ments 



112 



aching in this respect those of the Yellow breasted and Black headed 

 Buntings. The ground colour varies from pale sea green to greenish blue 

 or greenish grey, with numerous greyish olive or yellowish brown irregular 

 blotches and spots, which are generally thickest at the big end, and under- 

 lying blotches of pale violet. Some eggs are said to show a reddish 

 shade of ground. 

 Breeding In the Archangel district eggs have been taken from June 3 to July 10, 



Season. ^^^ ^^ Finland from May 28 to June 25. Only one brood is reared. 

 Measure- Average of 43 eggs (21 from Finland in coll. E. Wasenius, 5 by 



Sandman and 17 by the writer), 20.36 X 15.12 mm.. Max. 21.8 X 15.2 

 and 20.5 X 15.5 mm., Min. 19 X 14 mm. According by Ramberg some 

 eggs do not exceed 18.5 mm. in length. Rey gives the weight as 117 mg. 



55. Little Bunting, Emberiza pusilla Pall. 



Plate 15, fig. 6 (ex Nehrkorn coll.). 



Eggs: Middendorff, Reis. Sibir., Zool. pi. XIII, fig. 4. Naumannia 

 1854, Taf. 3, fig. 5. Baedeker, Tab. 76, fig. 5. Seebohm, Br. Birds, pi. 15; 

 id. Col. Fig., pi. 57. 



Foreign Names: Bohemia: Strnad malinky. Denmark: Dvaerg- 

 verling. Finland: VdJidsirJcJui. France: Bruant nain. Germany: Zwerg- 

 ammer, Helgoland: Franzbs Nieper. Holland: Diver ggors. Italy: Zigolo 

 minor e. Sweden: Dvergsjparf. 



Emberiza pusilla Pall. Newton, ed. Yarrell, H, p. 34; Dresser, Birds 

 of Europe, IV, p. 235; id. Man. Pal. Birds, p. 363; Saunders, Man., p. 219. 



Breeding Range: N. Russia, from Onega Bay to the Urals, chiefly 

 between lat. 64" N. and the forest limit. [Also Siberia to the lower Amur.] 

 Con- In the Dwina delta and the forests around Archangel it is very 



common, though local, haunting not only the old pine forests, but also the 

 mixed woods of young pines, firs, alders, and birches. Seebohm also found 

 it very numerous on the Lower Petschora from north of about lat. 66" to 

 the tundra beyond the limit of forest growth. [The first eggs were taken 

 on the Boganida by von Middendorff, who also met with this species on 

 the Stanowoi Mts. Seebohm and Popham found many pairs breeding in 

 the Yenesei valley, especially between the Arctic circle and lat. 71° on the 

 tundra, and the latter observed young birds even on the Brekhowski Islands. 

 Pallas recorded it from the willow swamps of Lake Baikal, and Schrenk 

 discovered a nest on the lower Amur.] 

 Nest. Usually a hollow among dead leaves, moss and grass, well lined with 



fine grasses, while occasionally a few reindeer hairs are also found in the 

 lining, but this appears to be exceptional. Most nests are found in openings 

 of the forest, but a few pairs breed on the tundra, where a few dwarf 



tinental 

 Europe 



