ORIOLES. 515 



latter are specialized forms adapted for climbing in the manner of woodpeckers and 

 creepers ; but the tail is not stiff, while on the other hand the hind toe is extremely 

 developed. The bill is protracted, is somewhat wedge-shaped, and is applied as a 

 hammer, somewhat after the fashion of woodpeckers, in opening nests and acorns; 

 but it must also be remarked that the true tits open seeds, bugs, and other hard 

 objects by hammering just in the same manner. The nuthatches are mostly referable 

 to the genus Sitta, as typified by the European species (S. ccesici) figured in our cut. 

 The group is small and faunally best developed in the Asiatic continent, though sev- 

 eral very distinct species also occur in North America. These arc characterized by 

 having the cap colored differently from that of the back, though S. villosa from 

 China comes near to our S. canadensis in that respect, and in the two Mediterranean 

 species, S. Jcrueperi and S. whitelieadi, the forehead alone is black. A very aber- 

 rant form usually referred to the present sub-family is the Madagascar red-billed 

 nuthatch (Bypositta corattirostris), in which the bill is shorter and somewhat fly- 

 catcher-like. 



The true tits are also chiefly Old World birds, though we have numerous repre- 

 sentatives in this country also ; but here they are all dull colored, while some of the 

 foreign species, for instance, the azure tit, from Siberia (Pants cyanus), pure white 

 and sky-blue, the blue-tit of Europe (P. coeruleus), blue, white, and yellow, and the 

 large Japanese tit (P. varius), with chestnut on sides and hind neck, are among the 

 most beautiful and delicately tinted birds of the northern hemisphere. The tits 

 generally breed in holes in trees, a noteworthy exception being the long-tailed tits, of 

 which our cut shows us the North European form with the white head, ^Egithalos 

 caudatus. They are extremely small ; in fact, look like a minute ball of feathers, to 

 which is appended a disproportionately long tail. The species figured is black and 

 white, with the shoulders wine-colored, and the flanks tinged with the same color. 

 Their nest is a very large and elaborate purse-shaped affair, hanging free, or attached 

 along the back to the main stem of the tree, covered on the outside with fine lichens 

 and moss, while the inside is lined with an 'enormous number of feathers Gould once 

 counted two thousand in a nest which he tore to pieces the whole structure securely 

 matted together with spiders' webs. In this warm purse is deposited a large number 

 of eggs, often nine to eleven, but rare instances are known where sixteen or even 

 twenty eggs have been found in one nest. When incubating, the bird sits with the 

 tail bent over its back. In their habits, the long-tailed tits, or ' bottle-tits,' as they 

 are often called on account of the bottle-form of the nest, are very restless and 

 erratic, always in movement, and, like the other tits, they are gregarious to a great 

 extent. 



The true orioles, ORIOLID.E, must not be confounded with the American birds 

 which we generally designate by that name. The two groups resemble each other in 

 coloration inasmuch as the prevailing color is yellow and black massed in great 

 continuous patches, but structurally they are as different as a crow and a warbler. 

 The true orioles are exclusively a tropical Old World family, quite nearly related to the 

 crow-like birds, and cannot be removed from their immediate neighborhood. They are 

 especially at home in the Oriental and Australian region, but several species also occur 

 in Africa, and one at least also invades the Pahi-arctic, being a regular summer visitor 



' ^j Cj 



to southern and central Europe, though only rarely straggling to the British Islands. 

 This is the golden oriole (Oriolus orlolus) represented in the accompanying cut. 

 The adults are rich golden yellow and black, while the young birds are greenish, 



