1. PARUS. 39 



on the other hand, suggests Central Africa as their home, on ac- 

 count of the great resemblance of P. semilarvatus to the black 

 African Tits. 



a. [(S^ ad. sk. Philippine Islands. 



^- Ad. sk. [N. China.] Fortune Coll.* 



37. Parus afer. 



Parus afer, Gm. 8. N. i. p. 1010 (1788) ; Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 192 ; 



Jard. S) Selbij, Illustr. Orn. pi. 117; Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 92; 



Montairo, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 95; Graij, Hmid-l. B. i. p. 231, 



no. 33.31 ; Gurney in Anderss. B. Damara Ld. p. 81 ; Sharpe, ed. 



Layard B. S. Afr. p. 329 ; Ay res, Ibis, 1880, p. 103 ; Bocage, Orn. 



Any. p. 286. 

 La Mesange gi-isette, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. iii. pi. 138. 

 La Mesange brune, Levaill. Ois. d^ Afr. iii. pi. 139. fig. 2. 

 Parus cinerascens, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. xx. p. 316 (1818) ; Bonn, et 



Vieill. Enc. Meth. p. 507 ; Hartlaub, Orn. W.-Afr. p. 70; Layard, 



B. South\Afr. p. 113 ; Chapman s Trav. in S. Afr., Append, p. 398. 

 Painis fuscus, Bonn, et Vieill. Enc. Meth. p. 505 ; Sundev. CEfv. A. 



Vet.-Akad. Forh. IStockh. 1857, p. 30. 



Adult male. Back, upper tail-, and lesser wing-coverts grey ; rest 

 of the wing-coverts and the quills brownish black, the former and 

 the secondaries broadly, the primaries narrowly, edged with dingy 

 white ; tail black, with small white tips and a white edge to the 

 outer pair ; crown of head, chin, cheeks, throat, and fore neck glossy 

 black, the black extending down the middle of the breast ; lores, ear- 

 coverts, and centre of hind neck white ; from the ear- coverts the 

 white extends dow2i the sides of the neck, then passing into dingy 

 white and bordering the black triangular patch on the throat and 

 fore neck ; sides of breast, flanks, abdomen, thighs, and under tail- 

 coverts pale ashy grey ; under wing-coverts whitish ; quiUa below 

 with white edgings along the inner web ; biU black ; feet lead- 

 colour ; ii-is brown. Total length about 5*7 inches, culmen 0*o5- 

 0-6, wing 2-9-3-1, tail 2-4, tarsus 0-7o-0-S5. 



There is no difference in colour between the two sexes. 



Immature birds are ashy brown where the adult is grey ; tail, 

 throat, and crown of head blackish brown ; wings and wing-coverts 

 dark brown, with dingy white edgings ; flanks, abdomen, thighs, 

 and under tail- coverts pale ashy brown and dingy whitish. 



Hah. South and S.W. Africa. 



a. d ad.sk. S. Africa {Layard). R. B. Sharpe, Esq. [P.l 



b. Ad. sk. Cape Town. R. B- Sliarpe, Esq. [P.J. 



c. (S ad. sk. Orange river. Dr. Bradshaw [P.]. 



d. (S ad. sk. Modder river. Dr. Exton [P.]. 



e. (S ad. sk. Transvaal (Ayres), R. B. Sharpe, Esq. [P.]. 

 /. S ad. sk. Semok-we, Oct. 1873 W. E. & C.G. Oates,£sqrs. 



{F. Gates). [P.]. 



* It is to be observed that many of Mr. Fortune's birds came from Luzon. 



