CHAR. Bill generally short, conical, not notched nor decurved at tip.
Culmen broad and rounded, not sharp-ridged at base. Nostrils rounded,
basal, and concealed by dense bristles or bristly feathers. Loral
feathers rough and bristly, directed forwards. Tarsi distinctly
scutellate; basal joints of anterior toes abbreviated, that of middle
toe united about equally for three fourths its length to the lateral:
in _Parinæ_ forming a kind of palm for grasping; outer lateral toe
decidedly longer than the inner. Primaries ten, the first much shorter
than the second. Tail-feathers with soft tips. Nest in holes of trees;
eggs white, spotted with reddish.
With Cabanis we include the Nuthatches in the same family with the
Titmice, and have prepared the above diagnosis to embrace both groups.
They agree in having a conical bill, not notched nor decurved, with
much rounded culmen, and nearly straight commissure, and rounded
nostrils covered with dense bristles. These characters will readily
distinguish them, in connection with the ten primaries, and tarsi with
scutellæ on the anterior half only (as compared with _Alaudidæ_), from
any other American _Oscines_.