526 PERCHING BIRDS 



while in 1901 it was recorded from the Ta}' valley. In England it 

 has only occurred occasionally in a few counties, among these being 

 three so widel)' sundered as Yorkshire, Suffolk, and Hampshire. State- 

 ments as to the occurrence of stragglers in Ireland do not appear to 

 be authenticated. 



In addition to pine-woods, the crested titmouse may be found in 

 birch-forests, while in Spain it frequents the cork-forests. The eggs, of 

 which from five to seven go to a clutch, arc easily distinguished from 

 those of any other British member of the group by the very pro- 

 nounced character of the rusty speckling. 



The Scottish representative of the crested titmouse has been 

 separated as Par us cri status scoticus, and is stated to differ from 

 P. cristatus typicus of north and east Europe, and from P. iiiitratus of 

 central Europe b}' its darker, more olive-brownish upi:)er surface, 

 shorter wings, and browner flanks. It breeds in Strathspey. A few 

 examples of the species observed in south and east England have 

 been regarded as stragglers from the Continent. 



X •, J The feature from which it takes its name amply 



Long--tailed . .. , . . ^ , , -V , 



lustines the generic separation of tlie long-tailed 



Titmouse \ ri .,t^-,tt 



, . , , titmouse from the more typical rarid.ne. Un- 



(Acredula .... . 



, > fortunately, ornithologists are not in accord as to 



what generic name should be employed, and while 



some use Acredula caudata^ others prefer AigitJialus caudatus, or rather, 



yEi^it/ialus vagatis, for they regard the British bird as distinct from 



some of its Continental representatives. 



Easily recognised by the great length of its tail, the present 

 species measures rather more than 5 inches in length. In colour the 

 crown of the head is white bounded on each side by a black stripe 

 running from the beak to the eye, and thence to the nape, which, 

 together with the back, is also black ; the scapulars and loins are 

 dull rose-pink ; the wings are dark brown, with white margins to the 

 secondary quills, and the tail, except for the three outer feathers, 

 which have broad white edges and tips, is black. The hen is darker 

 than the cock, with less ro.se on the loins ; and in young birds the 

 crown of the head is white, while the rest of the upper-parts, with the 

 exception of the black tail, is rusty brown. 



The range of this handsome little bird extends from the l^ritish 

 Isles and northern Europe generally across Siberia to Kamchatka 

 and the northern island of Japan. Many of these northern birds 

 migrate into central ICurope in winter, and thus come into contact with 



