( 387 ) 



be the female of the wei^tern species, or be degraded to subspecific rank." How a 

 male can be proved to be the female of another species is not known to me. and why 

 could not Seebolim compare the well-known females of " the western species," by 

 which he means the European pendtdimis? 



The Central Asiatic Anthoscopi were first separated by Sewertzow and Hume. 

 Sewertzow established two forms, coronntus and tiuicronyx. hut unfortunatel}' com- 

 plicated matters by creating other names as well, atricupiUus for the former, 

 cucullatus and pectoralis, like a " Brehm redivivus," and with the same want of clear 

 discrimination which was Brehm's weakness. Sewertzow also made a "noinen 

 nudum " jaxartica, which was revived and established by diagnosis by Dr. 8uschkin 

 in 1904, under theiViimeot'' Remisapendidina jax.rrtensis" {Bull. B.O.C. xiv.p.45). 

 Hume described the East^Turkestan bird as stoiiczkae (Stray Feuth. ii. p. 521, 1874). 

 With this form were united the West Tnrkestan birds (Syr Darja), until Suschkin 

 separated them clearly as jaxartensis (t.c). Unfortunately, at the same time the 

 last-named author describe<l two more Penduline Tits ! One he named centralasiae, 

 which is the same as stoiiczkae, and the other yenisseinsis. It is possible that the 

 birds from the Upper Yenissei, between Tannu-ola and the Sayan mountains, may 

 ultimately be found to belong to a separate form, but the name yenisseinsis is 

 merely based on young specimens, which are hardly separable from the corresponding 

 plumage of Anthoscopus pendulinics jaxartensis — only our jaxartensia have a narrow 

 chestnut line behind the white foreliead, while this is not seen in the types of 

 yenisseinsis, which were kindly sent for my inspection by Dr. Suschkin. However, 

 one jaxartensis from Iskander Kul in the Petersburg Museum* has no trace of this 

 che.'^tnut line. Therefore it is very doubtful what yeiiis.'<einsis really is, until we 

 know the adult birds. Dr. Suschkin's diagnosis is of very little use, because he 

 conijiares his new form with the European pendiilinus. 



At present I recognise the following forms : 



A. pendidinus penduKnus : South Europe. 



A. pendnlinus caspius : Caspian basin to Orenburg. 



A. pendidinus stoiiczkae : E. Turke.stan to Dsungaria (figured and enumerated 

 by Dr. Sharpe in Sec. Yarkand Mission under the wrong name covoniUus). 



A. pjendul inus jaxartensis : W. Turkestan (Svt Darja). 



A. pendulinus consohnnus : Valley of the Yang-tse-kiang and Kiu-shiu, Japan. 



{A. yenisseinsis, Upper Yenissei, doubtful.) 



A. coro'itulns : Transcaspia, West Turkestan to Persian Baluchistan. 



A. macronyx : West Turkestan to East Persia (Seistan). 



The g-enus PANURUS. 



The position of the Bearded Titmouse has often been (|^('^tioned, and several 

 ornithologists have denied its close affinity with the Tits. The nostrils are not 

 covered with narrow bristly feathers, which are directed forwards, 1ml covered with a 

 thin operculum; the oesophagus is widened in its second tliiid; the nest differs 

 from that of the I'arinae. These peculiarities, and the striking resemblance in 

 colour with the Chinese Furadoxornis lieudei, prove that the correct position of 

 Fiinufus is among the Faradoxoi'nithinae, which agree with the Faridne in so 

 many points that they are best placed as a subfamily in the family Fandae. 



' Dr. Bianchi most kimllj- sent tliis and many uthcr specimens for comparison, and Dr. Susohliin lent 

 me his yt-ntssfiniiH. 



