Manchester Memoirs, Vol. Iviii. (19 14), No. 3. 



III. The Willow Titmouse in Lancashire and Cheshire. 

 By T. A. Coward, F.Z.S., F.E.S. 



{Kecehrd and remi Jnnuary sjtli, rqr^. ) 



It is nearly sixteen years since it was first pointed 

 out that the Willow Tit was distinct from the Marsh Tit, 

 that in fact all previous British ornithologists had shut 

 their eyes to the possibility of specific variation amongst 

 the black-headed titmice which occur in Britain, although 

 many of them were well acquainted with the races and 

 subspecies which were found on the Continent and in 

 America. The announcement was sufificiently startling 

 to explain much of the incredulity of the older school of 

 ornithologists ; it is, however, surprising that there are 

 still many who are interested in birds who are ignorant 

 of the facts. Not only are the characters of the two 

 species evident to those who will take the trouble to 

 examine specimens, but the birds may be recognised in 

 the field, which is more than can be said of the geo- 

 graphical races or subspecies of certain birds, where the 

 differences can only be seen when large numbers of speci- 

 mens are examined and compared. 



The black-capped titmice of the genus Pants, con- 

 sidered as one Holarctic group, show marked variation in 

 different parts of the range. The extremes have been 

 given specific rank, and now the more minute workers are 

 drawing the bonds of relationship closer although increas- 

 ing the number of subspecies, The forms fall readily 

 into two main groups, the one having as its type Partis 

 palustris of Linnseus, which we may call the Marsh Tit 



March 2^1/1, 1Q14. 



