68 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
no white eyebrow Total length, 7 inches ; culmen, o'6 ; wing, 
3A5 ; tail, 2'g ; tarsus, o'9- 
In winter all the bright colours are obscured by ashy mar- 
gins to the feathers, the black head and chestnut back being 
entirely hidden by these margins, which wear off in springtime. 
Adult Female.— Differs from the male, and is much chiller in 
colour. The sides of the body are not streaked, the bill is 
blackish (bluish-grey in life) ; rump with concealed chestnut 
markings ; no black on the head ; under tail-coverts yellow ; 
abdomen isabelline. Total length, 6 inches ; wing, 3-35. 
Range in Great Britain. — A rare and accidental visitor. Has 
occurred three times : near Brighton ; in Nottinghamshire ; and 
in Scotland, near Dunfermline. 
Range outside the British Islands. — From Italy to Greece and 
Turkey, eastward to Persia and the Caucasus, and wintering in 
the Indian Peninsula. Its migration is therefore strictly east 
and west. It arrives in South-eastern Europe at the end of 
April, and leaves again at the end of July or the beginning of 
August. 
Habits. — According to Mr. Seebohm, who has studied the 
habits of the bird in Greece and Asia Minor, it is a thorough 
Bunting, and he gives some interesting notes on the species. 
Neat , Placed in a small bush or on the ground ; a bulky 
structure, very rough outside, but neatly finished inside. “The 
main portion is constructed,” writes Mr. Seebohm, “ entirely 
of the yellow dry stalks of various small flowering-plants, the 
seed-capsules on which are the most prominent object and are 
conjoined with the stiffness of the stalks, which prevents them 
from bending easily ; this gives the nest a very slender and un- 
finished look. The lining is of entirely different materials, 
brown instead of yellow, and consists of dry grass, roots, and 
slender stalks without any seed-capsules, with not unfrequently 
a final addition of goat’s-hair, or a few horse-hairs.” 
Eggs.— Four to six in number. Ground-colour very pale, 
greenish-white, speckled with numerous dots of light brown, 
with overlying spots of reddish-brown, these spots generally 
distributed over the egg, but in some instances collecting at 
the larger end. Axis, o 85-o’98 ; diam., o' 6 -o"j. 
