186 



Breeding Whitehead took fresh clulches from May 21 to the end of the month, 



but in one case I found newly hatched young on May 26, although other 

 nests had fresh eggs on that date. The birds are quite devoid of fear, 

 and approach within a foot or so when the nest is being examined. The 

 cock can generally be called up by an imitation of the hissing sound 

 mentioned by "Whitehead, which is the alarm note of this species. 



Measure- Avcragc sizc of 31 eggs collected in 1884 and 1908, 17.19x12.94 mm.. 



Max. 18.5 X 13.3, Min. 16 X 12.5 and 16.5 X 12.1 mm. 



ments. 



tinental 

 Europe, 



87. Kruper*s Nuthatch, Sitta krueperi Pelz. 



Plate 26, fig. 17 (Asia Minor, Kriiper). 



Eggs: Dresser, pi. — , fig. 19 — 22. 



Sitta kr\ieperi v. Pelz. Dresser, Birds of Europe, III, p. 189; id. 

 Man. Pal Birds, p. 189. Hartert, Vog. Pal. Fauna, p. 336. 



Breeding Range: Asia Minor and the Caucasus. 

 Con- Radde received six specimens from Borshom in 1897 , and 



Lorenz records one shot near Kislowodsk in October. [In Asia Minor 

 it is plentiful in the coniferous woods, from near Smyrna eastward to 

 the Taurus, and probably also to the Giaour Dagh*. It occurs among the 

 upper limits of the oak forest, but is most plentiful in the pine belt, 

 and is not uncommon among the cedars and junipers up to the limits 

 of tree growth. Tristram's statement that it occurs in the gorge of the 

 Leontes in Palestine has not been substantiated by specimens.] 

 Nest. The nesting hole is usually excavated by the birds in the rotten 



wood of a dead bough or an old stump, just behind the bark, and can 

 easily be exposed by breaking away the bark by the hand. Occasionally, 

 according to Danford, a deserted Woodpecker's hole is utilized, but there 

 is never any attempt to plaster round the opening with mud or clay. 

 The height from the ground is very variable, usually from 1 to 12 ft., 

 but occasionally as much as 20 ft. high or more. Within the hole there 

 is generally a foundation of filaments of juniper bark, but the lining 

 materials used vary greatly. Some nests are lined with goat's hair, others 

 with fragments of cone seeds, while dry grasses, thistledown, and fur are 

 also used, and F. C. Selous found one thickly lined with feathers only. 

 Eggs. Usually 5, sometimes 6, while 7 have occasionally been found. 



They are a broad pointed oval in shape, with some little gloss, and are 

 profusely speckled and spotted with brownish red, and lilac shell marks, 

 chiefly towards the big end. In general appearance they are not unlike 

 handsomely marked eggs of Parus major. The shell is delicate and 

 fine grained. 



* Danford, Ibis, 1878, p. 10. 



