306 PAEID^E PARUS 



La M4sange grisette, Levaill. Ois. d Afr. iii, pi. 138 (1805). 



La Mesange brune, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. iii, pi. 139, fig. 2 (1805). 



Parus cinerascens, Vieill. Nouv. Diet, xx, p. 316 (1818) ; Layard, B. 



S. Afr. p. 113 (1867). 



Parus cinereus, Layard, B. 8. Afr. p. 112 (1867) [Young] . 

 "Slangwyte" of the Dutch Colonists. 



Description. Adult male. Above, back and lesser wing-coverts 

 grey ; rest of coverts black edged with white ; quills dark brown, 

 edged externally with grey ; upper tail-coverts and tail black, the 

 tail tipped with white, the outer web of outer feather white ; crown 

 and lores black ; back of nape, ear-coverts and streak below eye 

 white ; cheeks, throat and centre of breast black ; rest of under 

 surface grey ; axillaries and under wing-coverts whitish ; under 

 surface of quills brown, their inner edges white. 



Iris dark brown'; bill black ; legs and feet lead colour. 



Length 5-50; wing 3-00; tail 2-25; tarsus O75; culmen 0-50. 



Adult female. Is duller in plumage and slightly smaller. 



Length 5-25 ; wing 2-90; tail 2-25. 



Young. Are ash-brown where the adults are grey ; wings and 

 tail brown, the quills edged with white ; crown brownish-black ; 

 neck and sides of face dull white ; throat and chest dull black ; the 

 flanks ash-brown. 



Distribution. The Grey Tit is found over the greater part of 

 Cape Colony, but more commonly towards the western extremity. 

 It is a common species in the Karroo, on the Orange Eiver, and 

 in Little Namaqua Land. In the Eastern Colony it becomes 

 rarer. It has been recorded from Hopetown and Colesberg in the 

 Colony, and from Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State. To 

 the north of the Orange Eiver it occurs sparingly in Griqualand 

 West, Bechuanaland, and Great Namaqua and Damara Lands, 

 ranging as far north as Lake Ngami, the Okavango Eiver and 

 Benguela. In the Transvaal it is, according to Ayres, abundant 

 in the wooded Megaliesbergen and found more sparingly on the 

 wooded rivers. It occurs commonly in Matabililand and in the 

 Bamangwato country according to Buckley, and Marshall has 

 collected examples near Salisbury in Mashonaland. 



Habits. Although, like most of the family, this Tit shows a 

 certain partiality for trees or bushes, when they are present, it 

 frequently inhabits very arid and desolate localities, covered only 

 by a thin growth of Karroo scrub. Here they hunt over the 

 stones and rocks in search of insects, and build their nests in 



