42 cretzschmaek's bunting. 



more fertile districts of Palestine. Perched on the topmost 

 bough of a shrub or tree, it continues its monotonous 

 song through the day, and is to be seen on almost 

 every bush. In its habits and actions it is very dif- 

 ferent from its Algerian congener, Ember^iza Saharce, 

 which it so nearly resembles in form and plumage, 

 avoiding buildings, and not, as far as I am aware, 

 perching on stones or walls. Its nest is placed near 

 the ground, in a low bush." 



As there is a considerable difference in the above 

 two descriptions, I wrote to Mr. Tristram, who oblig- 

 ingly forwarded me the following explanation: — "I can 

 only account for the discrepancy in the two histories, 

 by the difference in the time of year. I was only in 

 the Morea in winter, and in the north of Greece late 

 in the spring, and I did not observe E. ccesia, so far 

 as I recollect; but neither did I notice it in Palestine 

 in the corn-fields, where we saw the Ortolan consorting 

 with the Common Bunting and the Larks, but in the 

 hill country of Judaea. It abounds in the olive-clad 

 valleys and ravines to the west of Jerusalem, and I 

 was struck by its habit of always perching on the 

 bushes and shrubs, both on the uncultivated hills and 

 about gardens. Probably when Count Muhle saw them 

 they had not paired; when I fell in with them they 

 were building. E. ccesia is, I should say, the commonest 

 Bunting in Palestine." 



Professor Blasius, of Brunswick, in a private letter 

 to me, places E. ccesia as a variety of E. hortulanus. 



The adult male in breeding plumage has the top of 

 the head and a broad collar round the neck bluish 

 grey; all the upper parts from the nape varied with 

 dark brown and russet; throat, chest, and abdomen 

 russet; primaries and tail feathers dark brown, bordered 



