288 THE SLENDER-BILLED NUTHATCH. 



outer wing-quills fuscous, the second and three or four succeeding primaries 

 narrowly touched with white on outer weh in retreating order ; inner quills and 

 coverts with much black centering; tail feathers, except upper pair, black, the 

 outer pairs squarely bUitcbed with white in subterminal to terminal order ; sides of 

 head, and neck well up, and nnderparts white with a faint bluish tinge; distinctly 

 marked, or washed more or less, on flanks and crissum with rusty brown ; bill 

 stout, subulate, the under mandible slightly recurved, — blackish plumbeous above, 

 lighter at base of lower mandible ; feet dark brown ; iris brown. Adult female: 

 similar to male, but black of head and back more or less veiled by color of back. 

 Length 5.50-6.10 ( 139.7-154.9) ; wing' 3.43 (87) ; tail 1.81 (46) ; bill .77 (19.5) ; 

 tarsus .72 ( 18.2 ). 



Recognition Marks. — W'arliler to Sparrow size; tree-creeping habits; black 

 and ashy blue above ; wdiite below. 



Nesting. — Nest: a deserted Woodpecker hole, or newly-made cavity in 

 stump or tree, usually at a considerable distance frotn the ground, and lined with 

 leaves, feathers, or hair. Eggs: 5-8, sometimes 9 or even 10, white, thickly 

 speckled and spotted with reddish brown and lavender. Av. size, .76 .x .56 

 ( 19.3 X 14.2 ). Season: .April, May ; one brood. 



General Range. — Pacific Coast states and British Columbia (to Ashcroft), 

 in the northern portion of its range east of the Cascades. Non-migratory. 



Range in Washington. — Resident, of regular occurrence in pine timber east 

 of Cascades; rare antl local in Puget Sound region. 



Authorities. — ? Townsend, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. VHP 1839, 155 

 (Columbia River). Sitta aculeata. Cassin, Cooper and Sucklev, Rep. Pac. R. R. 

 Surv. XH. pt. n. i860, p. 193. (T.) C&S. Rh. D'. Ra. J. P. " 



Specimens. — (LI. of W. ) Prov. C. 



JJ'lio-eiv' Q-o-o-u-0-0-0-0-0-0 goes the Macfarlane Screech (3wl in l)road 

 daylight. There is an instant hush on the pine-clad hillside — a hush followed 

 by an excited murnnu- of inquiry among the scattered nieinbers of a winter 

 bird-troop. If you happen to be the Screech Owl, seated motionless at the 

 base of some large tree and half obscured in its shadows, perhaps the first in- 

 timation you will have that the search party is on your trail will be the click, 

 click, click, of tin}' claws on the tree-bole above your head, followed by a 

 quank of interrogation, almost comical for its mi.xture of baffled anxiety and 

 dawtiing susjDicion of the truth. He is an inquisitive fellow, this Nuthatch, 

 for, you see, prying is his business ; but he is bra\-e as well. The chances are 

 that he will venture down within a foot or two of your face before he flutters 

 off with a loud outcry of alarm. When excited, as when regarding a suspi- 

 cious object, lie has an odd fashion of rapidly right-and-left facing on a hori- 

 zontal bough, as tho to try both eyes on you and lose no time between. 



Nuthatch is the acknowledged acrobat of the woods — not that he acts for 

 display; it is all business with him. A tree is a complete gymnasium in itself, 

 and the bird is master of it all. In all positions, any side up, this bird is there, 

 fearless, confident ; in fact, he rather jirefers tra\-eling head downw-ard, espec- 



