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INSESS. PLECTROPHANES. Snow-Bunting. 



Circle, in which latitude they breed ; and these migrations 

 are found to extend to the coasts of the Polar Sea, to the ex- 

 treme latitudes that our navigators have as yet visited. — The 

 Nest, &c. nest is built in the fissures of rocks, and is said to be lined 

 with the downy fur of the arctic fox *. The eggs, generally 

 five, are of a greenish- white, with numerous specks of umber 

 brown round the thicker end, and streaks of ash-grey, or 

 subdued lavander-purple disposed over the rest of the sur- 

 face. 



General 



descrip. 



tion. 



Male bird. 



Winter 



Plumage, 



Summer 

 Plumage. 



Plate 52. Fig. 7. A male bird, in winter plumage, and 

 answering to the description of the Tawny Bunting. 

 Natural size. 



Bill pale saffron-yellow ; the tip black. Crown of the 

 head white, with the points of the feathers chestnut- 

 brown. Hind part of the head pale yellowish-brown. 

 Ear coverts tipped with the same colour. Under parts 

 white, with more or less yellowish-brown upon the 

 breast. Feathers of the back black, deeply edged with 

 greyish-white, or pale yellowish-brown. Lower part of 

 the back and the rump white. Wing-coverts and se- 

 condaries white ; but in the yovmger birds black, edged 

 with wliite. Greater quills black, edged with white. 

 Two outer tail-feathers white, with a small black spot 

 near their tips ; the rest black, edged with white. Legs 

 and toes black. Hind claw produced, and nearly 

 straight. 



In the summer plumage, the head, neck, and all the un- 

 der parts of the male bird, are pure white ; the back 

 being black. In which state it is called the Snow 

 Bunting, or Snow-Flake. 



* Dr Richardson says the nest is composed of dry grass, lined with 

 deer's hair, and a few feathers ; the lining, however, will depend upon the 

 materials afforded by situation — Captain Lyon found a nest of this bird 

 placed in the bosom of the corpse of an Eskimaux child, on Southampton 

 Island, in the parallel of 62° ; one of the most southerly breeding stations 

 of the species in North America. 



