207 



incubation, and the female sits close, but if disturbed soon forsakes her eggs. The young after 

 leaving the nest remain with their parents to the spring." 



To this I may add that Mr. Kibort has sent specimens from Krasnojarsk : Dr. Theel 

 obtained it at Yenesaisk: von Schrenck records it from the Schilka, near the mouth of the 

 Nertscha, and from the village of Mutatcha on the Argun : Dr. Radde from Lake Baikal, the 

 central portion of the Ussuri, and the Bureja Mountains, and he observed flocks late in September 

 at Irkutsk; it breeds, he adds, on the Bureja. Mr. Dorries says (J. f. O. 1888, p. 82) that he 

 met with it in winter on the island of Askold, in the Suifun and Ussuri districts, but only singly. 

 Late in February they appeared in considerable numbers in flocks of five to ten individuals. 



In the southern portion of its range it does not appear to have been met with west of 

 Turkestan, where, according to Dr. Severtzoff, it is found both in the winter and during the 

 breeding-season. Mr. Pleske says that three examples were sent by the brothers Gruni- 

 Grzimailo, all three males in winter plumage, from Jandschi-che, Taschar (in the Chami 

 district), and Dschan-tschinsa (in the Gutscbin district). Prjevalsky only met with it in 

 Mongolia, on the Gutscbin Gourbou hills, where it was observed in pairs and small flocks. 

 Pere David states (Ois. de la Chine, p. 358) that he met with it on several occasions, in the 

 winter, near Pekin, and killed an old female there on the 11th April, which tends to show that 

 they do not all leave that province when the severe frosts are over. 



I give above all that I find on record respecting the habits of this bird, which appear to 

 assimilate closely with those of its congeners and with the Redpolls. 



According to Pallas it feeds on seeds, chiefly those of Artemisia integrifoHa, glauca, and 

 annua, Potentilla, and of those of the family Compositae, which abound in Siberia. 



Dr. Taczanowski says that " the nest is placed in a fork close to the main stem of a bush or 

 low tree, and is carefully and artistically constructed. The exterior of the nest resembles, to 

 some extent, that of Hypolais icterina, and is occasionally as pale in coloration. It is constructed 

 of sun-dried plant-stems, mixed and interwoven with fibres of nettles, hemp, and willows. 

 Sometimes these fibres are largely used, more so than other materials. The interior is well 

 lined with pine-leaves and bents, mixed with the fur of hares, roebucks, and with horse-hair &c, 

 sometimes with feathers and down, with which it is, as a rule, finally lined. The eggs resemble 

 those of Car_poclacus erythrinus, but are rather smaller and of a less intense blue colour ; the 

 black spots are in general larger, the little dots much less numerous than the spots and are often 

 totally absent; the markings are generally collected round the larger end and absent on the 

 rest of the surface, or are only represented by a few tiny dots ; but there are specimens, similar 

 to those of the species above named, marked with a number of small spots forming a wreath 

 round the base ; the pale spots are only found in exceptional cases." 



Mr. Dorries states that he found on the 13th of May full clutches of eggs of a rich blue 

 colour, streaked and spotted with black. It affects, he says, districts covered with low bushes, 

 where it breeds, the nest being placed only a few feet above the ground. He never found, he 

 adds, two nests close together in the same locality. 



Eggs in my collection, received from Dr. Dybowski, are dark blue, sparingly spotted, chiefly 

 at the larger end, with black, and vary in size from "67 by "55 to '77 by *55 inch. 



The specimens figured are an adult male and female in winter plumage, marked c and d in 



2g2 



