2 7 
Perching Birds. 
of the Yellow Ammer, but is more 
powerful, and ends without the 
high note which distinguishes the 
song of the last-named bird. In 
the autumn the species is some- 
what gregarious and collects in 
small flocks. The nest is a care- 
lessly-built structure of bents, 
grass, or rootlets, with a scanty 
lining of fine grasses or hairs, 
and is placed on the ground. 
The eggs are four or five in 
number, rather handsome, stone- 
grey or purplish brown, with large 
The Coen Bunting. The Lapland Bunting. spots, lines and scribblings of 
purplish black. 
The Snow Bunting [Plectrophenax nivalis). This is a by no means uncommon 
winter visitor to our shores, coming from the Arctic Regions. It is an inhabitant 
of the Northern territories of both the old and new Worlds, and also ascends 
the mountains in the lower latitude of its range ; thus it is known to breed 
in the North of Scotland high up on the hills. In winter, when it visits Great 
Britain, the Snow Bunting is found in flocks along our sea-coasts, but is sometimes 
driven far inland by stress of weather. The plumage of the male in summer is white 
and black, the wings and tail being for the most part black like the mantle. The 
female is duller in colour and is never so black as the male. In winter both old and 
young birds are suffused with rufous, both above and below, and the black of the 
nesting plumage is entirely obscured by margins of this colour. In spring the birds 
do not moult, but gain their 
full coloration by the shed- 
ing of these pale tips to the 
feathers. Where the Snow 
Bunting breeds in the rocks, 
the nest is placed in a hole 
under shelter, and when 
built on the ground the 
structure seems to be the 
same, being composed of 
grasses, twigs, and moss, 
and lined with hair and 
feathers. The eggs are from 
five to eight in number, 
The Snow Bunting. 
