62 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS 



the two forms, that it is impossible to regard them 

 as specifically distinct. Moreover, Mr. J. H. Gurney 

 has obtained specimens in Norfolk which are indis- 

 tinguishable from the Continental form. 



As to the altered distribution of the Coal and 

 Marsh Tits in Dumfriesshire, see Zool., 1895, p. 349. 



MARSH TITMOUSE. Parus jmlustris, Linnteus. PL 9, 

 w fig. 4 Length, 4*4 in. ; wing, 2-4 in. ; tarsus, -65 in. 



Resident, and not uncommon in England, but 

 scarce in Scotland, where it is found chiefly in the 

 Lothians. (See Harvie - Brown, Trans. Perthshire 

 Soc. Nat. Sci., 1894, p. 97.) Rare in Ireland, where it 

 has been met with in Antrim, Dublin, and Kildare. 



The Marsh Tit may be always distinguished from 

 the Coal Tit by the absence of white on the nape 

 and on the wing coverts. 



The British form of the Marsh Tit has been 

 distinguished from the Continental type as Parus 

 palustris dresseri, Stejneger (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 

 ix. pp. 201-202, and Zool, 1887, p. 379), but in a 

 large series of both forms it is impossible to sepa- 

 rate them. 



LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. Acredula caudata (Lmn.). 

 PI. 9, figs. 8, 9. Length, 5-5 in. ; wing, 2-5 in. ; tarsus, 

 •65 in. 



Resident and generally distributed. A good 

 account of its habits is given by Blyth, Mag. Nat. 

 Hist., 1837, p. 199. See also the remarks on 

 British Tits in Rennie's Field Nat. Mag., i. p. 262. 

 The propriety of separating the Long-Tailed Tits 



