S.VOIV BUNTING. 49 



stones in crevices of rocks, or amongst drift on the shore, 

 and is generally well and carefully concealed. It is a 

 bulky structure, but remarkably well and neatly finished 

 inside. The outer materials consist of dry coarse grass, 

 roots and moss, and the inside is lined with finer roots, 

 hair (when obtainable), wool, and feathers. The female 

 is a somewhat close sitter, but the male often reveals 

 the presence of the nest by his behaviour in keeping 

 close to the neighbourhood of the place. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Snow Bunting are from four to seven 

 in number, but sometimes as many as eight have been 

 found ; five or six are an average clutch. They vary 

 in ground colour from grayish-white to very pale blue, 

 spotted and blotched most numerously on the larger 

 end with rich reddish-brown, and occasionally pencilled 

 with a {q\\ streaks and scratches of darker brown. 

 The underlying markings are conspicuous, large, and 

 numerous, and vary in tint from pale brown to pale 

 gray. Zoned varieties are not uncommon. Average 

 measurement, "86 inch in length, by '63 inch in breadth. 

 Incubation, performed principally by the female, lasts 

 about fourteen days. 



Diagnostic characters: The eggs of the Snow 

 Bunting cannot readily be confused with those of any 

 other species breeding in the British Islands, with the 

 exception perhaps of those of the Corn Bunting ; the 

 smaller size and paler and smaller character of the 

 markings will serve to distinguish them. It may be 

 remarked that the eggs of the present species do not 

 present the streaks and intricate pencillings that are 

 so characteristic of the eggs of the Yellow Bunting and 

 those of other allied species. 



