44 MANUAL 



FAMILY IV SITTIDAE THE NUTHATCHES 



Latin sedeo, I sit : referring to the maniier in which the bird sits upon the 



tree or limb. 

 The present family, untouched by the hand of time, still 

 throws its beacon, its defiance, with undiminished rays, upon 

 the pathway of Ornithological literature. With comfort cai> 

 we look back from Audubon in 1838-39, to Nuttall in 1832, 

 to Wilson in 1808, to Latham in 1790, to Gmelin in 1788, to 

 Linnaeus in 1766 and 1735 ; and see Sitta, — in the same let- 

 ters and the same relations — as transcribed by the scientist 

 of to-day. Of but few families can this be said, and we are 

 justified in stopping, for an instant only, to contemplate some 

 of the changes wrought by time in our ornithological litera- 

 ture and characterization. The general features of the family 

 are : Bill about equal to head, straight, sharpely tapering to 

 point, compressed, and slender ; nostrils roundish and con- 

 cealed by bristles, which are in tufts ; wings nearly as long as 

 the tail, and with 1st quiil spurious or less than one-half the 

 2d ; tail short, and nearly even [while the wings are, compar- 

 atively, long, narrow, and pointed, the tail is short and broad- 

 ened] ; tarsus about equal to the middle toe, stout, and with 

 scutellse. General plumage soft and almost greasy in feeling. 

 The species are easily distinguishable at sight. 



Genus, Sitta, The Nuthatches (5 species). 



We can find no record of either sub-genus or synonym ; if any are known 

 they are of no value at present. 



FAMILY V CERTHIIDAE THE CREEPERS 



Said to be from Latin " Certhius, a creeper," — but I can find no such 

 word in my lexicons. 

 The characteristics of this small family are striking and pe- 

 culiar. The small size of the bird ; the long, slender, and 

 sickle-shaped bill ; the sharp claws, and long claws of the 

 hind toes ; the stiff, rough, and sharp-pointed [acuminate] tail 

 feathers ; all determine it at a glance. The single genus is 

 nearly, if not quite, as old as Sitta and fully as familiar. It 

 seems absurd to construct a separate sub-family for the only 



