224 BIRDS — SITTID^. 



they are much less familiar than the Black-cap, seldom making an ap- 

 pearance in gardens or in the city limits. The nest, like that of the Black- 

 cap, is a hole excavated by the bird, generally in a decaying stump, but a 

 few feet from the ground. The eggs are slightly larger than those of the 

 Black-cap, measuring xO by .50, I have found the nest in this vicinity 

 as early as the 18th of April, ready for the reception of eggs. The female 

 sits very close, and is with difficulty driven from the nest. 



FAMILY SITTID^. NUTHATCHES. 



The oharaoteiB of this family agree with those of Paridw, so far as they are given in 



the first paragraph of that definition. The body, however, is depressed. Bill abont equal 



or longer than the head. Wing much pointed, much longer than the nearly even tail. 



Tarsus snorter than the middle toe and claw, which are about equal to the hinder. 



Plumage more compact than in Pofidce. 

 V 



Genus SITTA. LinnsBus. , 

 Bill nnnotched, tail more than one-half the wing, 



SiTTA OAROLINENSIS Lath. 

 Wliite-bellied ZVxithatcb. 

 Sitta carolinensis, Kirtland, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 164. — Read, Proc. Philad. Acad. 

 Nat. Soi., vi, 395, 1853. — Whbaton, Ohio Agric. Rep. for 18C0, 365 ; Reprint, 1861, 9 ; 

 Food of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1874, 572 ; Reprint, 1875, 2. — Lakgdon, Cat. 

 Birds of Cin., 1877, 4; Revised List, Journ. Gin. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 170 ; Re- 

 print, 4. 

 Sitta carolinensis, Latham, Ind. Oru,, i, 1790, 262. 



Back, rump and middle tail feathers ashy blue. Crown and nape glossy black, restricted 

 or wanting in the young and many females. Tail, except as above, black, spotted with 

 white. Beneath and sides of head white. Flanks and under tail coverts rusty brown. 

 Wings varied, black, blue, and white. Length 6, wing 3^, tail 2. 

 Habitat, United States and British Provinces ; west to the Valley of the Missouri. 

 Very common. Resident. Breeds. In summer in woodland, and in 

 winter, almost everywhere. The White bellied Nuthatch and Downy 

 Woodpecker are both commonly known as " Sapsuckers." The Nuthatch 

 may always be distinguished from the Woodpeckers, by the fact that it 

 decends the trunks of trees, head downward, which the Woodpecker can- 

 not do. The Nuthatch obtains its food, which consists of insects in their 

 various stages, and eggs, by creeping up, down and around the trunks 

 and larger branches of trees, inspecting fences and other places likely to 

 afford a morsel. They also devour seeds, and may often be seen hammer- 

 ing at a nut or acorn which they have fixed in a crevice. They are said 

 to conceal articles of food in holes of trees ; from tais circumstance their 

 name is probably derived. 



