BUNTINGS 151 



The male differs from the female in his brighter tints and 

 black head, the female having a grey head with pale eyebrow. 

 Length, 6 inches. 



There is a larger (length, 6^ inches) and more robustly- built 

 species than either of the two preceding, viz. the Greater 

 South African Sparrow {Passer motitensis). This bird is pale 

 red-brown above streaked with black. Top of head grey. 

 Cheeks, sides of neck and under parts white, excepting the 

 throat and upper chest, which are black. JJength, 6J inches. 

 The female has the top of the head brown and only the 

 throat blackish. It is not known south of the Orange River. 

 In the Central and Northern Transvaal it is fairly common at 

 times, but is a scarce bird when compared with its audacious 

 brother above mentioned. 



Another scarcer species is the Grey-headed Sparrow (P. 

 griseus) ranging from the northern and north-eastern districts 

 of the Cape, throughout the sub-continent. Both sexes 

 resemble the female of the Mossie in colour, but can be dis- 

 tinguished from this bird by its shriller call-note and dark 

 grey head without a light-coloured eyebrow. Its nidification 

 was first described by Major Sparrow in the Journal of the 

 South African Ornithologists' Union, for July, 1905, and 

 subsequently by Austin Eoberts, Journal of the South African 

 Ornithologists' Union, June, 1906. The eggs are covered 

 with blackish-brown blotches and streaks. 



BUNTINGS 



The subfamily Emherizinm is also a small group of birds, 

 but contains the handsome Golden-breasted Bunting {Embe- 

 riza fiaviventris), which is fairly plentiful in the eastern 

 districts of the Cape and in the Pretoria Bushveld. 



