339 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 
EmBERIZA SCH@NIcLUS, Linn. 
The Reed-Bunting arrived on the Arctic circle on the 13th 
of June, and soon became very common. As we proceeded 
north we lost sight of this bird before we had quite reached 
the limit of forest-growth; but I got.a sitting of its eggs im 
lat. 703°. 
EmsBeriza PoLaris, Midd. 
On the 9th of June, four days before the arrival of the 
Reed-Bunting, a smaller and darker-coloured Bunting ap- 
peared. It was very shy and skulking in its habits, and I 
only secured ‘one specimen. I afterwards added a second to 
my collection. It appeared to be a comparatively rare and 
local bird. I did not find it anywhere except on the banks 
of the Koo-ray’-i-ka. I looked for it in vain on the other 
bank of the Yen-e-say’, opposite the mouth of the Koo-ray’- 
i-ka, a locality where the Reed-Bunting was extremely abun- 
dant. The following measurements of a male, compared with 
a male of the common bird from the same locality, show that 
it is considerably smaller than the European Reed-Bunting, 
with a proportionately slightly longer tail. The figures are 
inches and decimals. . 
E. schenielus. E. polaris. 
Wing from carpal jomt . . 3°25 2°83 
3 a ec eee cM ae be ctte me: 2°7 2D 
Colmen (65. ered ue be "43 “4 
AIANTES Y sag. 0) = fogteyh s28 Yas Seater ‘75 "65 
The distribution of colour in the two species is exactly the 
same, except that the margins of the feathers on the back, | 
wing-coverts, and inner secondaries vary from rich chest- 
nut to pale brown in the larger species, and from blue-grey 
to white in the smaller species. This is specially conspicuous 
on the wing-coverts near the carpal joint. On the smaller 
bird there is a trace of chestnut in the middle of the back 
and on the inner secondaries. 
So far as I know, the male of this bird has never been de- 
scribed before; but I think there can scarcely be a doubt that it 
is the male of the bird described by Middendorff as Eméeriza 
[30] Tea ae 
