THE GIANT NUTHATCH 
133 
129. SITTA MAGNA. 
THE GIANT NUTHATCH. 
Sitta magna, Wardlaw Ramsay, P. Z. S, 1876, p. 677, pi. Ixiii. ; Htime, S. F. v. 
p. 343 ; Wardlaio Hamsay, Ibis, 1877, p. 465 ; Hume Dav. 8, F. vi. p. 201 ; 
Hume, S. F. vili. p. 90. 
Description. — I append Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay^s original description : — 
" General colour above dark bluish slate-colour ; a black stripe, a quarter 
of an inch broad_, on either side of the head^ running from the base of the 
bill over the eye to the shoulder ; the upper part of the head and neck 
between these stripes smoky grey. 
^' Wings of much the same colour as the back. Primaries and secondaries 
dark brown, more or less edged on the outer web with bluish slate. The 
second, third, and fourth primaries are slightly margined with whitish on 
the outer web, and, with the fifth and sixth, are white at the base. Under 
surface of wing greyish brown, jet-black under the shoulder. 
Tail with two central tail-feathers concolorous with the back, remainder 
dark brown, almost black, outer pair broadly tipped with white on outer 
web, and margined with white on inner ; next two broadly tipped with 
white on outer, and grey on inner web. 
" Under surface of body smoky grey, nearly white about throat and 
neck. 
Lower tail-coverts, vent, and thighs brilliant chestnut, each feather of 
the former broadly tipped with white. 
'^Dimensions of dry skin (male^) : — Length 7*3 inches, wing 4*5, tail 
2*7, bill from gape 1'3, bill at front 1, tarsus '95. 
" This Nuthatch is remarkable for its great size as compared with other 
members of the genus.^^ 
This large Nuthatch was procured during Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay^s 
journey fromTonghoo to Karennee,but the precise locality is not mentioned. 
* Subsequently corrected to female. 
