154 



THE OOLOGIST. 



balsam, from the trees surrounding 

 their home, and besmeared an area 

 about the entrance to the nest, fully 

 four inches in diameter. 



The Nuthatches we may consider 

 our only birds which use artificial 

 weapons for their protection. The 

 entrance to the nests beingalways for- 

 tified by means of balsam, which 

 seems to be applied for the purpose 

 of keeping out the white-footed mouse, 

 an omniverous little rodent that 

 would gladly avail himself of the op- 

 portunity of making a meal of the 

 eggs or young birds, or drive away the 

 old birds and use the nest for its own 

 tenement. 



The eggs of this species of Nut- 

 hatch are usually six in number, white 

 with brownish spots, chiefly near the 

 large end. Some sets contain eggs 

 nearly spherical in form. 



The duty of incubation is perform- 

 ed by the female and covers a period 

 of twelve days. The male occasion- 

 ally feeds his mate during this period, 

 adds more balsam about the entrance 

 to the nest, and does general picket 

 duty about home. When hatched, the 

 young are nude little creatures, hav- 

 ing a very faint trace of down upon 

 the featJer tracts. At the end of a 

 week the feathers are quite well 

 grown, and the superciliary stripe be- 

 gins to show. After the tenth day one 

 of the young may often be seen look- 

 ing out of the nest, but at the least 

 disturbance retreats to lower quarters. 

 At the age of two weeks the young 

 leave the nest, and are led to pas- 

 tures new; for suitable insects for 

 their diet have been well garnered 

 near home, and they must move to 

 where their food is more plentiful. 



Some months are devoted to the 

 education of the young birds, who are 

 shown where to look for food. It is 

 interesting, indeed, to follow a family 

 of these feathered mites, observe 



their movements and listen to their 

 talk when they all alight in the top of 

 some spruce or fir tree, and with 

 much twittering search among the 

 cones and twigs. Soon all are off to 

 another tree, and the searching and 

 jeering go on; many insects, caterpil- 

 lars and eggs of various insects are 

 taken. No doubt, many small seeds 

 are also eaten. Toward autumn and 

 throughout the winter the birds are 

 often observed upon highways, 

 searching among the excrements 

 dropped by horses. One specimen in 

 the writer's collection was struck by 

 the foot of a passing horse and killed. 

 When night comes on a roosting place 

 is chosen among thick grown conifers. 



Thus the Red-breasted Nuthatches 

 pass the time, and among their feath- 

 ered companions are others of our 

 hardy annual aves, such as the Black- 

 capped and Hudsonian Chickadees, 

 Golden-crowned Kinglet and Downy 

 Woodpecker, the half-hardy Brown 

 Creeper and semi-annual Ruby-crown- 

 ed Kinglet. 



The adults of the Red-breasted Nut- 

 hatch measure from four and one-half 

 to four and three-quarters inches in 

 length. Of this the tail takes up one 

 and one-half inches and the bill one- 

 half inch. The upper parts are leaden 

 blue, brightest in the adult male, who 

 has a black crown, with a white stripe 

 over the eye, and a black stripe 

 through the eye. The under parts are 

 of various shades of brownish, being 

 lightest in young birds and richest in 

 adult males. The wings are fuscous 

 with pale ashy edgings; the tail feath- 

 ers, except the middle pair, black, the 

 lateral, marked with white. 



[Reprinted from The Ottawa Nat- 

 uralist.Journal of the Ottawa Field- 

 Naturalists' Club, Vol. XIX, (1905). 

 Published at Ottawa, Canada. Price 

 $1-00 per year, to foreign countries 

 $1.25.] 



