142 BRITISH BIRDS. 



specimens that were sent to liim from the neighhourhood of Archangel. 

 The nest is made entirely of fine wiry grasSj and is not very carefully built. 

 The eggs, according to Dresser, are quite distinct from those of any other 

 European Bunting. He describes them as having great affinity with eggs 

 of the Reed-Bunting ; but the ground-colour is white, with a warm, almost 

 reddish tinge. The markings are similar in character to those on the eggs 

 of the Reed-Bunting; but are redder, bolder, and chiefly collected in a 

 zone round the larger end of the egg. The underlying markings are light 

 purplish or violet-purple and moderately large. Dresser states that his 

 eggs do not vary much, and are about as large as those of the Reed- 

 Bunting ; whilst Newton gives '84 by "6 inch as the measurement of one 

 in his possession presumed to be of this species. The egg which I have 

 figured was obtained on the Altai Mountains, and will be seen to differ 

 considerably from those already described. It may possibly be an egg of 

 the Yellow-breasted Bunting (E. aureola). 



The food of the Rustic Bunting is probably similar to that of its near 

 congeners, composed of insects in summer, and grain and seeds in winter. 

 This bird has several times been kept in confinement for considerable 

 periods. 



The male Rustic Bunting, in full breeding-plumage, has the crown and 

 sides of the head black, a stripe over the eyes and a patch on the nape 

 white ; the hind neck, lesser wing-coverts, rump, and upper tail-coverts are 

 chestnut ; the back is paler chestnut, each feather with a broad dark brown 

 centre; the median and greater wing-coverts are blackish brown, margined 

 with buff and broadly tipped with white, forming two bars across the wing ; 

 the wings are brown, darkest on the innermost secondaries, the primaries 

 narrowly margined on the outside web with buff, the secondaries with pale 

 chestnut, broadest on the innermost; the tail is brown, the two centre 

 feathers paler than the rest and with huffish margins, the outside feather 

 with a broad elongated patch of white extending on both webs, and the 

 next feather with a similar but shorter patch, and only on the inner web • 

 the general colour of the underparts is white ; across the breast is a band 

 of rich chestnut, and the feathers on the sides and flanks have a broad 

 centre of the same colour ; a line of spots passes from the biU downwards, 

 forming a somewhat obscure moustache. Bill brown above, paler below ; 

 legs and feet yellowish brown, claws darker brown; irides brown. The female 

 somewhat resembles the male, but the colours are not so pure, the black 

 on the head is replaced by brown, the eye-stripe and nape-patch are smaller 

 and not so pure, and the band across the breast is narrower. Young 

 birds in nestling plumage have the upper parts somewhat similar to the 

 female ; but the imderparts are white with elongated black spots, and the 

 chest-band is only indicated by buff. In winter plumage, the feathers on 

 the upper parts, including the wings, are very broadly margined with 



