YELLOW BUNTING. 55 



beyond their tips when the wings are closed. The beak mea- 

 sures four lines, and is straight from the forehead to the tip ; 

 the tarsus six lines and a half. 



The adult male of this species is a very handsome bird : 

 his entire head, nape, and throat are fine lemon yellow, more 

 or less streaked with black and olive ; in very old males, the 

 dark marks disappear, and the whole head becomes pure 

 yellow. All the feathers of the back and scapulars, and the 

 coverts of the wings, are blackish-brown, bordered with ru- 

 fous-brown and olive. The quill-feathers of the wings, the 

 secondaries, tertials, and greater coverts, are dusky, edged 

 with yellowish olive. The tail has the central pair of feathers 

 dusky, edged with rufous, the three next on each side the 

 same, bordered with olive ; the two outer feathers have a 

 large white spot in a slanting direction, the rest of each 

 feather pale brown. All the under parts of the body, and 

 the under surface of the wings, are lemon-yellow ; the breast 

 is shaded with rufous and olive, and streaks of olive occupy 

 the shafts of the feathers along the flanks ; the upper tail- 

 coverts are rufous. The legs are rich ochre-yellow ; the beak 

 bluish horn colour ; the iris chesnut-brown. 



The female has neither the pure golden head, nor the 

 yellow under plumage of the male, those parts of her body 

 being clouded and striped with olive and rufous-brown. 



Young male birds differ little from the adult female. 



The egg of the Yellow Bunting is figured 100 in the 

 plate. 



