Many kinds of warblers pass through the country, the most noticeable of 

 which are the ruby-throated warbler {Erythacus calliope) and the blue-throated 

 warbler {Erythacus caeruleculus). 



The little green wren or Silver-eye (Zosterops erythropleura) is very common 

 during the summer, while in the spring the pipit [Anthus spinoletta) abounds on 

 the plains and in the valleys, especially where marshy ground exists. 



The nuthatch {Sitfa amurensis) keeps mainly to the pine forests of the 

 mountains, where it scrambles like a woodpecker up and down the great tree- 

 trunks, or hangs upside down from the cones. Tits are very common in the 

 same districts, the chief of these being the tomtit {Parus minor), the coletit 

 (P. hensom), the bluetit {P. venustulus), the crested tit {Lophophanes dichrous), and 

 the long-tailed titmouse [Acredula glaucogularis) . The foregoing species, 

 together with the larks, timeline birds and hedgesparrows, are non-migratory. 



The timelines are thrush-like birds, all more or less gifted with song, and 

 many a sweet note rising above the countless pleasant sounds of the wilderness 

 mav be attributed to these birds. The commonest member of this family is a 

 graceful though sombre-coloured bird called Pterorhinus davidi, sometimes known 

 as the " seven sisters bird." This peculiar name is derived from the fact that 

 birds of this species are frequently found in little groups of five, six or seven 

 playing about in the underbrush. 



A much smaller species, with proportionately longer tail, goes by the 

 name of Rhopophilus pekinensis, and, like the foregoing species, is very common in 

 the mountains of the north, where it builds a compact, deep nest in the low 

 bushes of the valleys. 



Pomatorhinus graiAvox, a very handsome species, is found in wooded districts, 

 further south. It has a particularly sweet song. In the mountains south of 

 Hsi-an Fu in Shensi, I came across two other species, one of which, called 

 Dryonastes perspicillatus, is a large dusky coloured bird. The other, Trochalopteron 

 prjeoalsh'i, resembles Pterorhinus davidi in size and form but is characterised by 

 having the wing and tail feathers of a peculiar metallic lustre which show either 

 a brassy yellow or steely blue colour according to the way the light falls on them. 



Two species of thrush, namely Turdus ruficollis and T. naumanni are winter 

 visitors only. Both are characterised by having reddy brown tails and breasts, 

 but the breast of the latter is spotted with black. Their heads, backs and 

 wings are of a grey-brown, whilst their bellies and rumps are white. These 

 birds are seen throughout the winter in large flocks. During the spring, 

 however, ere they betake themselves northward, they split up into smaller 

 groups of three and four. 



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