498 Birds of Colorado 
The nest is placed in a hole or crevice, generally between 
the bark and the trunk of a rotten pine or fir. Gale found 
a nest in such a situation about eight feet from the 
ground, on June 1lth, containing five eggs slightly 
incubated. He states further that in Boulder co. fresh 
eggs can usually be found from June 10th to 25th at 
9,000 feet, and from June 30th to July 10th at 11,000 feet. 
The eggs are white, speckled with reddish-brown, 
and measure °59 x ‘46. 
Family SITTIDZ. 
This family contains the Nuthatches, distinguished 
by the following external characters: Bill rather long, 
straight, slender and acute, about as long as the head ; 
nostrils rounded and concealed by bristles; wing long 
and pointed with ten primaries, the outer one of which 
is very short or even spurious, and always less than half 
the next ; tail always considerably shorter than the wing. 
Tongue horny, acute and barbed. 
Genus SITTA. 
Characters of the family. Four species in the United States with 
several additional geographical races. 
Key oF THE SPECIES. 
A. Crown black in males, dusky grey in females. 
a. lLarger—wing over 3:0; below white. S.c. nelsoni, p. 498. 
b. Smaller—wing under 3-0; below reddish-buff. 
S. canadensis, p. 500. 
B. Crown greyish-olive. S. pygmezea, p. 501. 
Rocky-Mountain Nuthatch. Sttta carolinensis nelsoni. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 727c—Colorado Records—Allen 72, pp. 148, 
161 ; Aiken 72, p. 195 ; Trippe 74, p. 230; Henshaw 75, p. 173 ; Scott 
79, p. 92; Allen & Brewster 83, p. 154 ; Drew 85, p. 15; Morrison 86, 
p. 35; 88, p. 72; Kellogg 90, p. 89; Lowe 94, p. 270; McGregor 97, 
p. 39; Cooke 97, pp. 121, 122, 222; Henderson 03, pp. 237, 108; 09, 
p. 241; Gilman 07, p. 195 ; Warren 08, p. 25; 09, p. 17; Richards 08, 
p. 194; Rockwell 08, p. 178. : 
