NUTHATCH 39 



yellow under-parts. Cheeks white. Throat blue-black. White 

 wing bar. Black stripe running backward and forward from 

 the eye corners. 



Nest. Place : a hole in a tree or elsewhere. Material : moss 

 and dry grass lined with hair, wool, and feathers. 



Eggs. Usually 7-12. White speckled reddish-brown. Some- 

 times unspotted. Av. size, '60 x '46 in. Laying begins April- 

 May. Usually one brood. 



74. Crested-tit [Parus cristatus scoticus (Prazak)]. The 

 British subspecies is rarely found outside the Spey valley in 

 Scotland. 



Bird. Length 4J in. Recognised by the crest : the long 

 black, white-tipped'feathers of the crown. The male has the 

 sides of the head white enclosing a black more or less semi- 

 circular band. The lower side of the white area is bordered 

 with a black band which passes into the black throat. Back, 

 wings, and tail mostly brown or grey. Breast and belly white. 

 Flanks buff. The female has the crest shorter and is duller hued. 



Nest. Place : hole or crevice, usually of a decayed pine-tree. 

 Material : moss, lined usually with hair and fur. 



Eggs. Usually 5-6. White, boldly marked chestnut-red. Av. 

 size, *63 x *49 in. Laying begins April-May. One brood 

 usual. 



(14) Family: Sittidce Nuthatches 



75. Nuthatch [Sitta europcea britannica Hartert ; Sitta 

 ccesia Wolf]. More or less stationary in the woodland districts 

 of Great Britain, but rare on the western side, and to the 

 north of Cheshire and Yorks. 



Bird. Length 5| in. Easily distinguished from all 

 British tree-creeping species, and indeed all 

 other British species by its shape (see picture), 

 the blue-grey upper-parts, the rich rufous- 

 buff on the under-parts, and the short tail. 

 The throat and the sides of the head are white, 

 this area being bordered above by a black band 

 running from the corners of each eye back- 

 ward and forward. The flanks are chestnut- 

 red. The outer tail-feathers are patched with 

 white. 



Nest. Place : hole or crevice, usually in 

 a tree. When too large, the entrance is 

 plastered round till the hole is just large 

 enough to admit the bird. The lining is composed generally 

 of dry leaves or shredded fir-bark, also dry grass. 



Eggs. Usually 5-8. White, spotted and blotched with red- 



