WARBLERS AND TITS 25 



same districts the dark thrush (T. obscwrus) as well as the Siberian thrush 

 (T. sibiricus) visit Europe as birds of passage. 



Accentors and The Alpine accentor ranges from the south of Europe to the 



Warblers. cliffs of the sea of Okhotsk, although its European relative, the 

 common hedge-sparrow, does not range much farther east than the Urals. Another 

 species, the mountain accentor (Accentor montanellus), is found right across 

 the continent, being common round Lake Baikal, as well as in the Stanovoi 

 Mountains and eastern Siberia generally From western central Asia, where it 

 also appears, it sometimes migrates to the Crimea, Hungary, Dalmatia, and Italy, 

 where, as in Pekin, it is caught, and kept for sale in cages. Both the garden- 

 warbler and the blackcap have been found near Omsk in western Siberia, while 

 the white-throat also occurs in that region, as well as the lesser white-throat, which 

 ranges much farther east. Another species, Eversmann's warbler (Pliylloscopn* 

 borealis), which is found with the blue-throat in the high north, winters in the 

 Malay Archipelago. This warbler has a strong beak, thick at the base, brown 

 legs, and a broad yellow eye-stripe ; in colour its plumage is greenish and olive- 

 brown above and grejdsh white with a yellowish hue below, the wings having 

 yellow edges and two whitish bars. 



Goidcrest and Another song-bird visiting Siberia is the goldcrest, which may 



Tits - be seen wherever there are forests suited to its habits. The great 

 and the coal tit also nest in the country, but the crested tit does not breed east of 

 the Urals, being replaced by other species. The same holds good for the marsh-tit, 

 which occurs in western Siberia, and is represented in the eastern districts by 

 the mandarin tit (Parus camchatkensis). The blue-tit's distributional area ends 

 in western Siberia, but that of the azure tit (P. cyanus) extends as far eastward 

 as the Amur. This tit also inhabits northern Europe, where it has been found 

 nesting in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In colour its plumage is blue and white, the 

 head being white with a blue band through the eye, the wings blue with a white 

 bar and white tips, while the tail-feathers are blue, the outer ones broadly tipped 

 and edged with white. This handsome little bird migrates to milder countries in 

 autumn, to return to its breeding-area in March or the beginning of April. Living 

 in similar localities to the marsh-tit, it nests in hollows of trees, and feeds on insects 

 and partly also on seeds and berries. Searching every crevice of the bark, it 

 climbs the thinnest twigs for its food in a brisk manner, chirping or uttering the 

 peculiar " terr terr" by which it may be recognised at a long distance. The long- 

 tailed tit ranges from west to east; but the bearded tit is represented by the 

 closely allied Siberian tit (Panurus sibiricus), which is lighter in plumage than 

 the European bird. 



The nuthatch is also found in Siberia, as is the creeper, the latter being 

 indeed indigenous to the mountains of central Asia. 



Larks, Wagtails, In Siberia the larks are represented by several species, among 

 and Pipits, these being the skylark, which ranges throughout the area. The 

 other larks visiting the country are, however, mainly restricted to the southern and 

 western districts. The horned larks (Otocori/s), distinguished by ear-like tufts on 

 the back of the head, include one truly northern species, ranging not only over 

 northern Asia, but also over North America and northern Europe. This bird, the 



