292 



THE RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



'I'hiu the iineniiittfrn (|uaiil<iiiy nf a pair nf iIk-sc Ijinls, my attentiun was 

 directed to a cnuple of tall ilead tir trees near the center of a woods, then 

 known as the Puget Mill strip, but now as Moore's University Park Addition 

 to Seattle. .A little lazv scrutin\- descried the birds, mere twinkling bits of 

 blue-grav, about one hundred and tweiity-tive feet up; and two or three mys- 

 teri(_ius disappearances established a suspicion that they were interested in a 

 certain section of one of the trees. The sus]»icion received strong confirma- 

 tion when, after a longer disappearance than usual on the part of the Red- 

 breasts, a Harris 

 Woodpecker alight- 

 ed further up in the 

 same s t u I). The 

 Nuthatches immeili- 

 ately swarmed out 

 and set u])on the 

 Harris with \igor 

 and language. The 

 Woodpecker was dis- 

 posed to stand his 

 groiuid, whereat the 

 Nuthatches became 

 liigiiK' enraged and 

 charged upon the in- 

 truder so vigorously 

 that the ])oor fellmv 

 was obliged to dodge 

 about his chosen limb 

 in li\elv fashion. 

 The Hatches cried 

 iiyci iiya nyd as fast 

 as they could get 

 breath, and flirted 

 their wings between 

 whiles to \'ent their 

 outraged feelings. 

 Harris naturall\' de- 

 cided before long 

 that the game wasn't 

 wortli the bother. 

 Time and again 



Taken in Pierce Lounty. Photo by the Author. .. . - 



A TYPIC.M, NESTING SITE OF THE RED-BRE.'^STED NUTH.\TCH. 16 1 6 6 OWS CW 



1 r* fo ^s fci 1 li\'P Til* 



AN OAK TREE (QUERCUS GARRYANA) AT TTIE BORDER OF THE PRAIRIE. ci«^ivj.->0 tKJ cl ii\^ ill 



