496 BRITISH BIRDS. 
Genus ACCENTOR. 
The genus Accentor was established in 1802 by Bechstein, in his ‘ Ornitho- 
logisches 'Taschenbuch,’ i. p. 191, for the reception of the Alpine Accentor, 
which consequently becomes the type. 
The Accentors are a very aberrant group of the Parine, inasmuch as 
they have spotted young like the Turdinze. In other respects they resemble 
typical Tits in having straight and somewhat conical bills, rounded wings, 
with a small bastard primary, and scutellated tarsi. 
The geographical range of the genus extends over the whole of the 
Palearctic Region and the extreme north of the Oriental Region. There 
are about a dozen species in the genus, two of which breed in Europe. 
One of these is a resident inthe British Islands, and the other an accidental 
visitor. A third species (Accentor montanellus), which breeds in Northern 
Siberia, is occasionally seen in Eastern Europe. 
The food of the Accentors is principally insects in summer and small 
seeds in winter. They build their nests sometimes in bushes, sometimes 
on the ground, and sometimes in holes in rocks. The eggs, so far as is 
known, are always blue and unspotted. 
a eee 
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