/. ¢.) some interesting details respecting them. He could, he says, only distinguish
the male from the female by dissection after they had died, but not from outward appearance of
plumage. The female refused to take food, and died in five days; but the male suffered itself to
be fed, and lived three weeks. The young he kept alive, and killed one four months, the second
five months, and the third six months after he received them, keeping the fourth until the
following May. He says that when five weeks old the young birds closely resembled their
parents, except that the dark feathers had white edges, which had disappeared entirely, except
in the quill-feathers, in the following February. He remarks that the old birds never swallowed
small portions of food, but waited until a tolerably large lump or balk was formed, when they
bolted it, apparently with some slight difficulty. On the level ground they could, he says, push
themselves along, but could not raise themselves and take wing. The young could never, even
at the last, be taught to feed themselves, but had invariably to be fed. As cage-birds he does
not recommend them, and ends by saying that they had far better be left to enjoy their freedom
in the open air.

The specimens figured and described are from Switzerland and Malta, and are in my own
collection. Full particulars as to locality &c. are given above.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, b. Southern Europe (Cooke). c, ad. Switzerland. d, juv. Bern, Switzerland (Nager-Donazian). e, 3.

Malta, April 22nd, 1868 (C. A. Wright). f, 3 juv. Piedmont, September 1869 (Salvadori).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.

a. Geneva. 6, ¢. Forest of Bashan, Palestine, March 14th, 1864. c¢, 9. Gennesareth, March 31st, 1864
(4. B. T.). d,e. South Africa (Layard).

E Mus. Salvin and Godman.
a. Turkey. 6,¢, $. Ain Djendeli, North Africa, May 18th, 1857 (O. Salvin).

E Mus. Howard L. Irby.
@,3,6,9. Gibraltar, April 12th, 1874 (H. LZ. L.).

Genus ACANTHYLLIS.

Hirundo apud Latham, Ind. Orn. Suppl. p. lvii (1801).

Acanthylis, Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 971.

Chetura apud Stephens in Shaw’s Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. 2, p. 76 (1826).
Hirundapus apud Hodgson, J. As. Soc. Beng. v. p. 779 (1836).
Pallene apud Lesson, Compl. Buff. viii. p. 493 (1837).

Cypselus apud Delessert, Mag. Zool. 1840, Ois. pl. 20.

Hemiprocne apud Struebel, Isis, 1848, p. 362.

Acanthyllis apud Salvin, Gen. Index to Ibis (1879).

THE Spine-tailed Swifts, which differ chiefly from the common Swifts in having a short even tail
with the feathers tipped with sharp spines, inhabit the Palearctic, Oriental, and Australian
Regions, only one species occurring, as a rare straggler, in the Western Palearctic Region ; and
several species belonging to the very closely allied (if distinct) genus Chetura inhabit the Nearctic
and Neotropical Regions.

In general habits the species belonging to the present genus closely resemble Cypse/us, but
they are even swifter on the wing, and are seldom seen to rest. ‘They are said to construct
agglutinated nests in hollow trees, like the American Chimney-Swallow, and to lay elongated
white eggs.

Acanthyllis caudacuta, the type of the genus, has the bill as in Cypselus, the wings very
long, narrow, and pointed, considerably exceeding the tail in length, the tail short, even, the
feathers terminated by long sharp spines; the feet as in Cypsedus, but rather stronger, the tarsus
bare in front and non-scutellate; claws strong, large, curved, acute.

82

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NEEDLE TAILED SWIFT.

ACANTHYLLIS CAUDACUTA.

ACANTHYLLIS CAUDACUTA.,

(NEEDLE-TAILED SWIFT.)

Hirundo caudacuta, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl. p. lvii. (1801).

Hirundo ciris, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 541. no. 160 (1811).

Hirundo fusca, Steph. in Shaw’s Gen. Zool. x. p. 133 (1817).

Chetura australis, Steph. in Shaw’s Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. 2, p. 76 (1826).
Chetura fusca, Steph, ut supra (1826).

Acanthylis (Hirundo spinicauda, Temm.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 971.

Chetura macroptera, Swains. Zool. Ill. 2nd ser. i. pl. 42 (1829).

Chetura nudipes, Hodgs. J. A. Soc. Beng. v. p. 779 (1836).

Hirundapus, Hodgs. (Chetura nudipes), tom. cit. p. 780 (1836).

Pallene, Less. (Cypselus giganteus, Temm.), Compl. Buff. viii. p. 493 (1837).
Cypselus leuconotus, Delessert. Mag. Zool. 1840, Ois. pl. 20.

Acanthylis caudacuta (Lath.), G. R. Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist. xi. p. 194 (1843).
Pallene macroptera (Swains.), Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 168.

Pallene caudacuta (Lath.), Boie, ut supra.

Pallene leuconota (Deless.), Boie, ut supra.

Acanthylis nudipes (Hodgs.), G. R. Gray, Gen. of B. i. p. 55 (1845).
Hemiprocne leuconotus (Deless.), Struebel, Isis, 1848, p. 362.

Chetura caudacuta (Lath.), Gould, Handb. B. Austr. i. p. 103 (1865).
Hirundapus nudipes (Hodgs.), Gould, Handb. B. Austr. i. p. 103 (1865).
Hirundapus caudacuta (Lath.), G. R. Gray, Hand-l. of B. i. p. 67. no. 770 (1869).
Hirundapus nudipes (Hodgs.), G. R. Gray, tom. cit. p. 67. no. 770 (1869).
Hirundapus ciris (Pall.), G. R. Gray, tom. cit. p. 67. no. 771 (1869).
Acanthyllis caudacuta (Lath.), Newton, Proc. Zool. Soc. Jan. 6, 1880.

Figure notabiles.

Swainson, /. c.; Delessert, 7. c.; Gould, B. of Austr. pl. x.

Ad. fronte, mento et gulA albis: pileo, nuchd et capitis lateribus nigricantibus viridi-ceruleo nitentibus: dorso
et uropygio fuscis, illo centraliter fusco-albido: supracaudalibus et cauda nigris viridi nitentibus, rec-
tricum scapis versus apicem nudis et acuminatis: alis nigris viridi-ceruleo nitentibus, secundariis
intimis in pogonio interno albis: pectore et abdomine fuliginoso-fuscis, hypochondriis imis albo et nigro
immixtis, crisso et subcaudalibus albis: rostro nigro: pedibus livido-purpureis: iride fusca.

Adult Male (Himalayas). Forehead white; crown, nape, and sides of the head dusky black glossed with
bottle-green, back and rump brown, darkest on the sides of the back and on the lower rump, becoming
pale whity brown on the centre of the back ; upper tail-coverts and tail black glossed with bottle-green,
the latter with the terminal portions of the shafts naked and pointed, forming spinous tips; wings

black glossed with bottle-green, the innermost secondaries with the inner webs white; chin, throat,
6m 2

615

614

2

vent, and under tail-coverts pure white, rest of the underparts sooty brown, but the lower flanks are
white mixed with glossy blue-black; bill black; legs livid purplish; iris deep brown. Total length
about 8°5 inches, gape 0°75, wing 8:1, tail 24, tarsus 0°7.

Adult Female. Resembles the male, but is rather smaller in size.

Tus Swift, one of the larger species of the genus, inhabits Asia, ranging south to Australia,
and has only, so far as I can ascertain, occurred twice in the Western Palearctic Region—
on both occasions in Great Britain. At first I was undecided as to the propriety of including
it, as it had only been once killed; but now that a second example, undoubtedly genuine, has
been obtained, there can be no question that it ought to be included; besides, as it breeds in the
same districts as the Yellow-browed Warbler, which has been frequently obtained in Europe, it
is the more probable that it will again be met with here. The first example was shot at Great
Horkesley, near Colchester, on the 8th July 1846, and was examined in the flesh by Yarrell,
Doubleday, and others; and the second, which was accompanied by another bird of the same
species, was obtained near Ringwood, in Hampshire, in July 1879, was exhibited at the meeting
of the Zoological Society on the 6th January, 1880, by Professor Newton; and I then had an
opportunity of personally examining it, which I did most carefully, and am quite satisfied as to
its genuineness.

The true summer home of this species is in North-eastern Asia ; and it winters in Australia.

According to Von Schrenck (V6g. Amurl. p. 252), it occurs in considerable numbers, and
regularly, in the Amoor, remaining there from May to July. Maack obtained it on the 24th
May, O.8., on the Upper Amoor, near the mouth of the Oldoi, and on the 8th (20th) June
between the mouths of the Sungari and Ussuri, when he shot five. Von Schrenck himself saw
large numbers on the 22nd July, O.S., on the Lower Amoor, near the mouth of the Pachssa, in
49° N. lat., and in the following summer, on the 6th (18th) July, near the mouth of the Ussuri.
He remarks that he never saw one settle on a tree or rock, though they often pass close to them.
Pallas and Dr. Radde met with it in South-east Siberia; and, according to Steller, it nests in
rocks on the banks of the Angara in June, July, and August. Dr. Radde writes as follows :—
“J first met with this bird on the 12th August 1859, on the elevated ridge which separates the
Kaja valley, near Irkutsk, from the Angara valley ; and I recognized it by its flight, and more
especially by the white on its flanks. Here these Swifts were generally observed towards evening
in large numbers, flying very close to the ground. I did not, however, observe them during my
hunting-expeditions in the spring of 1855; and in the Bureja Mountains I looked in vain for it
in the summer of 1857; nor did it appear in the elevated Sabbatsch plateaux until the latter part
of August, and disappeared again altogether on the lst of September. It appeared to be then
migrating towards the south-east; but in the summer small parties are seen flying about: and
they are then not always observed in steep rocky localities; for on several occasions I saw individuals
on the open plains which are situated between the Sungari and the Ussuri. Above the Bureja
Mountains I found them most abundant on the eastern slope of the Chingan Mountains, where
T usually saw them on the lowlands, which were covered with lofty pines. Here they frequented
clearings, and in flying about seemed to follow regular aerial paths, time after time in succession,
threading their way through the umbrella-shaped crowns of the pine trees. On the banks of

9
cS)

the Schilka I first observed it on the 23rd of May 1857, about 200 versts above Ust-Strelka; but
I did not meet with it in Russian Dauria, though I looked out most assiduously for it near
Zagan-olui, which locality is much frequented by Cypselus apus. It occurs singly in the lowlands
of Tunkinsk, where it was first seen on the 10th May 1859, and also in the pine-forests; but
few seemed to have then arrived, and on the Naragun brook (ten versts north-east of the Tunka
village), where it is said to breed, none had put in an appearance.”

Colonel Przevalsky, who records this Swift from Mongolia, writes in his notes on the birds
of Mongolia (in Rowl. Zool. Misc.) :—‘* We met with a few specimens on the autumnal migration
in S.H. Mongolia, at the northern bend of the Hoang-ho. It does not occur in Kansu; ... . but
it goes as far north as Irkutsk, and a specimen obtained there is now in the Irkutsk Museum.
It is tolerably common in the Ussuri country, and breeds in the cliffs on the shores of rivers,
and in hollow trees. It appeared to me to be most numerous on the forest-clad hills around
Lake Hanka. Usually several pairs breed in close proximity to each other; and during the
nesting-season (in May) the mates, like our Swifts, chase the females on the wing, describing all
sorts of circles in the air, uttering a weak note, which is more like that of the Swallow than our
Swift. In the Ussuri country this Swift arrives at the end of April, and in Mongolia a week or
two later. When migrating they do not form compact flocks, but fly at short distances from
each other, and very close to the ground; and we saw them leave Mongolia in the autumn in
this way. Their departure from the southern parts of Ussuri occurred in the end of August,
some, however, remaining as late as the beginning of September. ‘The principal migration took
place on the 9th September, when we saw an almost uninterrupted flock of them passing above
our heads during nearly a whole day. ‘They were migrating in company with Cypselus pacificus.”

Mr. Swinhoe records it (/. ¢.) as found in the south of China; Pere David says that when
in Moupin he saw numbers circling at a great altitude, and he likewise met with it in the
mountains in the north of China. It is also found in Japan. Captain Blakiston sent examples
to Mr. Swinhoe, which were obtained in August and September at Hakodadi; and Messrs.
Blakiston and Pryer say (Ibis, 1878, p. 231) that it is found in the Nikko Mountains, and is
common in Yezo in the summer. Dr. Jerdon, who records this Swift as found in India, says
that it has only been found in the south-eastern portion of the Himalayas, in Nepal, Sikkim,
and Bhotan. He frequently saw it near Darjeeling (often in the station itself), at Kursion,
and other places in Sikkim. Tickell also met with it at Darjeeling, and Hodgson in the
northern regions of Nepal. There is also another species in the Himalayas, Acanthyllis indica
(Hume), which is of about the same size as the present species, but is easily distinguishable
by its much darker upper parts, and by having the throat brown and not white, the chin only
being dull brownish white, and the spiny tips to the tail-feathers very much longer than in
Acanthyllis caudacuta.

The present species does not appear to have been met with in the Philippines; but Von
Rosenberg records it from Southern New Guinea, and it is tolerably common in Australia.
Mr. Gould says (J. c.):—“ This Swift is a summer visitant to the eastern portions of Australia,
proceeding as far south as Tasmania; but its visits to this island are not so regular as to New
South Wales, During the months of January and February it appears in large flocks, which,
after spending a few days, disappear as suddenly as they arrive. Iam not aware of its haying

6]

D

4

been observed in Western Australia; neither has it occurred in any of the collections formed at
Port Essington, although it doubtless pays that colony passing visits during its migrations.”

The present species and Acanthyllis gigantea are said to be the swiftest birds in existence.
Tickell says that he never witnessed any thing equal to the prodigious swiftness of its move-
ments; and he also remarks that it frequently changes its ground, being seldom seen for two
days together in the same spot. It is generally seen on the wing, and is evidently capable of
traversing immense distances without resting; hence its range is very extensive. Von Schrenck
observes that, though he frequently watched these birds for a long time, he never saw one
settle on a branch or cliff, though they often passed close to them during their aérial evolutions.
Mr. Gould, speaking of its habits as observed by him in Australia, says (Handb. B. Austr. i.
p. 104) :—** The keel or breast-bone of this species is more than ordinarily deep, and the pectoral
muscles more developed than in any bird of its weight with which I am acquainted. Its whole
form is especially and beautifully adapted for extended flights; hence it readily passes from one
part of the world to another, and, if so disposed, may be engaged in hawking for flies on the
continent of Australia at one hour, and in the next be similarly employed in Tasmania.

““So exclusively is this bird a tenant of the air, that I never, in any instance, saw it perch,
and but rarely sufficiently near the earth to admit of a successful shot: it is only late in the
evening and during lowery weather that such an object can be accomplished. With the
exception of the Crane, it is certainly the most lofty as well as the most vigorous flier of the
Australian birds. I have frequently observed in the middle of the hottest days, while lying
prostrate on the ground with my eyes directed upwards, the cloudless blue sky peopled at an
immense elevation by hundreds of these birds, performing extensive curves and sweeping flights,
doubtless attracted thither by the insects that soar aloft during serene weather ; on the contrary,
the flocks that visit the more humid climate of Tasmania, necessarily seek their food near the
earth.”

So far as I can ascertain, there are no authentic details on record respecting the nidification
of the present species; but it is said to nest in rocks, and to build gelatinous nests. Dr. Radde
says, however, that he was assured by the Buriats of Siberia that this Swift builds its nest in
hollow pine trees—which may very possibly be correct, as its small American ally, Chetura
pelasgia, certainly builds a nest of twigs, cemented together with a tough gelatinous substance,
which it places in hollow trees. My. Swinhoe, writing respecting the Needle-tailed Swift, remarks
(Ibis, 1870, p. 90), “A Chinese work on the island of Hainan, in its list of birds, mentions a
large species of Swallow, ‘as big a Dove, which makes its nest in the caves of certain small
islands off the southerly coast of Hainan. It adds that, in autumn, when the birds desert their
nests, the nests are collected and sold for food, and that epicures esteem them much more highly
than those imported from the Straits of Malacca. The builders of such nests must surely be
this large Spine-tailed Swift. We passed close to some of these islands, but looked in vain for
the birds. They had not yet returned to their breeding-places. None of the nests were to be
purchased in the various markets we visited in Hainan towns; but out of a pirate the gunboat
captured, off Lingshuy, we took a parcel of rather large gelatinous nests, which possibly were
collected from the neighbouring island rocks; but we could procure no satisfactory evidence to
show that they were. I therefore was forced, with much reluctance, to abandon the determina-

5

tion of this interesting question to the next adveuturer who has the good fortune to go over
my ground.”

Mr. G. R. Gray (Gen. of B. i. p. 55, footnote) states that the generic term Chwtura has been
preoccupied, and he therefore uses that of Acanthylis (or, more correctly, Acanthyllis), a genus of
grasses having been called Cheturus; but in 1826 it was the practice (since abandoned) not to
admit the same name in both botany and zoology ; and though, according to the rules now in
force, Chetura could be used, yet it appears to me more advisable to adopt the generic name
Acanthyllis, which was given in the same year as Chetura; I have accordingly done so.

The specimen figured is one I received with a few other birds from the Himalayas, without
any particulars as to precise locality or date of capture.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 6. Himalayas.

E Mus. H. Seebohm.
a,é. Amoy, China, 1856 (R. Swinhoe).

E Mus. Brit. Reg.
a. India. 6, c. Simla, India. d. Nepal (Hodgson). e. Amoor. /f. Australia.

617

Family CAPRIMULGIDA.

Genus CAPRIMULGUS.

Caprimulgus, Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 470 (1760).
Hirundo apud Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 542 (1811).
Nyctichelidon apad Rennie in Mont. Orn. Dict. 2nd ed. p. 335 (1831).

Tue Goatsuckers are certainly more closely allied to the Swifts than any other group; and I have
therefore decided to place these two families in an order by themselves. Members of the family
are found nearly all over the world ; and the genus Caprimulqus inhabits the Palearctic, Ethiopian,
Oriental, and Australian Regions, three species being found in the Western Palearctic Region.

These birds are peculiar in being nocturnal in their habits, but seldom flying about during
the daytime, when they hide away in some well-sheltered place, which, as soon as the shades of
evening set in, they leave and commence searching after their insect food. ‘They feed entirely
on nocturnal insects of various kinds, which they usually capture on the wing. Their flight is
light, rapid, and noiseless. They are migrants, leaving for warmer climes early in the autumn.
Their note is peculiar, being whirring, resembling the sound of a spinning-wheel; and they also
utter a shrill whistle. They deposit their eggs, two in number, on the ground, making no regular
nest. The eggs are elongated, dull white in colour, clouded with purplish grey and brown.

Caprimulgus europeus, the type of the genus, has the bill very short, feeble, much depressed,
broad at the base, the tip narrow and deflected; nostrils elliptical; mouth extremely wide, the
gape furnished with stiff bristles; wings very long, the second quill longest; tail long, slightly
rounded ; feet small, tarsus partially feathered; anterior toes webbed at the base, the centre one
much the longest ; claws small, curved, compressed, that of the middle toe proportionally longer,
curved outwards, and pectinate on the thin inner edge; plumage very soft and blended.

619

Diol

Master: Bross

COMMON NIGHTJAR.
CAPRIMULGUS EUROPIEUS

CAPRIMULGUS EUROPAUS.

(COMMON NIGHTJAR.)

Caprimulgus, Brisson, Orn. ii. p. 470, pl. 44 (1760).

Caprimulgus europeus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 346 (1766).

Caprimulgus punctatus, Wolf, Taschenb. deutsch. Vogelk. i. p. 284 (1810).
Tirundo caprimulgus (L.), Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 542 (1811).

Caprimulgus vulgaris, Vieill. Faun. Frang. i. p. 140 (1828).

Caprimulgus maculatus, C. L. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 131 (1831).
Nyctichelidon europeus (L.), Rennie, in Mont. Orn. Dict. 2nd ed. p. 335 (1831).
Caprimulgus maculatus, C. L. Brehm, Vogelf. p. 44 (1855).

Caprimulgus foliorum, C. L. Brehm, ut supra (1855).

Caprimulgus europeus maculatus, A. EK. Brehm, Verz. Samml. C. L. Brehm, p. 3 (1866).
Caprimulgus europeus punctatus, A. EK. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Caprimulqus europeus punctorum, A. E. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Caprimulgus europeus foliorum, A. EK. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Caprimulgus europeus peregrinus, A. K. Brehm, ut supra (1866).

Fern-Owl, Night-Hawk, Goatsucker, Nightjar, Churn-Owl, Dor-Hawk, English ; An t’seabhag-
oidhche, Gaelic; Engoulevent ordinaire, French; Crap6-volant, in Savoy; Noitibo, Portu-
guese; Papa-vientos, Spanish; Bukrak, Maltese; Succiacapre, Nottolone, Italian; Ziegen-
melker, Geissmelker, Tagschléfer, Nachtschwalbe, German; Geitenmelker, Nachtzwaluw,
Dutch; Natteravn, Natskade, Danish; Nattskérra, Swedish; Natteravn, Norwegian ;
Kehrajd, Finnish ; Kozodoy polunotchnik, Russian.

Figure notabiles.

D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 193; Werner, Atlas, Chélidons, pl. 7; Kjerb. Orn. Dan. taf. xiv. ;
Frisch, Vég. Deutschl. taf. 101; Fritsch, Vog. Eur. taf. 13. fig. 1; Naumann, Vog.
Deutschl. taf. 148; Sundevall, Sv. Fogl. pl. xxi. fig. 2; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 51; id. B.
of G. Brit. ii. pl. 1; Schlegel, Vog. Nederl. pls. 61, 62; Roux, Orn. Prov. pl. 147;
Bettoni, Ucc. Lomb. tay. xv.

gad. corpore supra saturaté cinereo nigricante vermiculato et penicillato: pileo valde nigro striato: scapu-
laribus eodem modo striatis et in pogonio externo ochraceo lavatis: dorsi plumis nigro striatis: remi-
gibus primariis nigricantibus, in pogonio externo rufescente ochraceo notatis, tribus externis versus
apicem macula alb4 notatis, secundariis dorso concoloribus: tectricibus alarum minoribus ochraceo
apicatis: cauda saturaté cinerea nigro-fusco transfasciaté et marmorata, rectricibus externis rufescente
ochraceo lavatis, duabus externis utrinque conspicué albo terminatis: gula, gutture et pectore grises-
centi-cervinis, et corpore imo rufescenti-cervino, ubique nigro-fusco transfasciato, gutture lateraliter

522

eet ft
2

macula albé utrinque notato: subcaudalibus rufescente cervino vix nigro-fusco fasciatis: rostro et iride
nigris, pedibus rufescenti-fuscis.

2 ad. mari similis sed remigibus primariis et rectricibus non albo sed rufescente ochraceo, fusco marmorato,
notatis.

Adult Male (Kareholm, Sweden, 20th May). Upper parts dark ashy grey, richly pencilled and vermiculated
with blackish brown; centre of the crown broadly streaked with black ; scapulars similarly streaked,
and with the outer web marked with dull ochre; most of the feathers on the back more or less streaked
with blackish brown; upper surface of the wings like the back, but marked, especially on the smaller
wing-coverts, with warm clay-colour; primaries blackish, on the outer web marked with rufescent
ochre, the first three with a large round white spot towards the terminal portion of the inner web;
secondaries marked like the back ; tail dark grey, banded and pencilled with blackish, and on the outer
reetrices slightly washed with warm reddish ochre, the two outer rectrices on each side broadly termi-
nated with white; underparts dusky greyish buff, becoming orange-buff on the abdomen and crissum,
the entire undersurface being narrowly barred with blackish brown; on the sides of the throat are two
whitish patches (and in some specimens a large white patch on the centre of the throat) ; under tail-
coverts orange-buff, slightly barred with blackish; beak and irides black; legs reddish brown. Total
length about 10 inches, gape 1°2, wing 7°8, tail 5:5, tarsus 0°8.

Adult Female. Similar to the male, except that the white spots on the wings and tail are wanting, being
replaced by dull orange-buff, slightly marbled with brown.

Nestling in first feathers (Hampstead, Middlesex). Resembles the female, but is duller in colour.

TuIs, our common European Nightjar, inhabits Kurope generally during the summer season, being
met with at least as far east as Persia and Turkestan. It migrates southward at the approach of
winter, and at that season of the year does not appear to occur north of the Mediterranean.

In Great Britain it is very generally distributed and common during the summer season in
suitable localities, being most so in our southern counties, according to Yarrell particularly in
Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and westward to Cornwall. Mr. Cecil
Smith informs me that in Somersetshire it is common, but somewhat local, being more numerous
in the partially cultivated districts than in the highly cultivated vale. I have met with it very
numerous in Kent, Essex, Middlesex, and several of our midland counties. Mr. Stevenson
speaks of it as being common in Norfolk; and it is not uncommon in the northern counties.
Mr. Robert Gray says, it is “a common bird in almost every Scottish county from Wigtown
to the north of Caithness, extending also to the inner group of islands, but not, so far as I
can learn, reaching the Outer Hebrides. It is not uncommon in Islay, Iona, and Mull, and
is generally distributed in Skye, in all of which islands eggs have been found. In the Western
Highlands, the haunts of the Nightjar are, for the most part, in retired tracts which are
covered with ‘brackens,’ or in the vicinity of fir-woods, where, on still evenings, its strange
jarring cry may be heard till an advanced hour. Occasionally, however, it is seen hawking for
insects in parks in the low grounds; and at times it approaches even large towns like Glasgow.”
It is included as a straggler in the work on the birds of Shetland by Dr. Saxby, who writes
(p. 147), “stragglers have been observed in summer and autumn for many years past; but

3

the appearance of this species in Shetland must be regarded as merely accidental. I have seen
it myself at Balta Sound, in the end of July, skimming over the fields, and now and then
alighting on the dykes.” In Ireland it is common in suitable localities, but is said to be some-
what local.

It does not appear to occur in Greenland or Iceland, and is only a straggler to the Feroes.
Captain Feilden says that “ Mr. H. C. Miller received it in the summer of 1859; on the 25th
May, 1871, one was shot at Sund; and on the 22nd July, 1871, another was taken on Skuoe.”
In Norway, according to Mr. R. Collett, it breeds commonly in the southern provinces up as far
north as the Trondhjems fiord, where it is frequently seen near Trondhjem and in the Oerkedale ;
it is less numerous on the west coast than in the eastern districts; and on the fell-sides it passes
over the border of the conifer-region. On the Swedish side it is, according to Sundevall,
tolerably common as far north as Gefle, in 61° N. lat., but is scarcely ever met with further
north ; and though it has been said to have occurred at Sorsele, in Lapland, this statement can
scarcely be credited. In Finland it is met with at least as far north as Kuopio, in 63° N. lat.,
and is common in the southern portions of the country, where I have frequently seen it. It
appears to occur in Northern Russia to about the same latitude as in Finland; for it is not
uncommon, and breeds, near Archangel. Mr. Sabandeff informs me that he met with it every-
where in Central Russia and in the Ural, except in woodless plains, and says that it is espe-
cially numerous in the Government of Tula. In the Baltic Provinces, Poland, and North
Germany it is tolerably common during the summer; and the same may be said regarding its
occurrence in Denmark. Borggreve remarks that it is commoner in Eastern Germany; but Herr
von Homeyer says (J. f. O. 1870, p. 218) that Oberst von Zittwitz found it common in Thuringia,
and that he himself met with it most numerous at Rastatt, in Baden. In Holland, Mr. H. M.
Labouchere informs me, it is not very common; but in Belgium and France it is abundant and
generally distributed during the summer season, being more numerous in the latter country,
especially in the southern departments, where it arrives in April. In Portugal it is said by
Professor Barboza du Bocage to be common, and it also occurs in Spain. Both Lord Lilford
and Mr. Howard Saunders obtained specimens from near Seville; and the latter informs me that
he has received several from Malaga and Valencia, all procured at the time of the spring
migration. Dr. A. K. Brehm writes (Allg. deutsch. naturh. Zeit. 1859, p, 442) that during the
two seasons of migration (say, in about the middle of April and again in the latter part of
September) it is found throughout the country, in Catalonia, Galicia, the Asturias, Leon,
Nayarre, &c., and probably to some extent remains there during the summer. Passing eastward,
again, I find it recorded as tolerably common in Savoy, where it arrives about the 20th April,
and in Italy and Sicily, where it is a summer visitant. Mr. A. B. Brooke mentions (Ibis, 1873,
p- 236) that he only once saw one in Sardinia, in the middle of April. It touches at Malta
during migration; and Mr. C. A. Wright speaks of it (Ibis, 1864, p. 58) as being “plentiful
towards the end of March and in April and May. Great numbers are shot in these months for
the table. As many as one hundred and thirty have been shot in a day by one gun. In spring
they are most abundant in south-westerly winds after a dark night. ‘They are generally found
asleep in the day-time on the branches of the carob-trees, invariably arranging their bodies and
long tails in a line with the branches. Thus, being of the same colour as the bark, they are

4B

624

4

very difficult to perceive. They are also found reposing on stones and on open rocky ground.
In Gozo the country people have a way of snaring them with a noose at the end of a stick. I
have often seen these birds before sunrise, and again in the evening after sunset, hunting for
insects on the wing. ‘They repass in September and October, at the same time as the Scops
Owl.” Lord Lilford says (Ibis, 1860, p. 236) it arrives in small numbers in Corfu and Epirus in
April, but does not, he thinks, remain to breed; and he found a small party of Nightjars at
Pagania in September 1857. It appears to be tolerably common in Greece during the summer,
and especially so during passage. lLindermayer says that it arrives between the 15th and 30th
April, and breeds in the hills, where he several times obtained its nest and eggs. It breeds
throughout Southern Germany, where it is found during the summer season, and is found in the
countries bordering the Southern Danube; but Messrs. Elwes and Buckley do not appear to have
found it in Turkey proper, though it is doubtless found there. Professor von Nordmann states
that it is distributed everywhere in Southern Russia; and Ménétries records it from the Caucasus,
but remarks that four specimens obtained by him at Zouvant, two males and two females, had
no trace of white on the tail.

Canon Tristram writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 76) that he several times met with it in Palestine after
the beginning of April, in the first week of which month he found it at Jericho.

It visits Africa during the winter season, when it is common. In Egypt it is stated to be
met with only during migration, passing further south to spend the winter. Riippell observed it
in Egypt and Arabia Petra; Von Heuglin writes (Ibis, 1859, p. 339) that it was met with in
September on the Danakil, and in October on the Somali coasts; and Dr. Brehm states (J. f. O.
1853, p. 452) that it arrives in Egypt and Nubia in September or early in October. In 1848 he
observed one at Wady Halfa on the 6th October; in 1849 he saw it near Alexandria in October;
in 1851 he noticed it on the 4th September near Abu-Hamed, on the 15th September at New
Dongola, and on the 30th near Abu Simbil in Nubia. It arrives about the same time at Sudan,
where he observed it in 30° N. lat.; and he killed one near Chartoum on the 11th September.
In North-western Africa it is found during winter, but does not appear to be very common.
Mr. Salvin writes (Ibis, 1859, p. 302) that he only once met with it in Algeria, at Kef Laks,
where an Arab brought one to him half-dead; and Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt-Drake says (Ibis, 1867,
p- 425) that it is known to breed towards Ceuta, in Morocco. Finally, it is stated by Vernon
Harcourt (P. Z. 8. 1851, p. 146) to straggle to Madeira; but Mr. Godman did not meet with it
there. :

In South-Africa there is said to be a distinct species, C. smithi, Bp., which, Mr. Sharpe
writes (Ibis, 1870, p. 427), “besides sundry differences in colour, wants altogether the white
spots on the wings and tail so conspicuous in the male of C. ewropeus.” I have not a sufficient
series of South-African specimens to determine whether C. smithi really is a valid species; but it
appears to me to be very doubtful if such is the case. In Captain Shelley’s collection are two
specimens with the sex unmarked, one of which, collected by Mr. C. J. Andersson on the Knysna
river, does not in the least differ in general coloration from European-killed specimens of C. euro-
pus, but has the white patch only on the second primary, and there is only a dull whitish tip
to one or two of the tail-feathers. The other specimen, from Durban, closely resembles pale
varieties of the female of our European bird.

5

To the eastward C. ewropeus is met with at least as far as Persia and Turkestan, and is
stated by Dr. G. Radde to occur at Irkutsk. Mr. Taczanowski also writes (J. f. O. 1872, p. 350)
that it is “very rare in Kultuk, commoner in the neighbourhood of Irkutsk, has not been met
with at Darasun. A young specimen in first plumage differs not from European specimens of
the same age.” ‘There is, however, a possibility that in some instances Caprimulgus jotaka may
have been mistaken for it. Mr. Blanford writes that the present species appears to extend
throughout the Persian highlands, at all events in summer. He did not meet with it in
Baluchistan. Major St. John obtained one in the forest west of Shiraz, at an altitude of
7000 feet, but says that it is commoner about gardens and irrigated land, though nowhere
very plentiful. Mr. Blanford remarks that ‘the specimens vary much in colour. Those from
Northern Persia agree well with European birds; the others are rather paler; and the three
skins from Bam and Sar-i-jim are greyer than the rest. One skin of a male from Bam differs
so much from typical birds that for some time I thought it distinct, the prevailing colour above
and below being dusky grey; but the specimen does not differ in its markings or dimensions
from others. A young bird from the Elburz is very pale-coloured, but more rufous than the
other specimens; there is a similar skin from Syria in the British Museum.” Mr. Severtzoff also
remarks that Turkestan specimens are lighter than others from Europe, but says that on the
Don and in the Ural he has seen examples intermediate in coloration. He speaks of it as being
common throughout Turkestan during the breeding-season, but seldom met with below 1000 feet
altitude, being most numerous from that to 8000 feet.

During the day-time the Nightjar remains resting in some shady place, either amongst the
ferns or else seated lengthways on a bough. I have sometimes started one up when walking in
the fern-covered glades of some of our parks, and have on one or two occasions seen one flying
about during the day-time, evidently untroubled by the sun-glare. Its American ally, Chordeiles
popetue (Vieill.), I have still more often seen hawking after insects in the full glare of a southern
sun. Still these are exceptions, and it is not until the shades of evening set in that the Nightjar
or Fern-Owl, as it is frequently called, comes out of its concealment; and in a still evening its
churring note may be heard all through the open glades in the woodlands. Its flight, like
that of all nocturnal birds, is noiseless; and as it sweeps round fluttering, turns suddenly to catch
a passing moth, shooting off again, it gives one the idea of a large nocturnal Swallow. ‘The
whirring or churring note, something like that produced by a spinning-wheel, is uttered whilst
the bird is perched on a branch; and when flying it every now and again strikes the points of its
wings together, making a sound which may be heard at a considerable distance, at the same time
uttering a whistling note. It is by some observers said to possess the power of ventriloquism ;
but I think that from turning its head when uttering its note it makes it appear now close and
now distant from the listener. Macgillivray’s correspondent furnished some very interesting
notes on the whirring note uttered by the Nightjar, which were published by Macgillivray (Brit.
Birds, iii. p. 641) as follows :—‘ In this parish only one Nightjar has this season (1539) made its
appearance. On Wednesday evening, the 5th of June, between eleven and twelve o'clock, while
standing at the door of my house, I heard a male Nightjar uttering very distinctly his whirring
sound. On the evenings of the 8th and 9th of the same month he was heard in a moor about
the distance of half a mile from the former situation. He remained silent until Tuesday evening

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the 16th of July, when he again whirred in a moor near the south-west corner of the parish.
This moor is upwards of a mile in circumference, and surrounded chiefly by Scotch fir trees. On
the 20th inst. I went thither to observe his habits. It was a very pleasant evening, and the
thermometer at 54°. At the south-west corner of the moor, at five minutes before nine o'clock,
he began to whir, and continued about two minutes. He then flew about in pursuit of his prey.
About ten minutes after nine he alighted on the top of a Scotch fir at the south-east corner, and
continued to whir for three minutes and a half. After having hawked about for six minutes, he
alighted upon a tree at the north-east corner, where he whirred for a short time. He then flew
to the north-west corner, where he uttered his whirring sound for one minute and a half. He
once rose to the height of about sixty or seventy feet, whistling as he mounted. On this occa-
sion his peculiar mode of flight was similar to that which the male Cushat makes when he rises
and falls in the air at the season of pairing. At a quarter to ten o’clock, after having made
almost a complete circuit of the woods, he returned to the same tree upon which he was perched
when first heard. After remaining there about two minutes he flew past me in an abrupt and
wavering manner, and was not heard again during the evening. The wind had by this time
risen, which perhaps accounts for his silence. His flight was sometimes very rapid, and not
unlike that of the Swallow. ‘The particular noise, which has been compared to that of a
spinning-wheel, is said by some ornithologists to be produced when the bird is perched with its
head lowermost. This, however, is not always the case; for upon this evening I again and again
distinctly heard and saw the Nightjar whirring while perched upon the top of a Scotch fir, with
his head in a position even more erect than that in which he generally carries it. On Tuesday
evening, the 23rd, about a quarter before nine o'clock, I again went to watch this bird. I con-
tinued upon the moor until half past eleven; but I neither saw nor heard him, although the
wind was south-west, and the thermometer 59°. At nine o'clock on Wednesday evening the
24th, I again returned, being determined, if possible, to get another glimpse of him. Having
remained for an hour in a state of anxiety, I was just on the eve of departing, when, exactly at
ten o'clock, in the north-west side of the moor I heard the accustomed sound, which continued
one minute. Having flown about for two minutes in search of moths and beetles, the bird
alighted on a tree in the north-east corner, where he whirred for about four minutes. After a
momentary pause he whirred for a similar period ; then making another pause for a moment, he
whirred for three minutes. After having been engaged for twenty-eight minutes in capturing
his prey, and whistling now and then whilst doing so, he sat upon the top of a tree at the east
corner, and whirred six minutes without intermission. Having paused for a second, he whirred
other two minutes, and then went in search of food for a short time. From the top of a tree in
the south-east corner he whirred five minutes, then: having made a momentary cessation he
whirred other two minutes. At one minute after eleven o’clock he flew very quickly past me,
making a whistling sound eight times. He performed exactly the same circuit round the moor
as he had done on the 20th inst., but in the reverse direction, and stopped at the same places as
on that evening. Although it was a most charming bright moonlight evening, and the ensuing
morning very beautiful, the wind from the south-west, and the thermometer 53°, he did not
again whir. I remained in the moor till twenty minutes to three o’clock. Between eleven and
half past one o'clock I occasionally heard him whistle. He ceased from feeding when the

7

morning light came in; at least I did not observe him, although I traversed the moor in every
direction. The Nightjar occasionally whirs between twelve and two o’clock in the morning,
sometimes even later.”

The Nightjar feeds on moths, beetles, and insects of various kinds, most frequently capturing
its prey on the wing, its capacious gape forming an excellent moth- or beetle-trap. That it eats
caterpillars is also certain; for Macgillivray writes that he has found the inner surface of its
stomach, like that of the Cuckoo, bristling with caterpillar’s hairs. Naumann writes that it feeds
more especially on the larger beetles, such as May-bugs (Melolontha vulgaris) and other allied
species (I/. solstitialis, M. horticola, M: agricola, &c.), dung-beetles (Scarabeus stercorarius,
Scarabeus vernalis, &c.), large night-flying moths, especially the sphinx moth, and various species
of nocturnal insects. It is a very greedy feeder, and digests its food quickly, but is usually in
good condition, and in the autumn often very fat. The indigestible portions of the insects it
devours (which, I may add, it swallows entire) it throws up in long pellets, which may frequently
be found in the places where it reposes during the day. As it feeds more especially on those
insects which are to be met with amongst the dung in places where cattle have been feeding, or
where they are stalled, it frequently happens that the Nightjar is more often to be met with in
these pastures or in the immediate vicinity of outlying folds; and hence the popular delusion that
it sucks the goats, hanging on to their udders; and from this belief has arisen its common appella-
tion of Goatsucker.

This species has the claw of the middle toe furnished on the side with peculiar pectinations
forming a sort of close-toothed comb; and the use made of this peculiar appendage has puzzled
naturalists not a little; nor has it been at all satisfactorily decided for what purpose this pectina-
tion exists. Some observers contend that it is used to clean the basirostral vibrissee from the frag-
ments of the wings of insects which may adhere to them; but I agree with Macgillivray that this
cannot well be the case, as these vibrissée or bristles are large, strong, and placed at some distance
apart, whereas the teeth of the claw are thin and very close. Others think that as the bird
invariably perches along a branch in a direction parallel to its axis, and never across the bough,
this pectinated claw may assist it in keeping its perch more firmly than it otherwise would do.
Other naturalists, again, contend that it is used to hold large insects with greater security ; but
it appears that the Nightjar almost invariably takes its prey with the mouth and not with the
foot; and consequently this supposition falls to the ground. I observe in Rennie’s ‘ Field
Naturalist’ some notes on the pectinated claws of the Bittern and the present species by an
anonymous writer, who suggests that the comb-like structure on the claw may have been
intended for disengaging the hooked feet of beetles from the bill, to enable the bird to
swallow them ; and this may possibly be the case, as the serrations are well calculated to catch
in the polished limbs of beetles. Any one, he says, who has attempted to confine Dytisci or
Scarabei in a collecting-box must be aware of the difficulty in getting their feet free from the
edge, to which they hold with the greatest pertinacity, one foot being no sooner pushed in than
another is protruded. It is curious that this pectination is found in the claws of many widely
different species, as, for instance, in the Bittern and Gannet, which, I may add, have no bristles
at the base of the bill.

The Nightjar breeds in June, making no nest, but merely depositing its two eggs on the

G

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8

ground in a slight hollow, either on the open heath or else amongst the trees. The eggs are
elongated, tapering equally towards each end, and measure from 135 by #% inch to 142 by 3¢
and 142 by 37 inch. In colour and markings they are subject to considerable variation, some
having the ground-colour nearly pure white, and being more or less blotched and marbled with
pale purplish underlying shell-markings and dark brown surface-spots; whereas others have the
ground-colour greyish white, with a buff tinge, and are faintly blotched and marbled with dull
purplish grey, or else are thickly blotched with purplish grey and dark brown on a greyish white
ground tinged with buff. One brood only is raised in the season, unless the first eggs are
destroyed, in which case it is said to lay again; but then, as a rule, only one egg instead of two
is deposited. ‘The young birds when first hatched are covered with grey down, which is darker
on the back and lighter on the underparts; but ere long they get feathered, and then resemble
the female, but are duller in colour.
The specimen figured is the adult male, from Sweden, above described, and is in my own

collection.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, 3. West Drayton, May 25th, 1869. 6,3. Farnboro’, Kent (H.H#.D.). c,3. Kareholm, May 21st, 1867.
d, 3. Syria (Verreauxr). e, 9. South Persia, May 29th, 1872 (W. T. Blanford). ff, g,juv. Highgate,
July 14th, 1869 (R. B. Sharpe). h,juv. Hampshire (P. L. Sclater).

E Mus. J. H. Gurney, jun.
a, 6. Northrepps, Norfolk, June 7th, 1867. 6. Walsingham (J. H. G.). c,?. Genoa, May 1871.

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a, 2. Near Seville, May 18th, 1868 (H.8.). 6, 5. Malaga, April 29th. c, 9. Malaga, May 19th. d,e, 6,
f,2. Valencia, March 24th to 28th. g,d. Valencia, April 30th.

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a. Durham (H. B. T.). 6. Sussex, September 1863 (J. LE. Harting).

a

EGYPTIAN GOATSUCKER
CAPRIMULGUS AGYPTIUS.

CAPRIMULGUS AGYPTIUS.

(EGYPTIAN GOATSUCKER.)

Caprimulgus aegyptius, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 59 (1823).
Caprimulgqus isabellinus, Temm. Pl. Col. 379 (1825).
Caprimulqus arenicolor, Sev. Ibis, 1875, p. 491.

Figure notabiles.
Temm. /.c.; Shelley, B. of Egypt, pl. 8.

Ad. supra isabellino-cinereus, delicatissimé nigro-fusco irroratus et vermiculatus : remigibus extis et in parte
apicali cinereo-isabellinis nigro vermiculatis et fasciatis, pogoniis internis basin versus albidis: rectri-
cibus dorso concoloribus nigro fasciatis, binis externis albo isabellino terminatis: corpore subtis
isabellino-cinereo, angusté nigro-fusco fasciato, macula gulari conspicué albA: pedibus rufescenti-
fuscis: rostro saturaté fusco: iride nigra.

Adult Male (Turkestan). Upper parts sandy isabelline with a greyish tinge, finely vermiculated and narrowly
barred with black ; quills on the outer web and on the terminal portion sandy grey, barred and vermi-
culated with black, on the inner web, near the shaft, blackish brown, with black bars going nearly half
across the web, the rest of the web white; inner secondaries coloured like the back, but boldly barred
with blackish brown ; tail greyish isabelline finely vermiculated with black, the central rectrices finely,
and the rest somewhat boldly barred with: black, the external ones with the tips unmarked. with black ;
underparts sandy isabelline narrowly barred with blackish, a patch on the throat white; legs reddish
brown; beak dark brown; iris black. Total length about 10°5 inches, gape 1:1, wing 8:1, tail 5-3,
tarsus 0:9.

Adult Female (Egypt). Differs scarcely from the male in plumage, being a trifle duller and less clearly
marked.

Tus Goatsucker is easily distinguishable from Caprimulgus europeus, not only by its pale sandy-
grey coloration, but by lacking the bold black stripes on the upper parts, in having the tail more
finely barred, and especially in having the basal and outer part of the inner webs of the
primaries white. Its range is not very extensive; for it is found in North-east Africa, ranging
eastward to Turkestan ; and it has even straggled as far north as the island of Heligoland, whence
one was lately brought by Mr. H. Seebohm, who writes (Ibis, 1877, p. 163) that it was shot
there on the 22nd June 1875. Elsewhere in Europe proper it has not been obtained; but,
Captain Shelley writes (B. of Egypt, p.175), it is found throughout Egypt and Nubia, and appears
to be most plentiful in spring and autumn, when it is generally in flocks. ‘In the Fayoom,” he
adds, ‘“‘in March, I met with a small party of four, all of which were males, from which it
would appear that these birds travel in flocks of the same sex, and do not pair until shortly
before breeding. Those I met with in the Fayoom were sitting on the bare sand; and as they

2

rose they frequently uttered a little snapping sound, and took refuge in some neighbouring
tamarisk bushes. I have also occasionally seen them flitting over the water towards sunset.”
According to Von Heuglin (Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 128) this Goatsucker inhabits Nubia throughout
the summer, and especially the sand islands in the province of Dongolah, where it is found
in large numbers, and breeds in July and August. In April and May, and again in September,
large flocks were met with by Von Heuglin in Lower Egypt, in places where, he says, “it is
otherwise not to be met with (for they frequent the small acacia-groves on the edge of the
desert), and in Halfa, where it is scarcely able to find shelter from the glare of the sun. They
rise most unwillingly, and will often run along, with puffed-out throats, uttering their curious
note, from one bush to another, though they can see well enough. I once shot six, all females,
out of such a flock consisting of more than fifty individuals.”

This Goatsucker does not appear to have been met with in Palestine; but I have examined
a specimen obtained by Mr. Blanford in Baluchistan which agrees closely with examples from
Egypt; and it was obtained by Dr. Severtzoff in Turkestan, and described by him as new under
the name of Caprimulqus arenicolor. I possess the specimen from which Dr. Severtzoff’s descrip-
tion was taken ; and, after a careful comparison of it with Egyptian examples, I have no hesitation
in uniting it with the present species. He says (/. ¢.) that it is common only on the Lower Oxus,
rarer on the Syr and in the south part of the shores of the East Caspian, and is everywhere a
summer visitant. Ina MS. note in my copy of his work on the fauna of Turkestan he writes as
follows :—‘‘ There is no constant difference in colour between the young and old birds; but the
former are recognizable by their laxer plumage on the body. ‘This lax plumage is moulted in
July, soon after the young leave the nest and when they are in family parties with their parents ;
and, judging from these parties, two or three young are reared from each nest. About the end
of August these family parties break up; and then the young have lost the immature plumage,
except as regards the under tail-coverts. After leaving their parents they are found in pairs;
and the old birds leave the Lower Oxus about the first half of September, the young remaining
till the end of that month, and some few until the middle of October. I met with the present
species near the Lowér Oxus, and in the undulating thinly bush-covered sand-wastes, as also in
the densely bush-covered alluvial marly clay country, never very far from water, round which
they fly after sunset. On the Lower Syr (Jaxartes) it was rarer; and here I first noticed it, and
received specimens also from Krasnovodsk, on the east coast of the Caspian.”

Beyond what few notes I give above, I find nothing on record respecting the habits of this
species; and scarcely any thing is known about its nidification. Von Heuglin says (J. c.) that the
nest is a mere depression in the soil, usually close to some halfa or under an acacia bush; and he
found in it two eggs, which he describes as being smaller, paler, and more ochreous yellow in
tinge than those of Caprimulqus europeus, clouded with light ashy blue and brownish yellow, and
measuring 12§"" by nearly 9". The old birds, he adds, sit very close, and when disturbed will
only run a few paces from the nest.

In coloration, as well as in size, there is no slight individual variation in the present species.
Even in the few specimens I have now before me I find this very perceptible; for of two examples
from Egypt one is lighter and more isabelline than the specimen from Turkestan, and the other
is darker and greyer; and in one the wing is barely 73 inches in length, whereas in the other it

631
3

is fully 7-65. Von Heuglin says that examples he has measured vary from 7:3 to 7:9 in length
of wing; and there is in the British Museum a specimen from Egypt fully as large as the one
from Turkestan, the bird obtained in Heligoland being also similarly large, and in coloration
agreeing closely with the smallest of the Egyptian examples. I find also a variation in the pro-
portion of the primaries of the specimens I have examined—which shows that no character can
be based on these.

The specimens figured are the pale form from Turkestan above described, and a dark speci-
men from Egypt, the latter being in the collection of Captain Shelley.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.
a, 6. Turkestan (Severtzoff, type of C. arenicolor).

E Mus. G. E. Shelley.
«, 6. Fayoom, Egypt, March 4th, 1871 (G. Z.S.). 6, ¢. Egypt, April 6th, 1870 (G. £.S.).

E Mus. H. Seebohm.
a. Heligoland, June 22nd, 1875.

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CAPRIMULGUS RUFICOLLIS

(RUSSET-NECKED NIGHTJAR.)

Caprimulgus ruficollis, Temm. Man. d’Orn. i. p. 438 (1820).

Caprimulgus rufitorquis, Vieill. Encycl. Méth. Orn. p. 546 (1823).

Caprimulgus rufitorquatus, Vieill. Faun. Fr. p. 142 (1828).

Caprimulgus torquatus, Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p. 270.

Caprimulgus rujicollis latirostris, A. E. Brehm, Verz. Samml. C. L. Brehm, p. 3 (1866).
Caprimulgus ruficollis brachyurus, A. EK. Brehm, loc. cit. (1866).

Caprimulgus ruficollis macrourus, A. K. Brehm, loc. cit. (1866).

Engoulevent @ collier roux, French; Noitibé, Portuguese ; Zamaya, Chota-cabras, Engana-
pastores, Gallina ciega, Spanish.

Figure notabiles.

Werner, Atlas, Chélidons, pl. 8; Gould, B. of Eur. pl. 52; id. B. of G. Brit. ii. pl. 2; Vieill.
Faun. Fr. pl. 62. fig. 1. :

3 ad. Caprimulgo europeo similis sed major et multo pallidior: collo imo torque rufescenti-ochraceo nigro-
fusco variegato cincto: corpore subtus rufescentiore, mento rufescenti-ochraceo.

? ad. mari similis.

Adult Male (Southern Spain). In general coloration resembling Capr. europeus, but paler than the ordinary
form, and closely assimilating to the pale variety from Persia, though larger, and with the underparts
rather more rufous; chin reddish ochraceous, below which there is a white patch, as in C. europeus,
but larger ; the lower neck encircled by a tolerably broad yellowish rufous collar, marked and varied
with black and dark brown; bill blackish brown; legs dull brown; iris black. Total length about
13 inches, gape 1°3, wing 7-9, tail 6°25, tarsus 0:95.

Female. Unlike that of C. europeus the female of the present species is undistinguishable from the male,
and has the white markings on the wing and tail quite as much developed.

Nestling (Southern Spain). Upper parts covered with pale buff downy feathers, finely barred and marked

with black or blackish grey, and intermixed with down; underparts covered with dull yellowish buff

down; the short wing-quills, which are just appearing, are black, broadly tipped and varied with
rufous buff.

Tus, the largest and handsomest of the Nightjars inhabiting the Palearctic Region, has a com-

paratively restricted range, being only found in South-western Europe and North-western Africa.

It has, however, straggled as far north as Great Britain, where, however, its occurrence has only

once been recorded, by the well-known ornithologist Mr. J. Hancock, who writes (Ibis, 1862,

p. 389):—*‘*So far back as the 6th October, 1856, I obtained a fresh-killed specimen of this rare
3R

633

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European Goatsucker of Mr. Pape, a game-dealer of this town. It had been shot the previous
day at Killingworth, near Newcastle. I was unable to determine the sex from dissection; but I
think it is most probably a male, as the first primaries have each a spot upon their inner webs,
and the first two spots are white.” It does not appear to have occurred elsewhere in Northern
Europe; but Degland and Gerbe write that it has been several times obtained in Provence and
Languedoc, and Baron J. W. von Miiller says (J. f. O. 1856, p. 226) that it has several times
been captured near Marseilles, and almost always eaten! Polydore Roux records one single
instance of its capture near Marseilles; and Messrs. Jaubert and Bathélemy-Lapommeraye also
speak of one having been knocked down by a carter with his whip as it flew across the road.

In Portugal it is recorded by Professor Barboza du Bocage as ‘‘ common ;’ but the Rey. A. C.
Smith says (Ibis, 1868, p. 449) that he ‘anxiously hoped to obtain it in Portugal, but found it
was extremely rare.” In Spain it is found during the summer season, and, judging from the
number of specimens of both the eggs and birds sent from there, must be tolerably numerous.
Colonel Irby sent many specimens from near Gibraltar; and Mr. Howard Saunders, in his
notes on the ornithology of Southern Spain, writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 67) that it “arrives in May,
and is always to be found in the pine-woods near Seville. The eggs, two in number, are, as
a rule, a trifle larger than those of the preceding species [C. ewropeus|, but they vary so much
that unidentified specimens are valueless. This species enjoys the same evil reputation for
sucking the teats of goats and cows; but I never yet found a Spanish peasant who was idiot
enough to class it with the Hawks, as many of our gamekeepers do its congener.” It has not
been recorded from Italy, but has been twice obtained at Malta by Mr. C. A. Wright, who
says (Ibis, 1864, p. 58), “a specimen of this bird was shot at Imtahlep, on the south-west of
Malta, at the end of May 1860. The preserved skin fell into my possession a few days after-
wards ;” and again (Ibis, 1865, p. 464), he writes as follows:—‘‘ A male specimen (the second I
have met with) of this fine Nightjar was shot here on the 12th May of the present year (1865),
and I have preserved the skin. It flew up against the balcony of a country-house, and thus
brought about its own destruction ; for the inmate, being a sportsman, immediately went out with
a gun and bagged it.” It does not appear to have occurred in Greece; but Canon Tristram
speaks of a specimen having been obtained in Palestine, for he writes (Ibis, 1866, p. 76) as
follows :—‘ A skin of this species was offered to me for sale by a Greek in Jerusalem, who
assured me he had bought it in the flesh in the market there; and as all his other birds were
unquestionably natives, I had no reason to doubt his statement; but his price was prohibitory.
I have remarked that while in Algeria the common Nightjar is a winter visitant only, the red-
necked species is certainly only a summer migrant, though very abundant. It is curious that in
the more southern latitude of Palestine this certainly does not hold good, and that neither
species should remain through the winter.” None of the authors on the ornithology of North-
east Africa includes it as occurring on that side of the continent; but it is common in North-
western Africa, and Major Loche speaks of it as being “‘numerous in Algeria, where it frequents
wooded districts;” he obtained a specimen near Djelfa. Ihave obtained an exceedingly pale
specimen from Tunis through Mr. Fairmaire, who labelled it Caprimulqus isabellinus; but it is
certainly nothing but a pale variety of the present species. Canon Tristram met with it in
Algeria; and Mr, J. H. Gumey, jun., writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 73) as follows:—*On the 8th of

3

April, about 8 p.m., at Guelt el Stel, I saw three birds which I suppose were of this species.
They were evidently preying upon young locusts, with which the ground was so perfectly covered
in places as to appear black at a little distance. I saw them (apparently) pick up several insects
from the ground. The previous evening a specimen had been given me at Ain el Ibel, where
the coach stopped. A sportsman brought it in alive, remarking that it was the only thing he
had shot.” It is also, according to Mr. C. F Tyrwhitt-Drake (Ibis, 1867, p. 425), “known to
breed towards Ceuta, Morocco.” It likewise inhabits the Canaries; and Mr. F. DuCane Godman
writes (Ibis, 1872, p. 169) :—“ Mentioned by Webb and Berthelot as of accidental occurrence,
though Bolle seems to consider it a regular summer visitant. ‘The latter observer says it breeds
in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and therefore ought to be included amongst the recognized
birds of the Canaries. It is probable it does not extend to the western islands. I did not see it
myself.”

In its habits the present species does not differ from its close ally Caprimulgus europwus.
Like that bird it remains during the daytime hidden away in some shady spot, and commences
hawking after food when the shades of evening set in. It feeds on insects, which it catches on
the wing, but is said sometimes to pick an insect from the ground. I have seen it in Spain;
and on the wing it so closely resembled our common Nightjar that I did not know it was this
species until I shot it. It nests on the ground, the nest being a mere depression in the soil,
usually amongst the herbage or undergrowth; and in it are deposited two eggs, which so closely
resemble those of the common species that they can be easily mistaken for them. I have a fair
series, chiefly from Arganda, Spain, which very closely resemble the eggs of Caprimulqus
europeus, and are quite as variable as these in the distribution and shade of colour of the
markings.

The specimens figured are an adult male and a nestling, both from Spain, and in my collec-
tion, these being also the specimens described.

In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :—

E Mus. H. E. Dresser.

a, dé. Southern Spain (Col. Irby). 6,4. Pinares de Coria, Spain, May 18th, 1868 (H. Saunders). c. Tunis,
1868 (Fairmaire). d, e, pulli. Seville (Lord Lilford).

E Mus. Lord Lilford.
a, b. Seville (Sanchez).

E Mus. H. B. Tristram.
a.d. Aranjuez, Spain, May 5th, 1865 (Lord Lilford). 6. Boghar forest, Algeria, May 29th, 1856 (H. B. T.).
c. Algiers, June 1856 (H. B. 7.).

E Mus. Howard Saunders.

a,3,b,%,c,%. Pinares de Coria, S. Spain, May 18th, 1868 (H.S.). d, 2. Arganda, June 16th, 1863
(M. Sanchez). ¢, 3. Malaga, July 19th, 1868. jf, 2. Seville, September 30th, 1869.

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