Contributions to the theory of natural selection. A series of essays ... By Alfred Russel Wallace ...

A THEORY OF BIRDS' NESTS. 243
13. Gapers (Euryloamidoe). In these beautiful Eastern birds, somewhat allied to the American chatterers,
the sexes are exactly alike, and are adorned with the
most gay and conspicuous markings. The nest is a
woven structure, covered over, and suspended from the
extremities of branches over water.
14. Pardalotus (Ampelidm). In these Australian
birds the females differ from the males, but are
often very conspicuous, having brightly-spotted heads.
Their nests are sometimes dome-shaped, sometimes
in holes of trees, or in burrows in the ground.
15. Tits (Parid6). These little birds are always
pretty, and many (especially among the Indian species)
are very conspicuous. They always have the sexes
alike, a circumstance very unusual among the smaller
gaily-coloured birds of our own country. The nest is
always covered over or concealed in a hole.
16. Nuthatches (Sitta). Often very pretty birds, the
sexes alike, and the nest in a hole.
17. --— (Sittella). The female of these Australian
nuthatches is often the most conspicuous, being whiteand black-marked. The nest is, according to Gould,
" completely concealed among upright twigs connected
together."
18. Creepers (Climacteris). In these Australian
creepers the sexes are alike, or the female most conspicuous, and the nest is in a hole of a tree.
19. Estrelda, Amadina. In these genera of Eastern
and Australian finches the females, although more or less
different from the males, are still very conspicuous
R 2