ZOOLOGT. 



79 



■25. Siita. Nuthatch. Billstmit^ strong, pointed ; nostrils 

 small, covered with bristles ; tongue short, horny and 

 jagged at the tip ; toes, three forward and one back- 

 ward, the middle toe joined to the other two at the 

 base ; feet formed for walking and climbing. 



These are very shy solitary birds ; retiring to the shades of 

 woods and forests ; they build or rather deposit their eggs, 

 in the holes of trees, very frequently in those deserted by 

 the last genus ; these they accomraodate to their own size, 

 by stopping up the entrace with clay, leaving only sufficient 

 room for egress and regress ; they feed on nuts, beech 

 masts, and other forest seeds : also on insects and larvas, in 

 search of which they may of [en be seen running up and 

 down the trunks and branches of trees. There is only one 

 European species, and that is a native ol Great Britain, ses 

 British Ornithology^ vol. 3. 



26. Todas. Tody, il/// blunt, pointed, depresse.% straif, 

 the base beset with bristles 3 nostrils oval, small ;/tY7 

 formed for walking. 



All the species of this genus are extra-European, and most 

 of them are natives of South America ; they feed usually o:i 

 insects and worms ; and generally resort to low thickets, in 

 the vicinity of water. 



27. Alcedo. Kingfisher. Bill long, strait, somewhaf 

 triangular, thick at the base, sharp-pointed ; ionguc 

 broad, short, entire, pointt tl ; nostrils small, aud in 

 Biost species, covered with feathers ; legs shori ; toes 



