I 



THE AXIMALS OF ARCTIC ASIA 



Zemlia, and Iceland, and has been found nesting even in Grinnell Land in latitude 

 N:> 33' X.. while it not infrequently builds in the north of Scotland. Every 

 autumn these birds migrate in immense flocks to milder regions when the deep 

 snow makes it impossible for them to find food in the north. They do not, how- 

 ever, come south before the middle of November, and by the beginning of March 

 they have all disappeared on their northward journey. Meanwhile they have 

 been wandering about on the fields and roads free from snow, and even in village- 

 streets, thus showing, while 

 in their winter-haunts, that 

 they are not forest birds, as 

 they never perch on trees, 

 but always settle on stones 

 or rocks. In their breeding- 

 area they frequent bare cliffs, 

 and other solitary spots 

 where nothing but stunted 

 willow-bushes, heather, or a 

 thin carpet of mountain- 

 plants covers the ground, and 

 no human footstep breaks 

 the silence. The snow-bunt- 

 ing is a lively, peaceable bird, 

 with a walk like that of a 

 lark. When a flock is search- 

 ing for food on the ground, 

 it looks as if it were rolling 

 along, owing to the hindmost 

 birds flying ahead of their 

 leaders as soon as the latter 

 have settled down. In sum- 

 mer the snow-buntino- lives 

 on the gnats and flies of the 

 tundra, as well as on seeds 

 and tender plants. In length 

 the adult bird measures 

 about 7 inches. The species 

 differs from others of its 

 tribe by the length of its 

 wings which reach almost 

 "I 1 "I' the | ;1 il. The plumage is black above, with white wing- 

 ts, and black and white primaries and tail. In winter the black feathers 

 have pale brown edges, so that the dark plumage becomes rufous. 

 Lapland Bunting . Al|l,,1 "' r member of the same group, the Lapland bunting 

 I Plectrophanea Iwpponicus), also breeds in the far north, but inhabits 

 ow-lying swampyparts ofthe tundra, and not the bare uplands, avoidino- when 

 m, the snow, before which it retires gradually south. For winter-quarters this 



SNOW-BUB 



