1. PARUS. 21 



Gen. B. i. p. 192 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Sue. p. KW ; id. in 



Jard. Con/r. Oni. 1851, p. 49 ; Horsf. ^ Moore, Cut. B. M. E.I. Co. 



p. 369; Gould, B. Asia, pt. x. ; jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 277 (1863) ; 



Hume iij- Headers. Lahore to Yarkand, p. 107 ; Brooks, Str. F. 



1875, p. 253, & 1879, p. 487 ; Scully, op. cit. ] 879, p. 323. 

 Piirus montieola, Bp. C. A. i. p. 229 (1850) ; Daad et Oust. Ots. 



Chine, p. 280. 

 Parus insperatus, Sioiiih. Ibis, 186(5, p. 308 ; id. P. Z. -S'. 1871, p. 3i)l ; 



David i^- Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 281. 



Adult. General distribution of colour very similar to that of P. 

 major, from which species P. monticolus differs as follows : — Lst, the 

 Himalayan birds are much smaller ; 2nd, they are much brighter 

 coloured ; 3rd, the greater and median series of upper wing-coverts 

 are black, edged and tipped with pure white ; smaller series edged 

 with bluish grey. 



Head above, sides of neck, chin, throat, upper part of breast, 

 centre of the breast, and the abdomen glossy blue-black ; rest of the 

 underparts beautiful sulphur-yellow, with a slight greenish tinge 

 on the flanks ; under tail-coverts, thighs, and some of the feathers 

 of the lower abdomen black, with large white tips or edgings ; part 

 of the loral region, the ear-coverts, and a patch on the occiput 

 pure white ; hind neck yellow, shading off into the yellow-green 

 mantle ; lower back grey ; upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers 

 blackish, with a strong blue tinge ; the tail-feathers with white 

 tips, the outer pair with the tip and greater part of the outer web 

 white, the rest black ; quills black, externally edged with blue and 

 white, the white tips to the secondaries rather large ; upper wing- 

 coverts black, the greater and median series with large white tips 

 and edgings, the smaller ones with bluish-grey edgings all round ; 

 edge of wing and under M'ing-coverts black and white ; bill blackish ; 

 feet and claws leaden grey ; iris black. 



The ft:male resembles the male in colour and in size. 



Immature and youmj birds arc coloured like those of P. major. 



Total length about 4-5 inches, culmen 0-5, wing 2-5-2-G2, tail 

 2-2-2-4, tarsus 0-75. 



IJab. Himalayas and mountain -regions of Assam and Southern 

 China from 5000 feet upwards. 



Obs. Specimens from Formosa are said to be a little smaller in 

 size, and to have a little less white on the inner secondaries ; the 

 white, being restricted to the tips of those feathers, does not extend 

 over the outer web. There are, however, several specimens from 

 the continent of Asia which show every intermediate state between 

 the typical P. monticolus and the supposed Formosan species (P. 

 visjjeratus, Swinh.). Adult specimens from Formosa measure — wing 

 2-45 inches, tail 2-1, tarsus 0'7, culmen 0*45. 



fl. [ cf ] ad. sk. Cashmere (Dr. Bel- India Museum. 



lew), 



h. Ad. sk. Cashmere. E. M. Langworthy, Esq. [P.l. 



c. cJad.sk. N.W. HimdavHS. Capt. StackhousePinwill| P.l. 



f/, e, f. Ad. ot X.W. Ilimalaya.s. Capt.Stackhouserinwill[P.J. 

 juv. sk. 



