BUNTINGS. 405 



The Oriental genera Propyrrhula and Pyrrhosviza, intermediate 

 Other Finches. to 



between the crossbills and rose - finches, are among the most 



interesting of the remaining members of the subfamily. The red-headed rose- 

 finch (Propyrrhula subhima2ayensis) is found in the more open parts of the woods 

 in North- Western India. The male has a brownish crimson body with bright 

 crimson forehead, cheeks, and throat, the brown wings and tail having reddish 

 margins ; the female is not unlike the female of Hcematospiza sipahi (p. 404), but 

 much yellower in coloration. The female of the red-breasted rose-finch (Pyrrhospiza 

 punicea) is almost exactly like the females of all the species of Carpodacus, includ- 

 ing not only the common species, G. erythrinus already noticed, but the Caucasian 

 species C. rubicilla and the Central Asian Severtzow's finch, C. severtzowi. The 

 male, however, is easily distinguishable, being a brownish bird with crimson forehead 

 and throat and breast, the crown being black, like the back, the feathers being each 

 margined with light brown. The horn-brown bill is stouter and shorter than that 

 of the red -headed rose-finch, but it is of much the same shape as that of the scarlet 

 finch. The red-breasted rose-finch is a Himalayan bird, ranging from Kashmir to 

 Tibet and Western China at elevations of from ten thousand to seventeen thousand 

 feet. A nest of this species was found in Ladak, built of coarse grass in a furze- 

 bush, and containing greenish brown spotted eggs. Mr. Gates includes in this 

 species P. humii, which is also found in the Himalaya, and has the head and breast 

 rosy instead of crimson, while the brown of the back is quite pale. 



THE BUNTINGS. 



Subfamily EMBERIZIN^;. 



The birds of this large group possess a conical and sharply-pointed bill ; but 

 the edges of the two mandibles, unlike those of the other finches, are not in contact 

 throughout their length, forming a gap or angle about midway between the gape 

 and the tip of the bill. The upper mandible, moreover, has the palate furnished 

 with a hard, horny knob. In a few of the species the claw of the first toe is 

 elongated like that of a lark. The great majority of the buntings belong to the 

 northern parts of the Old World, although some species inhabit Central Asia or 

 reside permanently in India ; many of them possessing an extensive range. The 

 snow -bunting supports life further north than any other of the smaller birds. 



The Snow- In this genus (Plectrophenax) the bill is small and conical ; the 



Bunting. wings are very long and pointed ; and the tail is moderate and slightly 

 forked ; while the claw of the first toe is straight and elongated. The genus is 

 represented solely by the snow -bunting (P. nivalis), which is an Arctic form, common 

 to all the northern portions of the world, and occasionally straying on migration into 

 Central and even Southern Europe. Many species of birds migrate over England 

 during the hours of darkness ; and on a frosty night at the commencement of winter 

 we have been able to recognise the joyous sound of the twittering of the " snowflake " 

 ringing through the still air as the birds sped on their way through the darkness. 

 Although some snow-buntings pass the entire year upon certain Scottish mountains, 

 it was not until the summer of 1885 that several parties of these birds were 



