SITTA. 559 



Gems SITTA Lin.v.^us. (Page 538, pi. CXXIL, fig. 7.) 



Species. 



Common Characters. — Above plain bluish gray, the top of the head different 

 (black, dusky graj-ish, olive-graj', or brownish) ; tail-feathers (except middle pair) 

 tipped with white, the subteriuiual portion black ; lower parts chiefly plain 

 whitish, rusty, or dull buffy. Nest in holes of trees or stumps, composed of soft 

 felted materials, feathers, etc. Eggs 5-8, white or creamy white, speckled with 

 reddish brown. 



rt'. Top of head glossy black in males, dark grayish in females. 



b\ Wing more than 3.30 ; sides of head entirely white, to above the eye ; lower 



parts white, the lower tail-coverts spotted with chestnut-rufous; tertials 



marked with black. 



c*. Tertials light bluish gray, with large and sharply defined oblong 



blotches of black, that on outer web of third feather with a rounded 



terminal outline ; white on .side of neck tinged with grayish ; length 



5.25-6.15, wing 3.50-3.75 (3.60), tail 1.95-2.20 (2.05), culmen (from 



extreme base) .80-.90 (.84), bill from nostril .50-.60 (.53), greatest 



depth of bill .12-.15 (.14), tarsus .72-.75. Eggs .72 X -55. mib. 



Eastern United States and British Provinces. 



(92.) 727. S. carolinensis Lath. White-breasted Nuthatch. 



c'. Tertials dark or dull bluish gray, the black markings narrower and 



less sharply defined, that on outer web of third feather pointed 



posteriorly ; back darker plumbeous ; white on side of neck very 



pure, more sharply conti-asted with black of nape ; bill usually 



longer and more slender, the culmen straighter; length 5.00-6.10, 



wing 3.35-3.75 (3.54). tail 1.90-2.20 (2.05), culmen .80-.95 (.90), bill 



from nostril .50-.62 (.58), greatest depth of bill .12-.15 (.13), tarsus 



.70-. 75 (.71). Eggs .71 X -54. Hab. Western United States, east to, 



and including. Rocky Mountains, south into mountainous districts 



of Mexico. 



727(7. S. carolinensis aculeata (Cass.). Slender-billed Nuthatch. 

 6'. Wing less than 3.00; side of head with a broad black stripe, separated from 

 the black (male) or dark grajMsh (female) of crown and nape by a broad 

 white superciliary stripe ; lower parts (except throat) light rusty or 

 ochraceous; tertials plain gray; length 4.12-4.75, wing 2.60-2.85, culmen 

 about .60. Eggs .59 X -46. Hab. Whole of North America, breeding 

 chiefly north of the United States, except in western mountainous dis- 

 tricts ; eastern United States chiefl}- in winter. 



728. S. canadensis Linn. Red-breasted Nuthatch. 

 a*. Top of head (down to cj-es and ear-coverts) brown or olivc-graj-ish, bordered 

 below by a darker loral and postocular streak ; nape with more or less 

 of a whitish spot ; no superciliary stripe ; sexes alike. 



