472 BRITISH BIRDS. 



PARUS ATER AND PARUS BRITANNICUS. 

 EUROPEAN COAL TIT and BRITISH COAL TIT. 



(PLATE 9.) 



Of the various subspecific forms of the Coal Tit, two at least are found 

 in our islands, of which the synonymy is as follows : 



PARUS ATER. 

 EUROPEAN COAL TIT. 



Parus atricapillus, Sriss. Orn. iii. p. 551 (1700). 



Parus ater, Linn, Syst. Nat. i. p. 341 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum Latham, 



Gmelin, Bechstein, Naumann, Temminck, Gray, Bonaparte, Degland, Gerbe, 



Newton, Di'esser, &c. 



Parus carbonarius, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso- Asiat. i. p. 556 (1826). 

 Poecile ater (Linn.*), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 114 (1829). 



PARUS BRITANNICUS. 

 BRITISH COAL TIT. 



Parus britannicus, Sharps fy Dresser, Ann. Nat. Hist, (series 4) viii. p. 437 (1871). 

 Parus ater, Linn, apud Newton, &c. . 



The Coal Tit is one of those species which has extended its range within 

 our islands during comparatively recent times. Early writers state that 

 this bird was far rarer than the Marsh-Tit ; now it is certainly the reverse, 

 although no perceptible decrease in the numbers of that species has been 

 noticed. The Coal Tit is found pretty generally throughout the British 

 Islands in all suitable localities. It breeds throughout all the counties 

 of England, Wales, and Scotland, as far north as Sutherlandshire. Its 

 distribution in Scotland is somewhat local and greatly influenced by 

 the presence of pine-woods, although there can be little doubt that it 

 will extend its distribution as the planting of pines and firs increases. 

 With the exception of Mull and Skye, the Coal Tit is absent from the 

 Western Isles, nor does it ever appear to have occurred in the Orkneys or 

 the Shetlands. In Ireland it is pretty generally distributed. 



The geographical distribution of the Coal Tit presents several points of 

 interest ; for we find in this species a somewhat similar and parallel series 

 of variations in colour to those of the Marsh-Tit and the Nuthatch. The 

 British form, P. britannicus, appears to be peculiar to our islands. The 

 typical form, P. ater, appears continually to visit our islands on migration, 



