1 86 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS 



family as at present limited appears to be unrepre- 

 sented in the Malay Archipelago, Australia, and 

 Oceania. Many of the Buntings are birds of showy 

 or strongly contrasted tints. Of the extra British 

 species specially noted for their vocal powers mention 

 may be made of the following. One of the most 

 melodious of these is the Lapland Bunting {Calcarius 

 lappo7iictis\ a bird which is commonly distributed 

 during summer in the Arctic regions of both hemi- 

 spheres. Seebohm, who had unrivalled opportunities 

 for hearing the song of this Bunting, says that it 

 reminds one both of the song of the Snow Bunting 

 and that of the Tree Pipit. It is not a loud song, 

 but the notes are musical and long continued. It 

 is most frequently heard as the bird indulges in 

 soaring flights like a Lark, being continued until 

 the singer alights, gliding down to a perching-place 

 on outspread wings and tail. A fact of exceptional 

 interest is that the hen-bird possesses a song almost 

 as rich as that of the cock. Of the Snow Bunting 

 [P/ectj'-ophenax nivalis), the same naturalist records 

 that the song is a low and melodious warble, similar 

 to that of the preceding species, the bird flinging 

 himself into the air like a shuttlecock, and descend- 

 ing in a spiral curve with wings and tail outspread, 

 uttering his charming refrain meanwhile. The song 

 of the Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla) is described 

 by Messrs. Alston and Harvie- Brown as more like 

 that of a Warbler, whilst Professor Lilljeborg says 



