NUT ■ 
Nofe-Fifli. The mouth is fmall, and deftitute of 
teeth; the belly is broad and flat, with ample 
fcales; the flcuU is tranfparent; and the dorfal fins, 
with refpeft to their fituation and rays, refemble 
thofe of the bream. 
NOTONECTA. A fpecies of aquatic in- 
feft, approaching to the nature of the cimex. It 
always fwims on it's back; neverthelefs, it is very 
fwift in it's motions. The belly, which is always 
uppermoft in the water, is of a yellowifli white 
colour; the legs are long ; and, when taken out of 
the water, it has a hopping motion. 
This very beautiful and adive creature is com- 
mon in feveral ponds about London. It has 
four wings, fix legs, but no antennae; and, when in 
the afl of fwimming, it's body refembles a boat : 
hence it is alfo called the boat-fly. 
The Notonefla lives principally in the water, 
where it preys on fmall infefts, extrading their 
juices with it's probofcis, after the manner of the 
water-fcorpion, and many other aquatic infeds. 
LinnjEus enumerates three fpecies: the Noto- 
nefta with a white forehead; the oblong Noto- 
nefta, with a tail; and the leaft Notoneda, with a 
tail. 
NOTOPEDA. An appellation frequently 
given by naturalifl:s to the elater. 
NOVACULA PISCIS. The name by which 
feveral naturalifts diftinguifli the razor-fifii, fo 
much efteemed as a delicacy by the opulent. This 
fifh feldom exceeds four inches in length; is of a 
deprefl^ed fhape, fomewhat refembling the faber; 
^d is generally found near ftony fliores, particu- 
larly thofc of Majorca, Minorca, and Malta, 
where it feeds on other fmall fifh. 
NUCIFRAGA. An appellation given by 
many writers to the coccothrauftes, or grofs-beak; 
fo called from it's breaking nuts, and the ftones of 
frulc. 
NUMB-FISH. See Cramp-Fish and Tor- 
pedo. 
NUMIDIAN BIRD. An appellation fome- 
times given to the Guinea-hen. See Guinea- 
Hex. 
NUN, WHITE. A web-footed fowl, about 
the fize of the whifrling duck, and weighing 
twenty-four ounces. The whole head and neck 
are white, except a fpot under the creft, v/hich is 
black; and another on each fide, which extends 
from the angles of the mouth to the eyes. The 
crefi: or tuft with which the head is adorned hangs 
backwards; the lower part of the body is entirely 
v/hite, but the back is black; the wings are mot- 
tled with black and white ; the tail is of a blackifh 
crj-ey colour; the bill and feet are cinereous; and 
the toes are connefted by a brown membrane. 
NUT-CRACKER ; the Corvus Caryocataftes 
of Linnjeus. This bird, which receives it's name 
from it's feeding on nuts, is about the fize of a 
jack-daw; and it's wings, v/hen clofed, meafiire 
near feven inches. The bill is about tv70 inches 
long, rounded at the top, and of a blackifh co- 
lour; the noftrils are covered with whirifli fea- 
thers, which point forv^'ards from the head, and 
continue in a white line from the bafe of the bill 
to the eyes on each fide; the plumage ot the head, 
neck, and body, is of a dark brown hue, a little 
inclining to red; and tlie feathers on the lower 
fide of the head and neck, as well as on the breaft 
and beginning of the back, have each a triangular 
white fpot at their tips, tiie acute angle pointing 
upwards. The wings are black, with triangular 
white fpots on the leffer coverts ; the covert-fea- 
N Y L . 
thers on the infide of the wings are fo deeply tip- 
ped with white, that their duficy bottoms are al- 
moft concealed; and three or four of the central 
quills of the wings have each a longifli white fpot, 
about the middle of their inner webs. T.'ie tail 
is compofed of twelve black feathers, all tipped 
with white; the exterior feathers are fomewhat 
fhorter than the central ones; the coverts beneath 
the rail are white ; and the legs, feet, and claws, 
are black. 
This bird is found in moil parts of Europe, 
but feldom in Britain. A fpecimen, however, 
was fliot near Moftyn, in Flintfliire, in 1753. 
NUT-HATCH ; the Sitta Europsea of Lin- 
nffius. A bird of the pye kind, about fix inches 
long, and the expanfion of it's wings nine inches. 
The bill is flrong, fl;raight, and three parts of an 
inch long ; the upper mandible is black, the lower 
white ; the irides are hazel-coloured ; the crown of 
the head, the back, and the coverts of the wings, 
are of a fine blueiHi grey hue ; a black line crofies 
the eyes from the mouth ; the cheeks and chin are 
white; and the breaft and belly are of a dull 
orange-colour. The quill-feathers are diifky; 
the wings underneath are marked with two Ibots, 
one white, and the other black; the tail confills of 
twelve feathers, the two central grey, the two ex- 
terior tipt with grey, then a tranfverfe white fpot, 
and beneath that the remainder is black. The 
legs are of a pale yellow colour; the back toe is 
very ftrong; and the claws are large. 
Dr. Plot, in his Natural Hiftory of Oxford- 
fliire, informs us, that this bird, by inferting it's 
bill into a crack in the bough of a tree, can make 
fuch a violent found, as if the branch v/as rendinp- 
afunder; and that it may be heard at the difl:ance 
of one hundred and twenty yards at leaft. 
This creature pofiTeflTes the faculty of running 
up and down the bodies of trees, like the v>^ood- 
pecker tribe ; and feeds not only on infefts, but 
nuts, of which it lays up a confiderable colleftion 
in the cavities of trees. ' It is an amazing fight,' 
fays Willughby, ' to fee it fetching a nut out of 
it's hoard, placing it faft in a chink, and then 
ftanding over it with it's head downwards, ftrlking 
v/ith all it's force till it break the fliell.' It breeds 
in the hollow of fome ancient tree; and if the en- 
trance to it's neft be too large, it ftops up part of 
it with clay, leaving only room enough for it's ad- 
mifiion. In autumn, it begins to make a kind ot 
chattering noife ; but it is fiient during the greatcft 
part of the year. 
NUT-JOBBER, or COBBER. An appel- 
lation fometimes given to the nut-hatch. 
NYCTIOCORAX. See Night-Raven-. 
NYL-GHAW. This animal, which is a na- 
tive of India, has but lately been known in Eu- 
rope. It feems to be of a middle nature between 
the cow and the deer, and carries in it's form the 
outlines of both. V/ith refpeft to fize, it is as 
much finaller than the one as it is larger than the 
other; it's body, horns, and tail, arc not unlike 
thofe of the bull; and it's head, neck, and legs, 
are very fimilar to thoie of the deer. The gene- 
ral colour is afh or grey, from a commixture of 
black and white hairs; and along the ridge or 
edge of the neck the hair is blacker, ftronger, and 
more ereft, forming a fnort, thin, upright m.ane. 
The horns are feven inches long, fix inches in 
circumference at the bafe, and grow imailer by 
degrees till they terminate in an obtufe point: 
the bluntnefs of thefe, together with tire form cf 
it's head and neck, might incline us to fuppofc 
" that 
