994. BIRDS—SITTID A. 
they are much less familiar than the Black-cap, seldom making an ap- 
pearance in gardens orin the city limits. The nest, like that of the Black- 
cap, is a hole excavated by the bird, generally in a decaying stump, but a 
few feet from the ground. The eggs are slightly largerthan those of the 
Black-cap, measuring .LO by .50, I have found the nest in this vicinity 
as early as the 18th of April, ready for the reception of eggs. The female 
sits very close, and is with difficulty driven from the nest. 
BAS MAES Si Dy Als) SNGU SEAS Ce hy Se 
The characters of this family agree with those of Parida, so far as they are given in 
the first paragraph of that definition. The body, however, 1s depressed. Bill about equal 
or longer than the head. Wing much pointed, moch longer than the nearly even tail. 
Tarsus shorter than the middle toe and claw, which are about equal to the hinder. 
Plumage more compact than in Paride. 
GrENus SITTA. Linneus. 
Bill unnotched, tail more than one-half the wing. 
SITTA CAROLINENSIS Lath. 
W hite-bellied Nuthatch. 
Sitta carolinensis, KIRTLAND, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 164.—Reap, Proc. Philad. Acad. 
Nat. Sci., vi, 395, 1853.—WHEATON, Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1860, 365; Reprint, 1861, 9; 
Food of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1874, 672; Reprint, 1875, 2.— LANGDON, Cat. 
Birds of Cin., 1377, 4; Revised List, Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1679, 170; Re- 
print, 4. 
Sitta carolinensis, LATHAM, End. Orn., i, 1790, 262. 
Back, rump and middle tail feathers ashy blue. Crown and nape glossy black, restricted 
or wanting in the young and many females. Tail except as above, black, spotted with 
white. Beneath and sides of head white. Flanks and under tail coverts rusty brown. 
Wings varied, black, blue, and white. Length 6, wing 34, tail 2. 
Habitat, United States and British Provinces; west to the Valley of the Missouri. 
Very common. Resident. Breeds. In summer in woodland, and in 
winter, almost everywhere. The White bellied Nuthatch and Downy 
Woodpecker are both commonly known as “Sapsuckers.” The Nuthatch 
may always be distinguished from the Woodpeckers, by the fact that it 
decends the trunks of trees, head downward, which the Woodpecker can- 
not do. The Nuthatch obtains its food, which consists of insects in their 
various stages, and eggs, by creeping up, down and around the trunks 
and larger branches of trees, inspecting fences and other places likely to 
afford a morsel. They also devour seeds, and may often be seen hammer- 
ing at a nut or acorn which they have fixed in a crevice. They are said 
to conceal articles of food in holes of trees; from tnis circumstance their 
name is probably derived. 
