322 



UliiUS OK A'oKTH CaEOLIXA 



Cairns says this species nests early in April in Buncombe County, while in 

 Bertie County, near the eastern end of the State, R. P. Smithwnck took three nests 

 on April 2, 10, and 29, which wore at heights respectively of six, twcntj', and thirty 

 feet. Pearson has founil nests in Ciuilford County ranging from twenty inches to 

 forty feet from the ground. 



Fia. 263, WlUTKBKEASTED XlTHATCH. 



The bill is strong, and the bird will hammer the bark of a tree with great ]ier- 

 sistcnce in order to acquire possession of some coveted insect. All the members of 

 this family arc among our best friends, as they destroj^ vast quantities of iasects, 

 their eggs and larvae, which are harmful to our forests. This nuthatch also eats 

 seeds, being especially fond of those of the sunflower. 



327. Sitta canadensis (Linn.). Red-bre.\sted Nuthatch. 



Description: Ad. male. — Top of head antl a wide stripe through eye to nape shining Itlack; 

 a wliitc line over eye; upperparts bliiisli gray, no black marks on secondaries, or tips to wing- 

 coverts; outer tail-feathers black, with wliit<' i)atchcs near their tips; middle ones bluish gray; 

 throat white; rest of imderparts ochraceous-bulT. Ad. female. — Similar, but top of head and 

 stripe through the eye bluish gray, like the back; underparts paler. L,, 4.62; W., 2.6G; T., 1.58; 

 B.^ ..50. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



Range. — North .Vmerica, breeding mainly north of the United States. 



Range in North Curolitia. — \\h()le Slate irregularly in winter; resident on some of the iiigher 

 motmt.'iins where it breeds. 



FlO. 264. KeUBRE.ISTED N'LTH.tTCH. 



The lled-breastcd Nuthatch is :m irregular winter visitor in North Carolina at 

 least as far east as Raleigh, where it is cninmon some years and rare or altogether 

 absent in others. It usually goes in small bands, perhaps composed of the brood 

 of the jirevious year. In feeding it shows a preference for the smaller branches, 

 rather than the trunks of trees. Near Raleigh it has been observed from September 



