ORDER PASSERES. 387 



as nut-jobber, wood-cracker, twit, nut-cracker, blue ivood- 

 pecker, loggerhead, atid jacbird. 



The female lays five, six, or seven eggs, of a dirty white, 

 pointed with reddish, and deposits them on the dust of wood 

 and moss. She evinces so much attachment in incubation, 

 that she will suffer herself to be taken, rather than abandon 

 the eggs. On thrusting a stick into the hole, she will hiss 

 like the titmouse. It is even said that she never quits the 

 eggs to look for food, subsisting only on what is brought her 

 by the male, who, however, is singularly attentive in the 

 performance of this duty. The little ones come out in May ; 

 and as soon as they can do without the assistance of the 

 parents, all the family separate, and each lives alone during 

 the rest of the year. These birds rarely have two broods. 

 Though of a solitary character, and shunning the society of 

 its consimilars, the nuthatch appears to take some pleasure 

 in the company of birds of other species, for it is sometimes 

 seen to associate with titmice and creepers. 



The nuthatch inhabits the woods of this country through- 

 out the year, but especially in the southern parts. It is 

 scarce in France, though found pretty far north on the con- 

 tinent of Europe, in Russia, Sweden, and Norway, and 

 even in Kamtschatka and Siberia. 



Belon describes a variety under the name of sitta minor, 

 which is altogether like this bird, but smaller and more 

 noisy. It is seldom seen but with its female, is very quarrel- 

 some, and fights bitterly. Dr. Latham thinks it a young 

 bird of the common sort. 



The Sitta Pusilla is a bird of the United States of Ame- 

 rica, and also found in Jamaica. It is a lively, alert bird, 

 and difficult to approach. It is fond of the company of the 

 sklit woodpecker, with whom it is often found in the pine 

 forests. Latham also notices a variety found at Hudson's 

 Bay, though perhaps it is a different species. The natives 



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