Ctl 
wk 
PARUS AFER. 329 
escape through the real opening, of her own accord. They lay from 
six to ten eggs, pure white: axis, 7”; diam. 5”; and the whole 
brood keeps together for some time after being fully fledged. 
Mr. Atmore writes :—“ I took one in the nest, tied up the mouth, 
and thought I had my little prisoner safe, nest and eggs, in my cart- 
box; but on passing a fine Gladiolus, which I could not leave 
behind, I opened the box to get something to dig the bulb out with, 
when out flew the bird! She had bored a hole through the side, 
and when the lid opened, ‘skedaddled.’ ” 
Adult. General colour above ashy grey, slightly shaded with 
olivaceous, the rump and upper tail-coverts olive-yellow: wings 
brown with lighter edgings of ashy brown to all the feathers, very 
distinct on the coverts: tail feathers brown undulated with dusky 
under certain lights, edged with pale greyish: forehead black, the 
feathers tipped with white producing a spotted appearance: nasal 
bristles light ashy: round the eye a circlet of white feathers, as also 
a slight eyebrow: sides of face dull white, the ear-coverts shaded 
with ashy brown: throat whitish, the rest of the under surface of 
body yellow; the under wing-coverts dull white, shaded with ashy ; 
bill blackish: iris brownish yellow.” (Andersson.) Total length, 4°4 
inches ; culmen, 0°4; wing, 1°95; tail, 1:45; tarsus, 0°6. 
Fig. Le Vaill. Ois. d’Afr. pl. 134. 
316 PARUS AFER. South African Titmouse. 
Parus cinereus and P. cinerascens. Layard, B.S. Afr. pp. 112,113. 
After carefully comparing a good series of specimens we have 
come to the conclusion that the species called in the first edition P. 
cinereus is only the young bird of P. cinerascens, or as it should be 
called P. afer. We never ourselves met with it near Cape Town, 
but a specimen was sent home by Mr. Butler from that vicinity. 
The nearest point that we obtained it was at Beaufort West, where 
it was first killed by Mr. Jackson’s son. We frequently saw the 
species on our journey from Nel’s Poort to the Swartberg, creeping 
about the sides of dry water-courses, clinging to the perpendicular 
banks and apparently searching for spiders. During our visit to Mr, 
Jackson at Nel’s Poort we obtained several nests in the crevices of 
an old brick tank or bath, which was constantly used by the members 
of the household. The entrances to these nests were very small and 
tortuous, leading to the back of the brickwork, which we had to 
