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provisions for two days), it was not until 2 p.m. that we reached the summit of the mountain. As 

 it was close upon 6 o'clock before the nest had been visited, I decided to pass the night in a small 

 stone hut (used by the shepherds during the hotter months). The next morning, wishing to get 

 a shot at some Alpine Swifts, which were nesting in a high crag near, I got up early, and when 

 returning heard a curious whistle, which I thought was that of the Crested Titmouse. After I 

 had waited a few minutes a Nuthatch crept out to the end of a pine-bough and was promptly 

 shot. The bird being badly hit in the head, I skinned it at once, and thought no more about it 

 until the month of October, when, wishing to know if I had correctly named a few small Warblers, 

 1 brought the skin of the Nuthatch to Mr. Sharpe, who assured me that he did not know the bird. 

 At the end of the month, on the night of my departure, he wrote to me : — ' There is no doubt 

 your bird is a new species.' 



"It was not until the 9th of May, 1884, that I was able to make another trip. The first 

 day I did not see a sign of the birds ; but on the second, after wandering about until past 

 mid-day, without seeing any thing but a few Golden-crested Wrens and European Coal Tits, 

 I heard the same curious whistle, and looking about, soon saw and shot a bird which proved to 

 be a beautiful specimen of the new Nuthatch, the head being jet-black, with well-marked and 

 nearly white eyebrows, the underside of the beak being of a delicate blue, which soon faded after 

 death. Knowing that the mate must be near, I remained quiet, and in a few minutes it shared 

 the same fate ; but great was my surprise, on picking it up, to find the black on the head entirely 

 absent, the pale blue of the back running up to the base of the bill ; this bird proved to be the 

 female. A few hours later I came across a small band, three of which I shot. 



" On the 12th, provisions having fallen short, I was forced to return to my head-quarters ; 

 but on the 16th I returned to search for the nests and was most fortunate. The same evening I 

 watched a pair, which I had noticed on my first visit, for some hours, and saw the female go twice 

 to a very small and neatly-pecked hole in a very old pine-stump, some 20 feet from the ground. 

 The following day I saw the male enter twice with nesting-materials. 



" It was not until the 20th of May that I found the second nest, and on the following day, 

 whilst going to cut it out, found another, which I opened first. The nests proved in nearly every 

 case to be most difficult of access, the trees being high, very rotten, without branches, and much 

 too big to swarm ; the once mighty giants of the forest — now but whitened skeletons, being in 

 the last stage of decay. 



" The first nest took nearly three hours' hard work to reach, but once arrived at, was easily 

 cut out ; it contained five fresh eggs. The second nest was in a much worse position and quite 

 40 feet high ; but by climbing up a neighbouring tree, with the aid of a rope I managed to 

 swing to a branch, and soon cut open the nest, which contained five fresh eggs. 



" During eleven days spent in rambling about hunting for the nests of this species, I found 

 no less than nine, three of which were in holes from 70 to 100 feet from the ground, the trees in 

 places nearly eaten through with decay ; so that it would have been foolish to have attempted to 

 reach them. 



" This species spends much of its time pecking about at the ends of the pine-branches. 

 When I opened their gizzards they contained many small beetles and other insects. The call- 

 note is a soft whistle, repeated quickly many times, often ending with a peculiar hissing sound, 



