The SNOW BUNTING (_Plectrophanes nivalis_), the last member of this family to which we shall call our readers' attention, is distinguished by the remarkable thickness of its plumage, and in several other respects differs from its congeners. The beak resembles that of the Lark Bunting, but the wings are comparatively long, and the tail short; the spur-like nail is likewise bent, and not quite so large as in that bird. The male is from six to seven inches long, its breadth about twelve inches; the wing four and a quarter inches, and the tail two and a half inches. Simple as are the colours in the plumage of the young male, its beauty cannot fail to excite admiration. The middle of the back and tips of the quills are black, as is the upper portion of the middle tail-feathers, and a spot upon the carpal portion of the wing; the lower parts of the tail-feathers are bordered with brownish grey, gradually shading into black towards their roots, and the whole of the remainder of the plumage is of a pure white. The iris is light brown, the beak blue at its base and black at the tip; the feet are of a brownish 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-shaped spot; at that season the breast is of a quieter tint, only the wings and tail retaining colours similar to those they exhibit in summer. The plumage of the young birds is a dull reddish brown, the back brown with dark markings; the wings are striped with two white bands. [Illustration: THE SNOW BUNTING (_Plectrophanes nivalis_).] This species is an inhabitant of the same countries as those frequented by the Lark Bunting, but is often found living in much higher latitudes than that bird, even breeding so far north as the islands of Spitzbergen and of Novaja Zemlja. We ourselves have met with it during the summer in Scandinavia, in the northern part of Lapland, and upon the highest of the Dovrefeld Mountains. Rocky passes seem to afford it the localities it prefers when about to breed; the nest, which is formed of moss and grass, lined with down and feathers, is placed in a cleft of rock, or under a large stone, the entrance to this secret retreat being made of the very smallest proportions consistent with the possibility of the parent birds slipping in and out of the nest. The brood consists of from five to six eggs, so extremely various in their colour and markings as to render any attempt at description useless. The young are fed almost exclusively with insects, upon which their parents also subsist in the breeding season, seeds of various kinds affording them nourishment during the winter.