BUNTINGS. 457 



the same, interiorly dusky and tipt with whitish ; back and wings 

 rufous-grey, the feathers each with a dusky centre ; primaries dusky, 

 tipt and edged with whitish ; secondaries broadly edged with pale 

 drab, and widely notched at the tips. Tail black and forked, the two 

 middle feathers reddish-grey centered with dusky, the tivo outer 

 with the exterior webs white ; breast with a dusky vinous tinge and 

 marked with very faint greyish spots. Sides streaked with pale red- 

 dish-grey. Belly and vent white. Bill dusky. Tongue truncate 

 and bifid. Legs and claws black. Hind-heel very long and almost 

 straight. Iris hazel. — Above the eye-brow on either side of the head 

 there is a tuft of long black feathers which the bird has, at will, the 

 power of erecting like the horns of the owl. 



BUNTINGS. (Ejiberiza, Lin.) 



lu these the Bill is short, robust, conic, somewhat compressed 

 and without notch ; the margins contracted inward, a little angular 

 near the base ; the upper mandible rounded above, acute, smaller 

 and narrower than the lower ; the palate with a longitudinal bony 

 tubercle : the lower mandible rounded beneath and very acute. Nos- 

 trils basal, small, partly covered by the feathers of the forehead. 

 Tarsus about equal to the middle toe ; the lateral toes equal; outer 

 united at base to the middle one. Wings, first primary almost equal 

 to the 2d and 3d which are longest. Tail even or emarginate. 



The female diff'ers from the male. The young xes,en\h\Q the female, 

 but are darker and more deeply spotted. The European and North 

 American species moult annually. They live in pairs, or move in 

 small families, and feed on farinaceous seeds, and sometimes on in- 

 sects, which they kill previous to swallowing. They build amidst 

 low bushes and grass ; are somewhat musical, and breed several 

 times a year ; the eggs being 4 to 6, They extend themselves widely 

 in temperate climates. 



39 



