CIRL BUNTING. 451 



the quills eighteen, the first, second, and third nearly equal, 

 but the second longest ; the primaries obtuse, the secondaries 

 retuse. The tail is rather long, and somewhat emarginate. 



The upper mandible is brown, the lower greyish-blue ; the 

 feet ochre-yellow tinged with brown, the claws dusky. The 

 feathers of the head and throat are black, edged with dusky- 

 green, of which there appear several longitudinal bands on the 

 upper part of the head. A bright yellow band passes over the 

 eye, another beneath it, and on the middle of the fore-neck is 

 a crescent-shaped patch of the same colour. The lower part of 

 the neck all round is of a dull greyish-green. The back and 

 scapulars are bright chestnut, each feather brownish-black in 

 the centre. The quills are dusky-brown, the primaries narrowdy 

 edged with greenish-yellow, the secondaries broadly with 

 brownish-red. The tail-feathers are dusky, edged with light 

 reddish-brown, the two lateral on each side with an oblique 

 white longitudinal band on the inner web ; the greater part of 

 the outer web of the outermost feather also white. The fore 

 part of the breast is bright red mingled with pale brownish- 

 yellow, the sides of the latter colour faintly streaked w^ith 

 dusky ; the rest of the breast, the abdomen, and the lower tail- 

 coverts yellow^, the latter with a central dusky streak. 



Length to end of tail 6/^ inches ; bill along the ridge -^^^ 

 along the edge of lower mandible j% ; w^ing from flexure 3j ; 

 tarsus y'=^ ; first toe 8i twelfths, its claw ,^^ ; third toe /g, its 

 claw /ij. 



Female. — The female is somewhat smaller, and according to 

 Montagu presents the following characters. " The upper part 

 of the head is olivaceous brown, streaked with dusky ; over 

 the eye a dull yellow streak, passing down the side of the head ; 

 cheeks brown, on w^hich is a yellowish spot ; on each side of 

 the lower mandible is a broken streak of dusky, passing down- 

 wards ; chin and throat dull yellow, the latter streaked with 

 dusky ; the back part and sides of the neck and breast oliva- 

 ceous brown, with dusky streaks ; belly and sides pale yellow, 

 with large dusky streaks on the latter ; the upper part of the 

 body and wings like the other sex, but the colours less bright."' 



Gg2 



