The Black-Headkl) Buntixo 107 



public mind b}- confounding this species with the Reed- Bunting, Mr. Steele 

 probabl}^ wished to avoid discussion, and, therefore, again entered it for the Palace 

 Show of that year (Februar}' 14th to 19th) as "Bunting-Cock." The bird was 

 then growing old, and was in poor plumage; therefore the judge passed it over: 

 soon afterwards it died, was stufted, and is still in Mr. Steele's possession.* 



I understand, from a letter received Feb. 6th, from Mr. W. C. J. Ruskin 

 Butterfield, of St. Leonards, that, among some birds in the possession of Mr. 

 Daniel Francis, he recently recognized an example of this species. It was caught 

 in an exhausted condition by one of the Coastguards men at Bexhill-on-sea, on 

 Nov. 3rd, 1894. Mr. Butterfield also calls mj- attention to the occurrence of the 

 large race of the Bullfinch in Yorkshire in 1894 ; but, as I do uot consider P. 

 ■major can ever with certainty be distinguished from large examples of our familiar 

 Bullfinch, I did not think the fact worthy of special notice. It is quite possible 

 that these so-called "Russian Bullfinches" may have been the produce of typical 

 English ones, just as my frequently so-called "Russian Goldfinches" undoubtedly 

 were born of Kentish parents. A male Black-headed Bunting was shot at Little 

 Common, Sussex, in April 1905, and it is recorded as occurring on Fair Isle, in 

 September, 1907. 



The adult male in the breeding season has the crown, lores, sides of face and 

 ear-coverts black ; the back and rump cinnamon-brown ; wings and tail brown, 

 the former with whity-brown margins to the coverts, and broad pale borders to 

 the innermost secondaries ; the outer pair of tail-feathers with a narrow white edge 

 to the inner web ; a collar at sides of neck and entire under surface bright golden 

 yellow ; beak greyish-leaden ; feet pale brown ; iris hazel. The female is altogether 

 duller — above sandy-brown, with darker streaks ; the rump slightly yellower, the 

 wing-coverts and quills margined with buflish-white ; under surface sordid white, 

 more sandy on the breast and flanks which are also narrowly streaked with brown, 

 belly and under tail -coverts washed with yellow. The young nearly resemble the 

 female. After the autumn moult the male has dull greyish-brown margins to the 

 feathers, and the rump somewhat tinged with yellow, so that it then more nearly 

 resembles the female. 



Seebohm thus speaks of the Black-headed Bunting : — " In Greece and Asia 

 Minor, it does not arrive until the end of April, amongst the last half-dozen 

 summer migrants. As soon as it comes nest-building commences ; and during 

 the last half of May its eggs are so abundant in the olive and vine region of the 

 Parnassus, that when I was there I had not time to blow more than half of the 



* A bird said to be this species was exhibited in 1S96: unless my memory deceives me, it was a Reed 

 Bunting. 



