118 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



Stbiolated Rock-Bunting (Fringillaria striolata). 



Roughly speaking this bird may be described as 

 g^'Bcrally blackifh with broad sandy or ehestimt borders 

 to the feathers, the li>wer back ajid rump showing veiy 

 little and the lesser w"ing-covert.s no blackish centres ; 

 the prevalent colour therefore is of a. sandy or cinnamon 

 hue; thj cro^^'n is veiy distinctly streaked; tlie sides 

 of tlie head arc vei-y similar in colouring to those of 

 F. tahapiai, but the white stripes are a little more 

 ashy; tluxKit ashy white, becoming greyer on fore-ne:;k 

 iiiid chest with broad black Ixisas to the featlurs; 

 breast, thighs, and midcr tail-coverts sandy buff; flights 

 below brown, with bread cinnamon inner borders ; upjK'r 

 mandible brown, lower yellow; feet horn yellow; iridji 

 hazel. Habitat, N.E. Africa eastward over Soutlieni 

 Asia from Pak-stine to India. 



Von Heuglin, speaking of this species as observed by 

 him in Nubia, tells us tluit he found it frequenting stony 

 desert country interspersed with bushes and gra.ss. 

 " They were shy, and preferred hiding amongst stones 

 to taking wing; they had the moderate Bunting-liko 

 note, not loud but lively." (Cf. Shelley, " Biids of 

 Africa," Vol. III., p. 162.) 



Hume (" Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds," 2nd ed.. 

 Vol. II., pp. 170-173) givci a vciy full account of the 

 nidification of the species, from which I quote the 

 following: — "The Striolated Bunting is a permanent 

 resident of, and breeds in, all the baie stony hills of 

 Rajpootana and Northern and Western Punjab. It is 

 found, but rarely, in the hills dividing Sindh and 

 Kln?lat, and veiy likely bicods there also. 



"I myself have only taktn the eggs near Ajmere, on 

 the sloi)es of the Arav.alli ; and I can add nothing to 

 my accjunt of their nidifitat.ion ^vTitten on the ."^pot, 

 which has been already published and which I reproduce 

 here : -^ 



" The breeding-season appears to be November and 

 December. The natives f-ay that they also lay early in 

 July, at the commencement of the rains; but as to 

 that I can say nothing. The very first birds that 1 shot 

 on the 2nd November, the day after I arrived here, 

 proved on dissection to be breeding ; and out of the 

 oviduct of a female shot en the 3rd I tcok a nearly 

 perfect, though colomless, egg. For several days wi> 

 hunted without success, finding many nests that I 

 believed to belong to this species, and seeing everywhere 

 females about, straws in mouth, but meeting witli no 

 eggs. At last, on the 12th November, I myself 

 accidentally stimiblod upon two nests. I was walking 

 slowly and (if it umst be confessed) footsore and some- 

 what despondent amongst the loose blocks and rocky 

 shingles of the southern flanks of the Taragurh Hill, 

 when a female suddenly sprang up and darted off from 

 within two inches of my foot. I looked down, and there, 

 on the slo|)inir hillside, half-overhung by .a, modeiate- 

 si?e<i i>lock of grevish quartz, was a little nest from 

 which the bird had risen, and which I had been within 

 an ace of stepping on. Clo^e at hand were two or three 

 >-mall tufts of vellow withered grass, but these were 

 several inches distant from the nest. This latter (which, 

 laid on the hillside, was some 3 or 4 inches thick on the 

 valley side and b:irely three-fourths of an inch, towards 

 the hill) was composed at the base and everjTvliore exter- 

 nally of small thorny acacia twigs and very coarse roots 

 of grass. This, however, was a mere foundation and 

 casing, on and in which the true nest was constructe<I 

 of fine grasj-stems somewhat loosely put together, the 

 bottom being lined with soft white feathers. The egg- 

 cavity was circular and cupshaped, about 2.25 in dia- 

 niet'Cr and 1.25 in depth, and contained two tiny yellow- 



gaped, dusky bluish, fltiffy chicks apparently just 

 hatched, and one (as it proved) rott«n egg. 



"Scarcely twenty yards further, en a slightly sloping 

 slab of stone, partly overhung by a huge block, between 

 two tufts of diy gniss springing from the line of junction 

 of tho slab and block, I found a second precisely similar 

 nest, containing two fresh e^s, round which both 

 parents flitted closely all the time I was occupied in 

 e.^amining and securing the eggs and nest, exhibiting 

 no apparent sign of fear. 



" The three eggs tliU-^ obtained were regular, 

 moderately broad oviUs, slightly corV; pressed towards one 

 end, but somewhat obtuse at both, llie sliells were very 

 delicate, and had a slight gloss. Tlie ground-colour 

 differed somewhat in all three ; in one it was pale green- 

 ish ; in another pale bhi-sh, and in the third faintly 

 brownish- whito. All were i-potted, speckled, and minutely 

 but not veiy densely freckled with brown ; a sort of red- 

 di'h olive browai in two,rathcrnioreof amber in the third. 

 In two of the eggs the markings were far more numerous 

 towards the large end, where in one they were partially 

 confluent; on the third they were pretty evenly dis- 

 tributed over the whole sm-face, being, however, rather 

 denser in a broad irregular zone roimd the middle of the 

 egg. 



" Judging from my present ejcperience, I should say 

 that three was the full number of eggs usually laid." 



Three specimens of this Burrting were deposited in the 

 I<andon Zoolcgical Society's Gardens in July, 1884, but 

 Dr. Russ seems not to have been aware of this fact and 

 therefore states that it has no interest for aviculturists. 

 On the contrary a counncn and pretty Bunting with so 

 wide a range in both Africa and Asia is one which no 

 avicuHurist can afjord to ignore; having been imported 

 at least orrce it is likely to come again. 



Sah.\r.a. or House-Bunting [Fr'ingiUaria Sahara). 



Above back and rnrmp dull cinnunan, slightly striped 

 on the back with dark brortTi ; lesser wing-covf rts bright 

 cinnamon; rest of wing and tail-feathers dark blown 

 1x>rdered with cinnarnDii ; head, nape, throat, and upper 

 breast blue-grey stripe<l with black, nrost distinctly on 

 the 2rcwn ; I'emunder of under surface pale cinnamon ; 

 upper mandible brown, lower yellow; feet pale 

 yellowi.«h-brown ; irrdes blackish-brownr. Female with 

 the head and nape pale s irrdy brown and the rest of the 

 plumage duller thair in the male. Habitat, Southo.rn 

 Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. 



J. L. S. Wliitaker ("Birds of Tunisia," Vol. I., pp. 

 230-231) observes : — " In the fine Mosque of Sidi-Yacoub 

 at CJafsii, to which I have always obtained access with- 

 out diffiendty. I found F. saharm particularly abund.Tnt, 

 and took several Tiests of the species there ; I also shot 

 one or two specimens of the bii'ds with an air-gun in the 

 mosque courtyard, a proceeding which apparently in no 

 way offende<l the religious feelings of my Arab guide, 

 who took part in the pixx^eedings with the greatest 

 keenness!. I coru'esa to havirrg felt a certain degree of 

 compunction when shoi->ling thc>se little birds, for they 

 are so extremely confiding and unsuspicious, a.nd I 

 abstained from securing more specimers than were 

 necessary for my oolkction. I was glad to find that the 

 Ara^bs of Gafsa aird elsewhere do not trap this species, as 

 they do so many others, ,and they pixjbably look upon 

 the bird with feelings of respect, although not consider- 

 ing it absolutely sacred. In some parts of Tunisia this 

 species, indeed, g<x>s by the name of the Maral>out. 



" In the towns and villages where it occurs the House- 

 Bunting seems to be absolutely devoid of fear, and will 

 enter the open door\vay of a house with the utmost self- 

 assiu-ance and pick up any crumbs of bread or other 



