SITTA. 559 



Genus SITTA Linnaeus. (Page 558, pi. CXXII., fig. 7.) 

 Species. 



Common Characters. — Above plain bluish gray, the top of the head different 

 (black, dusky grayish, olive-gray, or brownish) ; tail-feathers (except middle pair) 

 tipped with white, the subterminal portion black; lower parts chiefly plain 

 whitish, rusty, or dull buffy. Nest in holes of trees or stumps, composed of soft 

 felted materials, feathers, etc. Eggs 5-8, white or creamy white, speckled with 

 reddish brown. 



a\ Top of head glossy black in males, dark grayish in females. 



b 1 . "Wing more than 3.30 ; sides of head entirely white, to above the eye ; lower 



parts white, the lower tail-coverts spotted with chestnut-rufous ; tertials 



marked with black. 



c 1 . Tertials light bluish gray, with large and sharply defined oblong 



blotches of black, that on outer web of third feather with a rounded 



terminal outline ; white on side of neck tinged with grayish ; length 



5.25-6.15, wing 3.50-3.75 (3.60), tail 1.95-2.20 (2.05), culmen (from 



extreme base) .80-.90 (.84), bill from nostril .50-.60 (.53), greatest 



depth of bill .12-.15 (.14), tarsus .72-.75. Eggs .72 X -55. Sab. 



Eastern United States and British Provinces. 



727. S. carolinensis Lath. White-breasted Nuthatch. 

 c 2 . Tertials dark or dull bluish gray, the black markings narrower and 

 less sharply defined, that on outer web of third feather pointed 

 posteriorly ; back darker plumbeous ; white on side of neck very 

 pure, more sharply contrasted with black of nape ; bill usually 

 longer and more slender, the culmen straighter; length 5.00-6.10, 

 wing 3.35-3.75 (3.54), tail 1.90-2.20 (2.05), culmen .80-.95 (.90), bill 

 from nostril .50-.62 (.58), greatest depth of bill .12-.15 (.13), tarsus 

 .70-.75 (.71). Eggs .71 X -54. Bab. "Western United States, east to, 

 and including, Eocky Mountains, south into mountainous districts 

 of Mexico. 



727a. S. carolinensis aculeata (Cass.). Slender-billed Nuthatch. 

 b 2 . "Wing less than 3.00 ; side of head with a broad black stripe, separated from 

 the black (male) or dark grayish (female) of crown and nape by a broad 

 white superciliary stripe ; lower parts (except throat) light rusty or 

 ochraceous; tertials plain gray; length 4.12-4.75, wing 2.60-2.85, culmen 

 about .60. Eggs .59 X -46. Sab. "Whole of North America, breeding 

 chiefly north of the United States, except in western mountainous dis- 

 tricts ; eastern United States chiefly in winter. 



728. S. canadensis Linn. Red-breasted Nuthatch. 

 a 2 . Top of head (down to eyes and ear-coverts) brown or olive-grayish, bordered 

 below by a darker loral and postocular streak; nape with more or less 

 of a whitish spot ; no superciliary stripe ; sexes alike. 



