Notes from Japan. 147 



spruce a])oat ten feet from the ground. This was composed 

 of a little moss, mixed with large quantities of hare's fur. 

 The birds must have been at some pains to gather the latter 

 material, for hares seemed to be very scarce in the district. 

 The eggs are not to be distinguished from thoseof the typical 

 P. ater. 



23. Parus minor Temm, & Schl. Japanese Great Tit, 

 Parus atriceps minor Scebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 83. 

 Jap. : Shiju-kara. 



This was the commonest Titmouse found near Subashiri, 

 being widely distributed throughout the wooded district^. 

 Two nests which I discovered on May 29th and June 4th 

 contained young_, but I was fortunate enough to find an 

 infertile egg in the first. Both these nests were placed in 

 tbe hole of a rotten tree-stump, but I understand that the 

 bird is also fond of building in the crevice of a stone wall 

 The above-mentioned e^^ resembles typical examples of 

 P. major, but measures only 0'63xO"4-8 in. 



24. Parus varius Temm. & Schl. Varied Tit. 



Parus varius Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 85 ; Ingram, Bull. 

 B. O. C. vol. xxi. p. 18. 



Jap. : Yama-gara. 



(Egg, PI. IV. fig. 7.) 



Near Subashiri this species is somewhat locally dis- 

 tributed, although fairly plentiful in some parts of the 

 forest, particularly in the higher districts ; it is also common 

 near Nikko, where it is a very favourite cage-bird. On 

 June 2nd;, at an altitude of about five thousand feet, I found 

 a nest of this Tit in the hollow centre of a newly-felled tree ; 

 as this hole ran perpendicularly down into the stump, witliout 

 any outlet^ it is difficult to understand why it had not been filled 

 with water during the heavy rains that had recently fallen. 

 The female sat so closely that she allowed me to catch her 

 on the nest, even after we had been working with an axe for 

 some time to enlarge the aperture. The eggs are pure white, 

 somewhat boldly spotted about the larger end with reddish 

 brown, and, in one or two instances, with distinctly paler and 



