HORNEMANN's REDPOLIi. 65 



Description (Plate 3). — Adult male. Winter. — Differs from C. I. 

 linaria in rump being pure white, unstreaked (tinged pink in 

 adult male) ; rest of upper-parts including upper tail-coverts paler, 

 feathers having white or pale buff edges and tips ; sides of neck 

 and flanks white with few dark streaks ; stripe over eye white ; 

 ear-coverts tinged buff ; under tail-coverts white, usually without 

 any dark streaks ; rest of under-parts pure white, and pink of 

 cheeks, throat, and breast considerably paler and less marked ; 

 edges and tips of tail and wings, and tips of wing-coverts, white. 

 Summer. — Aljrasion of fringes of feathers of upper-parts makes it 

 more like C. I. linaria, but unstriped rump, remains of white 

 fringes and tips to feathers, and scarcely streaked flanks, easily 

 distinguish it. 



Adult female and first winter mule. — Like adult male but 

 with no pink ; hind-neck and mantle slightly more buff ; sides 

 of neck, breast, and throat pale sandy-buff ; flanks slightly more 

 streaked ; tips of wing-coverts sometimes pale buff not pure 

 white. 



Nestling and juvenile. — (Not examined). 



Measurements. — ^ wing 82-88 mm., tail 57-65, tarsus 15-17, 

 bill from skull 9.5-11 (5 measured). $ wing 80-85, tail 57-62, 

 tarsus 16-17, bill 9-10 (5 measured). Bill, depth and width 

 like C. I. rostrata. 



Characters. — Unstriped rump and white under-parts dis- 

 tinguish the two forms of C. hornemanni at once from all forms 

 of C. linaria. 



Breeding-habits. — Owing to absence of trees in breeding-area 

 nests always on ground, sheltered by rocks and sometimes dwarf 

 vegetation. Eggs. — Rather larger than those of Mealy Redpoll, 

 but similar in colouring. Average of 27 eggs from Greenland 

 17.64 X 13.04 mm. Breeding-season. — ^Not before latter half of 

 June. One brood. (See also Greenland Redpoll.) 



Food. — Seeds of arctic plants and small insects. 



Distribution. — Great Britain. — Very rare vagrant. Specimens 

 from Spurn (Yorks.), Oct., 1883, and Oct., 1893, have been assigned 

 to this form {Birds Yorks., i, p. 189), and one near Whitburn 

 (Durham), April 24, 1855 (Saunders, p. 189). Five Fair Isle 

 (Shetlands), Sept. and Oct., 1905 (W. E. Clarke, Ann. S.N.H., 1906, 

 p. 17). One Unst (Shetlands), Oct., 1905 (E. Hamilton, op. c, 1910, 

 p. 54). (c/. Brit. B., i, p. 183 ; iii, p. 378). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Resident in Greenland. Once obtained 

 in France, in Spitsbergen, Franz-Josef Land, Jan Mayen, and 

 perhaps Iceland, but probably in all these places as a rule only 

 an accidental visitor. In winter regularly in parts of North 

 America. 



