A THEORY OF EIRDS' NESTS. 243 



13. Gapers (EuryljemidaB). In these beautiful East- 

 ern birds, somewhat allied to the American chatterers, 

 the sexes are exactly alike, and are adorned with the 

 most gay and conspicuous markings. The nest is a 

 woven structure, covered over, and suspended from the 

 extremities of branches over water. 



14. Pardalotus (Ampelida?). In these Australian 

 birds the females differ from the males, but are 

 often very conspicuous, having brightly-spotted heads. 

 Their nests are sometimes dome-shaped, sometimes 

 in holes of trees, or in burrows in the ground. 



15. Tits (Paridae). These little birds are always 

 pretty, and many (especially among the Indian species) 

 are very conspicuous. They always have the sexes 

 alike, a circumstance very unusual among the smaller 

 gaily-coloured birds of our own country. The nest is 

 always covered over or concealed in a hole. 



16. Nuthatches (Sitta). Often very pretty birds, the 

 sexes alike, and the nest in a hole. 



17. (Sittella). The female of these Australian 



nuthatches is often the most conspicuous, being white- 

 and black-marked. The nest is, according to Gould, 

 c c completely concealed among upright twigs connected 

 together." 



18. Creepers (Climacteris). In these Australian 

 creepers the sexes are alike, or the female most con- 

 spicuous, and the nest is in a hole of a tree. 



19. Estrelda, Amadina. In these genera of Eastern 

 and Australian finches the females, although more or less 

 different from the males, are still very conspicuous 



R 2 



