81' PASSERES. 



Blakiston at Ilakodadi in February (Swinlioc, Ibis, 187 1, p. 15G). 

 There arc examples in the Paris Museum procured at Aomori, in the 

 north of Hondo, by I'Abbe Fauire ; and tliere are five examples in 

 the Pryer collection from Yokohama. There is an example in the 

 Norwich Mur-eum, collected by Mr. Ivinger at Nagasaki (lilakistou 

 and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 151) ; and there are 

 three examples in the Pryer collection from the central group of the 

 Loo-Choo Islands (Secbohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 17G). The latter are 

 intermediate in colour between the Manchurian race of this species 

 and the typical form. 



The Indian Great Tit, Parus atriceps, has a wide range. It is 

 generally distributed throughout India from the Himalayas to Ceylon. 

 It is also found in Burma, Sumatra, Java, Lombock, Flores, and 

 Hainan. In South China as far north as Foo-chow it appears com- 

 pletely to intergrade with the Manchurian Great Tit, Parus atriceps 

 minor, which only differs from it in having the mantle suffused with 

 yellowish green, instead of being pure slate-grey. These intermediate 

 forms were called Parus commixtas by Swinhoe (Ibis, 18G8, p. 03), 

 and it is to this form that the examples in the Pryer collection from 

 the Loo-Choo Islands belong. 



Parus atriceps also intcrgrades with a northern race which ranges 

 from Afghanistan and Gilgit to Turkestan, South-western Siberia, 

 and Western ^longolia, whence I have several examples collected by 

 General Prjevalski in the oasis of the Urungu River. Parus atriceps 

 boccharensis is a desert form : it is rather larger in size, a little 

 ])aler in colour, and has a much longer tail than the typical form. 

 All three forms differ from Parus major in having no trace of yellow 

 on the undcrparts when adult ; but examples of young in first 

 jdumage in the Swinhoe collection from South-west Fokieu are 

 suffused with yellow on the undcrparts. 



The breeding-range of the ^Manchurian race of the Indian Great 

 Tit extends from Japan across China as far south as the valley of 

 the Yangtsc-kiang, as far west as East ^longolia (whence I have an 

 example collected by Genei'al Prjevalski in Kansuj, and as far north 

 as the valley of the Ussuri (whence I have an example collected by 

 ^Monsieur Jankoff). The Manchurian birds are probably migratory, 

 as there are several examples in the Swinhoe collection obtained in 

 winter at Amoy. 



The climatic variations of the Great Tit and its allies are very 

 anomalous. Parus major, so common in the British Islands, appears 



