178 CERTHIADE, 



sidering the Nuthatch as a bird of Scotland has been ques- 

 tioned, and no recent capture has been recorded that I 

 am aware of. Muller includes it as a bird of Denmark, and 

 M. Nilsson says it is not uncommon in some parts of Swe- 

 den. In the centre, and in the south of Europe, it is com- 

 mon and resident, particularly in France, Provence, and Italy. 



The beak is about as long as the head, thick, and strong, 

 rather depressed, and wider than high at the base ; the ridge 

 of the upper mandible rounded, the colour bluish black ; the 

 base of the under mandible pale brownish white ; irides hazel ; 

 from the base of the beak, through the eye, to the shoulder, 

 a black streak ; top of the head, neck, back, wing-coverts, 

 tertials, upper tail-coverts, and the two middle tail-feathers, 

 uniform light slate grey, the primary quill-feathers darker ; 

 all the tail-feathers, except the two middle ones, black at the 

 base, grey at the end, with a patch of white between these 

 two colours on the three outside feathers at each side ; the 

 chin white ; throat, breast, and belly, buff colour ; flanks, 

 and under tail-coverts, chestnut, the latter tipped with white ; 

 legs, toes, and claws, light brown ; the hind toe and claw 

 longer, and much stronger than the middle toe. 



The whole length of the male described rather less than 

 six inches. From the carpal joint to the end of the wing 

 three inches and one quarter ; the first feather very short ; the 

 second rather longer than the seventh, but shorter than the 

 sixth ; the third, fourth, and fifth nearly equal in length, but 

 the fifth rather the longest in the wing. 



The vignette represents the small breast-bone of the 

 Creeper, with the foot and breast-bone of the Nuthatch. 



