496 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Genus ACCENTOR. 



The genus Accentor was established in 1802 by Bechstein, in his ' Ornitho- 

 logisches Taschenbuch/ i. p. 191, for the reception of the Alpine Accentor, 

 which consequently becomes the type. 



The Accentors are a very aberrant group of the Parinee, inasmuch as 

 they have spotted young like the Turdinse. In other respects they resemble 

 typical Tits in having straight and somewhat conical bills, rounded wings, 

 with a small bastard primary, and scutellated tarsi. 



The geographical range of the genus extends over the whole of the 

 Palsearctic Region and the extreme north of the Oriental Region. There 

 are about a dozen species in the genus, two of which breed in Europe. 

 One of these is a resident in the British Islands, and the other an accidental 

 visitor. A third species [Accentor montanelliis), which, breeds in Northern 

 Siberia, is occasionally seen in Eastern Europe. 



The food of the Accentors is principally insects in summer and small 

 seeds in winter. They build their nests sometimes in bushes, sometimes 

 on the ground, and sometimes in holes in rocks. The eggs, so far as is 

 known, are always blue and unspotted. 



