134 THE PEBCHING BIEDS. 



of a deep Prussian blue, almost black. The tail is long, forked and of 

 the same blue black colour. 



The crossbill found in North China is Loxia albiventris. It is a 

 peculiar looking bird with its remarkable beak, the hooked ends of which 

 cross each other and give it its name. It has short legs and tail. 

 The plumage is of a greeny-brown; the males are suffused 

 with crimson and the females with yellow. These birds live 

 upon pine seeds, and may be seen hanging on to the cones, the scales 

 of which they pick to pieces with their powerful beaks. They make 

 interesting pets as they show a remarkable degree of intelligence. 



There are a large number of buntings found in North China, amongst 

 which are the white-headed bunting (Emberiza leucocephala), the rustic 

 bunting (E. rustica), the chestnut bunting (E. cioides), which inhabits 

 the hills, the yellow-breasted bunting (E. aureola) a beautiful little bird 

 with dark brown upper parts and a bright yellow breast, which is 

 extremely plentiful in Mongolia and West Manchuria during the 

 summer. Other species are the two reed buntings (E. passerina and 

 E. yessoensis), the painted bunting (E. jucata), the little bunting 

 (E. pusilla), the yellow-throated bunting (E. elegans) the yellow-browed 

 bunting (E. chrysophrys), Tristram's bunting (E. tristrami), the grey- 

 headed bunting (E. spodocephala), and the ruddy bunting (E. rutila), 

 11 of which may be recognized by their small beaks, forked tails and 

 somewhat lark-like appearance. Another member of the same family, 

 but of a different genus is the Lapland bunting (Colcarius lapponicus), 

 which is only a winter visitor. It is distinguishable by the prepon- 

 derance of white in its plumage, and is also somewhat larger than the 

 foregoing 1 species. 



We next come to the larks, of which the Mongolian lark 

 (Melancorpha mongolica), is undoubtedly the ablest, if not the 

 sweetest, songster found in this country. It inhabits the northern 

 portion of the provinces along the Mongolian border, and is very num- 

 erous in Mongolia itself. It is a large heavily built bird, with 

 a black collar and conspicuous white patches on the wings. 

 It is greatly prized by the Chinese. Almost every shop- 

 keeper in a Chinese town owns one or more of these birds, which may 

 be seen hanging outside the shop-front in characteristic dome-shaped 

 cages. The vocal powers of this bird are remarkable, for beside being 

 able to imitate any other songbird, it can mimic perfectly a cat or a 

 kite, and to a certain extent a dog's bark. 



The skylark is represented in North China by at least two sub- 

 species, namely, Alauda arvcnsis pekinensis and A. a. cinerea. It has 



