IV 
THE NUTHATCH AND CHICKADEE FAMILY 
(Paride) } 
Tus is another family of small birds. The 
nuthatches are lively, restless little creatures. 
You generally see them scrambling over the 
trunks of trees, head up or head down, as it hap- 
pens. They are dressed in sober colors, and 
spend their lives picking tiny insects out of the 
crevices of the bark. 
The WHITE-BREASTED NutTHatcH is the best 
known in the East. In California the slender- 
billed takes his place, being about the same in 
dress and manners. Both of them, East and 
West, go about calling “ quank, quank.” The 
dress is slate-blue and white, with a white breast, 
a black cap, and black on wings and tail. 
Nuthatches nest in holes, either deserted wood- 
pecker nests or natural holes in trees. If such 
a place is not to be found, the pair will some- 
' See Appendix, 3. 
