374 
U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS-ZOOLOGY—GENERAL REPORT, 
Sub-Family SITTINAE. 
SITTA, Linnaeus. 
Sitta, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. 1735. (Agassiz.) 
Ch. —Bill subulate, acutely pointed, compressed, about as long as the head ; culmen and commissure nearly straight ; 
gonys convex and ascending ; nostrils covered by a tuft of bristles directed forward. Tarsi stout, scutellate, about equal to the 
middle toe, much shorter than the hinder, the claw of which is half the total length. Outer lateral toe much longer than 
inner, and nearly equal to the middle. Tail very short, broad, and nearly even ; the feathers soft and truncate. Wings reach¬ 
ing nearly to the end of the tail, long and acute, the first primary one-third of (or less) the third, or longest. 
This genus differs from Sittella in having the hill entire, not notched, the tail longer, &c. 
There are several species in the United States, which may he arranged as follows : 
a. Cr 01071 black. 
Pure white beneath. Bill stout. S. carolinensis. 
Similar. Bill slender. S. aculeata. 
Brownish rusty beneath, a black stripe through the eye. S. canadensis. 
b. Grown not black. 
Crown light brown. Hind toe much longer than the middle one. S. pusilla. 
Crown greenish plumbeous. Hind toe about equal to the middle one. „S. pygmaea. 
Comparative measurements of species. 
Catal. 
No. 
Species. 
Locality. 
Sex. 
Length. 
Stretch 
of wings. 
Wing. 
Tail. 
Tarsus. 
Middle 
toe. 
Its claw 
alone. 
Bill 
above 
Along 
gape. 
Specimens mea 
sured. 
1762 
£ 
5.40 
3.56 
2.20 
0.70 
0.86 
0.24 
0.70 
0.88 
o 
6.50 
1761 
O 
5.36 
3.58 
2.02 
0.78 
0.90 
0.26 
0.76 
0.84 
Skin. 
¥ 
6.00 
11.35 
3.75 
10209 
$ 
5.42 
3.40 
2 10 
0.69 
0.78 
0.24 
0.76 
0 90 
10210 
o 
5.32 
3.43 
2.12 
0.70 
0.80 
0.26 
0.76 
0.93 
818 
¥ 
A 
4.20 
2.68 
1.70 
0.60 
0.68 
0.22 
0.58 
0.64 
4.58 
8.50 
2.66 
2073 
2 
4.10 
2.60 
1.56 
0.62 
0.70 
0.22 
0.56 
0.66 
.do. 
4.58 
8.08 
2.58 
1925 
4.00 
2.60 
1.52 
0.56 
0.64 
0.20 
0.54 
0.68 
3343 
Sitta pygmaea. 
Upper California... 
4.00 
2.40 
1.44 
0.58 
0.62 
0.20 
0.50 
0.62 
Skin. 
SITTA CAROLINENSIS, Gmelin. 
White-bellied Nuthatch. 
Sitta europaea, var. y, carolinensis, Gmelin, I, 1788, 440. 
Sitta carolinensis, Latham, Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 262.— Wilson, Am. Orn. I, 1808, 40 ; pi.— Bon. Obs. Wils. 1825.—In. 
List 1838.— Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 227.— Nuttali., Man. I, 1832, 581.— Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 
1834, 299 : V, 1839, 473 ; pi. 152.—Iu. Birds Amer. IV, 1842,175 ; pi. 247. 
Sitta melanocephala, Vieillot, Gal. I, 1834, 171 ; pi. clxxi. 
g P- On.—Above ashy blue. Top of head and neck black. Under parts and sides of head to a short distance above the eye 
white. Under tail coverts and tibial feathers brown ; concealed primaries white. Bill stout. 
Length, about 6 inches ; wing, about 3|. 
Hub. —Eastern North America to the high central plains. West of this replaced by S. aculeata. 
