136 FASSERES. 



116. EMBERIZA PERSON AT A. 

 (TEMMINCK^S JAPANESE BUNTING.) 



Emhcriza persotidta, Teuiniinck, Planches Colorizes, no. 580 (1835). 



Teraminck's Japanese Biuiting combines two cliaractcrs, mantle 

 russet-brown streaked with dark brown, and throat and breast yellow, 

 streaked v ith brown in the female, which no other Japanese Buntings 

 possess, except the females of Emberiza spodocephala and E. sul- 

 phurata. Tlic latter has an unstreaked yellow chin, throat, and 

 l)rcast. The male of E. personuta has a black chin, and the female 

 a streaked breast. 



Figures : Temminek and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pi. 59 b. 



Temminck's Japanese Bunting is peculiar to the Japanese Islands. 

 It has been recorded from Eturop, the most southerly of the Kurile 

 Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soe. Jap. 1882, p. 170). It 

 is a summer visitor to Yezzo, and a few remain in that island during 

 winter. In the more southerly Japanese Islands it is a resident. 

 There is an example from Ilakodadi collected I)y Captain Blakiston 

 in the Swinhoe collection (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. IGl) ; and I have 

 two others from the same locality collected by Mr. Henson. There 

 are eight examples from Yokohama in the Pryer collection, and I 

 have three examples from Nagasaki collected by Mr. Ringer. It 

 was observed in abundance by the oflBcers of the Perry Expedition at 

 Simoda (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 2.21) ; 

 and it is the only Bunting recorded from the Loo-Choo Islands 

 (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 174). It breeds abundantly on Fuji-yama. 

 The nest is placed on the ground or in a tussock of grass, and is made 

 of dried grass, lined with fine roots and horsehair (Jouy, Proc. United 

 States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 298). Eggs in the Pryer collection 

 resemble richly marked examples of those of the Ortolan Bunting. 



Temminck's Japanese Bunting is an island form of the Black- 

 faced Bunting, Entberiza spodocephala, and is possibly only sub- 

 specifically distinct from it. The adult male differs from tliat of its 

 continental ally in having the lower throat and breast yellow instead 

 of olive-grey. The female only difi'ers from that of the continental 

 species in having rather less white on the outer tail-feathers, but this 

 is a somewhat variable character. Some of tlie intermediate forms 

 fiom China have l)een referied to a (;()iitinental race oi' E. per sonata 

 (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Jirit. Mus. xii. j). 522). 



