  Like the preceding species, the true home of this bird is also in the Far North; it has, however, a much wider breeding range, and a few pairs nest annually on the mountains of Scotland and in the Shetlands. The nest is placed on the ground, hidden in a cleft of the rock or among loose boulders, and, as is characteristic of nests in holes, is very loose in construction. It is made of moss and dry grass, and is warmly lined with feathers. About six eggs, of a very pale blue spotted and zoned round the larger end with purplish red, form the clutch. Unlike the Lapland Bunting, which is found in the salt marshes or on the tundras of the North, this species shows a predilection for the rocky coasts or hills covered with loose boulders and is seldom found in the localities frequented by the former bird. In winter it is a regular migrant to our east coast, and also visits the west, but more sparingly. SNOW BUNTING In cold winters it becomes much more abundant, returning northwards, however, on the first approach of milder weather. In summer the adult male has the back, inner secondaries, two-thirds of each of the primaries, and the six central tail feathers black, the rest of the plumage being white; the female resembles her mate but is rather smaller, the head and neck are streaked with greyish white, and there is less white on the wing. In winter both sexes have broad tawny margins to the feathers of the back, while the head, breast, and flanks are largely suffused with the same colour. The young bird is greyish brown, spotted both above and below with a darker tint of the same colour. Length 6·55 in.; wing 4·4 in. |
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