THE BUNTINGS 1579 



headed rosefinch, but it is of much the same shape as that of the scarlet finch. 

 The red-breasted rosefinch is a Himalayan bird, ranging from Kashmir to Tibet 

 and Western China at elevations of from ten thousand to seventeen thousand feet. 

 A nest of this species was found in L,adakh, built of coarse grass in a furze bush, 

 and containing greenish-brown spotted eggs. Mr. Gates includes in this species P. 

 humii, which is also found in the Himalayas, and has the head and breast rosy in- 

 stead of crimson, while the brown of the back is quite pale. 



THE BUNTINGS 

 Subfamily EMBERIZIN^, 



The birds of this large group possess a conical and sharply-pointed bill; but the 

 edges of the two mandibles, unlike those of the other finches, are not in contact 

 throughout their length, forming a gap or angle about midway between the gape 

 and the tip of the bill. The upper mandible, moreover, has the palate furnished 

 with a hard, horny knob. In a few of the species the claw of the first toe is elon- 

 gated like that of a lark. The great majority of the buntings belong to the north- 

 ern parts of the Old World, although some species inhabit Central Asia or reside 

 permanently in India; many of them possessing an extensive range. The snow 

 bunting supports life farther north than any other of the smaller birds. 



In this genus (Plectrophenax} the bill is small and conical; the wings 



are very long and pointed; and the tail is moderate and slightly forked; 



while the claw of the first toe is straight and elongated. The genus is 

 represented solely by the snow bunting (P. nivalis), which is an Arctic form, com- 

 mon to all the northern portions of the world, and occasionally straying on migra- 

 tion into Central and even Southern Europe. Many species of birds migrate over 

 England during the hours of darkness; and on a frosty night at the commencement 

 of winter we have been able to recognize the joyous sound of the twittering of the 

 ' ' snowflake ' ' ringing through the still air as the birds sped on their way through 

 the darkness. Although some snow buntings pass the entire year upon certain 

 Scottish mountains, it was not until the summer of 1885 that several parties of these 

 birds were observed on the higher mountain tops of the west of Sutherland by Mr. 

 Peach, who in the following year captured the young of this species in a corrie. In 

 1888 Mr. J. Young announced that during the previous summer he had taken a 

 nest of the snow bunting in the north of Scotland, containing the only eggs of the 

 species discovered up to that time on the mainland of Great Britain. Upon that 

 occasion the observer in question was searching for ptarmigan upon the mountains 

 between Sutherland and Caithness, and while descending some difficult ground he 

 recognized the call note of the snow bunting, and with some difficulty reached the 

 nest, which contained five richly-colored eggs, and was composed of bents and moss, 

 lined with a few ptarmigan's feathers, and one or two small pieces of wool. Since 

 then, additional nests of the snow bunting have been found in Scotland, one of the 

 number having been secured for the national collection. Professor Newton says 



