The eggs of this species vary somewhat in size. In shape some are moderately elongated, some are somewhat broad ovals, and all are, more or less, compressed towards the smaller end, which, however, is obtuse and not at all pointed. The ground is white and has a slight gloss. The markings consist of small spots and minute specks, some eggs exhibiting only the latter. In all cases the markings are most dense towards the large end, where they generally form an irregular and ill-defined mottled cap or zone. In colour the markings are red and pale purple, the red varying from bright brickdust-red to brownish and even purplish red, and the purple being sometimes lilac and sometimes grey, and here and there in a single speck, almost black. In length the eggs vary from 0·67 to 0·75 inch, and in breadth from 0·5 to 0·55 inch. 323. Sitta frontalis,, Horsf. _The Velvet-fronted Blue Nuthatch_. Dendrophila frontalis (_Horsf._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ p. 388; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 253. The Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, lays from the middle of February to the end of May. It breeds in the forest-tracts of the Sub-Himalayan ranges, in the Central Indian forests, the Ghâts of Southern India, and the well-wooded slopes of the Nilghiris, Palnis, &c. It builds a compact little nest of moss and feathers in a tiny hole in a tree, selecting, I believe, generally a natural cavity, but certainly trimming the entrance and interior itself. Mr. B. Thompson says:--"This species is common in all the low densely-wooded valleys of the Sub-Himalayan ranges of Kumaon, at an elevation of from 1500 to 2500 feet. It breeds in May and June in hollows of trees. Any small hole suits for a nest, and it lays four or five eggs, for I have seen it with as many young, though I never took the trouble of getting out the eggs themselves." Mr. Davison says:--"This Nuthatch breeds on the Nilghiris as high up as Ootacamund, nesting in holes of trees, and laying three or four eggs, spotted with chestnut, pinkish red, or reddish brown. The nest is composed of moss, moss-roots, &c., and lined with feathers. I am not quite certain how long the breeding-season lasts, but I think that it is from the middle of April to the early part of May." Miss Cockburn, of Kotagherry, sends me the following account of the first nest she took of this species:--