Family PARIDAE. 

 (Plates 39-44). 



The Paridae form an oologically uniform Family concerning which 

 Nehrkorn ^) rightly says in respect of certain species to be named 

 hereafter: ,,Ein Unterschied ist durch Worte schwer zu fixieren". 

 His next words: „Ein geiibtes Auge wird indes bestimmte Under- 

 schiede herausfinden", will apply, in my opinion, in so far that 

 if several complete sets of eggs of Parus coeruleus, ater, atric. 

 rhenanus, pal. longirostris and crist. mitratus are compared with 

 one another, it can be said: 



1. that coeruleus-eggs are usually spotted less strongly than those 

 of the other species; 



2. that the spots of ater-eggs are as a rule slightly larger than 

 those of coeruleus; 



3. that the markings of eggs of atric. rhenanus and pal. longirostris 

 are on the whole fuller and more distinct than those of the 

 other species. 



4. that the spots of crist. mitratus-eggs are mostly coarser and 

 occur more concentrated at the thicker end than is the case 

 with most of the other species. 



') A. Nehrkorn: Katalog der Eiersammlung (II. Aufl. Berlm, 1910), page 264, 



