THE EAST SIBERIAN MEADOW -BUNTING. 127 



buff ; stripe from bill over eye to base of neck and patches under 

 eyes and at sides of neck greyish- white ; lores and malar stripe 

 black ; ear-coverts dark pink-chestnut ; chin and throat extending 

 to sides of neck pale ashy -grey ; band on upper -breast dark 

 pink-chestnut, broadly tipped buff ; flanks chestnut-buff ; centre 

 of breast and belly and under tail-coverts pale buff ; axillaries 

 white ; tail : central pair chestnut with black shaft-streaks, rest 

 black narrowly edged brown, outermost pair with large wedge of 

 white on distal two-thirds, penultimate pair with smaller wedge 

 and next pair usually with very small white tip; wing-feathers 

 black, narrowly edged chestnut on outer, and white on inner webs ; 

 innermost secondaries, greater and median coverts with broad 

 chestnut margins and tips with narrow outer fringe of buff ; lesser 

 coverts tipped grey. This plumage is acquired by complete moult 

 in Sept.-Oct. Summer. A moult confined to chin, ear-coverts 

 and lores takes place from March to May, but does not seem to occur 

 in all individuals. Abrasion makes fore-head blackish, crown and 

 breast-band and mantle less buff more chestnut -brown. 



Adult female,. Winter and summer. Like male but crown and 

 nape browner with very little chestnut ; mantle, inner secondaries, 

 wing-coverts, and rump browner less chestnut ; ear-coverts tinged 

 buff ; throat less pure ashy -grey ; breast-band browner and less 

 defined ; flanks paler. 



Nestling. (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. Like that of E. c. da, and only to be distinguished 

 from it by tips of median coverts which are buff, not whitish ; 

 edgings of wing and central tail-feathers rather more chestnut 

 but scarcely distinguishable. 



First winter. Male. Apparently same as adult. The juvenile 

 plumage is completely (including wings and tail) moulted 

 in Sept.-Oct. Female. Crown and nape decidedly browner 

 than adult female, with scarcely any chestnut ; eye-stripe and 

 under eye buff ; dark brown specks on lores and malar stripe 

 black-brown and ill-defined ; chin and throat greyish-buff ; breast 

 and flanks buffer and paler. Summer. A moult takes place as 

 in adults. In the female the new feathers of chin are greyer than 

 old, but still more tinged with buff than in adult females. 



Measurements and structure. wing 75-84 mm., tail 72-81, 

 tarsus 18-20, bill from skull 9-10.5 (12 measured). $wing 69-80. 

 Primaries : 1st minute and hidden, 3rd to 5th usually longest, 

 2nd 2-5 mm. shorter, 6th 2-3 shorter. Other structure as E. 

 citrinella. 



Soft parts. Bill dark horn, under mandible paler ; legs and 

 feet pale reddish-brown ; iris dark brown. 



CHARACTERS AND ALT JED FORMS. E. c. cioides (west Siberia, 

 Turkestan) has longer wing and tail and paler edgings to feathers 

 of mantle, E. c. ciopsis (Japan) has blackish ear-coverts. For 

 specific characters see under E. da. 



