124 SITTID®. - 
through the eye to the shoulder; lores, cheeks, ear-coverts and 
chin white; the whole upper plumage and ‘Visible portions of 
closed wing slaty-blue ; middle tail-feathers ashy-blue ; the next 
two black, edged and tipped with ashy-blue; the others with a 
subterminal white patch on the inner webs and generally with 
a white band on the outer web of the outermost feathers ; whole 
lower plumage uniform dark chestnut-bay ; under tail-coverts 
chestnut, centred with ashy; under wing-coverts black; a white 
patch on the base of the primaries visible from below. 
Female is a paler chestnut below and the white on the face 
is ill-defined. 
Colours of soft parts. [ris dark brown; bill greenish or bluish 
plumbeous, the terminal half black and lower mandible and base 
paler; legs and feet greenish plumbeous. In some specimens 
nearly the whole bill is black. 
Measurements. Length about 1380 mm.; wing 74 to 76 mm.; 
tail about 37 mm.; tarsus about 17 to 18 mm.; eculmen about 
15 to 17 mm. 
Distribution. The whole of the northern plains of India as far 
south as the Wynaad, as far west as Umballa and Khandesh and 
as far east as Calcutta. I obtained it both in Nadia and the 
24th Parganas, where however it is very rare. In Behar it is 
extremely common to the east. 
Nidification. This little Nuthatch breeds principally in 
February and March throughout its range, making its nest in 
small holes in trees at any height from 10 to 30 feet from the 
ground. A very favourite nesting-site is in mango-trees in 
branches between 8 and 12 feet from the ground, and the 
natural hollow is always cemented round with clay to reduce the 
entrance to about 30 mm. ‘This masonry work is also often 
continued well down inside the hollow and on the bark outside 
the tree as well and, even when the natural entrance to the hole 
is in no way too big, it is nearly always made neat and tidy with 
a clay finish. The nest is generally nothing but chips of dried 
bark and soft tinder-wood with a few leaves and rarely a little 
dried moss. The eggs number anything from two to six, most 
often five and are rather fragile, broad oval in shape and of the 
usual white ground with red specks. They average about 
17-0 13-2 mm. Many birds must breed twice in the year, as 
nests may be taken in May and June and even as late as 
September. 
Habits. The Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch is entirely a plains’ bird 
and is very common in all well-wooded parts, though it is not a 
forest bird. Mango-topes both in the vicinity of, as well as away 
from, villages are very favourite resorts and two or more pairs 
may often be found in the same orchard. They have the usual 
restless habits of the genus and feed on the same kind of food. 
