64 INSESSORES. 
it may be seen sometimes picking in the decayed 
shingles for insects. As though aware of its useful- 
ness, it confidingly trusts in the protection of man, 
which indeed should always be afforded it, as its 
busy, active life is almost constantly devoted to his 
service, in the destruction of myriads of hurtful in- 
sects and their larvee. Its note is a low chirp, which 
it occasionally utters as it runs up and down the 
trunks of the trees in search of food. It is extremely 
nimble when so engaged, moving with great facility 
sideways or head downwards, in which position it 
will sometimes stop and gaze with a peculiarly quaint 
expression at the bystander for some time, although 
he may be within a few paces of the tree, and then 
with a sudden jerk of its wings, off it goes to an ad- 
joining tree. During summer they retire to the 
woods, where they dig out a small hole in some de- 
cayed tree with their long sharp bills, at the bottom 
of which the female lays her eggs. There are three 
other species of this family in the United States, all 
of them active and pretty little creatures. The Brown- 
headed Nuthatch is quite abundant in the South, 
where it is a constant resident, but is seldom found 
north of the State of Maryland; while the Red-bel- 
lied Nuthatch occupies the eastern and northern dis- 
tricts; its occurrence south of Pennsylvania is rare. 
The latter is quite as abundant in the mountainous 
parts of Pennsylvania as the White-breasted species. 
Of the California Nuthatch but little is known, but 
as its name implies, it is an inhabitant of Upper Cali- 
fornia. 
