254. Parus davidi

254. RED-BELLIED TITMOUSE.
PARUS DAVIDI.
Parus davidi (Berez. and Bianchi), Ptitz. Gan-su p. 113, pl. ii. fig. 4 (1891).
Ad. (Kan-su). Crown and nape deep black, rather dull ; below the black nape a rufous band crosses the back, joining the red on the breast ; back dark olive-brown with a grey tinge ; tail and wings like the back, externally margined with dull ochraceous ; sides of the neck and head below the eye white ; chin and throat dull black ; rest of the under part chestnut-red, the centre of the abdomen paler ; 4th and 5th quills longest, the 6th nearly equal, the 2nd equal to the 9th or 10th, the 1st about 21mm. shorter ; beak black ; legs plumbeous ; iris dark brown. Culmen 0.37, wing 2.55, tail 2.0, tarsus 0.65 inch. Sexes alike ; the young differ only in having the sides of the head yellowish.
Hab. S.W. Kansu.
Berezovski only met with it in the mountains of S.W. Kansu where it was rare, occurring in small parties of 5 to 10 individuals on the edge of the forest, in valleys at an altitude of 7,000 to 9,000 feet. Its note resembles that of P. affinis, but is harsher and more discordant, and in its general habits it does not differ from the Marsh Titmouse. Nothing is known respecting its nidification.