124 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



100 eggs 19.73 x 15.29 mm. Breeding-season. — From beginning 

 May in Spain, to beginning Jime in Finland, generally about 

 mid-May. Incubation. — ^Period not precisely known, nor share 

 of sexes. One brood. 



Food. — Seeds (oats, millet, hemp, grasses, etc.), also insects 

 (oi'thoptera, coleoptera, larvae of lepidoptera, etc.) and snails. 



Distribution. — England and Wales. — Vagrant. A good many 

 chiefly on east and south coasts in autumn (occasionally in small 

 parties), but also in April, May, and June. Scotland. — ^At Fair 

 Isle appears regularly on spring and autumn passages ; at St. 

 Kilda several noted Sept. 1910, and one Sept. 1911 ; at Isle of 

 May several May 1885 and four autumn 1910 ; in Shetlands two, 

 AprU 1898 ; in Orkneys several May 1913, two Sept. 1913 ; 

 Aberdeen two, Nov. 1863. Ireland. — One somewhat doubtful 

 record Clare, May, 1852. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Europe generally (except in the high 

 north), Mediterranean countries and west Asia. 



EMBERIZA CIA 



49. Emberiza cia cia L.— THE MEADOW- or ROCK-BUNTING. 



Embebiza Cia Linnjeus, Syst. Nat., ed. xii, i, p. 310 (176G — S. Europe. 

 Restricted typical locality : Lower Aiostria). 



Einheriza cia Linn., Sharpe, Bull. B.O.C., xiii, p. 38 ; Saunders, Brit. B., 

 I, p. 13. 



Description (Plate 5). — Adidt male. Winter. — Centre of crown 

 and nape blue-grey, finely streaked black and washed huffish -brown ; 

 line on each side of croAvn meeting on fore-head black (feathers 

 edged brown) ; hind-neck almost uniform yellowish -brown (feathers 

 M ith grey bases) ; mantle and scapulars chestnut-buff boldly 

 streaked black ; rump uniform chestnut ; shorter upper tail- 

 coverts same, long ones brown, with fine black shaft-streaks ; 

 stripe from bill over eye to base of neck and patch under eye 

 ashy -white, tinged brown ; malar stripe continuing round ear- 

 coverts and joining stripe through lores and behind eye black ; 

 ear-coverts, sides of neck, chin, throat and upper-breast ashy 

 blue-grey, tmged buff ; lower -breast, flanks, belly, and under 

 tail-coverts uniform buffish-chestnut ; axillaries white ; tail 

 brown-black, central pak fringed buffish-brown, outer pak with 

 outer webs mostly white and large wedge-shaped white marks on 

 distal halves of inner webs, penultimate pair with smaller white 

 sedges and next pah- with small white tips ; "s^-ing -feathers 

 broA^ii-black, inner webs narrowly edged whitish, outer webs of 

 outer primaries same and of inner primaries and secondaries 

 brown, innermost secondaries broadly fringed chestnut-broAvn ; 

 greater coverts same but tipped buffish-white ; median coverts 



