SITTA. 305 



on the tail. It occurs in Macedonia, Turkey, and Asia Minor. 

 Both these species have the chin, throat, breast, and sides of the 

 head pure white. 



The third species, S. tephronota, which occurs from Persia to 

 Central Asia, is of about the same size as S. neumayeri, but has the 

 chin, throat, breast, and sides of the head pale fulvous, the tail is 

 marked with fulvous as in that species, and the upper plumage is 

 a pale ashy blue. 



322. Sitta tephronota. The Eastern Hock Nuthatch. 



Sitta syriaca (Ehrenb.),\i\ part, apud Horsf. $ M. Cat. ii, p. 721 ; See- 



bohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 21 j Gadow, Cat. B. M. viii, p. 346. 

 Sitta tephronota, Sharpe, A. M. N. H. (4) x, p. 450 (1872) j Gates 



in Hume's N. 8f E. 2nd ed. i, p. 195. 

 Sitta rupicola, Blanf. Ibis, 1873, p. 87; id. E. Pers. ii, p. 225, 



pt. xv, fig. 2. < 

 Sitta neumayeri, Michah. in part, Hume, Cat. no. 248 quint. ; 



Gadoiv, Cat. B. M. viii, p. 345 5 Barnes, S. F. ix, pp. 216, 453. 



Coloration. Whole upper plumage, wing-coverts, secondaries, 

 and tertiaries ashy blue; a broad black band from the nostril 

 through the eye to the shoulder ; primaries pale brown ; central 

 tail-feathers pale ashy blue, the others brown, broadly edged with 

 pale ashy blue on the outer webs, this colour gradually changing 

 to pale fulvous, the outermost feather having the inner web brown 

 with a fulvous tip and the outer web fulvous with a brown tip ; 

 sides of the head and the lower plumage fulvous, pale on the 

 throat and sides of the head, gradually getting darker and be- 

 coming strongly tinged with pink on the lower abdomen, vent, 

 flanks, and under tail-coverts, these last being centred with ashy. 



Bill horny brown, darker at tip ; legs clay-slate (Barnes) ; iris 

 dark brown (Murray}. 



Length about 6*5 ; tail 2-1; wing 3 to 3' 6; tarsus -9; bill 

 from gape !!. 



Distribution. Apparently common in Baluchistan, but not yet 

 known to occur in Sind or the Punjab. To the west this species 

 extends to Persia, and to the north through Afghanistan to 

 Kashghar and Central Asia. 



Habits, fyc. Confined chiefly, if not entirely, to rocks, over which 

 it climbs with great facility. Breeds in Afghanistan in March 

 and April. According to Barnes the nest is constructed in the 

 holes both of rocks and trees. When a rock is selected, the hole 

 is lined with agglutinated mud and resin, this material being 

 carried out in the form of a cone to a distance of fully eight inches 

 from the rock. The nest is usually lined with camel-hair. The 

 bird has a great fondness for ornamentation, and decorates its nest 

 for some distance round with feathers. The eggs are four or five 

 in number, smooth, and only moderately glossy. The ground- 

 colour is pure white, and the egg is thinly speckled, chiefly at the 

 large end, with pale red. In size the eggs average -87 by *57. 



VOL. I. X 



