PARUS MELANOLOPHUS, Vigors.

Black-crested Tit.

Parus melanolophus, Vig. in Proc. of Comm. of Sci. and Corr. of Zool. Soc., part i. p. 22.—Gould, Cent. of Birds
from Him. Mount., pl. 30. fig. 2.—Jerd. in Madras Journ. of Lit. and Sci., vol. xi. p. 8.—Gray and
Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 192.—Blyth, Journ. of Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xvi. Pp. 446.—Ih: Cat.
of Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc. Calcutta, p. 104.—Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 228.—Blyth in Jard.
Cont. to Orn. 1852, p. 50, pl. fig. 2.—Horsf. and Moore, Cat. of Birds in Mus. East Ind. Comp.,
vol. i. p. 372.—Gray, Cat. of Spec. and Draw. of Mamm. and Birds pres. to Brit. Mus. by B. H.
Hodgson, Esq., p. 73.

Machlolophus melanolophus, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. Oscines, p. 91, note.

 

Tus is the least species yet discovered of that group of small Indian Tits to which M. Cabanis of Berlin
has given the subgeneric title of MJachlolophus ; it is also one of the oldest known, having been described
by the late Mr. Vigors in the ‘ Proceedings of the Committee of Science and Correspondence of the
Zoological Society of London,” prior to its being figured in my “Century of Birds from the Himalayan
Mountains,” which work was completed in the year 1832, now twenty-seven years ago. The large col-
lection of birds which came into my possession in 1830, of which it formed a part, was obtained near Simla,
at the foot of the Himalayas; Capt. Boys killed it at Ramnie, and Mr. Blyth has received it from Masuri;
some of the specimens at the East India House are labelled ‘ Simla,” and others “ Cabul;” and Mr.
Hodgson states that it inhabits ‘Nepal, Cachar, and is rare in the central region ;” consequently the
Western and North-western Himalayas are the true habitats of the species. Besides the figure given in
my own work above-mentioned, another will be found in Sir William Jardine’s “ Contributions to Orni-
thology ” for 1852.

It will be observed that the greater and lesser wing-coverts of one of my figures haye a We spot at Une
tip of each, while in the other the spots are buff. It would be interesting to know if this difference in their
colouring be indicative of a difference of sex, or of maturity and immaturity.

Crown of the head and crest glossy black; throat and breast deep black ; cheeks and carcovervs and a
spot at the nape white; upper surface and abdomen slate-grey ; Neely So dark slate-grey, with a spot of
white at the tip of each; wings and tail grey, the primaries margined with paler grey, and the two innermost
of the secondaries with a small spot of white at the tip of each; under wing-coverts greyish white; flanks

rufous; irides dark brown; bill black; feet leaden grey.

The figures are the size of life.