582 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Genus NUCIFRAGA. 



The genus Niccifraga ^vas established by Brisson in 1760, in his 'OrDi- 

 thologia/ ii. p. 58. He designated the Common Nutcracker as the type, 

 calling it Nucifraga nucifraga. This genus contains only four species, 

 easily distinguished from the British Corvinse by their spotted throats and 

 black-and-white tails. They belong to the long-winged group of the 

 Corvinse, in which the tail is less than three fourths the length of the 

 wing. The bill is rather long, straight, and pointed; the nostrils are 

 covered with bristly feathers ; and the tarsus is scutellated. 



The Nutcrackers are confined to the Palsearctic Region and to the Rocky 

 Mountains in the extreme west of the Nearctic Region. But one species 

 is found in Europe, which is an accidental straggler to the British 

 Islands. 



The Nutcrackers inhabit the northern forests, and in more southern 

 latitudes the mountain-forests. Their habits resemble those of the Jays; 

 but they are not so omnivorous as the rest of the Corvinse, feeding chiefly 

 on nuts and fruits. Their notes are harsh and shrill. Their nests are 

 large cup-shaped structures ; and their eggs are greenish or bluish white, 

 spotted with brown. 



