1, PARUS. 19 



13. Parus major. 



Great Titmouse, Penn. Arctic Zool. p. 425 (1785). 



Parus major, i««w. S. N. i. p. .341 (1(G6) ; Lath. Gen. Syn. ii. p. 536; 

 Besek^, Voff. Kurlonds, no. VJ2 ; Bechstein, Viig. Deiifschl.'w.'^.lVi; 

 liefzius, Faun. Suec. p. 208 ; Driimpe/mann, Thierr. Russl., Lief., 

 Esth- u. Kurlands, p. 22, pi. iii. cj (1811) ; Koch, Si/stem. baier. 

 Zool. p. 204; Temm. Man. cTOrn. p. 287; Bou.r, Orn. Pruvenq. 

 p. 180, pis. 117 & 118; Less. Traite, p. 456; Nikson, Skandin. 

 Faun. p. 331 ; Schinz, Europ. Faun. p. 331 ; Seh/s-Lonych. Faune 

 Belg.T^. 104; Moquin-Tandon, Ornith. Canarienne, ^. 17; Thomp- 

 son, Nat. Hist. Ireland, p. 201 ; Naceyro, Cat. Av. de Galicia, 

 in Mem. R. Acad. Madrid, 1850, p. 105 ; Bp. C. A. i. p. 229 ; 

 Cab. Mus. Ilein. i. p. 90 ; KjcerboUing , Danm. Fugle, pi. xxiii. ; 

 Sundev. Svensk. Fogl. pi. x^i. fig. 3 ; Wright, Finl. Foglar, i. 

 p. 174 ; Loche, F.rpl. Alger., Ois. i. p. 296 ; Keulemans, Onze Vog. 

 pi. 12 ; Holland. Wirbelth. Pommerns, p. 61 ; Salrad. Faun. Hal. ii. 

 p. 67 ; Sundev. Av. Mefh. Tent. p. 17 ; Dresser, B. Eur. iii. pi. 106 ; 

 Neicton, ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 479; Malm, Fauna, p. 180 ; Danford 

 ^- Broicn, Ibis, 1875, p. 313 ; Blanf. East. Persia, p. 227 ; Booth, 

 Rough Notes, pt. ii. pi. 



Parus iffuotus, Lath. Gen. Syn. ii. p. 537 (1781-85) ; Less. 3Ian. 

 d'Orn. i. p. 322 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. p. 103. 



Panis stroinei, Bonn.'et Vieill. Enc. Meth. p. 504 (1823). 



Parus fringilla<ro. Pall. Zoogr. Ross. -As. i. p. 555 (1831). 



Parus robustus, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 461 (1831). 



Adult. Mantle, scapulars, and upper back yellowish green, shading 

 off into i)ale yellow on the hind neck ; lower back, upper tail- 

 coverts, and the centre tail-feathers bluish grey ; rest of the tail- 

 feathers dusky, externally bluish grey, the two outer ones tipped 

 with white, which extends up the outer web of the external feather ; 

 crown of head and sides of neck glossy blue-black ; the middle part 

 of the breast and the whole abdomen black ; thighs and under tail- 

 coverts black at base, the rest white ; under wing-coverts white, 

 with a little blackish patch near the edge of the wing ; edge of 

 wing itself black, with white edgings ; all the rest of the underparts 

 sulphur-yellow ; wing-coverts greyish blue, the greater series with 

 white tips ; quills blackish, the primaries narrowly edged with bluish, 

 or whitish ; the secondaries broadly edged with dirty yellow ; feet 

 bluish black or lead-colour ; iris and bill dark brown or black. 

 Total length about 5"5 inches, cubnen 0'4.5-0-o2, wing 2-75-3, 

 tail 2"45-2'5, tarsus 0"73-0"S. 



The female has the black parts less glossy and the longitudinal 

 black stripe on the breast less developed than in the male. 



Immature birds have the head above and the throat duR black ; 

 ear-coverts pale yellow or whitish ; no black on the abdomen ; wing- 

 coverts grey with olive edgings ; underparts pale dingy yellow. 



Nestling. Head dark grey ; underparts of the bodj% including the 

 thighs and under tail-coverts, pale yellow ; throat dark grey, ex- 

 tending down the central line to about the middle of the breast ; 

 tail dark grey, outer pair of feathers nearly entirely white. 



06s. Some of the specimens obtained by ilr. Blanford in Southern 

 Persia have the margins of the webs of all the quiUs bluish grey, and 



c2 



