THE EASTERN LARGE-BILLED REED -BUNTING. 137 



Distribution. — England. — Two. Male, near Lydd (Kent), Mav 

 26, 1908 {nt supra). Male, Filsham (Sussex), Jan. 6, 1915 (H. W. 

 Ford-Lindsay, oj). c, ix, p. 120). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Italy, Sicily, south France, and east 

 Spain. Allied form E. p. ischusii see below, another {E . p. othmari), 

 in Greece. 



55. Emberiza palustris tschusii Reiser and Almasv — THE 



EASTERN LARGE-BILLED REED-BUNTING. 



Emberiza schceniclus tschusii Reiser and Almasy, Aqu'ia, v, p. 

 122-25 (1898— Typical locality: Dunavat, Dobrudscha). 

 Emberiza palustris tschusii Reiser and Almasy, E. Hartert and J. B. 

 Nichols, Brit. B., vi, p. 153. 



Description. — ^Like E. p. palustris, but mantle, scapulars and 

 edgings of tail- and wing -feathers and coverts much paler sandy-buff ; 

 back, rump and upper tail-coverts paler more a.shy-grey (m young 

 female pale sandy -buff ) ; grey patch below white collar on back 

 of neck ; male less streaked on flanks and female on breast and 

 flanks ; in winter also less tawny -buff on breast and flanks than 

 E. p. palustris. 



Measurements and structure. — ,^ wing 79-86 mm., tail 70-75, 

 tarsus 19-22, bill length from .skull 10-11.5, depth at nostril 6.5-8 

 (10 measured) ; structure as in E. p. palustris, but bill usually 

 very shghtly finer. 



Breeding-habits. — Breeds in the great reed-beds of Lower Danube. 

 Nest. — Like that of preceding, but precise details of habits and 

 eggs unobtainable. 



Food. — ^Also similar. 



Distribution. — England. — One. Male, Rj'e (Sussex), April 2.3, 

 1912 {ut supra). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — ^Delta of the Danube and southern 

 Russia to Lenkoran on the Caspian Sfi? . 



Genus CALCARIUS Bechst. 



Calcarius Bechstein. Orn. Tasehenb. Vog. Deutschl, i, p. 130 (1803— 

 Type by monotypy C. lapponictis). 



Very closely allied to Emberiza, but wings longer and generally 

 more pointed, hind claw nearly straight, about equal to or longer 

 than hind toe ; claws of front toes rather flat. Three first visible 

 primaries about equal and longest. Only one form in arctic 

 and subarctic regions of Old and Ne\\' World, but represented by 

 a subspecies in Kamtschatka and Commander Islands, and another 

 in Alaska. 



