SITTA. 195 



deal of masonry work as hard and firm as that on white-ant hills, in 

 the middle of which was a neat circular hole just large enough for 

 the passage of the bird. The masonry continued clown inside the 

 hole as far as I could see ; I did not break it open, as there were 

 nearly fledged young ones inside. I knew this because the parent 

 birds had been seen for some days carrying in food. I did not see 

 the nest till the end of May. The following spring I found another 

 nest at Kurnal in a bokain tree ; it was constructed after the same 

 fashion ; the nest itself, which consisted only of dead leaves, was not 

 very far down. I was unfortunately this time (March 15th) too 

 early for the eggs. The holes are not easy to see from the ground, 

 as they are most skilfully concealed from view." 



The eggs of this species are very regular, slightly elongated ovals, 

 scarcely compressed or pointed towards the small end at all. The 

 shell is fragile, and is either entirely glossless or has only a trace 

 of gloss. The ground-colour is white, with at times a faint pinkish 

 tinge, and the markings consist of specks, spots, and splashes 

 (always most numerous at the large end, where they usually form 

 a more or less conspicuous though irregular cap) of dull or bright 

 brick-red, more or less intermingled in most specimens with dull 

 reddish lilac. The arrangement and size of the markings are very 

 variable. In some eggs they are all mere specks, forming a small 

 speckly cap at the large end, and elsewhere very thinly scattered 

 about the surface ; in others many of the spots are (for the size of 

 the egg) large, the majority are well-marked spots and not mere 

 specks, and the whole surface of the egg is pretty thickly studded 

 with them, while the broad end exhibits a large blotched and 

 mottled cap. The majority of the eggs are intermediate between 

 these two extremes. 



In length the eggs vary from 0-61 to 0-72 and in breadth from 

 0*5 to 054, but the average of numerous specimens is 0"67 by 0'52.* 



* Sitta tepiieonota, Sharpe. The Eastern Bock-Nuthatch. 

 Sitta neumayeri, Mich., Hume, Cat. no. 248 quint. 



The Eastern Rock-Nuthatch is abundant in Baluchistan, and without doubt 

 breeds there. The following note by Lieut. H. E. Barnes will therefore be inter* 

 esting. He writes from Afghanistan : — " This Nuthatch is very common on the 

 hills. It appears to choose Tery different localities to build in. In some 

 instances a hole in the face of a rock is selected, and this it lines with agglu- 

 tinated mud and resin, continuing the lining-case until it projects in the shape 

 of a cone to fully 8 inches. It seems fond of decorating its little palace with 

 feathers to a distance of 2 or even 3 feet, and it is thus a conspicuous object ; but 

 most nests are found in holes in trees, and even here feathers are stuck into 

 crevices all around. They are usually well lined with camel-hair. 



" They breed in March and April. The eggs are usually four in number (I 

 have sometimes found five), oval in shape, more or less glossy white, and more 

 or less densely or sparsely (generally most densely towards the large end) 

 spotted and blotched with varying shades of chestnut to reddish brown, more 

 or less intermingled with pale purple and occasionally purplish grey. Some 

 eggs are very richly marked. Some are almost pure white. They average 0'87 

 by 0-57." 



The eggs of this species are typically moderately broad ovals, slightly pointed 



13* 



