308 MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



304 [727] Sitta carolinensis Lath. 

 White-breasted Nuthatch. 



Permanent resident, rare in summer, common in autumn ; uncommon in 

 spring and winter. 



Eggs : April 3 to May. 



I have records of the breeding of the White-breasted Nuthatch in Brad- 

 ford, and of birds seen in the breeding season in Andover, and I have seen them 

 myself in Hamilton at that time. 



Their habit, from which they derive their name, of "hatching" or pounding 

 a nut as with a hatchet, I have twice observed. On one occasion, when the 

 bird was disturbed, it flew off with the acorn into which it had thrust its bill. 

 Their object was probably to obtain the larvae within. 



305 [728] Sitta canadensis Linn. 

 Red-breasted Nuthatch. 



Irregular and at times abundant autumn transient visitor, less common in 

 winter and spring, rare summer resident ; August 15 to May 16. 



Eggs: May 23. 



Mr. C. E. Brown, of Beverly, has the eggs of this bird taken by his cousin, 

 Mr. F. A. Brown, in Beverly on May 23d, 1889. 1 The nest was made of cedar 

 bark and a few grasses and was in a maple stub. The birds were seen several 

 times. Mr. J. A. Farley tells me that he saw a pair with full-grown young 

 several times in June, 1903, in Reading just outside the southern border of 

 Essex County. I have seen the bird as late as May 16th, 1900, and May 10th, 

 1903, in Ipswich, but have not found the nest. 



I have always thought that this bird was fond of the vicinity of the sea. 

 My first acquaintance with it was on August 21st, 1878, when I discovered one 

 creeping on the roof of a fish-house at Magnolia. The next day I found one 

 creeping on the barnacle- and seaweed-covered rocks at low tide on Kettle 

 Island. From there it flew to the higher rocks and crept on their smooth 

 faces. 



1 Part of Mr. C. E. Brown's collection is now deposited with the Peabody Academy. 



