BLUE TIT. 333 



Selby as far north in Scotland as the fir plantations at Rose- 

 hall in Sutherlandshire. It is a native of Denmark, Norway, 

 Sweden, the southern part of Russia, and the European Con- 

 tinent. M. Vieillot says it inhabits the Canary Islands ; and 

 M. Temminck, in his Supplement, says that it is found in 

 the Morea, and includes it also in his Catalogue of the Birds 

 of Japan. 



The male has the beak of a dusky horn colour, almost 

 black ; the forehead bluish white, the white extending back- 

 wards in a band over the eyes ; the crown of the head azure 

 blue ; from the nostril to the eye, and from thence over the 

 car-coverts to the nape of the neck, a stripe of Prussian blue ; 

 the irides dark hazel ; above the eye, and under the blue co- 

 lour of the crown of the head, is a white band, already no- 

 ticed, which isolating the blue colour above it, has given rise 

 to the term Bluecap, another name by which this bird is 

 known ; the cheeks are white ; the nape of the neck has a 

 band of Prussian blue, which passing forward on each side, 

 under the white cheeks, joins a triangular patch of blackish 

 blue colour which descends from the chin over the throat ; 

 the back and upper tail-coverts yellowish green ; wings and 

 tail pale blue ; the greater wing-coverts and the tertials with 

 a white spot at the tip of each ; under surface of the body 

 sulphur-yellow, with a central longitudinal patch of dark 

 blue ; under surface of the wing and tail-feathers pearl-grey ; 

 legs, toes, and claws, bluish black. 



The whole length of the bird four inches and a half. From 

 the carpal joint to the end of the wing, two inches and three- 

 eighths ; the first quill feather not quite half as long as the 

 second ; the third longer than the second ; the fourth the 

 longest in the wing. 



Females and young birds of the year have a tinge of ash 

 colour mixed with the blue, and the other colours generally 

 less briffht. 



