THE BRITISH WILLOW TIT IN YORKSHIRE. 



HARRY B. BOOTH, M.B.O.U. 

 Shipley. 



Being anxious to know if this suggested new British race 

 of Titmouse occurred in the Bradford district, I submitted 

 nine local specimens to Dr. E. Hartert. of the Tring Zoological 

 Museum. Of these, all would have passed muster as ordinary 

 Marsh Tits, but one bird (a male, by dissection), and labelled 

 * Bolton Abbey, January 3rd, 1908,' was of a much darker 

 rufous colour on the flanks and undersides of the body than the 

 others ; but unfortunately, the crown of its head was badly 

 damaged. Dr. Hartert identified this bird as an undoubted 

 British Willow Tit (Parus dtricapillus kleinsckmidti, Hellm.), 

 and the other eight as typical British Marsh Tits. 



In 'British Birds' (vol. i., pp. 44-47), the Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild, Ph.D., states the ' principal differences between 

 the Willow Tits and the Marsh Tits are, firstly, that the feathers 

 of the crown and forehead are in the former longer and more 

 loosely constructed, while in the latter they are shorter and more 

 compact. The edges of these feathers in the Marsh Tit are 

 gloss37-black. thus causing the whole crown to be glossy and 

 much blacker than that of the Willow Tit. which is of a dull 

 brownish-black or sooty-black ; secondly, in the Marsh Tits 

 the tail is almost square, while the Willow Tits have it distinctly 

 graduated. Lastly, also, the notes of the birds are said to be 

 different.' 



To an amateur, the most noticable difference between the 

 Bolton Abbey bird and the typical British form of the Mars 

 Tit, is the conspicuously darker rufous colour of the flanks 

 and underparts of the former ; but I cannot say if this feature 

 is constant, as I have never examined another example. 



There has been considerable controversy amongst British 

 ornithologists as to the validity of this bird as a species (the 

 opponents suggesting that its slight variation may be due to 

 age, sex, or to some other cause), but its adherents stoutly 

 contend that it is the British representative of the North Ameri- 

 can Willow Tits, and thus that it is quite distinct from, although 

 very similar to the British Marsh Tit. 



If the British Willow Tit should eventualh^ be proved to be 

 a distinct species, this record will make an addition to the 

 avifauna of the county. 



* Read at the meeting of the Vertebrate section of the Y.N;U., held at 

 Leeds, on February 15th, 1908, when the bird was exhibited. 



1908 March i. 



