Nutcracker

Nutcracker, any bird of the genus Nucifraga, of the Crow family, with four species ranging over the Palsearctic region to the Himalayas and the north of China. The bill is stout and conical, and the tail short and slightly rounded. The best-known species, N. caryocatactes, from the pine forests of northern Europe and Asia, is an occasional British visitant. The length is about twelve inches; the plumage is thick and soft, for the most part shades of brown, plentifully marked with white spots, except on the wings, rump, and tail. N hemispila is Asiatic.