92 



This rare and beautiful bird seems to be met with only in the south-eastern portion of the region 

 of the ornithology of which I am treating, being found in the Caucasus and Palestine, ranging 

 eastward into Turkestan. It is, however, somewhat remarkable that Loche records its occurrence 

 in Algeria, and states that it is only met with in the northern portions of the province. He says 

 that he has seen one from the frontier of Tunis, obtained through Dr. Buvry, and another, in 

 very bad condition, from near Zaatcha. I may, however, here remark that none of the later 

 travellers has ever met with it in North-west Africa ; and it seems possible that there may be 

 some mistake as regards the true localities whence the specimens recorded by Loche were 

 obtained. It was first described by Gould (I. c.) from a specimen obtained at Erzeroom, and 

 has since been met with by Canon Tristram and Mr. Cochrane on Mount Lebanon. The former 

 of these gentlemen writes (Ibis, 1868, p. 208) as follows: — "On the north side of Hermon occurs 

 also Carpodacus phcenicopterus, Bp. It is not only local, but very scarce", yet unquestionably 

 sedentary, concealing itself after the manner of our Bullfinch. We never could detect its nest, 

 and very rarely caught a glimpse of it. It does not appear to descend as low as the villages of 

 Lebanon, excepting in winter." Von Heuglin says that there is a specimen in the Mergentheim 

 collection which is stated to have come from Arabia; and Mr. Blanford informs me that he only 

 once met with it on his last expedition to Persia. A flock was sitting on some steep rocks by 

 the side of the road in a high valley of the Elburz, and he had the good fortune to bag three. 

 Dr. Severtzoff, who met with it in Turkestan, says it is resident in that country, but is rather 

 sporadic in its distribution. Beyond the above data I find no information on record respecting 

 its range ; and, indeed, it appears to be nowhere common. Canon Tristram, who was fortunate 

 enough to see this bird alive, gives me the following note : — " I never met with Erythrospiza 

 sanguinea but twice in the Lebanon. On the first occasion I had a good view of a brilliantly 

 plumaged male (I presumed), towards the end of May. It was flitting restlessly from tree to 

 tree in an open space on the mountain-side, where the trees were sparse and isolated. There 

 being no cover I was unable to secure it. A few days afterwards I shot a specimen among scrub 

 and dwarf cedars, a female, but saw no others with it. There were many Emberiza cia, with 

 whom it was on sociable terms. Mr. Cochrane shot a bird from the nest the same week, and 

 brought the nest to camp, containing one egg. He kindly gave me the bird shot from the nest, 

 which I have in my collection. He told me he found the nest in a tree. My impressson is that 

 the nest was an ordinary Finch-nest, of the character of that of the Greenfinch. The bird 

 appears to affect the open spaces, with scrub and a tree here and there, and to avoid the thicker 

 forest." The egg above referred to by Canon Tristram is in my collection, and is, I believe, the 

 only authentic specimen known. I received it from Mr. Cochrane, who informs me that he found 

 the nest, which contained but one egg, near the celebrated grove of cedars on Lebanon, on the 

 24th May, 1864, and he succeeded in shooting the parent bird, which he gave to Canon Tristram. 

 Unfortunately he did not keep the nest, and has supplied me with no further data respecting its 

 structure, or, indeed, respecting the nidification of this rare bird. The egg is white with a faint 

 greyish sea-green tinge, very minutely (almost imperceptibly) dotted with grey, chiefly at the 

 larger end, and measures ff by f^ inch. 



The specimens figured are an adult pair from Chodjent, Turkestan, and are those above 

 described. 



