SNOW-BUNTING. 11 



quiring the removal one by one of many stones of various 

 sizes, it may be ensconced behind some huge boulder which 

 needs all the engineering resources of the seeker to stir or, 

 buried securely beneath a slab of earthfast rock, it may com- 

 pletely defy his power.* Then too his hopes are often dis- 

 appointed, for, despite his utmost precautions, at the last 

 and critical moment some earth or splinters of stone loosened 

 by lever or wedge may be found to have fallen in upon 

 and cracked the eggs as they lie. All these circumstances 

 generally combine to render the successful taking of a 

 Snow-Bunting's nest one of the most delicate and exciting 

 operations on which an oologist can enter, except that 

 personal danger is seldom if ever involved. t 



As is shewn by the accumulation of old materials often 

 found therein, the birds commonly use the same nest-hole 

 more than once. A rude collection of dry grass, moss or 

 any other plants that may be growing near forms the founda- 

 tion and outworks of the nest. This is hollowed out to 

 receive a quantity of finer grass and roots substantially 

 woven into a bowl, which will occasionally bear removal 

 from the outer mass without losing its shape, and is lined 

 with hair or soft feathers — especially those of the Ptarmigan 

 of the country. Herein are laid the eggs, from four to six 

 or even eight in number, measuring from "91 to '82 by from 

 •65 to -57 in. They are white, more or less tinged with pale 

 greenish-blue, on which are patches of lilac, sometimes very 

 bright but generally dull, the whole closely or sparingly 

 spotted, streaked and splashed with deep brownish-red, upon 

 which again are frequently a few apparently black spots and 

 irregular lines. Some eggs when fresh are of exceeding and 

 almost indescribable beauty. 



It remains to add that the young, soon after they are 



* Capt. LyouS found a nest placed in the bosom of the corpse of an Esquimaux 

 child on Southampton Island. 



+ Pages might be written on the breeding-habits of this species without ex- 

 hausting the subject. The Editor has necessarily to be brief here and only to 

 describe what seems to be absolutely requisite to give a slight notion of them. To 

 him the Snow-Bunting will always be one of the most interesting of birds, from 

 the many hours he has passed in watching its l^ehavionr. 



