PARUS OMBKIOSIJS. 



(HIERRAN TITMOUSE.) 



Partis omlriosus, Meade-Waldo, Ann. & Mag. N. H. ser. 6, v. p. 103 (1890). 



Figura unica. 

 Meade-Waldo, Ibis, 1890, pi. xiii. 



Ad. P. teneriffce similis, sed fortior et robustior : tergo toto olivaceo-viridescente nee cseruleo : tectricibus 

 alarum viridibus, majoribus angustissime albo terminatis : subtus citrinus, P. teneriffce similis. 



Adult Male (Hierro, November 23rd). Resembles P. ultramarinus, but has only a band across the fore 

 part of the back slate-blue, the rest of the back and rump being green, darker in tint than in Parus 

 cceruleus ; primaries narrowly bordered, and secondaries tipped with white. Total length about 4-7 

 inches, culmen 04, wing 2'5, tail 2 - 25, tarsus 0"75. 



Adult Female (Hierro, November 25th). Does not differ from the male. 



The present species adds another to the discoveries made by Mr. Meade- Waldo in the Canary 

 Islands, and is especially interesting as it has the lower back coloured much as in Parus 

 cceruleus, whereas in the rest of its plumage it resembles Parus ultramarinus. As might be 

 expected, it is an insular form, confined to the small island of Hierro. All that is on record 

 respecting this Titmouse is from the pen of Mr. Meade- Waldo, who writes (Ibis, 1890, p. 433) 

 as follows : — " This Tit adds a fourth to the number found in the Canary Islands, three of which 

 are quite peculiar to the archipelago, and two are peculiar to their own islands. Fuerteventura 

 and Lanzarote have Parus ultramarinus, almost indistinguishable from the mainland bird. 

 Grand Canary, Teneriffe, and Gomera have Parus teneriffce, easily known from Parus ultra- 

 marinus by its brighter colouring and in never having white-tipped wing-coverts. The island of 

 Palma has Parus palmensis, distinguished by having its underparts white instead of yellow, the 

 wing-coverts slightly tipped with white, and the tail and tarsi longer. It has also a differently 

 pitched voice, which can be distinguished at once from the other Tits, and its more slender form 

 and different style show it at once to belong to a different race. Besides, it is confined to the 

 pine-forest, only occasionally coming into the laurels, and apparently frequenting villages and 

 gardens as does Parus teneriffce in the three islands which it frequents. 



" Parus ombriosus resembles Parus teneriffce in all its ways, except that it lives only in the 

 pine-forest, and occasionally in the tree-heaths and laurels." 



The specimens figured and described are in my own collection. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



s2 



