238 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



frontier. The species, though no doubt a scarce visitor to North-west 

 Africa, is perhaps less rare than it appears to be, its inconspicuous 

 plumage causing it to be overlooked, particularly in a country little 

 explored by the ornithologist. In Italy the species occurs from time 

 to time, even in the south of the Peninsula, and is said to have been 

 found in Malta. As a rule the Little Bunting frequents wooded 

 countr}', and more particularly damp forests. It is said to be the 

 reverse of shy in its habits, and to possess a low sweet song. It 

 breeds in North Eussia and Siberia. 



There appears to be no record of the occurrence of the Eustic 

 Bunting (E. rustica) in North-west Africa. The Black-headed 

 Bunting {E. melanocephaJa) also seems to be unrecorded from that 

 country, but both species not improbably occur there accidentally 

 as stragglers. 



EMBERIZA CIA, Linnaeus. 

 MEADOW-BUNTING. 



i 



Emberiza cia, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 310 (176G) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds 

 Brit. Mhs. xii, p. 537 ; Loche, Expl. Sci. AUj. Ois. i, p. 173 (1867) ; 

 Koenig, J.f. 0. 1888, p. 232 ; id. J. f. 0. 1893, p. 53 ; Whi taker, Ibis, 

 1896, p. 98 ; Erlanger, J. f. 0. 1899, p. 457. 



Description. — Adult male, winter, from North Tunisia. 



Crown pale blue-grey, striated with black, and bordered on each side with 

 a broad stripe of black ; lores, patch behind the eye and moustachial stripe 

 black ; distinct superciliary stripe white ; ear-coverts, throat and sides of 

 neck pale bluish-grey, becoming whitish near base of bill and just below the 

 moustache ; nape and back rufous-brown, striped with blackish-brown ; rump 

 and upper tail-coverts light cinnamon ; tail blackish-brown, two outer pairs of 

 feathers white on the terminal portion of inner web, two middle rectrices pale 

 brown, fringed with whitish ; quills brown, the primaries slightly fringed with 

 white, the secondaries and greater wing-coverts broadly fringed with pale 

 cinnamon, the least wing-coverts bluish-grey ; underparts pale cinnamon, 

 becoming lighter on the middle of the abdomen and crissum. 



Iris dark brown ; bill slate-colour ; feet yellowish flesh-colour. 



Total length 6-50 inches, wing 3-30, culmen -45, tarsus -80. 



Adult female resembles the male, but is duller in colouring. 



