NUTHATCHES AND TITS 453 



GENUS SITTA. 



General Characters. — Bill iibout as long- as head, compressed, slender, 

 acute, tip inclined upward ; nostrils concealed by bristly tufts ; tongue 

 horny, barbed ; wings much longer than short, even tail ; tarsus shorter 

 than middle toe and claw ; toes all long-, with long curved claws ; plumage 

 compact. 



KKY TO SPECIES. 



1. Side of head striped black and white .... canadensis, p. 4"»4. 

 r.Side of head not striped. 



'1. Top of head grayish pygmaea, p. 454. 



2'. Top of head black. 



8. Longest tertial with black patch pointed at tip. 



aculeata, p. 45;}. 



?i' . Longest tertial with black oblong rounded at rip. 

 carolinensis. p. 45:5 



Fig. JT'J. 

 727. Sitta carolinensis Lath. White-bkkasted Nuthatch. i 

 Similar to S. c. aculeata. but tertials light bluish gray, witlx sharply de- 

 fined oblong black patches, patch on outer web of 

 longest feather rounded at tip ; white of side of head 

 mixed with grav. Length: 5.25-0.15, wing 0.50-^}. 75, 

 Nr ■ tail 1.U5-2.20. bill from extreme base ..S()-.'JO. 



Distribution. — Resident from southern Canadian 



'^' ■ provinces south through the eastern United States to 



Georgia and west to the Rocky Mountains ; casually north to Hudson Bay. 



Ne.st. — In holes of trees or stumps, made of soft felted materials and 



feathers. Eggs : 5 to 8, white, spotted with reddish brown. 



Food. — Insects, their eggs and larviB, and nuts. 



727a. S. c. aculeata (Cass.). Slendek-billed Nuthatch. 



Adult male. — Top of head and back of neck glossy blue black in sharp 

 contrast to clear white of sides of head and under parts ; back bluish 

 gray ; wings and tail marked with black and wlnte, tertials dark or dull 

 bluish gray, with black patch along shaft of longest ieath{.'V pointed at tip. 

 Adult female: top of head grayish. Length: 5.U0-0.10, wing ;).o5-;j.75, 

 tail l.r>()-2.20, bill .S()-.'.»5, greatest d<-pth of bill .1:1. 



Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Canadian zones of western 

 North America, east to the Plains and south to Mexico. 



Nest. — In oaks, in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes, lined w ith 

 grass, moss, fur, h.-iir, and feathers. Kggs : 5 to 7, creamy white, lightly 

 dotted with reddish brown and lilac, usually chiefly around larger end. 



As you ride through the forest in the Transition and C'aiuidian 

 zones of the western mountains, the unniistukable //mif/. j/diif/, hoik' - 

 ah, henk'dh. are rn'((uently heard, together with the notes of king- 

 lets, niouMlnin cliickadees, and Audubon warblers, for tlu' birds are 



' fiUtit riirnlinfnsi.s nrlxoiii Mearna. RocKY Mountain Ncthatch. 



Dark and lar^e ; bill large, iiiaxillu convex rather tlian atraiglit. Lrnqth : r^.^Wt. wing 

 3.70, tail 'J. 17. 



Dis/rihiidoii. — 'Wooiled iiinMntaiiiH of northern Chihuahua and Sonora, .\rizona. Ne- 

 vada, Colorado, and northward. (Pntc. U. S. .Vat. yfn.i. xxiv. "JU'S.) 



