LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 509 



precedence of Mr. Blyth's rosed) ; the white-headed bird of 

 northern and central Europe and northern Asia, but some- 

 times possibly straying to England, A. caudata ; the small 

 grey-backed bird of south-western and southern Europe 

 A. irbii ; and the larger grey-backed bird of Turkey A. tephro- 

 nota this last being to all appearance a very good species. 

 Besides these there belong to this group, A. poeltzami, made 

 known in the present year by Dr. Severzov in his work on 

 the ornithology of Turkestan, A. vinacea and A. fuliginosa 

 from Thibet, A. glaucogularis and A. ouratensis of China 

 (with the former of which A. swinlioii from the same country 

 may be identical), and A. trivirgata of Japan, much resem- 

 bling and formerly identified with our British form. 



The bill is black : the irides hazel : the eyelids bright 

 orange-red*: the front and crown of the head, the cheeks and 

 ear-coverts are white, the last being streaked with black ; a dull 

 black stripe, variable in width, and sometimes entirely want- 

 ing, takes its rise on either side on the lore, and, passing 

 backward over the eye, surrounds the head, spreading out on 

 the nape and upper part of the back into a triangular black 

 patch ; the scapulars and lower part of the back are of a dull 

 rose-red ; primaries and their coverts black ; the secondaries 

 and tertials dull black, broadly edged with white, their 

 coverts being edged with dull rose-red and tipped with white ; 

 upper tail-coverts black; the three middle pairs of tail- 

 feathers black; the next pair black on the basal and greater 

 part of the inner web, with a small triangular black spot at 

 the tip, but the rest of the feather white ; the two outer 

 pairs with still less of black, and on the inner web only, the 

 rest being white ; the chin, throat, lower wing-coverts and 

 sides of the neck white, the last mottled with black streaks 

 and tinged with dull red; the breast dull white with a few 

 black streaks ; belly greyish-white, tinged on the sides with 

 dull red, which becomes deeper on the flanks and passes, on 

 the vent and lower tail-coverts, to dull chestnut-brown : legs, 

 toes and claws, dark brownish- black. 



* According to Messrs. Alston and Harvie Brown Scandinavian birds have the 

 eyelids yellow, but the colour of these parts seems to vary with age. 



