WHITE-HEADED LONG-TAILED TIT. 79 



same as the Willow Grouse {Lagopus lagopus) of 

 Scandinavia. 



Since the year 1867, however, when I pro- 

 mulgated the idea of there being an indigerious 

 species of Long-tailed Tit in Great Britain, 

 several other birds have been found to present 

 modifications of the continental form. Our moist 

 and smoke-laden climate renders most of our 

 resident birds of a duller and more sombre hue 

 than those of the adjacent continent of Europe. 

 Our Bullfinches, Yellow-Ammers, Sky-Larks, and 

 Tits, are all more dingy than the specimens we 

 see in continental museums, and some naturalists 

 have not hesitated to give distinctive names to 

 our Tree-Creeper, our Cole Tit, and our Marsh 

 Tit. In the case of the two species last named 

 there can be no question that they present certain 

 differences from their continental allies ; but in 

 no case are the distinctions so well marked as in 

 the two Long-tailed Tits of Great Britain and the 

 continent. In the latter, the head is pure white 

 all round, while in the insular form there is a 

 distinct black band along each side of the crown. 

 The Swedish bird, it is clear, must bear the 

 name of Parus caudatus of Linnaeus, because the 



