i8o GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS 



is not found east of Etawah. The cock red-headed 

 bunting (E. luteola) is a handsome bird, nor has 

 the hen any reason to be ashamed of her appearance, 

 whatever the ladies of the other species may say. 

 The wings and tail of the cock are greenish brown. 

 His head is a beautiful old-gold colour, while his 

 rump and lower parts are bright yellow. In the 

 hen the colouring is everywhere more subdued. In 

 the cock black-headed bunting {E. melanocephala) 

 the feathers that adorn the head are black with a 

 grey border, so that the head looks grey when the bird 

 first reaches India in the autumn, but grows blacker 

 as the grey edges of the feathers become worn away. 

 The back and shoulders are rich chestnut, the wings 

 and tail are brown, the cheeks and lower plumage 

 rich yellow. The hen is brownish with dull yellow 

 under parts, and a bright yellow patch under the 

 tail. This species, which might at a casual glance 

 be mistaken for a weaver bird (Ploceus bay a), is very 

 abundant on the Bombay side, where, to quote " Eha," 

 it " about takes the place of the yellow-hammer at 

 home, swarming about fields and hedges, and singing 

 with more cheer than music." 



The fourth species of bunting has been promoted 

 to a different genus because it boasts of a conspicuous 

 crest, not unlike that of the crested lark {Galerita 

 cristata). Its scientific name is Melophus melanicterus , 

 and its non-scientific, or popular, or vulgar name is 

 the crested bunting. The cock is a greyish black 

 bird with russet-brown wings. The hen is a dark 

 brown bird. This is said to be a resident species in 



