NUTHATCHES AND TITS 453 



GENUS SITTA. 



General Characters. Bill about 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. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Side of head striped black and white .... canadensis, p. 454. 

 I'.Side of head not striped. 



2. Top of head grayish pygmaea, p. 454. 



2'. Top of head black. 



3. Longest tertial with black patch pointed at tip. 



aculeata, p. 453. 



Fig. 578. 



3'. Longest tertial with black oblong rounded at tip. 

 carolinensis, p. 453. 



Fig. 579. 



727. Sitta carolinensis Lath. WHITE-BREASTED NuTHATCH. 1 

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

 fined oblong black patches, patch on outer web of 

 longest feather rounded at tip ; white of side of head 

 mixed with gray. Length: 5.25-6.15, wing 3.50-3.75, 

 tail 1.95-2.20, bill from extreme base .SO-.90. 



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. 

 Nest. 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 larvae, and nuts. 



727a. S. c. aculeata (Cass.). SLENDER-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 white, tertials dark or dull 

 bluish gray, with black patch along shaft of longest feather pointed at tip. 

 Adult female : top of head grayish. Length : 5.00-6.10, wing 3.35-3.75, 

 tail 1.90-2.20, bill .80-.95, greatest depth of bill .13. 



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 with 

 grass, moss, fur, hair, and feathers. Eggs : 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 Canadian 

 zones of the western mountains, the unmistakable yang, yang, Jienk'- 

 ah, henk'-ah, are frequently heard, together with the notes of king- 

 lets, mountain chickadees, and Audubon warblers, for the birds are 



1 Sitta carolinensis nelsoni Mearns. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NUTHATCH. 



Dark and large ; bill large, maxilla convex rather than straight. Length : 5.95, wing 

 3.70, tail 2.17. 



Distribution. Wooded mountains of northern Chihuahua and Sonora, Arizona, Ne- 

 vada, Colorado, and northward. (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. xxiv. 923.) 



