266 Srxh)(/ fhr Gold-frorifrd Friiitsiicl'cr. 



Sexing the Gold-fronted Fruitsucker 



(ChJoropsis anrifrojis) . 



In "B.N.," Vol. I., N.S., page 83, tho following 

 ai'e sexual distinctions, taken l)y our member Mr. W. E. 

 Teschemaker from a pair of living Wrds in his possession. 



1. — "The female is decidedly smaller than the male and 

 Ikm' lieak more slender." 



2. — "The golden foreliead is much paler, and liei- upper 

 and uiidoi' lai! coverts ai'e also paler th:in tho o of her mate." 

 :•). — "The area of black on throat does not extend fur- 

 ther back than a line dropped perpendicularly from the eye." 

 Since then I Iiave had the opportunity of closely examin- 

 ing several true pairs and it would appear that the above dis- 

 tmctions are fairly constant., but owing to the variation common 

 to all species with an extended range, distinctions Nos. 1 and 

 2 are not so reliable as No. 3, which has been constant in .all 

 the reliably sexed "birds I have been privileged to examine, 

 .some twelve pairs, and very many odd males. In April last 

 Major Perreau kindly brought me over a true pair, kindly 

 presented to me by our member Mr. Appleby, and these are 

 now doing well in my garden aviary, though no attempt has 

 been made at nest building up to the present, that T have 

 discovered, though the male has been seen with bents in his 

 beak on several occasions. As the above reTerred-to distinc- 

 tions occur also in this pair I got Mr. Goodchild to make a 

 drawing of their heads, which we reproduce herewith. We 

 hope members with true pairs will compare their birds with 

 the accomi)anying figure, and communicate any variation their 

 biixl.; may show from the draAving. WEST.EY T. PAGE. 



Correspondence. 



THE NESTING OF THE BLACK-HEADED NUN. 



Sir,— Tn i-csixiusc to your ciKiiiirifs, w(. know so little .ilioiit the advoiii 

 of the little Bhick-heiided Nun that we really .lesired to keep silent al.ont the 

 iiiattei-, save giving a bare record of the episode. 



We had kci)t this species so long without their making any attemi)t at 

 nesting that they did not interest us greatly and we took hut little note of 

 their doings ; this species increase 1 the variety of our series of birds, and I 

 fear our interest in them ended there. 



