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 

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

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

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

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

 to the genus Sitta, as tyjiificd by the Eui-oiiean s()ecics {S. casta) tigured 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 are 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. krueperi and S. whiteheadi, the forehead alone is black. \ very aber- 

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

 nuthatch {/Ii/j>usitta condlirosfn's), in whicii 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 countiy 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-l)lue, the blue-tit of Europe (P. cceruleus), 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, JEgithulos 

 caudatuii. 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 claljorate 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 whicli he tore to j)ieces — the whole structure securely 

 matted together with spiders' webs. In this warm jJurse 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 inculcating, 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. Okioi.io.k, 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 ]iatches, but structurally they are as different as a crow and a warbler. 

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

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

 especially at home in the Oriental and ,\ustralian region, but several sjiecies also occur 

 in Africa, and one at least also invades the l*ala.'arctic, being a regular summer visitor 

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

 Tills is the golden oriole (Oriolus orioliis) represented in the accf)mpanyiiig cut. 

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



