°rder II. PASSERES. 
Tribe II. Tenuirostres. 
Family Y. Certhidje. 
The fiftR Subfamily, 
SITTINiE, or Nuthatches, 
•h 
^ Vt - the Toes long and slender, with the outer toe shorter than the middle one, and united at the base 
Ore fi rs t joint ; the inner toe shorter than the outer one, and united slight!}" at the base. 
Sitta Linn.* 
moderate, slender, straight, and the sides compressed, with the culmen slightly curved to the tip, 
Odch is cuneate and entire, and the gonys long and advancing upwards ; the nostrils basal, lateral, 
l ° Ul ided, sunk in a broad groove, partly closed by a membrane, and generally covered by the 
Ejecting frontal plumes and short bristles. Wings reaching nearly to the end ot the tail, Avith the 
fll ’ st quill very short, and the second shorter than the third and fourth, Avhich are the longest. 
T " li s Hort, broad, and nearly even. Tarsi shorter than the middle toe, and strong. Toes long, with 
J he ° u ter toe longer than the inner, and united to the first joint, the inner slightly united at the base ; 
the hi «d toe Ion o-er than the middle one, and all armed with an acute, long, and curved claw. 
birds are scattered throughout Europe and North America, and some species have been found in various 
r ® of India and its archipelago. They prefer the forests or the dense woods, Avhere they are often observed moving 
! % about on the trunks of trees, running both upwards and downwards in spiral circles, or turning round the 
J Whes with equal facility, probing into the various cracks of the bark, and occasionally removing pieces, m 
«"* Riders and other insects. In severe weather they sometimes approach the habitation of man, when they do 
of t !' efuse t0 feed on grains. The seeds of the pine cone, and the kernels of filberts and hazel nuts, also form a portion 
bill * 8ubsis tence; these latter they break by placing one in a chink, and turning it on all sides to strike with their 
- Ulltil they have made a sufficient hole in it to obtain the kernel. When roosting, these birds are stated to sleep 
tlle head and back downwards. The hole of a tree, or the deserted nest of a woodpecker, is selected by the 
f, 
:e >»al, 
ciTici DcicK aownwaros. -liic noitj oi & uctjj ui uic ^ i 
! as a place to deposit her eggs. The nest is entirely composed of dead leaves, especially those of the oak. 
PL enl. 623. f. 1., Gould, B. of Eur. 
1. s 
PI. 2 34 ewr °P'ea Linn. 
3. s ;7 Sltt a csesia Wolf § Meyer. 
bouid 7 * ia ' a Ehrenb. Symb. Phys Sitta rupestris Temm. 
° f Eur - Ph 235. ; S. Neumeyeri Michad. ; S. saxatilis 
3 , ^ 
Licht. in Glog. Handb. p.377. — Sitta asiatica 
4. § °'^ ( b B. of Eur. pi. 236. ; S. europsea var. sibirica Pall. 
,0 tinen$is Lath. AVils. Amer. Orn. pi. 2. f. 3., Aud. 
B. of Amer. pi. 152. — Sitta melanocephala Vieill. Gal. des Ois. 
1 . 171 . 
5. S .canadensis Lath. PL enl. 623. f. 2. - Sitta varia Wilt. 
Amer. Orn. pL 2. f. 4., Aud. B. of Amer. pL 105. 
6. s. pusiUa Lath. Wils. Amer. Orn. pi. 15. f. 2., Audub. B. 
of Amer pi. 125. — Sitta carolinensis minor Brits. 
7. S . ' pygmtea Vigors, Zool. Beechey’s Voy. p. 25. pi. 4. f. 2., 
Aud. B. of Amer. pi. 419- 
1 hy Linnaeus in 17 55 ( Systema Natures). 
fi oo-.x ^mngeus in 
U83 Oof Mr. Swainson. 
It embraces Orthorhynchus of Or. Horsfield, which is coequal with Den- 
