SITTA. | 183 
Female differs from the male in having no black supercilium 
and, like the rest of the genus, in being a trifle smaller. 
Distribution. cen ie whole of India west of Bombay, 
Gwalior and Kumaon ;~“Assam, practically the whole of Burma .in- 
suitable localities, Siam, Malay Peninsula to Java, = Ceo 
Nidification. This little Nuthatch breeds all over its habia, 
chiefly between 1,000 and 4,000 feet elevation. In the southern 
portions of both Burma and India it lays in February and March, 
but in the northern districts it does not lay until Apri], continu- 
ing through May and even into June. It seiects some natural 
hollow or one made and deserted by a Barbet or Woodpecker. 
Though it very seldom uses clay to reduce the size of the 
entrance, it does, on the other hand, often enlarge crevices suftici- 
ently to allow it to make its nest in some enviable hollow. The 
nest itself is made of moss, generally green and fresh, worked into 
a solid pad, and above this may be fur, fur and feathers or, very 
rarely, feathers alone. This lining or superstructure is always 
soft and plentiful, almost hiding the eg eggs which number from 
three to six. These are typical Nuthatches’ eggs, but are rather 
more densely and uniformly covered with blotches than is usual 
and they are also longer ovals in shape than are those of most 
Nuthatches. Fifty eggs average 17-2 x 13:2 mm. and the extremes 
are: maxima 18:0 x 13-4 and 17-9 x 138 mm., minima 16:0 x 
12°3 mm. 
Habits. The Velvet-fronted Nuthatch is a bird of the plains 
and lower hills where there are forests and woods, but it is not 
found in quite open tracts and sparsely wooded areas. It 
frequents both the higher and smaller trees in flocks of half-a- 
dozen to a dozen or more, and is the quickest and most active of 
all the Nuthatches in its ways. Its note is a constant mouse- 
like cheep. 
