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EMBEEIZA PYKKHTTLOIDES. 



(LARGE-BILLED REED-BUNTING.) 



Emberiza pyrrhuloides, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 49 (1811). 

 Emberiza caspia, Menetr. Cat. Raisonne, p. 41 (1832). 

 Schosnicola pyrrhuloides (Pall.), Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 463 (1850). 

 Cynchramus pyrrhuloides (Pall.), C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 115 (1855). 

 Emberiza aquatica, Savi, fide C. L. Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 115 (1855). 



Figura nulla. 



Ad. Emberiza schceniclo similis sed major, rostro conspicue majore et robustiore : coloribus pallidioribus : 

 dorsi plumis conspicue albido marginatis, uropygio fere albo. 



Adult Male (Astrachan) . Resembles Emberiza schceniclus, but is mucb larger, and has a large, stout, Finch- 

 like bill; upper parts much paler than in Emberiza schceniclus, the feathers on the back with broad 

 whitish margins; rump nearly white; quills with nearly white margins; central tail-feathers with 

 nearly white very broad margins ; underparts as in Emberiza schceniclus. Total length about 7 to 7"25 

 inches, culmen - 5, height of bill at base 032, wing 3"6, tail 3'32, tarsus - 85. 



Adult Female. Resembles the female of Emberiza schceniclus, but is much larger, has a much stouter bill, 

 and is paler in coloration. 



Adult Male in winter (Astrachan). The black on the head and neck is obscured by creamy ochreous 

 edgings ; the underparts are slightly washed with yellowish ; and the feathers on the upper parts are 

 margined with creamy ochreous, the dark colours being obscured. 



The Reed-Buntings vary so greatly inter se, that it is, to say the least of it, extremely difficult to 

 know where to draw the line, and to determine what constitutes a species and what a local form 

 or race. Any one who has worked hard at ornithology will be well aware that difficulties of 

 this nature occasionally present themselves ; and there are few species that tend to show this 

 difficulty more than does Emberiza schoeniclus. After a careful examination of what material 

 is at hand, I find that I cannot do otherwise than treat the present species as distinct; for not 

 only is it clearly distinguishable by its larger size and large, stout bill, but also by its pale 

 coloration and nearly white rump. At the same time I may add that there is a large and 

 large-billed form in Italy, but it is smaller than the present species, and is, moreover, dark in 

 colour like the common Reed-Bunting. I need not enter into/a comparison of this form here, as 

 in the article on Emberiza schoeniclus I go fully into that matter. So far as I can ascertain, the 

 range of the present species is very limited, as it appears to be found only in the countries 

 skirting the Caspian, Lake Aral, the mouths of the Volga and Ural rivers, and eastward to 

 Yarkand. I have at different times seen a tolerable number of specimens from near Astrachan, 



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