denotes the situation of a house, &c. and sometimes the ground-plot or spot of earth it stands on.

SIITTA NUTHATCH, in ornithology: A genus belonging to the class of aves, and order of picae. It is thus characterized by Dr Latham. The bill is for the most part straight; on the lower mandible there is a small angle; nostrils small, covered with bristles reflexly, vol. ii. ed over them; tongue short, horny at the end, and jagged; toes placed three forward and one backward; the middle toe joined closely at the base to both the outmost; back toe as large as the middle one.

There are 11 species: the europaea, canadensis, caroli- nensis, jamaicensis, pusilla, major, navia, furinamentis, cafra, longirostris, and chloris. The europaea, or nut- hatch, is in length near five inches three-quarters, in breadth nine inches; the bill is strong and straight, about three-quarters of an inch long; the upper mandible black, the lower white; the irides are hazel; the crown of the head, back, and coverts of the wings, of a fine bluish grey; a black stroke passes over the eye from the mouth; the cheeks and chin are white; the breast and belly of a dull orange-colour; the quill-feathers dusky; the wings underneath are marked with two spots, one white at the root of the exterior quills, the other black at the joint of the bastard-wing; the tail consists of twelve feathers; the two middle are grey, the two exterior feathers tipped with grey; then succeeds a transverse white spot; beneath that the rest is black; the legs are of a pale yellow; the back toe very strong, and the claws large. The female is like the male, but less in size, and weighs commonly 5 or at most 6 drams. The eggs are six or seven in number, of a dirty white, dotted with rufous; they are deposited in some hole of a tree, frequently one which has been deserted by a woodpecker, on the rotten wood mixed with a little moss, &c. If the entrance be too large, the bird nicely lops up part of it with clay, leaving only a small hole for itself to pass in and out by. While the hen is sitting, if any one puts a bit of stick into the hole, she flies like a snake, and is so attached to her eggs, that she will sooner suffer any one to pluck off her feathers than fly away. During the time of incubation, the male supplies her with sustenance, with all the tendernefs of an affectionate mate.

The bird runs up and down the bodies of trees, like the woodpecker tribe; and feeds not only on insects, but nuts, of which it lays up a considerable provision in the hollows of trees. "It is a pretty sight," says Mr Willoughby, "to see her fetch a nut out of her hoard, place it fast in a chink, and then, standing above it with its head downwards, striking it with all its force, break the shell, and catch up the kernel. It is supposed not to sleep perched on a twig like other birds; for when confined in a cage, it prefers sleeping in a hole or corner. When at rest it keeps the head down. In autumn it begins to make a chattering noise, being silent for the greatest part of the year." Dr Plot tells us, that this bird, by putting its bill into a crack in the bough of a tree, can make such a violent sound as if it was rending afinner, so that the noise may be heard, at least twelve score yards.