122 
EMBERIZA LAPPONICA. 
species is common in the hilly districts of east 
Europe, hut is chiefly confined within the Polar cirt*®’ 
though found abundantly in all the northern monnta 1 ®' 
ous districts of Europe and Asia, particularly Sibe r ’ 
and Lapland. It is sometimes known to descend in 
autumn and winter, and, though very rarely, in sprUV 
either singly and astray, or in immense clouds, into 
north and middle of Germany. Great numbers "'v 
seen in the neighbourhood of Frankfort on the M®*\! 
in the middle of November, 1821. In France, th®J 
are restricted to the loftiest and most inaccessw 1 
mountains, where they are very rare ; so much 
that in those of the Vosges, Gerardin only met with 
single specimen after six years’ researches, though jn° r , 
frequent in the mountains of Dauphine. They 
common during summer in Arctic America; and ar * 
found at Hudson’s Bay in winter, not appearing behj r , 
November : near the Severn river they haunt the ce®\ 
trees, upon whose berries they feed exclusively. Th* - . 
birds live in large flocks, and are of so social a disp° s ( 
tion, that when separated from their own species, ."V 
when in small parties, they always join company ^ 
the common lark of Europe ; or in America, with so" 1 
of the different snow birds. They feed chiefly on see®’j 
especially of the dwarf willows growing in frozen ;l ", 
mountainous countries, but occasionally also on lea^'j 
grass, and insects. They breed on small hillocks, 'j t 
open marshy fields ; the nestis loosely constructed 
moss and grasses, lined with a few feathers. The fe***Jj 
lays five or six oblong eggs, yellowish rusty, some"' 
It 
tk» 
clouded with brown. The Lapland longspur, like ' . 
larks, never sings hut suspended aloft in the air, ‘ 
which time it utters a few agreeable and melodi 0 
notes. . jg 
As may he seen by the synonyms, this bird ‘ l ^ 
been condemned by nomenclators to fluctuate bet" ,fl ^ 
different genera. But between Frintjilla and Embc r, ‘ 
it is not difficult to decide, as it possesses all the cha r ‘^ 
ters of the hitter in an eminent degree, even vaotf\ 
than its near relative the snow bunting, which 
