213 



which only the lower tail-coverts showed a tinge of yellow, and a young male of the year was 

 shot near Sanju on the 11th August." Col. Biddulph says (2nd Yark. Miss. p. 46) that he 

 " never saw this Bunting during the winter or until May, when, on our return from the Pamir, 

 we emerged from the hills. We first saw it at Ighiz Yar, and thenceforward noticed it in 

 abundance everywhere in the plains and amongst cultivation. It was breeding." 



Mr. Scully (Ibis, 1881, p. 575) says that it occurs on passage at Gilgit from the third 

 week in August to about the middle of September; and Col. Biddulph obtained immature 

 specimens in the same months, and an adult male on the 19th of May. According to 

 Dr. Bianchi, Messrs. Grum-Grzimailo obtained it in Eastern Buchara, at Tschaschma- 

 Chafisdschan and Schir-abad. 



In British India, Mr. E. W. Oates writes (Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, ii. p. 263), it is "a winter 

 visitor to the plains of India from the foot of the Himalayas down to the Nilgiris, and from 

 Sind to Chutia Nagpur." 



Dr. Taczanowski does not include this species in his recently published work on the 

 avifauna of Siberia; but there is an immature specimen in the British Museum, received from 

 Moscow, which is stated to have been obtained in Siberia. 



In its habits the present species appears to resemble Emberiza melanocephala. Mr. Scully 

 describes the nest as being " usually placed either in small bushes (Kara-uk) about a couple of 

 feet above the ground, or touching the ground at the edges of corn-fields, and sheltered over 

 by a small shrub [Buyali). It is round, from 4 - 5 to 5 - 5 inches in diameter, the side-wall 

 about 1 inch thick, the bottom 1*5. Externally it is made up of coarse fibres, leaves, and twigs 

 loosely put together, but the egg-cavity is lined with fine fibres wound round and round, the 

 egg commonly lying on a bottom lining of horse-hair. In the fresh nest the egg-cavity is 

 circular, cup-shaped, about 3 inches in diameter and T5 deep. By the time the eggs are nearly 

 ready to hatch off the shape of the nest is often a good deal altered ; the egg-cavity is flattened 

 out, and instead of being cup-shaped, becomes saucer-like, and often quite shallow. 



"The number of eggs is from three to four, and the latter seems to be the full complement. 

 Four eggs obtained on the loth of June vary in length from 082 to - 85 inch, and in breadth 

 from 0'63 to 0*65 ; but the average of the four eggs is 0*835 by 0"642 inch. In shape they are 

 moderate or broadish ovals, slightly compressed at one end, and have a slight gloss. The 

 ground-colour is pale greenish grey, with numerous spots, streaks, and blotches of sepia-brown. 

 The markings are generally more profuse at the large end ; but in some the small end and lesser 

 half of the egg show the most numerous and crowded blotches." Major Wardlaw Ramsay says 

 that a nest he found in Afghanistan was " built in a small bush about k l\ feet from the ground ; 

 it was cup-shaped, and composed of dried grass, stalks of plants, shreds of juniper-bark, and 

 lined with a few goat's hairs. It contained four eggs of a pale bluish-white colour, finely 

 spotted with purplish stone-colour, the spots becoming larger at the thicker end." 



The specimens figured are the adult male and female above described, and are in my own 

 collection. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined, besides the large series in the 

 British Museum, the following specimens : — 



2h 



