PASSERES— FRINGILLID.T: 41 



(^ adult, summer. Above black with tawny streaks, crown, 

 face, throat, chest, and sides of breast black ; eyebrow to nape 

 yellowish buff; hind collar chestnut ; white patches on nape and 

 sides of neck ; beneath white streaked black on flanks. Bill 

 yellow, tip black. Legs and feet black. Wing (^ ,90-101, 

 9 82-93. Tarsus 20-22. Bill 8-10. In winter, much paler, 

 chestnut and black obscured by tawny tips. $ Crown dark 

 brown with tawny streaks, hind collar rufous, throat and fore- 

 neck black with white tips. Young distinguished from those of 

 "P. nivalis" by absence of white on wing and bases of throat 

 feathers always black. 



Breeds. — Scandinavia south to about 65", N. Finland, Russia 

 north of 60°, Waigatz, Nova Zembla, and in Arctic Asia and 

 America. Migrates ; in winter south to Central Europe, Britain, 

 Iceland, C, and S. Russia, rare in Austria, N. Italy, and 

 Switzerland. 



Plectrophenax. 



Bill as in other Buntings, but without palate knob; hind 

 claw curved; wings much longer; nest, cup in rocks or 

 under stones or logs; eggs yellowish to greenish white with 

 purple shell markings and red brown blotches and spots, 

 rarely streaked. 



Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis (L.). Snow Bunting. 

 F7\ Ortolan de neige ; Ger. Schneeammer ; Sioed. Snosparf. 



(^ adult, summer. Head, neck, wing coverts, secondaries, 

 base of primaries and underparts white ; mantle and primaries 

 black. Bill black. Legs and feet black. Wing 102-117. 

 Tarsus 21-23. ^^i^^ 8-10. In winter, light reddish brown above, 

 some almost chestnut with some of same colour on head, throat 

 and chest ; beneath white ; bill yellowish with black tip. 9 

 summer. Crown and upper parts dull black with traces of whitish 

 edges. Winter, duller than (^, feathers above with black centres, 

 wings and tail browner and with less white. Wing 96-109. 

 Young : crown, back of neck and sides of head, and rump grey ; 

 back grey buff, streaked black ; beneath, throat grey, breast and 

 flanks grey buff, abdomen pale buff. Fully adult plumage not 

 assumed till after second year. 



