40 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



these nuthatches are almost gregarious ; family groups or small parties 

 of them may be seen trooping through the tree tops, chattering in 

 friendly conversational tones, but each one apparently intent on its 

 own vocation. They seem never still but are always full of life and 

 restless activity. In their behavior they remind me of the red-bellied 

 nuthatch, as they forage through the upper branches out to the ends 

 of the terminal twigs, often hanging head downward from a bunch 

 of pine needles. Like all the nuthatches, they are expert at creeping 

 either up or down the trunks, often in an inverted position, or at 

 exploring the under sides of branches. Mr. Skinner (1928) says: "In 

 all this climbing, they move by short hops, generally with their bodies 

 turned a little to one side or the other, and they may turn after going 

 a few feet with their bodies turned one way, so that the other side is 

 then uppermost. Occasionally, they perch crosswise on a twig and 

 may rest motionless for some time in such a position. 



"These little birds are very tame and friendly. When in pairs, 

 they are devoted to each other. * * * Generally, they fly from 

 tree to tree with a gentl}'^ undulating flight, but with strong and rapid 

 wing-beats." 



Voice. — The voice of the brown-headed nuthatch is quite unlike 

 that of either of the northern nuthatches and has been variously in- 

 terpreted. There is a familiar nuthatch quality in the ordinary cha, 

 cha, cha, or cah, cah, cah, or the short pit, pit; we know what kind of 

 a bird to look for when we hear it coming to us from the tree tops in 

 the lonesome pine barrens. 



Mr. Skinner (1928) writes: "Perhaps these nuthatches do not 'talk' 

 as much as some others. Yet, I have heard them utter a sweet little 

 'pri-u, de-u, de-u,' quite like a song, in the mating season. They also 

 have a number of chirps and kissing notes, and a 'dee-dee-dee' com- 

 parable to a Chickadee's note. A lively twitter is the call of one 

 Brown-headed Nuthatch for its mate." 



Dr. Chapman (1912) says: "They are talkative sprites, and, like a 

 group of school children, each one chatters away without paying the 

 slightest attention to what his companions are saying. When feeding 

 they utter a liquid, conversational p^it-pit, a note which is accelerated 

 and emphasized as the birds take wing. At intervals, even when the 

 individuals of a troop are quite widely separated, they all suddenly 

 break out into a thin, metallic dee-dee-dee or tnee-tnee-tnee.'''' 



William Brewster (1882b) calls their usual utterance '•''whick-whick- 

 whee'e'e whick-whicker-whickei'.'''' And Nathan Clifford Brown 

 (1878) writes: "While busily in search of food they have a subdued, 

 conversational chatter which almost exactly resembles the notes usu- 

 ally uttered by the Goldfinch when similarly employed. Rather 

 curiously, the two species have another call in common : the most f re- 



