THE BUNTINGS. 



75 



Eggs. — Very handsomely marked and blotched with purplish- 

 black, which takes the form of bold spots and scribblings, 

 lines, and dashes. The ground-colour varies from stone-grey 

 to creamy-white and purplish-brown, the underlying blotches 

 being lilac or ashy-grey or even pinkish-grey. The overlying 

 marks and lines are strongly pronounced, and are generally 

 distributed over the whole egg, more rarely clustered round the 

 larger end. Axis, 085-ro inch ; diam., 07-075. 



THE SNOW-BUNTINGS. GENUS PLECTROPHENAX. 



Pkdrophenax, Stejneger, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., v., p. 33 



(1882). 



Type, P. nivalis (Linn.). 



The Snow-Buntings are easily recognised from the other 



Buntings by their long wings, which reach nearly to the end 



of the tail. The plumage of the adults is black and white. 



Two species of Snow-Bunting are known, one being our British 



bird, which inhabits the northern portions of the Old and New 



Worlds, and the other, P. hyperboreus, being found in Alaska 



only. 



I. THE SNOW-BUNTING. PLECTROPHENAX NIVALIS. 

 {Plate XL) 



Emberiza nivalis, Linn., S. N., i., p. 308 (1766); Seeb., Br. B., 



ii., p. 125 (1884). 

 Pledrophanes nivalis, Macg., Br. B., i., p. 460 (1837) ; Dresser, 



B. Eur., iv., p. 261, pis. 224 and 225, fig. 2 (1873); Newt. 



ed. Yarr., ii., p. 1 (1876); B. O. U. List Br. B., p. 63 



(1883); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B., pt. xvii. (1891). 

 Plectrophenax nivalis, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., xii., p. 572 



(1888); Saunders, Man., p. 215 (1889). 

 Adult Male. — Black above; wing coverts white; primary quills 

 black, white at the base ; tail black, the outer feathers white, 

 with a small black mark at the end of the outer web ; head and 

 neck all round white, like the whole of the under surface ; bill 

 dull yellow, darker round the tip ; feet black ; iris dark brown. 

 Total length, 7 inches; culmen, 05; wing, 4*45; tail, 27, 

 tarsus, 0-85. 



Adult Female. — Like the male, but not so black ; the feathers 

 mottled with greyish-white edges to the feathers ; the crown 



