178 



THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



Feet brown. The upper part of the head and the hind neck deep black, 

 glossed with blue, that colour curving down on either side of the neck at its 

 base. The back, wing, and tail-coverts, and middle feathers of the tail light 

 greyish-blue. Quills black, edged with bluish-grey; three lateral tail feathers 

 black, with a broad band of white near the end, the rest black, excepting the 

 middle ones. The sides of the head, space above the eye, fore neck and 

 breast white; abdomen and lower tail-coverts brownish-red, with white tips; 

 under wing-coverts black. 



Length 5|- inches, extent of wings 11; bill along the ridge T 8 2, along the 

 gap |f; tarsus T 8 2, middle toe |§. 

 Adult Female. 



The female resembles the male. 



Common from Texas to Maine. Throughout the interior to the Columbia. 

 Resident. 



On the roof of the mouth are three anterior ridges, of which the middle is 

 larger; both mandibles are slightly concave, the lower with a median 

 elevated line. Tongue 6 twelfths long, emarginate and finely papillate at the 

 base, slender, very thin, the point abrupt, and terminated by several strong 



bristles. CEsophagus, a b c, 1 inch 10 twelfths 

 long, funnel-shaped at the commencement, its width 

 being there 4 twelfths, and then gradually dimin- 

 ishing to 2 twelfths. The stomach, c d, is rather 

 large, broadly elliptical, 1\ twelfths long, 6 twelfths 

 broad; its lateral muscles thin; the epithelium 

 slightly rugous. It is filled with insects and larvae. 

 Intestine, e f g h, rather short and wide, 7 inches 

 in length, its greatest width 2 twelfths; the rectum, 

 ij, 3 twelfths wide; the cloaca 4 twelfths; the cceca, 

 i, 2 twelfths long, f- twelfth in breadth, and 10 

 twelfths from the extremity. The trachea is l-£ 

 inches long, 1 twelfth in breath; its rings feeble, 75 

 in number. The sterno-tracheal muscles very slen- 

 der; the inferior laryngeal form on each side a 

 small knob, inserted into the last half ring in its 

 whole extent. Bronchial half rings about 12. 

 There is on each side an elongated salivary gland, 

 about | twelfth in breadth. The hyoid bones are 

 not unusually elongated. In the form of the 

 tongue the Nuthatches resemble the Titmice. 



