. Cassell's book of birds . avewandered involuntarily from the rest. Naumann tells us that they constantly seek the society of Larks,and that their flesh is frequently eaten. 25 194 BOOK OF BIRDS. THE SNOW Snow Bunting {Plectrophanes nivalis), the last member of this family to which we shall callour readers attention, is distinguished by the remarkable thickness of its plumage, and in several otherrespects differs from its congeners. The beak resembles that of the Lark Bunting, but the wings arecomparatively long, and the tail short; the spur-like nail is likewise bent,
. Cassell's book of birds . avewandered involuntarily from the rest. Naumann tells us that they constantly seek the society of Larks,and that their flesh is frequently eaten. 25 194 BOOK OF BIRDS. THE SNOW Snow Bunting {Plectrophanes nivalis), the last member of this family to which we shall callour readers attention, is distinguished by the remarkable thickness of its plumage, and in several otherrespects differs from its congeners. The beak resembles that of the Lark Bunting, but the wings arecomparatively long, and the tail short; the spur-like nail is likewise bent, and not quite so large asin that bird. The male is from six to seven inches long, its breadth about twelve inches ; the wingfour and a quarter inches, and the tail two and a half inches. Simple as are the colours in the plumageof the young male, its beauty cannot fail to excite admiration. The middle of the back and tips ofthe quills are black, as is the upper portion of the middle tail-feathers, and a spot upon the carpal. THE SNOW BUNTING {Plectrophanes nivalis). portion of the wing ; the lower parts of the tail-feathers are bordered with brownish grey, graduallyshading into black towards their roots, and the whole of the remainder of the plumage is of a purewhite. The iris is light brown, the beak blue at its base and black at the tip; the feet are of abrownish black colour. The head of the female is of a blackish shade, that of the young bird grey;but during the winter the head and neck are brownish grey, marked with a black crescent-shapedspot; at that season the breast is of a quieter tint, only the wings and tail retaining colours similar tothose they exhibit in summer. The plumage of the young birds is a dull reddish brown, the backbrown with dark markings ; the wings are striped with two white bands. This species is an inhabitant of the same countries as those frequented by the Lark Bunting, butis often found living in much higher latitudes than that bird, even breedi
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbreh, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds
