THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



[EARLY every one readily 

 recognizes this species as it 

 runs up and down and 

 around the branches 

 and trunks of trees in 

 search of insect food, now and then 

 uttering its curious Qumik, qiiauk,qnajik. 

 The White-breasted Nuthatch is often 

 improperly called "Sapsucker," a 

 name commonly applied to the Downy 

 Woodpecker and others. It is a com- 

 mon! breeding bird and usually begins 

 nesting early in April, and two broods 

 are frequently reared in a season. For 

 its nesting place it usually selects the 

 decayed trunk of a tree or stub, rang- 

 ing all the way from two to sixty feet 

 above the ground. The entrance may 

 be a knot hole, a small opening, or a 

 small round hole with a larger cavity 

 at the end of it. Often the old exca- 

 vation of the Downy Woodpecker is 

 made use of. Chicken feathers, hair, 

 and a few dry leaves loosely thrown 

 together compose the nest. 



This Nuthatch is abundant through- 

 out the State of Illinois, and is a 

 permanent resident everywhere except 

 perhaps of the extreme northern 

 counties. It seems to migrate in 

 spring and return in autumn, but, in 

 reality, as is well known, only retreats 

 to the woodlands to breed, emerging 

 again when the food supply grows 

 scant in the autumn. 



The Nuthatches associate familiarly 

 with the Kinglets and Titmice, and 

 often travel with them. Though 

 regarded as shy birds they are not 

 really so. Their habits of restlessness 

 render them difficult of examination. 

 "Tree-mice" is the local name given 

 them by the farmers, and would be 

 very appropriate could they sometimes 

 remain as motionless as that diminu- 

 tive animal. 



Careful observation has disclosed 

 that the Nuthatches do not suck the 

 sap from trees, but that they knock 

 off bits of decayed or loose bark with 



the beak to obtain the grubs or larvae 

 beneath. They are beneficial to vege- 

 tation. Ignorance is responsible for 

 the misapplied names given to many 

 of our well disposed and useful birds, 

 and it would be well if teachers were 

 to discourage the use of inappropriate 

 names and familiarize the children 

 with those recognized by the best 

 authorities. 



Referring to the Nuthatches Mr. 

 Basket says: "They are little bluish 

 gray birds, with white undervests — 

 sometimes a little soiled. Their tails 

 are ridiculously short, and never touch 

 the tree; neither does the body, unless 

 they are suddenly affrighted, when 

 they crouch and look, watli their beaks 

 extended, much like a knot with a 

 broken twig on it. I have sometimes 

 put the bird into this attitude by 

 clapping my hands loudly near the 

 window. It is an impulse that seems 

 to come to the bird before flight, 

 especially if the head should be down- 

 ward. His arrival is sudden, and 

 seems often to be distinguished by 

 turning a somersault before alighting, 

 head downward, on the tree trunk, as 

 if he had changed his mind so sud- 

 denly about alighting that it un- 

 balanced him. 



I once saw two Nuthatches at what 

 I then supposed was a new habit. One 

 spring day some gnats were engaged 

 in their little crazy love waltzes in the 

 air, forming small whirling clouds, 

 and the birds left off bark-probing and 

 began capturing insects on the wing. 

 They were awkward about it with 

 their short wings, and had to alight 

 frequently to rest. I went out to 

 them, and so absorbed were they that 

 they allowed me to approach within 

 a yard of a limb that I came to rest 

 upon, where they would sit and 

 pant till they caught their breath, 

 when they went at it again. They 

 seemed fairly to revel in a new diet 

 and a new exercise." 



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