THE BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 115 



Younger birds differ from other British Buntings with white abdo- 

 mens, in the combination of chestnut rump and brown lesser wing- 

 coverts E. rustica having both chestnut, E. pusilla both brown, 

 and E. schceniclus lesser coverts chestnut and rump bro wnish-grey 

 or buff. 



BREEDING-HABITS. Nests among clumps of small bushes or edge 

 of thickets on ground among grass like Yellow Bunting. Nest. 

 Also similar, of dead grasses, lined horsehair and finer grasses. 

 Eggs. 4-6 ; resembling Yellow Bunting's. Ground varies from 

 light pinkish to violet or greenish-white ; numerous fine 

 brown hair-lines and few spots ; pale ashy shell-marks. Average 

 of 54 eggs, 21.48 X 16.1 mm. Breeding-season. End of May 

 and July. Incubation. Period unknown ; hen incubates. Two 

 broods. 



FOOD. Seeds of grasses and mountain-plants ; young fed with 

 orthoptera and cicadae. 



DISTRIBUTION. Scotland. One. Male, Fair Isle (Shetlands), Oct. 

 30, 1911 (ut supra). 



DISTRIBUTION. Abroad. Breeds from west Siberia (Ural) to 

 east Siberia. Migrates to China, Mongolia, Turkestan, casually 

 to Europe (Italy, Dalmatia, Russia, south France, Austria, 

 Heligoland). 



EMBERIZA MELANOCEPHALA 



45. Emberiza melanocephala Scop. THE BLACK-HEADED 

 BUNTING. 



EMBERIZA MELANOCEPHALA Scopoli, Annus I, Hist. Nat., p. 142 (1769 

 Carniola). 



Euspiza melanocephala (Scopoli), Yarrell, u, p. 64 ; JZmberiza melano- 

 cephala, Scopoli, Saunders, p. 205. 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 5). Adult male. Winter. Fore-head, crown, 

 nape black, almost entirely obscured by buff-brown tips to feathers ; 

 lores and ear-coverts same, but black less obscured ; scarcely visible 

 collar at back of neck yeUow and chestnut ; mantle and scapulars 

 chestnut, much obscured by long buff -bro wn fringes, most of the 

 tips having dark shaft-lines (some adult specimens have varying 

 number of feathers of mantle brown with mesial dark streaks) ; 

 back and rump mixture of yellow and chestnut ; upper tail-coverts 

 brown, marked yellow or chestnut and tipped grey ; chin and tibial 

 feathers yellowish-buff ; small patch of chestnut on each side of 

 breast ; rest of under -parts * yellow, much obscured by buffish- 

 white tips to feathers, especially on throat, breast, and flanks ; 



* Occasional specimens have black feathers on throat, and very rarely 

 entirely black throat. 



I 2 



