BUNTINGS. 
405 
other Finches The Oriental genera Propyrrhula and Pyrrhospiza, intermediate 
between the crossbills and rose - finches, are among the most 
interesting ofc‘ the remaining members of the subfamily. The red-headed rose- 
finch (Propyrrhula subhimalayensis ) is found in the more open parts of the woods 
in North-Western India. The male has a brownish crimson body with bright 
crimson forehead, cheeks, and throat, the brown wings and tail having reddish 
margins; the female is not unlike the female of Hcomatospiza sipahi (p. 404), but 
much yellower in coloration. The female of the red-breasted rose-finch (Pyrrhospiza 
punicea ) is almost exactly like the females of all the species of Carpodacus, includ¬ 
ing not only the common species, G. erythrinus already noticed, but the Caucasian 
species C. rubicilla and the Central Asian Severtzow’s finch, G. severtzowi. The 
male, however, is easily distinguishable, being a brownish bird with crimson forehead 
and throat and breast, the crown being black, like the back, the feathers being each 
margined with light brown. The horn-brown bill is stouter and shorter than that 
of the red-headed rose-finch, but it is of much the same shape as that of the scarlet 
finch. The red-breasted rose-finch is a Himalayan bird, ranging from Kashmir to 
Tibet and Western China at elevations of from ten thousand to seventeen thousand 
feet. A nest of this species was found in Ladak, built of coarse grass in a furze- 
bush, and containing greenish brown spotted eggs. Mr. Oates includes in this 
species P. humei, which is also found in the Himalaya, and has the head and breast 
rosy instead of crimson, while the brown of the back is quite pale. 
The Buntings. 
Subfamily Emberizixe. 
The birds of this large group possess a conical and sharply-pointed bill; but 
the edges of the two mandibles, unlike those of the other finches, are not in contact 
throughout their length, forming a gap or angle about midway between the gape 
and the tip of the bill. The upper mandible, moreover, has the palate furnished 
with a hard, horny knob. In a few of the species the claw of the first toe is 
elongated like that of a lark. The great majority of the buntings belong to the 
northern parts of the Old World, although some species inhabit Central Asia or 
reside permanently in India ; many of them possessing an extensive range. The 
snow-bunting supports life further north than any other of the smaller birds. 
The snow- In the genus Plectrophenax the bill is small and conical; the 
Bunting-. wings are very long and pointed; and the tail is moderate and slightly 
forked; while the claw of the first toe is straight and elongated. The genus is 
represented solely by the snow-bunting (P. nivalis), which is an Arctic form, common 
to all the northern portions of the world, and occasionally straying on migration into 
Central and even Southern Europe. Many species of birds migrate over England 
during the hours of darkness ; and on a frosty night at the commencement of winter 
we have been able to recognise the joyous sound of the twittering of the “ snowflake ” 
ringing through the still air as the birds sped on their way through the darkness. 
Although some snow-buntings pass the entire year upon certain Scottish mountains, 
it was not until the summer of 1885 that several parties of these birds were 
