Ordkr VI.— AXISODACTYU. 
Famihj CERTHIID^. (Bonaparte.) 
Genus SiTTA. ( Linnceus.J 
Generic Characters . — Beak straight, medium size, C 3 ’lindrical, 
conic, double edged at the point. Nostrils basal, rounded, and 
partly hidden by hair and short feathers. Tongue short, 
pointed, and horny. Feet with three toes in front and one 
behind, the outer being joined at its base to the middle 
one; the hind toe very long, and armed with a long curved 
claw. Wings medium size; the first quill very short, the 
second shorter than the third or fourth, which are the longest 
in the wing. Tail composed of twelve quills, short, flexible, 
and square at the end. 
DALMATIAN NUTHATCH. 
Sitta Syriaca. 
Sitta Syriaca, Ehrenbekg. Bonaparte. 
“ neumayeri, jMichaelles. 
“ rvfescens, Gould. 
“ rupestris, Temminck; Man. 3, p. 287. 
Sitelle de Syrie, Of the French. 
Syrische Spechtmeise, Of the Germans, 
Specific Characters . — Flanks and under tail coverts russet, the 
latter not spotted with white; tail uuicolorous slaty blue, the most 
outward feathers slightly tipped with pale russet. Length six 
inches and two fifths; carpus to tip three inches; tarsus one inch; 
beak eleven lines. 
