PERCHING BIRDS 



NUTHATCHES AND TITS. Family SITTID^ 



727. White-breasted Nuthatch. Sitta 

 carolinensis carolinensis. 



Range. — United States east of the Rockies, 

 breeding from the Gulf to southern Canada; 

 resident tliroughout its range. 



These birds are creepers, but unlike the last 

 species, these run about on the trunks, either 

 up or down; their tails are not pointed and 



stiffened like those of the Brown 



Creepers, and their plumage is 

 ■^ gray and black above with a 



black crown, and white below. 



They nest in holes in trees, 



usually deep in the woods and 



at any elevation from the 

 ground; they nearly always use deserted Wood- 

 peckers' holes but are said at times to exca- 

 vate their own, with great labor as their bills 

 are little adapted for that work. They line tlie 

 cavities with bark strips and hair or feathers, 

 and during April or May, lay from four to nine 

 v/hite eggs, profusely specked with reddish 

 brown and lilac. Size .80 x .60. Data. — Lancaster, Mass., May 16, 1902. Nest in 

 hole in an oak tree, 45 feet above ground; made of fine strips of bark fibre and 

 hair. 



White- breasted Nutliatdi 



727a. Slender-billed Nuthatch. Sittn carolinensis acuJrata. 



Range. — North America, west of the Rockies and from Mexico to British Co- 

 lumbia. 



This species is as abundant in the west as the last is in the east, and nests in 

 like situations. The eggs cannot be distinguished from those of the eastern 

 birds. 



7271'. Florida White-breasted Nuthatch. Sitta carolinensis atkinsi. 



Range. — Florida and the South Atlantic coast to South Carolina. 



The habits and eggs of these birds are like those of the northern ones. 



727c. Rocky Mountain Nuthatch. Sitta carolinensis nelsoni. 



Range. — Rocky Mountains from Mexico north to British Columbia. 

 Their nesting habits or eggs are not distinctive in any respect. 



727(1. San Lucas Nuthatch. Sitta caroUuciisis lai>ii)ia'. 



Range. — Mountain ranges of Lower California. 



Said to be like aciilcato but with the wings and tail slightly shorter. 



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