THE BUNTINGS. 77 



there are no rocks," the nest was placed amongst the piles of 

 driftwood near the shore ; but in Banffshire the nest taken by 

 Mr. Ogilvie Grant and his friends, Capt Savile Reid, Mr. Eagle 

 Clarke, and Mr. Hinxman, was in the face of a very wild "scree." 

 Indeed, the general situation of the nest is in precipitous and 

 rough ground on high mountains, where it is ;vell concealed in 

 a hole among the loose debris of rock. Sucn, at least, was the 

 position of the Banffshire nest, which is now in the British 

 Museum. 



Nest. — Composed of grasses and twigs, with a little moss, 

 and lined with hair and a few feathers. Colonel Feilden found 

 a Snow-Bunting nest in the Arctic Regions, in close proximity 

 to that of a Snowy Owl, some of whose feathers were used for 

 lining the bird's nest. 



Eggs. — Five to seven, but sometimes eight. The ground- 

 colour varies from stone-grey to cream colour, and bluish- or 

 greenish-white. The underlying blotches are lilac-grey or violet, 

 with overlying spots or streaks of purplish-black. In this type 

 the ground is greenish-blue, and the egg is very Finch-like. In 

 another type the underlying blotches are reddish-grey, and the 

 overlying markings and blotches are generally darker rufous. 

 The eggs vary greatly, and embrace many different types and 

 styles of coloration. Axis, o-8-ro inch; diam., 0-6-07. 



THE LONG-SPURRED BUNTINGS. GENUS CALCARIUS. 



Ctilcarius, Bechst, Orn. Taschenb., p. 130 (1802). 



Type, C. lapponicus (Linn.). 



The Long-spurs, of which the Lapland Bunting is the type, 

 are three in number, two of the species being North American 

 — C. ornatus and C.pictus, — while the third, C. lapponicus, is an 

 inhabitant of the northern portions of both hemispheres. The 

 members of this genus may be recognised from all the other 

 Emberizine genera by the length of the hind claw, which is 

 longer than the hind toe itself. 



I. THE LAPLAND BUNTING. CALCARIUS LAPPONICUS. 



Fringilla lappo?iica, Linn., S. N., i., p. 317 (1766). 

 Plectrophanes lappunica, Macg., Br. B., i., p. 469 (1837). 



