WILLOW BUNTING. 165 



or Captains Blakiston and Irby. Latham says it inhabits the pine 

 forests of Katherinesburg, and that it is not met with on the 

 poplars and willows in the islands of the Irtisch and other rivers in 

 Siberia. Middendorff notices its occurrence in his "Siberische Reise," 

 and it ranges from thence to China, Nepal, the Himalayas, and the 

 North-west Provinces of India. Deputy Surgeon-General Stewart shot 

 two specimens beyond Mussoorie, in February, 1861, as he kindly 

 informs me. Brehm, in his description of eggs in Blideker's work, 

 has the following notice: — 



"This pretty little Bunting dwells among the bushes which over- 

 grow the low meadow land of Siberia, from the Ural to Kamtschatka. 

 It builds a half- globular nest away from the ground, of sedges, 

 grasses, or rushes, and lines its inside with feathers and hairs. It 

 lays five eggs of a very pretty short oval shape, the groundwork of 

 which is greyish green, with grey and blackish veins, black brown 

 bordered points, having round spots marked upon them." 



It is rarely found in Southern .Europe in winter. It has been 

 recorded by Canon Tristram in Palestine, and specimens have been 

 captured in Italy and Central France. 



Pallas remarks that this bird lives among the luxurious willows of 

 the Irtisch and other Siberian rivers. Dr. L. von Schrenck, in his 

 work upon the Amoor, also notices its inhabiting extensive willow 

 beds; and Dr. Radde, owing to the observance of the same habit, 

 has called it the "Willow Bunting," which, being a much better 

 name than "Yellow-breasted," inasmuch as the Black-headed Bunting 

 has a yellow breast, and we have "Reed," "Meadow," "Pine," and 

 "Corn" Buntings, I have adopted it in this edition. It is also 

 common, according to Middendorff in South-eastern Siberia, all over 

 the Stanowoj Mountains, and on the southern coast as far as the Sea 

 of Ochotsk. 



Mr. Dresser has two private communications from Dr. Dybowski 

 and Mr. Meves about the habits of this bird, from which I extract 

 the following. The first-named gentleman says, through Dr. Tacza- 

 nowski: — In the Dauria the peasants look upon this bird as their 

 best songster. Its song is short, but sweet. They arrive in that 

 country in the middle of May, and build early in June, some of 

 them late in the month. The nest is placed on the ground at the 

 foot of a small bush, often at the base of a tussock of Spircea, amongst 

 high grass, or else in the grass. The nest is constructed of dry 

 bents, and well lined with horse-hair, is about sixty-five millemetres 

 in diameter, and fifty millemetres in depth. They lay four or five, 

 rarely six eggs. 



