Family Paridce- -Nuthatch 53 



10. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH 

 RED-BELLIED NUTHATCH 

 CANADA NUTHATCH 



(Sitta canadensis.} 



Male: upper parts bluish gray; wings and tail dark, the latter 

 with white blotches ; under parts in general rusty brown, light- 

 est on the throat, very variable in shade ; crown black, bordered 

 in front and at the sides by a white stripe and this by a black 

 stripe. Bill slender, pointed, dark. Feet horn-colored. Bird 

 not quite two thirds the size of a sparrow. Female: similar, 

 but without the black crown. 



THE red-breasted nuthatch is an irregular winter 

 resident, sometimes abundant, sometimes nearly or 

 quite absent. He comes to us in the early fall, and 

 retires in April or May. He is much less common 

 than his brother, the white-breasted nuthatch, but 

 should be looked for especially among spruces. His 

 habits render him readily recognizable, for he runs 

 up and down the trunks of trees in search of insects 

 which are lodged in the cracks. Spruce and pine 

 seeds are also favorite articles of diet. 



Breeding takes place in northern New England 

 and in mountainous parts of Massachusetts. The 

 nest is built in a hole dug in an old tree or stump. 



The note resembles that of the white-breasted 

 nuthatch, but is fainter and more musical. 



LITERATURE : Nesting Habits of the Red-bellied Nuthatch. 

 HARDY. BulL Nuttall Club, vol. iii. 



