Birds of North-west Fohkien. 403 



fiercely when I was untying the string that bound her legs, 

 and even when released pecked hard at my fingers before 

 finally flying away. 



The nest of this Tit is a mere pad ; the one procured last 

 is chiefly made of fir-flower scales, with the addition of a few 

 bits of fur, a little moss, coir, black (pig^s ?) bristles, and a 

 little bit of a snake's slough. Five of the eggs are of a 

 rounded ovate, the sixth is not so broad. The ground-colour 

 is pure white ; the markings consist of spots and specks of 

 two shades of red, one of which is very dark, over paler 

 underlying spots of reddish lilac. There is little or no gloss. 

 These eggs measure 070 x 0-56, 070 X 0-52, 069 X 0-56, 

 0-69 X 0-5 A, 0-67 X 055, and 067 x 0-53 inch. 



56. ACREDULA CONCINNA (Gould). 



Noticed in pairs at Kuatun during April. Towards the 

 end of our stay, one of the hunters brought us an empty 

 nest which he said was that of this species. He had found 

 young birds in it some time previously, and had seen the old 

 birds feeding them, but when he revisited the nest it was 

 empty. This nest is a strong ball of bright-coloured soft 

 moss lined with feathers, and has a small hole as an entrance. 



57. SiTTA SINENSIS J. Verreaux. 



There appear to be two races of the Chinese Nuthatch, a 

 lowland and a mountain form. 



The lowland form has a weak bill and small legs and feet, 

 with a hind claw not exceeding 0*3 inch. The throat and 

 cheeks are more or less white, the underparts are pure 

 reddish, and the chestnut of the under tail-coverts is pale. 



Two males from Kienyang and Pucheng, in North-west 

 Fohkien, average : bill from gape 076 inch, wing 2*96, tarsus 

 070, hind toe 048, hind claw 0-28. 



Three females from Wu Yi Shan and Pucheng average : 

 bill from gape 075 inch, wing 2*88, tarsus 070, hind toe 

 0-45, hind claw 027. 



I am indebted to Mr. Rickett for the three examples from 

 Pucheng, all of which are beautiful skins. 



The birds from the lower hills of North-Avest Fohkien are 



