176 PARUS 



a succession of bow-shaped lines, and somewhat resembles that 

 of the Wagtail, and is more powerful than that of P. major. 

 Like its allies it is very active and restless, and feeds chiefly on 

 insects of various kinds and their larvae. It breeds in May and 

 places its nest in the hole of a tree, a willow being most 

 frequently selected, and deposits 10 to 11 eggs. The nest is 

 constructed of moss and hair, and the eggs are white, spotted 

 with dull red, most nearly resembling those of P. cceruleus, and 

 measure about 0*65 by 0'45. 



Severtzoff separated subspecifically the Tian-shan bird under 

 the name of Parus cyanus tianschanicus (J. f. O. 1873, p. 347), 

 but I agree with Mr. Pleske that it cannot stand even as a sub- 

 species. 



257. SUBSP. PARUS BEREZOVSKII. 



Parus berezovsJcii, Pleske, Prjevalsky's Keisen, ii. Vogel, p. 163, Taf. 

 vii. figs. 3, 4 (1894). 



Ad. Differs from P. flavipectus in having the crown washed with sooty 

 grey, the stripe on the side of the head restricted to the front of the eye, 

 the band on the nape small or wanting, and the spot on the abdomen 

 wanting ; bill dark horn, lighter on the edges ; legs plumbeous ; iris brown. 

 Culmen 0'37, wing 2'5, tail 2'35, tarsus 0'7 inch. 



Hob. Upper Chuanche in Mongolia. 



All we know about this species is that Col. Prjevalsky met 

 with it on the upper Chuanche, where it inhabits thickets to 

 an altitude of 8,000 feet. On the 23rd May he saw young 

 birds which had left the nest. 



258. YELLOW-BREASTED TITMOUSE. 

 PARUS FLAVIPECTUS. 



Parus flavipectus, Severtz. Turk. Jevot. p. 133, pi. viii. fig. 7 ; Gadow, 

 Cat. B. Br. Mus. viii. p. 11. 



(Turkestan). Resembles P. cyanus, but has the crown and sides of 

 the head washed with bluish grey, and the lower part of the neck and 

 breast are rich sulphur-yellow. Culmen -0'4, wing 2'65, tail 2 '42, tarsus 

 0-65 inch. 



Hob. Turkestan. 



In habits this species is said not to differ from P. cyanus, 

 and its eggs and nest are as yet unknown. 



