270 MR. R. SWINHOE ON THE BIRDS OF CHINA. [JunC 23, 



uttered its loud unmusical notes, springing at intervals into the air, 

 and after throwing a somerset returned to its post. This action 

 was not performed in the pursuit of insect food, but apparently in 

 play. For a further account of its habits see The Ibis, 1861 , p. 31 . 



CERTHIIDiE. 

 62. TiCHODROMA MURARIA, L. 



A specimen of a bird answering to this was shot by Mr. Consul 

 Gingell on the mountain-plateau near Foochow during winter. The 

 bird was accurately described to me by that gentleman, but I did 

 not see the specimen. I have never met the bird myself in China. 



Certhia familiaris, L., is given from Amoorland and Japan. We 

 should therefore expect to meet with it in North China. 



Pari 



D^. 



63. Parus minor, Schleg. Faun. Japon. ; and 



64. Parus cinereus, A'^ieill. 



The first of these is the form found in Japan and from Chefoo 

 (Shantung promontory) down to Foochow. It is easily distinguished 

 from the second by its greenish-yellow back and its smaller bill. P. 

 cinereus is the form ranging over India and its archipelago, and has 

 a grey back. In Amoy we get the typical P. minor, and others with 

 grey backs, resembling the P. cinereus, but with the smaller bill of 

 P. minor. Between these two every stage of yellow and grey back 

 can be procured out of the same party of Tits. In Canton occasional 

 specimens of true P. cinereus occur, but the most ordinary form is 

 the variety oscillating between the two species. Most Canton specimens 

 have, however, larger bills. 1 have never seen the typical P. minor 

 shot so far south as Canton ; and Mr. Blyth tells me that he has never 

 heard of the yellow- backed form being found in the Indian countries. 

 Hence it is but fair to consider the two extreme forms as good spe- 

 cies, and allow that they interbreed on the boundaries of their re- 

 spective localities, an3 blend into one another gradually and almost 

 imperceptibly. The large P. major, L., is said by Pallas to extend 

 throughout Siberia to Kamtschatka. 



65. Parus kamtschatkensis, Bp. 



P. borealis, Selys ? . 



P. palustris, var. borealis, von Schrenck, Amurland. 



P. palustris, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 331. 



This form of the Marsh-Tit prevails from Peking to Amoorland. 

 I have met no Marsh-Tit in South China. It has also been procured 

 from Hakodadi, Northern Japan. 



66. Mecistura caudata, L. 



Mr. Gould remarks that Japanese specimens of the Long-tailed 

 Tit closely resemble British specimens, which offer variation from 

 those procured in continental Europe ; while von Schrenck found 



