142 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



preciation of the valuable service of these con- 

 stant helpers ? 



These birds are not so well equipped for wood 

 cutting as are the Woodpeckers, and, in conse- 

 quence, they often nest in the deserted holes of 

 these carpenters; or they excavate their own 

 chamber in a limb of some hardwood tree, so 

 decayed as to make the work easy. The nest is 

 made of fine bark, moss and feathers, a soft rest- 

 ing place for the five or six tiny white eggs. 

 They are found in eastern North America from 

 the Gulf to New Brunswick, and are generally 

 resident throughout this territory, except in 

 the northern portion. 



Red-breasted Nuthatch. This Nuthatch has 

 a more northerly range than his larger rela- 

 tive, and therefore is not a common bird in the 

 Eastern States, except in winter. He is notably 

 smaller, only about four and one-half inches 

 long, and is easily told by his reddish brown 

 breast and the white stripe over the eye. Other- 

 wise his colors are much like those of the White- 

 breasted. Their nesting and feeding habits are 

 much the same, but the Red-breasted also 

 enjoy the seeds of fir and spruce cones, which 

 they skillfuly extract with their sharp bills; 

 consequently they are seen about the evergreen 

 forests where their highly nasal cries, ''yak, 

 yak, yak, " are much in evidence. They are 

 noisy fellows and their drawling notes, if pa- 

 tiently followed up, will often lead one to the 

 nest. 



Their usual nesting haunts are the dark woods 

 where they excavate for themselves a chamber 



