308 ZOOLOGY. 
Sub-fam. 5. Emberizine, or Buntings. Bill conic, acute, lateral margins 
sinuated, interior of upper mandible furnished with a knob-like projection 
from the palate; wings moderate, rather pointed ; tarsi and feet rather long | 
and slender. Size small, but generally larger than the preceding. 
This sub-family contains about sixty species of birds, considerably resem- 
bling those of the preceding in general characters and appearance. They 
are natives of all countries of the globe, but principally the northern and 
temperate regions. 
The black-throated bunting (mberiza americana) inhabits the whole of 
the United States. It is a very pretty bird, with plumage striped brown 
above and pale yellow beneath the body, with the throat black. It lives 
almost exclusively in meadows where the grass is most abundant, in which 
it constructs its nest. It is remarkable for being one of the very first birds 
that leaves for the south towards the end of summer, and before there is 
any decrease of temperature or appearance of autumn. This bird leaves 
in August.. The European species are the yellowhammer, EH. citrinedlla 
(pl. 101, fig. 15), the corn bunting (EH. miliaria), the cirl bunting (EZ. 
cirlus), the ortolan, E. hortulana (pl. 101, fig. 1), the reed bunting, F. 
scheniculus ( pl. 101, fig. 14), and some others. 
Several birds belonging to this group inhabit the high northern latitudes, 
but occasionally visit the temperate parts of Europe and North America in 
winter. The snow bunting (Plectrophanes nivalis), the Lapland long-spur 
(P. lapponicus), the painted bunting (P. pictus), and another species (P. 
ornatus), are the species alluded to. 
Sub-fam. 6. Alaudine, or Larks. Bill usually lengthened and slender, 
but sometimes short ; wings long, with the tertials as long as the primaries ; 
tarsi and feet long, and rather robust; claws long, Size small. 
A small sub-family containing the larks of the old continent, and a few 
American birds known as shore or horned larks. 
One European species is very celebrated; it is the skylark, Alauda 
arvensis (pl. 102, fig. '7), which sings while rising in the air to an immense 
height, and especially in the early morning. Several other species are 
also admired songsters, such as the crested lark, A. cristata (pl. 102, 
fig. 6), and the field lark, A. calandria (pl. 102, fig. 5). 
The shore lark or horned lark of the Atlantic portion of the United 
States (A. alpestris) is a bird which is native of the north, and migrates 
towards the Southern States in the winter, at which time this bird is 
abundant along the roadsides and other exposed places. 
Several species inhabit India and Africa, and appear to be very common 
in similar situations during their migrations. 
These birds must not be confounded with the birds usually callea larks 
in the United States, which do not belong here. 
Through the taste and perseverance of some gentlemen of the city of 
New York the European skylark has been naturalized to a considerable 
extent in Long Island, and is likely to become a permanent and very 
agreeable addition to the singing birds of the United States. 
Sub-fam.7. Pyrrhulize, or Bullfinches. Bill very short, strong, arched, 
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