124 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



100 eggs 19.73 X 15.29mm. Breeding-season. From beginning 

 May in Spain, to beginning June in Finland, generally about 

 mid-May. Incubation. Period not precisely known, nor share 

 of sexes. One brood. 



FOOD. Seeds (oats, millet, hemp, grasses, etc.), also insects 

 (orthoptera, coleoptera, larvae of lepidoptera, etc.) and snails. 



DISTRIBUTION. England and Wales. Vagrant. A good many 

 chiefly on east and south coasts in autumn (occasionally in small 

 parties), but also in April, May, and June. Scotland. At Fair 

 Isle appears regularly on spring and autumn passages ; at St. 

 Kilda several noted Sept. 1910, and one Sept. 1911 ; at Isle of 

 May several May 1885 and four autumn 1910 ; in Shetlands two, 

 April 1898 ; in Orkneys several May 1913, two Sept. 1913 ; 

 Aberdeen two, Nov. 1863. 'Ireland. One somewhat doubtful 

 record Clare, May, 1852. 



DISTRIBUTION. Abroad. Europe generally (except in the high 

 north), Mediterranean countries and west Asia. 



EMBERIZA CIA 



49. Emberiza cia cia L. THE MEADOW- or ROCK-BUNTING. 



EMBEBIZA CIA Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. xn, i, p. 310 (1766 S. Europe. 

 Restricted typical locality : Lower Austria). 



Emberiza cia Linn.,Sharpe, Bull. B.O.C., xm, p. 38 ; Saunders, Brit. B., 

 i, p. 13. 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 5). Adult male. Winter. Centre of crown 

 and nape blue-grey, finely streaked black and washed buffish-brown ; 

 line on each side of crown meeting on fore-head black (feathers 

 edged brown) ; hind-neck almost uniform yellowish-brown (feathers 

 with grey bases) ; mantle and scapulars chestnut-buff boldly 

 streaked black ; rump uniform chestnut ; shorter upper tail- 

 coverts same, long ones brown, with fine black shaft-streaks ; 

 stripe from bill over eye to base of neck and patch under eye 

 ashy-white, tinged brown ; malar stripe continuing round ear- 

 coverts and joining stripe through lores and behind eye black ; 

 ear-coverts, sides of neck, chin, throat and upper-breast ashy 

 blue-grey, tinged buff ; lower-breast, flanks, belly, and under 

 tail-coverts uniform huffish-chestnut ; axillaries white ; tail 

 brown-black, central pair fringed buffish-brown, outer pair with 

 outer webs mostly white and large wedge-shaped white marks on 

 distal halves of inner webs, penultimate pair with smaller white 

 wedges and next pair with small white tips ; wing-feathers 

 brown-black, inner webs narrowly edged whitish, outer webs of 

 outer primaries same and of inner primaries and secondaries 

 brown, innermost secondaries broadly fringed chestnut-brown; 

 greater coverts same but tipped huffish-white ; median coverts 



