142 BRITISH BIRDS. 
specimens that were sent to him from the neighbourhood of Archangel. 
The nest is made entirely of fine wiry grass, and is not very carefully built. 
The eggs, according to Dresser, are quite distinct from those of any other 
European Bunting. He describes them as having great affinity with eggs 
of the Reed-Bunting ; but the ground-colour is white, with a warm, almost 
reddish tinge. The markings are similar in character to those on the eggs 
of the Reed-Bunting; but are redder, bolder, and chiefly collected in a 
zone round the larger end of the egg. The underlying markings are hight 
purplish or violet-purple and moderately large. Dresser states that his 
eggs do not vary much, and are about as large as those of the Reed- 
Bunting ; whilst Newton gives ‘84 by ‘6 inch as the measurement of one 
in his possession presumed to be of this species. The egg which I have 
figured was obtained on the Altai Mountains, and will be seen to differ 
considerably from those already described. It may possibly be an egg of 
the Yellow-breasted Bunting (/. aureola). 
The food of the Rustic Bunting is probably similar to that of its near 
congeners, composed of insects in summer, and grain and seeds in winter. 
This bird has several times been kept in confinement for considerable 
periods. 
The male Rustic Bunting, in full breeding-plumage, has the crown and 
sides of the head black, a stripe over the eyes and a patch on the nape 
white; the hind neck, lesser wing-coverts, rump, and upper tail-coverts are 
chestnut ; the back is paler chestnut, each feather with a broad dark brown 
centre ; the median and greater wing-coverts are blackish brown, margined 
with buff and broadly tipped with white, forming two bars across the wing ; 
the wings are brown, darkest on the innermost secondaries, the primaries 
narrowly margined on the outside web with buff, the secondaries with pale 
chestnut, broadest on the innermost; the tail is brown, the two centre 
feathers paler than the rest and with buffish margins, the outside feather 
with a broad elongated patch of white extending on both webs, and the © 
next feather with a similar but shorter patch, and only on the inner web; 
the general colour of the underparts is white; across the breast is a band 
of rich chestnut, and the feathers on the sides and flanks have a broad 
centre of the same colour; a line of spots passes from the bill downwards, 
forming a somewhat obscure moustache. Bull brown above, paler below ; 
legs and feet yellowish brown, claws darker brown; irides brown. The female 
somewhat resembles the male, but the colours are not so pure, the black 
on the head is replaced by brown, the eye-stripe and nape-patch are smaller 
and not so pure, and the band across the breast is narrower. Young 
birds in nestling plumage have the upper parts somewhat similar to the 
female; but the underparts are white with elongated black spots, and the 
chest-band is only indicated by buff. In winter plumage, the feathers on 
the upper parts, including the wings, are very broadly margined with 
