244 



on the inner web ; quills and coverts brown edged with buff ; a 

 dark brown band from the eye under the supercilium and a spot 

 near the gape ; ear-coverts brown ; lower plumage wbity brown 

 more or less streaked with dark brown, and with a yellow patch on 

 the lower throat. 



Female. Eesembles the male closely. 



Bill horn-brown above, light brown below with a dark tip ; legs 

 light brown ; iris brown. 



Length about 6-5 tail 2-3 ; wing 3-8 ; tarsus '7 ; bill from 

 gape -7. 



Distribution. A winter visitor to Grilgit, occurring there from 

 November to March. This species has a wide range, being found 

 over a considerable portion of Europe, in North Africa, Asia 

 Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Siberia, and Northern 

 China. 



Genus MONTIFKINGILLA, Brehm, 1828. 



The genus Montifringilla is closely allied to the genus Petronia 

 in structure, but the wings are rather longer and the bill less deep 

 though otherwise similar in outline. The birds of this genus are 

 characterized by a large amount of white on the wings and tail. 

 The sexes are alike or nearly so. The claws are somewhat length- 

 ened. The tail is perfectly square, the middle feathers being as 

 long as the others. 



The Mountain-Finches are found at high elevations feeding in 

 flocks on the ground. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Sides of neck ferruginous ; lores black. 



a'. Chin black j no moustachial streaks M. blanfurdi, p. 245. 



b'. Chin white ; black moustachial streaks . . M. rujicollis, p. 245. 



b. Sides of neck pale fulvous; lores pale; no 



black marks on the head , . M. adamsi, p. 246. 



Montifringilla mandettii, Hume (S. F. iv. p. 488), was. procured 

 by Mandelli in Tibet, north of Sikhim. It does not appear to have 

 yet been met with in British territory. This species resembles 

 M. ruficollis, but has no ferruginous on the sides of the head and 

 neck, nor Las it any trace of the black moustachial streaks. The 

 bill in the dry state is yellow with a black tip, not bluish black 

 throughout as in M. ruficollis. Wing 4-1 ; tail 3. 



M. alpicola (Pall.) occurs in Persia and Afghanistan. In the 

 latter country this species was procured by Griffith " near Gurdan 

 Dewar, on the Helinund, at an elevation of 11,500 feet " (Horsf. 

 & M. Cat. ii, p. 491). The specimen referred to is now in the 

 British Museum. This species has a very long bill, a wing 

 measuring 4*7, and the wing-coverts and secondaries entirely white. 



