NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAK XXV. 1918. 305 



NOTES ON PENDULINE TITS. 

 By ERNST HARTERT, Ph.D. 



THE first modern review of the palaearctic forms of the Penduline Tits 

 appeared in vol. viii. of the immortal Catalogue of Birds in the British 

 Museum, by Dr. Hans Gadow. 



First the generic name must be considered. Gadow, in common with 

 general usage of the time when he was writing, used the name Aegithalus Boie 

 1822, uniting the palaearctic and African species. In this he was followed 

 imtil Hellmayr brought Aegilhalos Hermann 1804 into use for the Long- tailed 

 Tits. This latter name invaUdates Aegithalus of 1822 in the eye of most nomen- 

 clators, because it is virtually the same, being only the fully latinized Aegithalos. 

 But even if this view is not taken, Aegithalus of Boie could hardly be used, 

 because it was probably only taken from Hermann, and not a new invention, 

 and Boie used it for both Long-tailed and Penduhne Tits, as he expressly says 

 that it is the round, artificial nest, distribution of colours, and structure of plumage 

 that lead him to unite these two species. The next oldest name then is Antho- 

 scopus Cabanis 1851, type Sylvia viinuta Shaw, and I adopt this name for the 

 palaearctic and African species. Hellmayr and others separate it on account 

 of its longer first primary, and if that view is taken, the name for the palaearctic 

 forms is not Remiza Stejneger 1886, but Remiz Taczanowsld, Ool. Pfakow 

 Polskich, p. 229 (1862 — Monoty}) Eetniz pendulinus ; in Pohsli !). A good diagnosis 

 is given by Taczanowsld, and his name cannot be disregarded. 



Hans Gadow, in 1883, admitted four palaearctic species: A. pendulinus, 

 coronatus, castaneus, and macronyx. 



With pendulinus he united jaxartica of Severtzov and consobiuus Swinhoe. 

 Severtzov's name is to be looked upon as a nomen nudum, but it was named 

 Remiza pendulina jaxartensis by Sushkin in 1904 and is a quite recognizable 

 subspecies, and so is, of course, consobrina from far-away China. A. castaneus 

 Severtzov is also a subspecies of pendulinus, but its oldest name is Aegithalus 

 caspius Poelzam of 1870, which has thus three years' priority. Another error 

 was the placing of stoliczkae as a synonym of coroimtus, while it is really a 

 subspecies of pendulimis, but tliis mistake was quite comprehensible, as no 

 specimens were available. 



Dresser, Manual Pal. B. i. pp. 183-184 (1902), did not improve in any way 

 whatever on Gadow's treatment, but admitted the same forms, adding that 

 he thought consohrinus and stoliczkae were separated from pendulinus without 

 sufficient reason, and describing castaneus, coronatus, and macronyx as "subspecies," 

 of pendulinus, moreover saying that all had the same habits and nidification as 

 pendulinus, which is quite wrong, at least with regard to rnacronyx, wliich is an 

 inhabitant of reed-beds, while pendulinus frequents bushes. 



In my Vog. d. pal. Fauna, i. pp. 389-393 (1907) I separated : 



Anthoscopus pendulinus pendulinus (L.). 



,, ,, caspius (Poelzam). 



„ ,, jaxartensis (Sushkin). 



20 



