EMBERIZIN^E. PLECTROPHANES. 191 



GENUS LIX. PLECTROPHANES. LARK- 

 BUNTING. 



Bill short, strong, somewhat pentagonal at the base, coni- 

 cal, somewhat compressed toward the end ; upper mandible 

 narrower, with the dorsal line slightly convex, the sides con- 

 vex, the edges slightly inflected, the tip direct ; lower man- 

 dible with the dorsal line slightly convex, the back and sides 

 rounded, the edges involute ; gape-line ascending obliquely, 

 then direct. Mouth rather narrow ; upper mandible inter- 

 nally with a sudden bend about the middle, anterior to which 

 is a narrow knob, with three prominent lines ; tongue sagit- 

 tate and papillate at the base, fleshy, compressed, and ter- 

 minating in two short, bristly points ; oesophagus dilated 

 about the middle ; proventriculus oblong ; stomach roundish, 

 compressed, with very strong lateral muscles, and dense, ru- 

 gous epithelium ; intestine of moderate length and width ; 

 coaca very small. Nostrils oblong. Eyes of moderate size. 

 Head ovate ; neck short ; body moderate. Legs rather short ; 

 tarsus compressed, with seven anterior scutella ; toes mode- 

 rate, the lateral equal, the first large ; claws long, slightly 

 arched, compressed, laterally grooved, pointed ; that of the 

 hind toe longer than the first joint. Plumage blended ; 

 wings long, acute, with eighteen quills, of which the first is 

 longest ; tail rather long, emarginate. 



The upper mandible is broader than in Emberiza, the 

 knob on the palate less elevated, the wings longer and more 

 pointed, and the hind claw proportionally more elongated. 

 Two species of this genus occur in Britain ; both winter vi- 

 sitants, one common, the other rare ; but it appears that some 

 individuals of one of them remain to breed in the mountain- 

 ous districts of Scotland. 



118. PLECTROPHANES NIVALIS. SNOW LARK-BUNTING. / \ 



Male in winter, with the upper part of the head, cheeks, 

 and a band on the lower neck light reddish-brown ; lower parts 

 white ; upper black, the feathers edged with yellowish-brown ; 

 a patch of white on the wing, including the smaller coverts, 

 and some of the secondary coverts and secondary quills ; the 



